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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 22, 2015)
6 A SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ SATURDAY, AUGUST 22, 2015 New food service hot topic at school board meeting B Y J ACK D AVIS Siuslaw News The eagerly anticipated report on the Siuslaw School District’s self-operating food service was presented to the board by recent- ly appointed Food Service Manager David Bitner during the Aug. 12 meeting. Bitner had members’ stom- achs growling with his descrip- tions of the coming school years’ proposed menu offerings. Pesto pizza with fresh Oregon tomatoes, fresh tomato and cucumber salad, all-you-want salad bars with up to 15 veggie choices and oven-fried chicken were just some of the all natural, made-from-scratch selections from the school’s September lunch menu. “We will be implementing scratch cooking, using raw and whole ingredients,” Bitner said. “We will use standardized recipes, which will allow us to have consistent products throughout all three schools.” Bitner gave some examples of his healthy food resources. The district has partnered with Painted Hills Natural Beef from eastern Oregon. They raise hor- mone free, antibiotics free, grass-fed beef. Other partner- ships include Darigold Dairy, a Northwest cooperative owned by more than 500 dairy farmers. Fresh vegetables will be as locally sourced as possible. Bitner said he has agreements with 50 local farmers, and his strategy is to reach outside the immediate area only when he has to. But he assured the board that no fresh produce would come from farther than Oregon or Washington. Just-in-time food is another priority for Bitner. “With a typical heat and serve situation like many food service companies do,” Bitner explained, “all the food for 400 elementary school students is put in a warmer waiting for the stu- dents to come.” He said with students coming through at staggered lunch breaks, the food in the warmers may sit there for more than one and a-half hours before the last students go through the lunch line. “We will be cooking food just-in-time,” Bitner said. “For example, if the first lunch service is at noon, that food will go into the hot well at 11:50 a.m. While that group is being served, we will be cooking for the next group who will come through at 12:30 p.m. Their food will be ready at 12:20 p.m. That is how you have fresh hot food for every child.” It won’t all be foie gras and canapés. There will still be hot- dogs, hamburgers and nachos, but they will be made with hand- made beef patties, all-beef franks and natural beef and fresh-made salsa in the nachos. Vegetarian alternatives will be offered on a daily basis, as well as gluten-free versions of most menu items. Possibly the biggest surprise of all is that the new program will not increase the cost of lunches. Siuslaw School District still charges less than what the federal government allows for lunches. __________ Follow Jack on Twitter @SNews_Jack. Email him at jack@thesiuslawnews.com. Roundup from 1A “Our attendees graciously donated 3,832 pounds of food for the Florence Food Share program,” Dummer said. Florence Food Share Director Norma Barton said that the Broncos “kept rolling in” when they delivered food on Saturday. “It was amazing, and the amount was amazing. Last year they brought in just over 400 pounds, so this was com- pletely unexpected. We’re overflowing right now,” Barton said. She added, “And they did- n’t just bring canned food — they went to our website to see exactly what we need, like chili, tuna, milk and eggs. And they brought it. It’s just so wonderful.” “Not too bad for a group of people who love a specific body style of vehicle that ceased production over 35 years ago,” Dummer said. The NWBR will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Ford Bronco in 2016. “With high hopes, we plan on having the biggest atten- dance yet. We want to contin- ue to grow this event with the help of Florence,” Dummer said. For more information on the NWBR, go to www.north westbroncoroundup.com. __________ Follow Chantelle on Twitter @SNews_Chantelle. Email her at cmeyer@thesiuslawnews.com. A LICE B RAUER C HRISTIAN P RESCHOOL BACK TO SCHOOL OPEN HOUSE PERS from 1A “Even our road secretary at 12 hours a week, 52 weeks a year, is over 600 hours,” he informed the council. “This is not an easy subject,” Mayor Rebecca Ruede said. “At the mayors’ conference, we talked about this. It’s like a buzz topic among a number of small cities.” Prior to 2011, the city had two people on PERS. Then the city hired Cardinal Services of Coos Bay to provide part-time employment services. Also in 2011, the council decided the city could balance its budget by eliminating the city planner position and outsource contract planning. “This was due 100 percent to the downturn in the economy,” School from 1A AVID is a nationwide pro- gram designed to help teachers better prepare students for col- lege or post-high school careers. The district has been run- ning the AVID program in the elementary school for several years, but a $25,000 Nike School Innovation Fund grant received last spring will allow the program to include the middle and high schools. “Our staff is working hard to ensure that all of our students leave Mapleton ready to be an active member of society by having the skills needed to continue their education or begin a career,” O’Mara said. On Wednesday, Sept. 9, the district will host its annual open house barbecue from 6 to 7:30 p.m. The event is open to students, parents and the com- munity at large. “We will gather in the Mapleton High School gym to meet all of our amazing staff,” O’Mara said. There will also be a presen- tation by Lane County Sheriffs Ruede said. “Small cities, like Dunes City, that do not have a tax base were especially hard hit. We have to balance our budget.” With the economy recovering, Dunes City may once again be able to offer part-time employees a PERS benefit package. “We have loyal employees and we see the value of their tenure. We want our staff to know that we value them very much. So we are starting to talk about benefits,” Ruede said. “The council has decided that we need to revisit the situation about putting our valued employees back on PERS. The budget is still tight but we have asked our city administrator to crunch some numbers and give us our options.” Hilden said, “There really is no option around PERS and no exception to PERS. I’m working on a matrix of payroll options and I will present that to the council at our September meet- ing.” In other business, Hilden gave an update on the status of the emergency generator. He said the problem with the land encroachment issue from the location of the generator and propane tanks appears close to being resolved. Due to space restrictions, Hilden said the city would need to purchase four 120-gallon propane tanks instead of one 500-gallon tank. He said the four-tank array would provide enough fuel to power the emer- gency generator for approxi- mately seven days. Concerns over councilor Ken Platt’s offer to “piggyback” two more tanks onto the city’s pur- Office on the district’s new Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate (ALICE) training being implemented this year. After the welcome back meeting in the gym, families are asked to go to each stu- dent’s classroom to visit. “We end the evening with a free barbecue in front of our middle school building. We look forward to seeing every- one,” O’Mara said. For more information, con- tact Mapleton School District $118$/)81'5$,6(5 6DWXUGD\6HSWHPEHUWK DPWRSP &RPHMRLQWKHIXQDQGZDONIURPWKH1RUWK-HWW\ SDUNLQJORWWR'ULIWZRRG6KRUHV /HDVKHGGRJVDUHZHOFRPH chase to bring the total order to six tanks in order to take advan- tage of free shipping raised con- cerns of ethics violations by councilor Maurice Sanders. “I’m just thinking that from the ethics commission stand- point we’ve got a problem with that,” he said. “We have a signif- icant problem with that. As much as I’d like to say yes, that’s a great deal, ethically we can’t do it, in my opinion. You might want to call the ethics commis- sion before you go forward.” The council suggested Hilden research to see if the city could buy all six tanks and then sell the two extra tanks to Platt, avoiding the potential ethics problem. __________ Come see what the buzz is all about! Meet all of our staff while you check out our classrooms and playground! All families are welcomed! Wednesday, August 26th 6:00 - 8:00pm 2100 Spruce Street 541-603-1562 Alice Brauer Christian Preschool Follow Jack on Twitter @SNews_Jack. Email him at jack@thesiuslawnews.com. at 541-268-4312. __________ Follow Jack on Twitter @SNews_Jack. Email him at jack@thesiuslawnews.com. Florence City Wide Garage Sale September 11-13, 2015 presented by the Florence Area Chamber of Commerce .&675DGLRZLOOEHWKHUHDOVRa x /LYHPXVLF x *ODVVIORDWKXQW x 5HIUHVKPHQWV x 6DQGVFXOSWLQJ 3LFNXSUHJLVWUDWLRQIRUPVIRU VSRQVRUVDQGGRQDWLRQV DWWKH)ORUHQFH+DELWDWIRU+XPDQLW\2IILFH +LJKZD\ $OOGRQDWLRQVXVHGWREXLOGKRPHV How To Participate Board The fee to participate is $15. An ad for the City Wide Garage Sale with a map of all participation sales will be published in the Siuslaw News on September 9th and 12th. The event will also be listed on several yard sale websites. Because of print deadlines, the registration deadline is 5pm September 2nd. from 1A Scott said the community was concerned about the board’s actions during that time and that people had approached him with ques- tions concerning conflicts of interest and ethics. “I think the thought is that we need a successful fire dis- trict and we need to work to help the chief create that,” Carnahan said. He maintained that he would be able to work with Langborg as board president. Boardmember Woody Woodbury made the motion to elect a new president. Scott seconded. Board members Lori Gates and Tony Phillips also voted in favor of the new election. Carnahan abstained. A majority vote elected Scott to be the new president. __________ Follow Chantelle on Twitter @SNews_Chantelle. Email her at cmeyer@thesiuslawnews.com. <RXZLOODOVRUHFHLYHWZRRI¿FLDO&LW\:LGH*DUDJH6DOHVLJQVDVZHOODVDWLSVKHHWRQKRZWRKDYHD great sale. Please post signs only on private property with the owner’s consent. Posting signs on City utility poles, street or signal light poles, and median strips is against the municipal code. Additional maps will be available at the Florence Visitors Center, Siuslaw News, Banner Bank, Laurel Bay Gardens and Mon Ami. Name ____________________________________Phone____________________________ Address___________________________________Email____________________________ Subdivision name (if any) ____________________________________ Dates (CIRCLE): Times: Friday 9/11 ___________ 15-word description: ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ Saturday 9/12 ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ Sunday 9/13 ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ Date, times and address are in addition to the 15 words. *Valid for new patients only. Call for details. Expires 8/31/2015 Bring or mail form and your check for $15 to Siuslaw News PO Box 10, Florence, OR 97439 Or Call 541.997.3441 6LJQ8SRQOLQHDWZZZÀRUHQFHFKDPEHUFRP Deadline is September 2nd at 5pm to be included on the map.