Schools and police team up for safety training
Armed intruders were prowling the halls of Siuslaw Middle School last month. It was a training exercise for school employees about how to react in the event of someone in the school, intent on doing harm. Siuslaw superintendent Ethel Angal says it’s an uncomfortable topic, but necessary.
200 – “These are our children and we’ve been entrusted with them during the day. It’s our job to do whatever we can to keep them as safe as possible.”
The training, May 22nd was provided by Florence Police Officers. It utilized the ALICE formula… that stands for Alert; Lock down; Inform; Counter; and Evacuate… a new way of thinking when it comes to possible school shooters. The primary message is to keep everybody safe.
201 – “It’s my job to make sure that my staff is kept as safe as possible and given the tools that are the best tools that we know right now.”
Angal and Police Chief Tom Turner will talk more in depth on ALICE and school safety tomorrow afternoon on KCST’s Our Town from four to five PM.
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17 scholarships for Siuslaw students and three more for seniors in Mapleton total more than $26-thousand. They’re all local.
The Western Lane Community Foundation announced this week that they already passed out the Siuslaw scholarships. Mapleton students will learn what they receive Saturday during their graduation.
Foundation spokesperson Lis Farm says the awards represent the foundation’s “ongoing mission of investing in the Western Lane Community’s youth”.
The Western Lane Community Foundation was founded in 1974 and is in its 41st year as a community trust. Farm says to date, they have awarded more than $300-thousand in scholarships.
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Drivers in Oregon can expect the cheapest summer gas prices since 2009… even though current averages are at their highest point since last year.
Marie Dodds with Triple-A says current retail gas prices “appear to be at or near their seasonal peak”. She credits stabilizing crude oil prices and the completion of seasonal maintenance at U.S. refineries.
For the week, the national average price, as measured by Triple-A, added a penny, while the Oregon average is holding steady at $3.04. Locally, the average price dipped a penny… it’s at $2.84 a gallon.
West Coast prices continue to be the highest in the nation, but they are still considerably lower than last year at this time.
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