WEDNESDAY, JUNE 8, 2022 | SILVERTONAPPEAL.COM
PART OF THE USA TODAY NETWORK
‘Strong state leader monitoring’
Auditors call for stronger state oversight of local school districts
Natalie Pate
Salem Statesman Journal | USA TODAY NETWORK
The Student Success Act − passed in
2019 and providing an extra $1 billion of
tax money annually for early childhood
education and K-12 schools − is Oregon’s
fourth major education improvement
effort since the 1990s.
Baked in are requirements for the
Oregon Department of Education to
track district performance and work
with districts to improve student out-
comes.
The state’s three previous efforts to
tackle such issues were abandoned, ac-
cording to a state report. State officials
want to ensure that doesn't happen
again.
The Secretary of State’s Office and
the Oregon Audits Division Tuesday re-
leased a preemptive report outlining
five risk areas that it said could jeopar-
dize student achievement going for-
ward.
The report − addressed to the Gover-
nor’s Office, the state Legislature and
the Oregon State Board of Education −
draws on six K-12 audits conducted
since 2016 and identifies five key risks,
including performance monitoring and
support; transparency on results and
challenges; spending scrutiny and guid-
ance; clear, enforceable district stan-
dards; and governance and funding sta-
bility.
Archives: 3 things to know about the
See AUDITORS, Page 4A
Thousands of teachers and education
activists rally for a day of action starting
at Riverfront Park in Salem on May 8,
2019. Schools across Oregon closed early
or were closed for the day as teachers
walked out to demand more school
funding to address large class sizes, low
graduation rates and other concerns.
ANNA REED / STATESMAN JOURNAL
Tensions rising
as college
parties draw
police
Louis Krauss
Eugene Register-Guard
USA TODAY NETWORK
Highway 22 was closed near Detroit and Santiam Junction after a fuel tanker crashed.
PROVIDED BY OREGON STATE POLICE
‘Too fast under the conditions’
Gasoline spill into North Santiam River results in $200,000 in penalties
Bill Poehler
Salem Statesman Journal | USA TODAY NETWORK
A gasoline company whose truck spilled more than 7,000
gallons of oil onto Highway 22 and into the North Santiam
River in 2020 will pay over $200,000 in penalties, according
to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The EPA said in a press release that Space Age Fuel Inc.,
which is headquartered in Clackamas, agreed to pay a
$135,000 fine for violating the Clean Water Act from the ac-
cident.
It also agreed to pay a $72,000 fine to the Oregon Depart-
ment of Environmental Quality and develop an inclement
weather plan.
According to a press release, a tanker truck from the com-
pany carrying about 10,700 gallons of gasoline and diesel
fuel rolled over on Highway 22 on February 16, 2020.
According to records obtained by the Statesman Journal
under a public records request, the driver, Daniel Rodriguez,
was cited for driving “too fast under the condi-
tions,” by the state and was fined $265.
Rodriguez lost control of the tanker on a right
turn and hit the guardrail in “slush and snow
conditions” at about 7:41 a.m. that morning.
About 7,800 gallons of oil were spilled onto
the highway. Most of the oil collected into a
ditch on the side of the highway and some
flowed directly into the North Santiam River.
The oil in the ditch seeped into the soil and
eventually went into the river.
A 600-foot section of road was replaced at
the site of the crash east of Idanha. The road
was closed for nearly a week while it was re-
paired.
According to the EPA, the river had elevated
levels of petroleum from Feb. 17 through March
See SPILL, Page 3A
Noisy off-campus parties have again become a
heated topic among residents and students in Eu-
gene's West University neighborhood, sparking con-
flicting opinions on the increased patrols and cita-
tions from the Eugene Police Department.
In Eugene, unruly parties and the city's attempts
to subdue them are nothing new. In 2013, the City
Council approved an unruly gathering ordinance that
fines hosts of events serving alcohol, and potentially
the property owners if there are repeat offenses.
Data the Register-Guard acquired from Eugene
police indicates this year is outpacing prior years in
the number of unruly party citations issued. Police
say the problem has reached the point where its re-
sponse merits moving from education to enforce-
ment. And University of Oregon officials say they are
also looking into recent incidents.
The recent stepped-up enforcement comes as the
weather warms, COVID-19 restrictions lift and big
gatherings become more socially accepted.
Eugene police have sent out news releases about
five parties and the police response over the past
month. It began April 23, when more than 500 par-
tiers flooded into the middle of 16th Avenue between
Hilyard and Patterson streets, at a party prior to the
University of Oregon's spring football game. Officers
trying to shut it down had bottles and food containers
thrown at them, according to the news release from
police spokeswoman Melinda McLaughlin.
Two weeks later, on May 7, police busted up a
Mother's Day party with 200 students and some of
their parents at a house in the 1300 block of Ferry
Street, which was ranked sixth among party houses
with 44 calls for service related to noise or alcohol
since March 2020, according to the Eugene police da-
ta. One student, William Crever, 21, was arrested and
charged with fourth-degree assault, resisting arrest
and disorderly conduct after allegedly blocking a po-
lice car and then hitting an officer in the face. Crever
did not respond to requests for comment from The
Register-Guard.
The two incidents led to the Eugene police in-
creasing its presence west of the university starting
May 13, and officers more strictly enforcing noise
complaints and open container violations. In the
past two weekends, 105 partiers have received mis-
demeanor citations for a mix of "prohibited noise"
and open container violations. Another 47 have been
cited for possessing alcohol as a minor, public urina-
tion and for hosts breaking the city's unruly gather-
ing ordinance.
'It's the neighborhood we're trying to protect'
Couple establishes ranch to help heal ‘hurting’ teens
Virginia Barreda
Salem Statesman Journal
Eugene's "social host ordinance," also known as
the unruly gathering ordinance, makes it illegal to
host, organize and allow oversized, disorderly gath-
erings and parties involving alcohol. For it to apply,
the host must be serving alcohol at the event and
USA TODAY NETWORK
See PARTIES, Page 3A
Emmy and Justin Arana say horses can teach peo-
ple important life skills, such as confidence and emo-
tional awareness.
The couple co-founded Acres of Hope Youth Ranch,
a non-profit mentorship program that gives teenagers
who are going through mental health struggles the op-
portunity to work with and care for horses. The ranch,
located at a 40-acre property in Independence, serves
youth ages 12 to 19, who struggle with suicide, depres-
sion and anxiety. Some are also victims of sex traffick-
ing.
The program’s goal, the Aranas said, is to serve as a
place of healing and comfort for hurting teens.
“You throw a thousand-pound horse between you
See RANCH, Page 4A
Emmy and Justin Arana, the co-founders of Acres of
Hope Youth Ranch, with their horses Kimber and Aslan
on May 18 in Salem. The non-profit organization allows
youth going through mental health struggles and
trauma to connect with horses as a way to heal.
ABIGAIL DOLLINS / STATESMAN JOURNAL
Vol. 141, No. 25
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A Eugene police officer pours alcohol out onto the
ground after citing a group of students for open
container during a Friday night party patrol in the
neighborhood near the University of Oregon. CHRIS
PIETSCH/THE REGISTER-GUARD FILE