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About Port Orford news. (Port Orford, Curry County, Oregon) 1958-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 21, 2009)
Port Orford News January 21, 2009 • Page 5 ʻHospitality 101ʼ gets funded By Elaine Roemen For the Port Orford News Principal Tony Jones intro- duced Pacific High School sen- ior Philip Adde as student of the Month for his outstanding con- tribution to school life this year. Philip has been attending leadership workshops sponsored by the Ford Family Foundation He gave a power point presenta- tion at the Rotary Luncheon on the Bioswell that he and his fel- low leaders from Port Orford have been designing for the grassy area behind the visitor's center. A bioswale, euphemistically a "Rain Garden", is a shallow ditch filled with permeable materials, rocks and plants that filter polluted storm water. They not only add beauty to the landscape, the bioswell will absorb the dirty water from the streets and parking lot and puri- fy it before it flows into the near shore environment. Since ero- sion is a problem at this site, the hope is that the bioswell will reduce erosion by slowing down the water flow. They hope to complete their project by Oct 2009. Also, Mr.Sean Wells, Principal at Driftwood School, proudly introduced 7th grader, Stephanie Gordon for her posi- tive contributions to school life and her excellence in writing. Rotary factoid: Did you know that every week Sonja Mason and her faithful team prepare great home style meals like pork roasts, tasty chicken, PON photos by Matt Hall ABOVE: Phillip Adde explains about the upcoming Rain Garden planned fora Battle Rock Park. Below left is Adde again, and Stephanie Gordon, both students of the month. The Del Norte Workforce Center is pleased to announce the launch of the Hospitality 101 Initiative, a three year, $2.1 million dollar grant from the U.S. Department of Labor Employment & Training Administration to provide customer service and skills training to the hospitality industry along America’s Wild Rivers Coast (AWRC). This business-driven ini- tiative will work in partnership with our region's community colleges, chambers of commerce and others, in training 750 employees, both current employees and seasonal hires of local businesses. The goal of the initiative is to significantly upgrade employee skills and training, resulting in outstanding customer service for our visiting guests and the region’s residents, while providing businesses with a better-trained workforce to help their bottom line. The training and entire initiative are basically fundamental best business practices. Our job is simply to make the training relevant and affordable. The initiative will target four sectors of AWRC hospitality economy: Lodging, Restaurants, Retail, and Special Attractions, for upgrading cus- tomer service skills and specific job skills related to the hospitality industry. Participants will com- plete a course (or courses) followed by an intern- ship that will lead to certification by the American Hotel & Lodging Association. All trainees will begin their certification process with an introductory course, “Hospitality 101.” This 12 hour seminar will cover basic cus- tomer service, “soft skills” (dress, appearance, basic communication skills, work attitude, and other “good practices” skills), concierge skills, and Hospitality 101 (getting to know your community). Courses are scheduled to begin this spring and will run concurrently at College of the Redwoods and Southwestern Oregon Community College for the life of the initiative. The Hospitality 101 Initiative will host three inaugural events to acquaint business owners with the opportunities this program has to offer them. Join us at your leisure for wine and appetizers: ◆ Crescent City – Jan. 20, 4 -7 p.m., Hampton Inn ◆ Brookings/Harbor – Jan. 28, 4 -7 p.m., Crissey Field State Park & Welcome Center ◆ Hwy 101 at the state line, our beautiful, brand-new $6 million dollar Welcome Center) ◆ Gold Beach – Feb. 2, 4 -7 p.m., Gold Rush Center The Hospitality Team will be on hand to dis- cuss the details of the initiative with you and determine how the program can meet your indi- vidual business needs, and answer any questions. Please join us for an informative evening. For more details and information call Mary Foote 707-464-8347 ext. 266 or Rick Hiser ext. 232, or e-mail mary@hospitality101.biz. Oregon 150th State Parks Calendar available home made lasagna with sausage and sometimes, my favorite, pineapple upside down cake! ◆ For more information about Rotary go online at www.portorfordrotary.org. The Oregon State Parks & Recreation Department has put together a special Oregon 150 calendar for 2009 to help celebrate the sesquicentennial. The calendar features a timeline of the some of the significant events in the history of OPRD, lists some of the special parks-related Oregon 150 events coming up this year, and features beautiful photography of state parks, scenic viewpoints, heritage areas and sites. It is available from OPRD by calling (800) 551-6949 or on line at www.oregon150.org/mer- chandise, the Oregon 150 website. The calendars are now on sale for $10 each. Joint Ocean Commission Initiative releases ocean policy report for West coast leaders Washington, D.C. – The Joint Ocean Commission Initiative today released its much antici- pated report, “One Coast, One Future: Securing the Health of West Coast Ecosystems and Economies.” The report, requested by Port Orford Mayor Jim Auborn, along with 18 other elected officials from California, Oregon and Washington State, offers guidance to local, state and federal leaders on how to improve the health of coastal ecosystems and the economies that depend on them through integrated decision making. “Protecting our oceans and coasts starts at the local level,” said Leon E. Panetta, co-chair of the Joint Initiative and former White House Chief of Staff. “We are pleased to see so much interest in finding solutions to the critical problems facing our oceans and coasts. The Joint Initiative has provided the input that will lead to meaningful ocean policy reform at the state and local level,” Panetta contin- ued. Former Port Orford Mayor What is the Joint Ocean Commission Initiative? The Joint Ocean Commission Initiative is a collaborative effort of the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy and Pew Oceans Commission to catalyze ocean policy reform. The Joint Initiative is guid- Auborn said “The City of Port Orford has enthusiastically sup- ported the efforts of the Port Orford Ocean Resource Team in establishing the Port Orford Stewardship Area and Redfish Rocks Marine Research Reserve/Marine Protected Area pilot project, both of which are leading examples of Ecosystem and Community Based Management as promulgated in the recommendations in the report.” “One Coast, One Future” offers specific and immediate ways that local and state West Coast leaders can collaborate to implement a coordinated and more productive approach to managing the coast, as well as ed by a ten-member task force, five from each commission, and led by Admiral James D. Watkins (U.S. Navy, Ret.) and the Honorable Leon E. Panetta, chairs of the U.S. Commission and Pew Commission, respectively. The primary goal of the Joint Ocean Commission Initiative is to accelerate the pace of change that results in meaningful ocean policy reform. pilot project. “Communities along the coast have an incredibly important impact on regional and national economies by contributing to the tourism, boating and fishing industries, as well as the food supply,” said Admiral James D. Watkins (U.S. Navy, Ret.), co- chair of the Joint Initiative. “The elected officials who requested this report have shown tremendous initiative in exploring innovative ways to secure and preserve their envi- ronment, coasts, ocean and communities. We commend for- mer Mayor Auborn for his lead- ership to be continued by Mayor John Roorbach, the new City Council, and the Port Orford Ocean Resource Team. The next step will be for the state legislature and Congress to sup- port and prioritize these critical efforts.” For more information on the Joint Ocean Commission Initiative, its work and to down- load the full version of “One Coast, One Future,” please visit www.jointoceancommission.org. ways state legislatures and the federal government can support their efforts. The report urges these leaders to adapt and pre- pare for climate change impacts through an ecosystem-based approach that recognizes the interconnections among marine life, climate, local economies and the quality of human life. The report also acknowledges that many local West Coast com- munities currently face alterna- tive energy proposals, and sug- gests ways that they can work with other communities, govern- ment agencies and developers to implement effective solutions to these pressing energy chal- lenges. Recommendations in the report include the following. 1. Identify a coordination area and engage stakeholders in set- ting goals. 2. Understand and monitor ecosystem health. 3. Establish coordinating mechanisms to bring together all interested parties. 4. Make the land-sea connec- tion. 5. Collect and integrate local- ly-relevant information to better inform decision-making. 6. Support integrated, ecosys- tem-based approaches, particu- larly at the local level. 7. Consider marine spatial planning. 8. Plan for climate change impacts at all levels of govern- ment. 9. Maintain or enhance fund- ing for core coastal and ocean programs. 10. Send a clear message to Congress and the administration to fund and implement ocean protection measures. 11. Creatively consolidate or reallocate existing resources to take full advantage of funding sources. 12. Establish public-private partnerships for funding and in- kind resources. Port Orford is already imple- menting several of the recom- mendations in the Joint Initiative’s report, including the Port Orford Stewardship Area and Redfish Rocks Marine Reserve/Marine Protected Area ous and want to watch trained personnel do their jobs. However, in order for us to do our jobs effectively and quickly, we must concentrate on our work. While it may appear that an ambulance driv- er is "just waiting" or a pumper operator is "just stand- ing around"; they are listening to all communications, assess- ing the scene for changes, anticipating the next step. They are also thinking about potential problems, road con- ditions, the need for more help, ingress and egress for more help, and continually assessing the safety of their partners other trained respon- ders’ and the public. Additionally, they are aware of potential dangers far beyond the immediate area involved. Please respect our need for a large area for scene safety. If you are asked to step back Please do so immediately. Please do not engage Emergency Services personnel in conversation or question our need for scene safety. Your safety, that of the victims/patients, and ours is at stake. If we need help or assis- tance from a bystander, we will ask for it. If you believe you have information essential to our work, try to get that information to a responder who can pass their information to the appropriate person (often Law Enforcement can help). We all strive for the best possible outcome on every call. With your help, we can achieve this goal. Thank you! Sincerely, Gayle Wilcox Port Orford Volunteer Fire Port Orford Community Ambulance Concerns about council The first council meeting with a new crew took place with the new mayor being absent and councilor Hewitt presiding. True to form, in violation of ORS 192.610/690 the public witnessed a council vote and approval of the hiring of a con- sulting firm to produce an expert “statement of Public Policy on Policing” to the tune of $ 7,000.- The Consultant had been approached before December 1st 2008 under Mayor Auborn after a slight by hand wording led to the loosing of funds for the Police Department. Neither the public nor all six councilors were informed of the intent to approach an expert to get the town out of the fiscal police department mess. The contract between the city and ASG (the experts) consists of less of half of a page to describe “the product” and over fourteen pages of legal mumble/jumble keeping ASG free of any hardships but opening the stage for possibly needed overruns. Before December 2008 the Police Chief was fired to the tune of thousands of dollars, justified by (former) mayor Auborn with the loss of the Police Department funding, the remaining two officers can not work efficiently for lack of overtime funds. The maintenance department can’t buy material to patch our water supply system, yet the council (without the new mayor) approves a contract for $ 7,000.- to have a consulting firm tell a hamlet of one thou- sand (+) people how to, or what is a town police. Seems to me that that com- mon sense is down the drain. Overestimating their impor- tance in the scheme of things is crippling the council and run- ning our town into bankruptcy. I expect that in the not too far future to see a new comic strip in state-wide news papers titled something like “The ongoing saga of Hick town 97465” Jack Marohl, Port Orford sustainable economics … We could be the most progressive town in Oregon, let alone the west coast.” Holman responded by saying that “We have a lot of state laws and ordinances that we must fol- low, but we as a planning com- mission, can be pro-active in recommending ordinances to the city council … for sustainable development, and once they are enacted, they become our city laws … If we can be pro-active in making some changes that can benefit our town, that’s cer- tainly what we all (want to do).” Bonnell emphasized that “what sustainable development does is (in regard to) new con- struction, new development, and then it allows people who are here (already) to upgrade if they choose. It’s not forcing change on anybody that doesn’t want it.” The next Planning Commission meeting will be Tues., Feb. 10 at the Gable Chambers at City Hall. LETTERS, from page 3 and the state grange is happy to let us keep Sixes Grange open for another year. Grangers will continue to do what we can to build our grange to the point of having enough participating community members to offer all national grange activities. These programs consist of Agriculture, Community Service, Deaf Awareness and Family Health, Education, Junior & Youth, Energy,Legislative and Scholarships. We will continue with our " just for fun" Barn Dances, Sales and beginning Jan 28, weekly wednesday night bingo. We still are in need of more active members to head these programs. Please inquire about these programs at www.orgrange.org, www.nationalgrange.org or call 332-1581. For the history buffs To all you readers of World War II history. Here is a book with local history and Japanese sub crews narations of being bombed off Port Orford-- Japanese fire bombs plane over Grassy Knob/Port Orford The book is “Silent Siege” by Bert Webber a very inter- esting read of territory from Alaska to Southern,Californai coast line and our military defense then. It is at your local Port Orford Library and it will hold your attention"! Sincerely: Brice Wagner, Elk River Public needs to stand back Those of us in Emergency Services understand the desire of the public to watch and somehow be involved in Emergency Incidents. In such small communities, the victim or victims are often known and concern for them is great. Often people are simply curi- FRA N C HISE O PPO RTUN ITIES in Po rt O rfo rd , O R R. . r e - O ne o f A m eri ca’ e p re ca’s s b est kno wn b rand s i s seeki ng ent r re neurs t o d evel o p Franchi ses. • Lo w Co st Invest m ent , Q ual i t y Pro d uct s and Servi ces and Ind ust ry l ead i ng t rai ni ng , are j ust so m e o f t he reaso ns t o Franchi se wi t h t hi s d ynam i c co m p any • Rad i o Shack i s nat i o nal l y reco g ni zed , and has a rep ut at i o n f o r q ual i t y p ro d uct and servi ce • Sup p o rt i ve N at i o nal and Lo cal ad vert i si ng If yo u t hink Rad io Shack co uld have a p lace in yo ur f ut ure, and wo ul d l i ke m o re i nf o rm at i o n o n o ur p ro ven p ro g ram , co nt act o ur A rea D evel o p m ent M anag er: PLANNING, from page 1 Dud & Suds Laundromat Ant onio N ovoa (909) 481-8561 will be closed for remodeling/new equip- ment Jan. 22- Jan. 30. Look in the PON next week for the exact reopening date. V V isit our web site for mor e info at www .rad ioshack.com more www.rad Franchise of fering s ar e mad e b y p r rosp osp ect us (d isclosur e d ocument ) only offering are isclosure only. . Advertise your business or service in the PORT ORFORD NEWS BUSINESS & SERVICE DIRECTORY for only $5 a week - $20 a month! Call (541) 332-NEWS (6397), (541) 260-3638, or e-mail to portorfordnews@gmail.com community that people would want to come and visit and would like to come and live in.” According to Bonnell, Mock’s organization recently sent a pro- posal to now-President Obama’s transition team. “Their contact … is an opening for all of us with our planning commissions to make contact as well and get city recognition and let our needs be known … There is going to be money for us.” She closed by saying that “sustain- able land development equals
