When everything else fails, there’s always a Ham
When disaster strikes anywhere in the world, you’ll usually find a core group of volunteers hard at work behind the scenes keeping the lines of communication open.
Those volunteers are Ham, or Amateur, Radio Operators.
In some parts of the world their numbers are dropping, while the need for their services is growing.
The first step in becoming a Ham Radio Operator is being offered tomorrow in Florence. That’s when members of the Central Oregon Coast Amateur Radio Club will be offering an entry-level orientation for the FCC’s Radio Technician license.
Bill Herbner is the instructor. He says it is a “mentor-assisted”, self study course that covers the basics of amateur radio. The course itself is free, but there is a required text that costs $30… it will be available at the class. It only takes 90-minutes.. the class is from 11 to 12:30 tomorrow at Siuslaw Valley Fire and Rescue. Completion should prepare you for the Level-1 “technician” test that will be offered March 25th in Florence. Herbner says there are no specific requirements other than a basic understanding of electronics.
Florence woman injured when her car jumps curb
It was another one of those situations that looked far worse than it turned out to be. Wednesday morning, just before noon a Florence woman was pulling into the parking lot next to Clawson’s Wheelhouse Restaurant on Highway 101. The 87-year old woman told police she thought she was stepping on the brake, but hit the accelerator and jumped the curb, plunging her directly in to the north bound lane of Highway 101 and in the path of an oncoming truck pulling a fifth wheel trailer.
Her car sustained heavy front end damage, the truck and trailer were also damaged but there were no serious injuries. Florence Police Commander John Pitcher said the woman was shaken up and experiencing some pain so she was transported to Peace Harbor by ambulance. No citations were issued, no names were released, but the investigation is continuing.
Hamilton selected to lead Lane
The Lane Community College Board of Education announced the successor to President Mary Spilde Wednesday. Dr. Margaret Hamilton has been with the Camden County College in New Jersey for 28 years and is currently vice president of academic affairs.
She was a unanimous selection by the board following an 11-month search. Board Chair Sharon Stiles called Hamilton the “right person”. She also thanked Spilde for providing ample time for the board to conduct a careful search for her replacement. Spilde announced last spring she would be retiring in June of this year after serving as Lane’s president since 2000.
Hamilton is expected to begin work in Eugene prior to Spilde’s retirement. A final employment contract has not yet been negotiated, but a preliminary agreement was reached this week on a three year contract with a starting annual salary of $203-thousand.
Hamilton will be Lane’s seventh president since it was formed in 1964.
School board races
Nearly three-fourths of the seats for school boards in Oregon were uncontested two years ago in the last round of board elections. One in twelve of the open seats drew no candidates at all. That meant other members of the boards had to seek out and appoint people to fill those gaps.
With such a low turnout, the Oregon School Boards Association has launched a campaign to recruit more candidates to take part in the upcoming school boards election May 16th.
In our area there are seven positions between the Siuslaw and Mapleton school boards that will be decided by voters… if there are enough candidates.
In Mapleton, there are three four-year terms available. They’re currently held by John Simington (SI-ming-tun), Mizu (MEE-zoo) Burruss (BURR-uss) and Marilyn Fox.
At Siuslaw Schools there are three four-year terms currently held by John Barnett, Paul Burns, and Suzanne Mann-Heintz. Board Chair Bill McDougle was appointed to fill a vacancy 18-months ago… the remaining two years of that term are also on the ballot.
Interested candidates must file nomination paperwork with their respective school district in time to get them verified by March 6th.
Three Rivers Foundation distributes grants
Nearly $80-thousand was handed out to 15 different western Oregon non-profit groups this week in Florence. It was the sixth annual “gifting luncheon” of the Three Rivers Foundation… the charitable arm of Three Rivers Casino and Resort and the Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians.
124 grant proposals were received by the foundation.
Locally, the Boys and Girls Club of Western Lane County, Friends of Florence, Mapleton Food Share, Reedsport Police Department and Winchester Bay Community Center and Park received grants.
Foundation Chair Theresa Spangler, who is also vice-chair of the tribal council, said there is a Native America proverb that says “the more you give, the more good things come to you”. She said the groups that received grants this week “give out of the goodness of their hearts” and the foundation, in turn, gave back to them. In addition to several Lane and Douglas county organizations, grantees were from Coos, Curry, and Lincoln Counties.