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.