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About North Douglas herald. (Drain Or) 2023-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 1, 2024)
North Douglas Herald October 2024 Page 3 ------ N Douglas & S Lane Community Page ------ OSP seizes 1/2 million Fentanyl-laced pill Douglas County, OR - An Oregon State Police trooper recently stopped 100 pounds of fentanyl-laced pills from making it to Portland. On Sept. 24, 2024, at about 1 p.m., an Oregon State Trooper stopped a vehicle for a traffic violation on Interstate 5 in Douglas County. Upon contact with the operator of the silver Volkswagen SUV, the trooper suspected possible criminal activity and received con- sent to search the vehicle. During the search, the trooper discovered and seized 100 pounds of fentanyl-laced pills – approxi- mately 450,000 individual doses – from inside the vehicle. The suspect acknowledged the pills were destined for Portland. Due to the large quantity of illegal substances seized, the suspect, Gustavo Alonso Franco Valenzuela (32) of Los Angeles (CA), was arrested and federally charged with delivery of a controlled substance. Continued from Page 2 Solar because the wind can easily blow it off. Light is able to forward scatter through a sparse coating, reaching the panel to produce electricity. It’s a different story when heavy snow accumulates, which prevents PV panels from generating power. Once the snow starts to slide, though, even if it only slightly exposes the panel, power generation is able to occur again.” “The majority of PV panels in the field today have frames, which tend to create localized stresses at the mounting points..... The absence of a frame allows the snow to slide off. With or without frames, though, it’s important to note that snow can actually help clean a PV module as it melts away. It’s similar to what happens to a car’s windshield: if the snow is allowed to Drain Civic Center Advisory Committee, Recruiting Members Working on Specific Community Usage Goals Good News for Yoncalla Beautification Projects Interested in becoming more involved in the Drain community? Consider joining the Civic Center Advisory Committee (CCAC)! The CCAC has three main goals: 1) Reduce the building’s electricity costs, 2) Minimize and/or remove barriers to community usage of the Civic Center space, 3) Increase the building’s emergency preparedness for the community, and 4) Create a welcoming, engaging, and usable space for all ages and abilities in our community. The CCAC has multiple projects we are working on, and we’d like to give our community an update on one recent decision by the Drain City Council. Since March 2024, the CCAC has recommended the Drain City Council begin updating the rental tables in the Civic Center. Our recommendation was to 1) Update the tables over 3 fiscal years, 2) Spend up to $2,000 on tables this fiscal year, 3) Purchase a mix of Lancaster made in USA 30”x72” rectangular tables, 60” round tables, and 48” round tables, 4) Begin by replacing only 1 cart’s worth of tables, and 5) Get community feedback on style and quality of the new tables before replacing all the tables. At the August Drain City Council meeting, the Council chose to ignore the CCAC’s recommendation. Instead, the Council chose to proceed with the City of Drain’s staff recommendation of purchasing ten 8’ and ten 6’ rectangular tables, spending approximately $2,500, purchasing a brand other than Lancaster (the new tables that have arrived are not made in USA), and surplus all 23 of the existing wood rectangular tables. The CCAC is disappointed in the Council’s decision and would like an explanation as to why the Council chose to make such a decision without explaining why, after months of research and detailed reasoning by the CCAC. We would like to get all community groups on the same page, and have community input on the new style, before more tables are ordered. The CCAC meets the first Thursday of every month at 6:15 PM in the Drain Civic Center meeting room. Our next meeting is Thursday, November 7. Or, send your suggestions to katr ina.johns08@gmail.com. Public involvement is welcome and encouraged at every meeting. -the Civic Center Advisory Committee The Yoncalla Beautification Committee recently was notified that its Federal non-profit status has been renewed. This allows tax deductible status for all donations and contributions made to the Committee. Mary Ellen Lasswell, Committee president, received confirmation of how the non-profit status benefits the community when she received a phone call from an anonymous donor pledging matching funds up to $5000 for community beautification projects. This pledge has the potential to become a $10,000 donation. Public donations are vital for the completion of Beau- tification Committee projects as the committee has no base financial support. At the October 24 meeting, Committee members conducted a brain-storming session to discuss proposed projects for the coming year. A current proposal is to in- crease the number of hanging flower baskets on Eagle Valley Road and Main Street. Metal posts for the baskets would be built by Yoncalla High School shop students. Another proposal is to update and replace signs listing services within Yoncalla. The Committee encourages attendance by anyone who has ideas for “improving the livability for our community while reflecting the pride of our small town.” Beautification Project meetings are regularly held the 24th of each month beginning at 6:00 p.m. at the Community Center. melt off, the windshield is left without a speck of debris. That’s because any dirt on the glass will bond with the snow, washing it away when the sun melts it off. The anti-soiling properties of snow inherently make solar panels cleaner and able to reach higher efficiencies.” Part of the design is to determine slope angles needed for contributing to the melt and slide effects of snow and even ice. And as far as weight , there are solar specialist, locally, who can use satellite imaging to zero in and determine the construction needed for installation. It is unlikely that there is any structural problem with the roof integrity and inspections are made in very early stage of design to determine specific installation requirements. As far as aesthetics, it is a plethora of style and characteristics available and the location is on the south side of the building, no neighbors to not like it. Compare the advantage to Diesel and it only takes a little scratching the surface to see problems and difficulties. To insure availability of fuel, expecially in the case of natural disasters, the ability to store additional diesel fuel on-site means that you can run the diesel generator for longer, in prolonged applications – this can be a major problem. When running a diesel generator for a longer than anticipated period of time, it’s important to ensure that the fuel supply is replenished. This means that not only will you need staff on-site to refuel the generator, or they will also have to make sure that diesel fuel deliveries make it on time. It’s important to prepare a contingency plan on who will be keeping the diesel generator properly fueled and that a diesel fuel delivery service is able to make it when you need it. This could be challenging in situations such as forest fire, earthquakes, flood, blizzards, and other bouts of inclement weather. For this sole reason, this is one of the biggest disadvantages when compared to a Solar Energy system. When the Diesel engine quits - no more power. A Solar Energy System with battery storage can continue powering the facility. With emissions regulations becoming increasingly more stringent, diesel generators are still at a disadvantage. Even though newer diesel generators run much cleaner when compared to the diesel generators of old, they still produce a thick, smoky, strong smelling exhaust. These emissions produced are toxic to both humans and animals and can even be fatal when inhaled in large quantities over Continued on Page 5 School is in Session Douglas County Male Prep Athlete of the Week: Hunter Vaughn, North Douglas Sport: Football. Positions: Running back, defensive end. Age: 17. Hobbies/Interests: Basketball, hunting, hanging out with friends. Favorite Athlete: Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State wide receiver. Performance: Scored seven touchdowns (four kickoff returns and three runs) and added a pair of two-point conversions in the first quarter of last week’s 88-38 win over Country Christian, setting an eight-man state record for most points (46) in a quarter. Finished with 450 all- purpose yards, 120 of them rushing. Yoncalla Elementary Receives Wellness Grant Yoncalla Elementary School was recently awarded $35,000 thanks to The Ford FamilyFoundation In- novation Grant. The grant funds specifically focus on building a “Building a Culture of Wellness” for all staff working with our preschool and elementary students. All staff were invited to share feedback through surveys and questionnaires prior to the grant submission. Staff identified the following activities as priority areas: fitness challenges, after school yoga, alternative health access, nutrition classes and community building events. Helgren said, “I wrote the grant because of the symbiotic relationship between a healthy, well supported staff and their ability to create transformational learning environments -my job as a leader is to thoughtfully care for my staff so they are well prepared to meet the complex needs of our learners.” Over the past 5 years Helgren has written several grants focusing on early childhood education, par- ent engagement, math and literacy practices and staff wellness. “Erin takes her job as a leader very seriously,” stated Yoncalla School District Superin- tendent Brian Berry. “Her passion for her students, staff, and com- munity is unmatched. That is just one of the reasons why we have seen a positive culture shift at the elementary school.” When focusing on the benefits of wellness in the workplace, the results tend to be increased pro- ductivity and stability, but if you take the time to de- velop an effective program that regularly supports the health of employees you are creating a culture of wellness that may lead to sustainable and long- term health for Yoncalla Elementary employees.
