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District
24 forum covers the political spectrum
Dundee candidates air views at forum
Local property taxes will see a slight increase
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Community Night provides a little something for everyone |
The second annual forum at NHS brings together
agencies, candidates and provides education, information |
By Schellene
Clendenin, Newberg Graphic
reporter
E-mail Schellene at
sclendenin@eaglenewspapers.com
|
Hundreds of community members converged upon the Newberg High School
Commons Tuesday night.
Whether they visited one of several forums, listened to debates by
local politicians or talked with one of more than two dozen groups —
from the Oregon Department of Transportation and Yamhill County
Sheriff’s Office to Newberg City planners and Newberg Animal Shelter
Friends — the event was full of people looking for information.
Newberg mayoral candidates Bob Andrews and Ed Leffler and Dundee
mayoral candidates Diane Ragsdale and Don Sundeen, as well as
council candidates, kicked off the evening’s political debates.
Discussion included questions concerning plans for growth in both
cities. Debates, according to several community members who attended
both, were lively.
A forum was held to discuss the methods by which the city of
Newberg plans to use design options and density to provide pleasant
— and yet affordable — housing in Newberg for folks with middle to
low incomes. The forum attracted about a dozen attendees.
The planning process will go over existing city housing policies and
regulations, and look for methods by which the city can make
affordable growth possible. (See story, page A11).
Methamphetamine use was one subject that seemed to concern many
community members. Lt. Ken Summers of the sheriff’s office directed
folks to watch one of several 90-second videos on what meth abuse
does to people.
“We were a little jealous this time because the candidates pulled a
lot of people into the classrooms,” Summers said, adding that as
many as 75 people visited his area. “We were thrilled to be invited
and will participate again if there is another. It was real
productive.”
In one video a girl talks about wishing she had been crippled,
paralyzed or killed in an accident before she attended a party at
which she tried meth for the first time.
The video then shows an images of the same girl, getting ready to
smoke from a meth pipe, only this time the girl is thinner, covered
in sores and crouched on a couch in a filthy room. She reiterates
that she would rather have died than ending up in a life of meth
abuse.
The videos can be seen online at
www.montanameth.org.
In addition, the Yamhill County Meth Van was parked outside the
doors leading into the high school’s commons. Staffed by volunteers,
the meth van includes photos of drugs and cash confiscated by local
law enforcement, a display cabinet filled with the items used in
meth manufacturing, images of mobile meth labs and a wide variety of
pipes used to smoke the drug.
In addition, a hazardous materials suit — a garment used to protect
those who clean up meth labs from the cancer causing effects of the
drugs — and mask were on display.
Luther Williams, a volunteer with the YCSO for one year, said the
van is important to increase community awareness of the drug and its
effects.
Earlier in the day, more than 150 NHS students had made their way
through the van, said Claudia Stewart, school district spokeswoman.
Darlyn Adams, president of the Newberg Animal Shelter Friends, sat
at a table signing participants up for a free raffle for a large
stuffed animal. She was excited with the proceeds netted from the
recent auction that will benefit the building fund for a proposed
animal shelter. The auction raised more than $15,800.
Leonard Rydell, an engineer and Yamhill Basin Council member,
offered information about the group that monitors water temperature;
conducts community projects with the aim of improving the water
quality in the Yamhill River and Chehalem Creek watersheds; and
assesses local watersheds.
Lisa Ansell, project leader with ODOT, said in addition to a
discussion on the ongoing Newberg-Dundee bypass environmental impact
study the agency is working on at present (ODOT plans to have a
draft of the study available to the public by late spring 2008),
ODOT was also offering information on a safety project planned at
Highway 219 and its intersections with Wynooski and Wilsonville
roads.
ODOT said that due to a high number of accidents that occur at both
intersections, ODOT will address the issue by closing street
approaches to Oregon 219 at Springbrook, Wilsonville, Sandoz and
Adolph roads, as well as Ninth Street. Springbrook and Wilsonville
roads will be rerouted to a new traffic signal north of Ninth
Street, which will clear a path to the Highway 219 interchange for
the proposed bypass. It will also add turning lanes at Wynooski
Road.
ODOT plans to offer community meetings in the future to provide
information on the project’s progress.
The event also included information and education on the game of
golf by employees of The Chehalem Glenn Golf Course. Set up along a
wall of the commons, kids were invited to “sweep” a tennis ball onto
a Velcro covered wall. Anyone who hit a 10 out of three tries
received a Chehalem Glenn logo golf ball.
“(The idea) is to introduce kids to golf and golf terminology,”
said Gary Brown, a golf course employee. The park district, the
organization that oversees the golf course in Newberg, hopes to
bring the program into Newberg elementary schools in the spring. |
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From
Oct. 21,
2006, Newberg Graphic
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