December 2023
City Desk
Drain
vs ODOT
A raucous and lively night indeed. That was
November 15th at the Civic Center in Drain. Dan
Latham, a head honsho, over at ODOT, brought a
couple of buddies and a spokesman to talk about
a stop sign that ODOT wants to remove. In fact
they did remove it for a few hours but after a town
outcry they put it back and started this process of
trying to appease the townsfolk while still trying to
remove the stop sign.
The meeting was supposed to be a Q&A to
explain why ODOT wants it and why its good
for the town. The ODOT speaker said that they
themselves let the ball drop because they hadn’t
had properly given public input previously and
they were bending over backwards, now, to
accomplish that.
Well that didn’t go as planned. The Civic
Center had well over 50 residents in attendance
and they all gave a resounding “NO” to the idea
of removing the sign. One of the biggest reactions
was when the ODOT spokesman tried to explain
why “Driver Expectation” was the driving force
in the effort. Drain residents definitely bristled at
the idea; that because the eastbound drivers are
coming from a weekend at the coast, they are tired
and ODOT can’t seem to slow them down coming
into town, so that they can stop. They said that
Continued on Page 6
Ray’s Food Place in Drain’s
Stuff the Truck - Food Drive
Stuff the Truck is an annual program that
Ray’s Food Place started many years ago. Ray’s
stores collect bags of groceries and work with
local food banks to distribute the food. Stuff the
Truck program started on the first of November
and the last date to donate is Christmas Day. The
goal for the 2023 Stuff the Truck food drive
is 10,000 bags of groceries to fill a 53’ semi-
truck trailer. All of which will be distributed
to families in need this holiday season, through
over 140 local food banks..
Store customers in Drain can pick a bag
and scan a counter coupon to donate the bag
which costs $25 but is an average of $40 worth
of groceries..
Ray’s has 38 stores and all are working
to Stuff the Truck. Inside each food bag are
several items like tomato sauce, tomato, canned
tomatoes, crackers, cereal, gravy mixes, mac
and cheese, tuna fish, just some of the staples
that people use ordinarily every day. In the past
few years, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they
didn’t have as many donations.
The Stuff the Truck program ends on
Christmas Day. Stuff the Truck is running until
Dec. 25 at all participating Ray’s Food Place
locations. Displays are set up in each store with
donation bags. Each bag costs $25 in-store and
will be given to local families in need with the
help of local food banks.
Ray’s Food Place also allows people to donate
full, half, and 1/4 bags online. Prices vary
from $6.25 to $25 depending on the option
you choose. You can also donate through their
website, www.gorays.com.
Page 5
Government
Know your local Representatives!
Drain
Mayor: Erin Sparhawk
Council Position #1: Grant Vaughan
Council Position #2: Kevin VanPelt
Council Position #3: Katie Decker
Council Position #4: Aaron Lymath
City Administrator: Jeni Stevens
City Council Meeting:12/11/23 6pm
Yoncalla
Mayor: Kathleen Wertz
Councilors: Dan Wagoner
Gene Vroman
Harold Gilpin
Bryce Wertz
City Administrator: Jennifer Bragg
Council Meeting: 12/11/23, 6pm
Elkton
Mayor: Daniel Burke
Council President: Joan Smith
Council Members:
Kim Moore
Dan Shepherd
Sandra Galli
Public Works Supervisor: Gary Trout
Council Meeting:12/14,/23, 8:30am
Oakland
Drain Christmas
Tree
Continued from Front Page
Mayor:
Bette Keehley
Counselor: Jan Wier
Counselor: Kent Rochester
Counselor: Sky Ironplow
Counselor: Betty Tamm
Council Meeting: 12/12/23 7pm
Reedsport
The City Christmas Tree has been
a Drain tradition going back many years.
There was a time when the City Christmas
Tree was planted right in the middle of the
intersection of West “C” Ave and 2nd St,
across from where the old City Hall was.
It’s been behind the Civic Center in years
past, but for the last number of years it’s
been on the corner by West “B” and North
1st St.
Over many years the trees have been
donated by Bob Whipple, Bear Creek
Timber, BLM, Rod Bender and more. The
City crew generally brought the tree in each
year. In recent years the trees have come
from Donald Wooley and the David Cooper
Sr family, delivered by Wooley or Dave
Cooper Jr. and this year donated by Dorothy
Cooper and delivered by Dave Cooper Jr.
and Tony Forbes driving the truck.
Reedsport from
Library
News
Lower Umpqua Library District
Lower Umpqua
Library District offers
a wide variety of
materials in an ever-
expanding collection.
In addition to print
books,
eBooks,
eAudiobooks, audiobooks, and magazines,
we have over 3,000 DVDs available
for checkout. Our Classics and Pacific
Northwest collections of nearly 600 and
1,300 titles, respectively, are among the
newer sections that we have been adding.
We also have an electronics collection that
presently includes mobile Wi-Fi hotspots
and solar chargers. The hotspots are very
popular so there is a long wait list.
Our library recently started offering
an interlibrary loan service, so our patrons
can now borrow titles from over 10,000
library systems worldwide, but we charge
a $5.00 fee per item to cover postage. For
patrons who would like to avoid getting
wet, we now have umbrellas available for
checkout.
In the coming months, we anticipate
making additional item types available for
borrowing, including laptop computers,
Blu-ray drives, different style mice,
keyboards, Wi-Fi repeaters, video games,
and software. These materials cannot be
borrowed yet, but they can be checked out
starting sometime next year.
Alex Kuestner, Director/District Manager
Lower Umpqua Library District
395 Winchester Ave Reedsport, OR 97467
(541) 271-3500 www.luld.org
Come enjoy the
Christmas Spirit of Yoncalla.
Thanks to Ivy Bonnie Pyles, president
of the Drain Chamber of Commerce, for the
story and photos. Bonnie traipsed around the
brush until the right tree was located. She
stayed to see it cut and loaded and trucked
on down, seen here with her brother Dave
Cooper Jr as they brought the tree into Drain.
The tree will be set up on the main
drag by the south Rays parking lot and
decorated by donors and City crew.
The Drain Chamber of Commerce is
sponsoring an extravaganza of Christmas
events, starting with the Tree Lighting on
December 2nd.
The Yoncalla Beautification
Project in cooperation with the
Yoncalla local businesses is work-
ing to present a Christmas theme
in Yoncalla. The Christmas theme
consists mainly of green and red
lights on the businesses.
At the time of this writing the
local businesses participating in
the project are: Jeremy McDaniel
Auto Repair; Eagle Valley Supply
(Hardware and Auto Parts); City
Hall; Main Street Espresso; United
States Post Office; Yoncalla Food
Center; Cutting Edge Real Estate;
KD Performance Transmission;
(Formally) Yoncalla Feed Store;
The Yoncalla Library; Yoncalla
High School; Yoncalla Elemen-
tary School; Yoncalla Deli; Why
Not Tavern; Yoncalla Fire Station;
Yoncalla Community Center; All
Hands Interpreting Services; and
the Church of Christ.
These local businesses and es-
tablishments have a lot to offer
the people of our Small Commu-
nity. Shopping close to home saves
time, money, and gas. Please sup-
port these local business.
Mayor :
Linda McCollum
Council Position #1: Rob Wright
Council Position #2: DeeDee Murphy
Council Position #3: Chuck Miller
Council Position #4: Allen Teitzel
Council Position #5: Rich Patten
Council Position #6: Debby Turner
Council Meeting: 12/04/23 7:15pm
Cottage Grove
Mayor: Candace Solesbee
Councilor Ward 1: Chalice Savage
Councilor Ward 2: Jon Stinnett
Councilor Ward 3: Dana Merryday
Councilor Ward 4: Greg Ervin
Councilor:
Mike Fleck
Councilor:
Alex Dreher
Council Meeting;: 12/11/23 - 7:00pm
County State & Federal
Douglas County Commisioners:
Tom Kress(Chair) Tim Freeman
Chris Boice
Jennifer Miller
Lane County Commissioners:
Dist 1: Ray Ceniga Dist 2: David Lovall
Dist 3: Laurie Trieger Dist 4: Pat Farr
Dist 5: Heather Buch
Oregon House Representative:
District 02:
Virgle Osborne
Oregon State Senator:
District 1:
David Brock Smith
U.S. Senate Oregon:
Jeff Merkley
Ron Wyden
U.S House of Representatives:
District 4: Val Hoyle
Secretary of State:
LaVonne Griffin-Valade
Attorney General: Ellen Rosenblum
Governor: Tina Kotek
Vice-President: Kamala Harris
President:
Joe Biden
It is important to know your repre-
sentation in your State, Districts and
Municipalities. REMEMBER it is vital to
your freedoms to vote.If you would like to
have your own towns municipal officers
listed please send title & names only to
citydesk@ndherald.com