FEBRUARY 24, 2017, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A3
Caregiver support group Elks give back
organizing in Salem
Meadow Creek Village,
an assisted living community
located at 3988 12th Street
Cutoff SE in Salem, will be
hosting a monthly support
group for family members
and caregivers of older loved
ones. The meetings will take
place at the community on
the fourth Monday of each
month at 6 p.m. Compli-
mentary respite care will be
available for loved ones dur-
ing the meetings.
Helping Hands Support
Group was created in re-
sponse to the weight of re-
sponsibility that caregivers
experience. Helping Hands
meets monthly to give care-
givers the opportunity to
share stories, ask questions
and relax with others who
understand what they’re go-
ing through.
Each month will feature
a new topic that’s relevant to
caregivers’ challenges. Often,
a local expert from the com-
munity will share insightful
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presentation and lead discus-
sions on the topic. Family
members can call Meadow
Creek Village each month to
see what the next Helping
Hands topic will be. Infor-
mation on the month’s topic
will also be available on the
community’s website and
Facebook page.
Helping Hands gives care-
givers the chance to fi nd the
compassionate support they
need to provide the best care
for their loved ones. All meet-
ings are free and open to the
public. For more information
or to RSVP, please contact
the Meadow Creek Village
Business Offi ce Manager at
503-375-9732 or visit www.
MeadowCreekSeniorLiving.
com.
Submitted
Rev. Curt McCormack of the Keizer Community Food Bank. Bryanna Duke and Adrienne Chris-
tian of Liberty House and Dave Salisbury, exalted leader of the Keizer Elks Lodge.
The Keizer Elks Lodge,
through a Elks National
Foundation Gratitude Grant,
recently gave donations to
two local non-profi ts.
The Keizer Community
Food Bank received $1,000.
The food bank relies on do-
nations from individuals,
businesses and benevolent
organizations. For every dol-
lar donated, $3 of food can be
purchased for the food bank.
Liberty House, which pro-
vides free medical assessment
and support to children who
are victims of abuse and ne-
glect, also received $1,000 was
donated to Adrienne Chris-
tian and Bryanna Duke of
Liberty House.
Black student dropout rate
spotlighted at SKSB meeting
1210 State St, Salem
503.362.2194
2606 Liberty St, Salem
503.689.1082
By HERB SWETT
Of the Keizertimes
The dropout problem,
especially involving African-
American students, took
up much of Salem-Keizer
School Board meeting Tues-
day, Feb. 14.
While it was not an action
item, the board heard several
comments from the audi-
ence, largely calling for the
Community School Out-
reach Coordinator to expand
from its focus on English
Language learners to become
involved with the problems
of black students.
“We need to institution-
alize support for African-
American students,” was one
of the comments from Phil
Decker of Salem, principal
of Four Corners Elementary
School.
Benny Williams of Salem,
president of the Salem-Keiz-
er branch of the National
Association for the Advance-
ment of Colored People, said
the district was making prog-
ress “but at a snail’s pace.”
He observed that dropouts
occur because students feel
disengaged.
Will Collins of Salem, a
classifi ed employee and for-
mer student of the district,
who has a minority back-
ground, said the disengage-
ment led to his absentees and
suspension.
On a related matter, sev-
eral representatives of the Sa-
lem-Keizer Education Asso-
ciation spoke of the SKEA’s
affi rmation that it is an inclu-
sive union whose objective is
to protect all students’ rights.
One of them noted that Or-
egon leads the United States
in per capita hate incidents.
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In other business, the
board
approved
several
grants, the largest of which
was $2,408,849 from the Or-
egon Department of Educa-
tion to ensure that students
in schools with high per-
centages of poverty meet the
challenging state academic
standards.
Other grants from ODE
are $21,218 for trainings and
activities involving students
who have disabilities, $20,700
for other student disability
matters, and $1,000 for ca-
reer and technical student
organizations involving Mc-
Nary High School and Grant
Community School. The re-
maining grants are $15,000
from the Northwest Health
Foundation Fund for physi-
cal activity programs before,
during, and after school, for
Keizer Elementary School
and seven other schools; and
$1,785 to provide supplies
for the 2017 Eagle Feather
Graduation Celebration.
Board members praised
the work of Mary Paulson,
who is resigning as chief of
staff of the district to become
deputy executive director of
the Oregon School Boards
Association. Her successor
is Linda Myers of Keizer,
whose title will be director
of strategic initiatives.
Myers comes from the
Silver Falls School District,
where she was director of
curriculum and instruction
for 10 years. In the preced-
ing 10 years, she taught in the
Salem-Keizer district.
Personnel actions ap-
proved at the meeting in-
volved three people in the
McNary attendance area.
Hired as temporary part-time
teachers were Sherrin Landis
at Claggett Creek Middle
School and Tracy Loumena
at Whiteaker Middle School.
Also at Claggett Creek, Me-
lissa Koenig was hired as a
fi rst-year probation full-time
teacher.
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