Page 2
North Douglas Herald
January 2024
January 1st, 2024
Volume 2, Issue #1
The North Douglas Herald Newspaper is
published once a month in Drain Oregon. The
North Douglas Herald is owned and operated
by Oregonians, published and printed in the
State of Oregon. It is our mission to bring the
news and information that our Readers will find
pertinent, useful and with some insight to our
common values and sensibilities.
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Free Papers can be found, upon availability, in all of
the following town’s and these fine establishments
Drain
Rays Food Place, 308 N 1st St
Country Cabin Coffee & Laundry, 438 W “B” Ave Hwy38
The Rose Bar, 413 Umpqua Hwy 38
Mildred Whipple Library, 205 W. “A” Ave
Drain Post Office, 228 W. “C” Ave
Yoncalla
Eagle Valley Supply, 2570 Eagle Valley Rd
Food Center & Deli, 2580 Eagle Valley Rd
Elkton
Arlene’s Cafe & General Store 14858 State HWY 38
Elkton Station 14940 State HWY 38
Riverbanks Speedy Mart 32841 State HWY 38
Reedsport
TRMF Smokes, 1898 Winchester Ave. US-101
Don’s Main Street Family Restaurant, 2115 US-101
Recreation Station, 1575 Winchester Ave US-101 S
Creative Mercantile, 392 Fir Ave
Lower Umpqua Library, 395 Winchester Ave.
Cottage Grove
Old Mill Farm Store, 327 South River Rd
Kwik Pik Market #2, 925 E Gibbs Ave
Daves Corner Market, 633 N 9th St
Dari Mart, 1200 E Main St
Cottage Market, 603 OR HWY-99
Medication Station, 1041 N Pacific HWY-99
Winchester Bay
Beck’s Winchester Bay Market, 245 8th St
Pelican Market, 75298 Pacific Coast HWY US-101
Oakland
Bart’s Oakland Market, 204 SE 1st St
Sutherlin
Kwik Pik Market & Deli, 551 W Central Ave
Smitty’s Food Mart & Deli, 1367W Central Ave
Center Market, 1230 W Central Ave
Center Market #32, 206 E Central Ave
S-Mart, 333 E Central Ave
Central Food Mart, 1021 E Central Ave
North Douglas Herald
PO Box 581
Drain OR 97435
541 221-3283
www.ndherald.com
Government
Editorial
2024. It’s hard to believe that a new
year has come and the old year is out. But
you better believe it because time marches
on, the old man retires and the new baby
is born. I guess that is the metaphor. As
hard as it might be to accept this passage
of time, it is important to look to that
future, but don’t forget the past - we have
to remember the lessons learned, the paths
taken and the memories made, so that we
can forge ahead with our hearts and minds
intact and engaged. C’mon 2024, let’s get
busy.
Speaking of time and old men and such,
it is to this editor’s chagrin that I can make
the big blunders on a few of the stories we
are reporting. Misspellings, grammar and
just plain typos are bad enough, but now I
find that sometimes the problem is in the
transport.
I would like to apologize to Bonnie
Pyles for inadvertently giving her a new
name. Bonnie is the owner of Exclusively
Bridal and is a prominent activist and
volunteer for many positions around
Drain and is on the Drain Chamber of
Commerce. Her name is not Ivy Bonnie
Pyles, it’s, of course, Bonnie Pyles. She
has been a great contributor to the North
Douglas Herald since we rolled out the
first issue back in September. Bonnie
texted us some wonderful pictures that we
published last month and she gave some
descriptions to accompany her photos.
At the end she reminded us “I’m Bonnie
Pyles”.
Well I’m sure it has happened to you
- Damn autocorrect! It came out Ivy on
the text and I thought “How thoughtful,
she has shared a little of herself”, and so I
made sure to add Ivy to front of all of her
credits, thinking I’m pretty sharp.
Well after the newspaper comes out,
I get a call and Bonnie says, “What makes
you think my name is Ivy?” Uh oh! Well
thankfully she is a good sport and has a
great sense of humor, but the next time
you see her, please don’t call her Ivy.
Thanks Bonnie I appreciate you.
And of course that wasn’t the only
boo boo I’ve made on these pages. But
we are trying to improve our system and
now have two proof reading stages., first
after editing and a second time when all
the pages are compiled. Thanks for all of
you who put up with our little mishaps and
blunders.
With the new year in front of us, I was
looking at all of the plans and intentions
that tend to take shape at the beginning
of the year. Does your desire to make a
new plan of action for the new year give
you an expectation of change or renewal?
New Years resolutions are notoriously
short lived, at least that is the reputation,
if not the expectation. Why is that? We
don’t have the fortitude or attitude to
follow through with the shortcomings or
misgivings we have spotlighted so clearly
at the beginning of the year. Human
nature. That is what we fight to overcome.
Complaisance and defeat, that is the
obstacle, so that we can follow our dreams
and continue to step forward in faith.and
in perseverance. I know the odds aren’t
with us, but let’s go ahead and make some
resolutions and try again. Rome wasn’t
built in a day and we can pick up where
we left off and forge on ahead and make
some changes needed.
In my travels these last few months,
I’ve had the pleasure of visiting the towns
and cities across North Douglas and
South Lane counties. I have visited many
businesses and business owners as well
as various city officials, and it strikes me
Know your local Representatives!
Drain
that some communities are thriving and
vibrant with business and citizen activities
and projects. We are all, pretty much in
the same economie situation but there
is a definite disparity in the flavor and
hospitality across the municipalities.
Digging deeper into the successes of
cities like Reedsport and Sutherlin, even
small towns like Oakland and Yoncalla,
I’m finding some common themes.
First of all, I believe solid and positive
leadership that is forward looking, is a
definite anchor to meeting future goals.
It’s a cliche, thinking out of the box, but
it is the best description of the mindset
needed to figure out the tangled web
of good living conditions verses the
economic and cultural pitfalls obstructing
us. Good leaders can do, not only this,
but also lead and motivate people and
groups of people towards civic action and
community building.
The second notion that comes to mind,
is the citizens and residents. The more that
citizens are involved in the conversations
of change and improvements, the
larger and faster those changes and
improvements will take place. The cities
and towns that incorporate and promote
their citizen groups and committees to find
the needs and wants and wishes of their
townsfolk, benefit greatly from the insight
and diversity and hard work. People do for
their communities. Good city government
does not work to consolidate the vision of
the few, instead it will listen and learn and
lead and work with those good folks who
are the backbone of the community.
A third factor is business. Business
needs to flourish if a community is going to
prosper. There is a problem keeping good
businesses in town if there isn’t incentive
for them to stay. The biggest incentive is
profit. A business cannot survive without
profit. It’s a cycle we have seen in our
region over and over. Populations dwindle
and the businesses fail or move away and
it spirals down. It is in the best interest
of the cities and towns that they have
a thriving business community. When
business thrives, then employment goes
up and with it, the economy. Business
brings jobs and jobs bring people and
people make communities.
Some examples of city programs that
are really supporting business activities
are the Oregon Main Street Program
and Urban Renewal projects. I believe
the vision and leadership of cities like
Reedsport and Sutherlin, have leveraged
an upward momentum that is working
with great strides towards economic and
resource improvement and reversing the
blight and erosion in their towns.
Vision, Goals, Collaboration and
Teamwork. If you see a need in your
community, consider volunteering. If you
find your city government is petty or out
of step, consider running for office or find
someone with character to support for
office. Someone that has some vision and
common goals of the community. Join a
committee and let your voice be heard
over the naysayers, the negative Nancy’s
and the Drama Queens. If you don’t do it
, who will?
Remember that citizens have the
power to govern themselves and they do it
best when they work together. This is the
United States of America, be sure to use
your awesome power of the VOTE, Not
sparingly but with foresight and strength
of character.
Happy New Year 2024
- Rusty Savage
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:01/08/24 6pm
Yoncalla
Mayor: Kathleen Wertz
Councilors: Dan Wagoner
Gene Vroman
Harold Gilpin
Bryce Wertz
City Administrator: Jennifer Bragg
Council Meeting: 01/09/24, 6pm
Elkton
Mayor: Daniel Burke
Council President: Joan Smith
Council Members:
Kim Moore
Dan Shepherd
Sandra Galli
Public Works Supervisor: Gary Trout
Council Meeting:01/11,/24, 8:30am
Oakland
Mayor:
Bette Keehley
Counselor: Jan Wier
Counselor: Kent Rochester
Counselor: Sky Ironplow
Counselor: Betty Tamm
Council Meeting: 01/09/24 7pm
Sutherlin
Mayor :
Michelle Sumner
Council President Debbie Hamilton
Councilor
Lisa Woods
Councilor
Joe Groussman
Councilor
Larry Whitaker
Councilor
Shawn Smalley
Councilor
Gary Dagel
City Manager
Jerry Gillham
Council Meeting: 01/08/24 7:15pm
Reedsport
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: 01/08/24 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;: 01/08/24 - 7:00pm
01/22/24 - 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 representation
in your State, Districts and Municipalities. RE-
MEMBER 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