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About Port Orford news. (Port Orford, Curry County, Oregon) 1958-current | View Entire Issue (April 1, 2009)
Port Orford News THE MOST WESTERLY WEEKLY IN THE CONTIGUOUS 48 STATES Volume 53, No. 13 Wednesday, April 1, 2009 Inside Toddlers Toddler Time at the Port Orford Library seems to be a lot of fun, judging by the delight on the face of young Cassius Richards. — Page 5 Jimmy Jimmy Perdue, who is maybe the hardest working man in town was at it again. — Page 5 Pinned The P.O. Rotary gained two new mem- bers last week. — Page 8 Price - Fifty Cents Port Orford, Curry County, Oregon 97465 2CJ School District update Superintendent is taking new job 2CJ Superintendent Ruby Price will leave to take a similar position in Creswell By Mick Lane 2CJ Asst. Superintedent For the Port Orford News By Ruby Price 2CJ Superintendent For the Port Orford News Dear Friends, The Creswell School District, just outside of Eugene, off I-5, confirmed on Wednesday, March 26th, that they have selected me to be their next Superintendent of schools. The dis- trict has approximately 1250-1300 students, with a growing community of English Language Learners whose first language is Spanish; I am fluent in Spanish, having worked with many ELL students/families throughout my career in education. On April 8th, the School Board in Creswell will meet to vote on my selection, with the start date to be 1 July 2009. First of all, I want to thank you for your understanding and support during the past few weeks as Dale and I have been trying to sort out next steps in light of our changed circum- stances. It has been a privilege to serve as superintendent of the Port Orford-Langlois School District for the entire three year commit- ment that I initially made. It is hard to believe that we have been part of the Port Orford and Langlois communities for nearly three years. It was predictable that we would fall in love with the beaches and hiking trails. But we also fell in love with the people. Staff, students, parents, and neighbors are the ones who make our move to Creswell so hard. Dale and I want to express our thanks for the many cards, prayers, and kind words that demonstrated your genuine care for us. Some of you have asked, “Why are you leav- ing”? There are a variety of complex answers to A few answers concerning the upcoming move Dale and Ruby Price that question but they include the fact that we will be three and a half hours closer to our aging parents (Dale’s dad is 90 and my dad is 93 and my mom is not far behind) and our children and grandchildren who all live in the Salem area We will also be much closer for Dale’s medical sup- port which continues even though the prognosis is very good at this time. I have also had a dream to finish my career in education with the challenge of a larger district. With Dale’s recent health issues, we asked the question, “Can joy and sadness live in the same house”? The answer is yes! It is with genuine sadness that we prepare to leave our home here. But our hearts are filled with joy as we consider As we move through the process of preparation for hav- ing all our K/8 students at Driftwood next year, there have been many valuable ideas that have come from the surveys and other public input. There are concerns, too. In an effort to clarify and explain some issues, here are some frequently asked questions: How are the students react- ing to the move? There is some sadness about leaving the nice school in Langlois, but the kids are becoming excited about coming together in a new and improved Driftwood School. The main question is: “Who is my teacher going to be?” Driftwood stu- dents will see more new teach- ers than the Blanco kids, whose teachers are going with them to Port Orford. There will be joint activities this spring to help familiarize the Blanco students with the building, and meet new friends and teachers. Most of the students have friends at Driftwood through community contact and common electives, and nearly two-thirds of the Blanco student body lives closer to Port Orford than Langlois so have had more of a chance to See RUBY page 7 See 2CJ page 8 Fine dining in Port Orford/Northern Curry County Coming up Port Orford Rotary Club The Port Orford Rotary Club meets each Thursday, at noon, at the Port Orford American Legion Hall. P.O. Lifeboat Station The Port Orford Lifeboat Station will open for its 10th season at 10 a.m., Thursday, April 2. Garden Club The Sunset Garden Club will meet at 1 p.m., Friday, April 3 at the P.O. Senior Center. Also inside Rays Food Place, McKayʼs Market, Hennickʼs “Do It Best” Home Center & P.O. Christian Center News briefs Hazmat waste event is being planned The Household Hazardous Waste event that will be held in the City of Port Orford on June 19-20. There will be a “pre-event” meeting and briefing on Wednesday, April 1, at 6 p.m. at Port Orford City Hall, Council Chambers. This pre-event meeting will help to nail down the details of the event, and to get all of the planning completed. The hazmat waste event is free to homeowners on Saturday, June 20. A small fee will be charged for conditionally exempt small generators on Friday june 19. This event is open to everyone, regardless of residence loca- tion. It is a great opportunity do get rid of hazardous materials that are no longer wanted or needed. This is the right way to do it, the environmentally responsible way to do it. Your participation would be appreciated. Also , please spread the word about the event. This will be advertised local- ly, but word of mouth is another excellent way to get the word out. Thank you. — By Mike Murphy, P.O. City administrator Sunset Garden Club meets Friday The Sunset Garden Club will hold its monthly meeting on Friday, April 3 in Port Orford's Senior Center at 1p.m. Mary Gay of 101 Creations will give a presentation about arranging dried flowers in frames. Visitors are always welcome. Budget meetings set for P.O. The Budget Committee of the City of Port Orford will be meeting to organize and receive the Budget Message on May 6, as well as conducting a Revenue Sharing Public See BRIEFS, page 5 The Port & Starboard Restaurant and Lounge offers an extensive, diverse menu PON photo by Brice Wagner By Brice Wagner The Port & Starboard Restaurant & Lounge is located on Hwy. 101, at the north end of Port Orford. PON staff writer The Port and Starboard Restaurant and lounge building was originally built by Charlie Jensen and Family in the late 1950’s. It was the Oregon coasts first mini strip mall. Housed in the complex were the following: Jensen Music Store, a Shoe store, Dress Shop, Hair Dresser and Saw shop/Small engine repair. Les and Era Smith purchased the building in 1970 and a mas- sive conversion took place. Partitions were tore out, new wiring installed, and Port and Starboard Pizza Parlor was Tsunami workshop Traveling tsunami road show set for Southcoast stops SALE. – Oregon Emergency Management Geologic Hazards Coordinator Althea Turner and other agency experts will be holding free preparedness fairs and workshops concerning tsunamis and earthquakes in Southern Oregon coastal communities. Door prizes will be offered. The schedule is listed below. Oregon has suffered considerable damage from two moderate earthquake events in 1993 and a distant tsunami from Alaska in 1964. Scientific evidence indicates that Oregon is at risk for much larger and potentially more damaging earthquake associated with the See TSUNAMI, page 3 Candidates forum will be held in Port Orford April 23 The League of Women Voters of Curry County will hold three candidate forums prior to the May 19 Special Districts election. Only those running for contested seats will be invit- ed to participate. Thursday, April 23, a forum will be held at the City Hall Council Chambers at 7 p.m. The following candidates have been invited: David Bassett and Ken Fliszar, running for Position #2 on the Port Orford Rural Fire Protection District board, and Dennis Woodard and Brice Wagner, vying for Position #4. In addition, five people from Coos Bay and North Bend are running for two seats on the Southwestern Oregon Community College board and they have been invited to the forum. Similar forums will be held in Gold Beach See FORUM, page 4 opened. One side of the busi- ness was a family/teenager side and the other an adult side with bar and tables where Pizza and beer/wine was served. In 1981 Les Smith changed the business to a restaurant and lounge oper- ation with liquor being served. In 1990 Lester’s son Frank Smith and wife Bonnie pur- chased the business from his father and mother. Frank and Bonnie Smith ran the business See RESTAURANT page 7 Copper Salmon Wilderness Act is passed and signed into law Legislation includes the Copper Salmon Wilderness Act and six other provisions to protect Oregon Wilderness and wildlife WASHINGTON, D.C. – Seven public lands bills authored by U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) achieved final passage in the House of Representatives as part of the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 (H.R. 146): "The Lewis and Clark Mount Hood Wilderness Act of 2007," "The Copper Salmon Wilderness Act," "The Oregon Badlands Wilderness Act of 2008," "The Cascade Siskiyou National Monument Voluntary and Equitable Grazing Conflict Resolution Act," "The Spring Basin Wilderness Act of 2008," "The Fisheries Restoration and Irrigation Mitigation Act of 2008" and "The Watershed Restoration and Enhancement Agreements Act of 2007." The Omnibus bill passed the Senate earlier in the month. The bill then moved onto the President, where it was signed into law Monday morning. Jerry Becker, a founding member of Friends of Elk River said “The Friends of Elk River want to assure everyone that this new designation will not reduce their ability to hunt, fish, swim, hike or enjoy the area now designated Wilderness. The main access roads will remain open. Hunting and fishing rules will remain the same. “We also offer our heartfelt thanks to the many, many people who worked with us (over the past 14 years) to establish protection for the Copper Salmon area,” said Becker. “Friends of Elk River are very pleased that the pristine nature of the North Fork is now protected for future generations to enjoy.” The Copper Salmon Wilderness Act was forged from years of Wyden's work with members of the local community in Southern Oregon, which is renowned among fishermen as one of the last intact watersheds near the Southwest Oregon Coast. The bill designates 9.3 miles of rivers at the headwaters of the North Fork of the Elk River as Wild and Scenic and adds 13,700 acres of new wilderness adjacent to the existing Grassy Knob Wilderness. The Elk River is known as the most productive wild salmon and steelhead river of its size in the lower 48 states. Maps of the areas protected with this legislation can be found at: http://wyden.senate.gov/newsroom/pro- posed_wild_dec7.pdf “It was a long and winding road to get this bill passed, but it was worth it to make sure that Mt. Hood and all the other special places in this bill are pro- tected,” Wyden said. “I’m glad Congress looked past politics and came together for our constituents, for the lands they love and for the jobs this bill will help create.” Rep. Peter DeFazio also voted to expand and protect America's treasured public lands. H.R. 146, the public lands omnibus, passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 285 to 140. "This bill's final passage is long over- due. The measure is vital to preserving our precious landscapes, educating gen- erations and supporting local communi- ties, especially in Oregon," DeFazio said. See COPPER, page 2
