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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 20, 2016)
SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 20, 2016 ASPIRE calls for volunteer mentors January is National Mentoring Month, and the Oregon ASPIRE Program invites Oregonians to volun- teer to mentor middle and high school students in com- munities across the state in achieving their college and career goals beyond high school. The call for action is part of a national initiative lead by MENTOR, the National Mentoring Partnership, encouraging people from all over the nation to get involved in their own com- munities by volunteering and mentoring with youth. Administered by the Office of Student Access and Completion within the Higher Education Coordinating Commission, ASPIRE offers training and opportunities for adult Oregonians to become youth mentors. Beginning with just four pilot schools in 1998, ASPIRE has expanded to more than 150 sites across Oregon since June 2015, with tremendous volunteer support. “This program is funda- mentally run on the sheer power of community member volunteers. There are so many students who really benefit from having one-on- one conversations about what they want to do after high school,” said Lori Ellis, ASPIRE Outreach Administrator. “It helps them put their future paths into perspective , so that they can see what it will take to get them to where they want to go. “ASPIRE is a key corner- stone to these students hav- ing those kinds of conversa- tions.” Today’s students may not have the good fortune to have someone to help them figure out what to do after high school, let alone the myriad of education and training options. If you have a desire to help students explore career or college options, admissions and financial aid, ASPIRE is for you. Become a trained and supportive adult volun- teer mentor and work one- on-one with students throughout the year Siuslaw High School needs more people to work with its students. It takes three sessions (about an hour each) to train volunteers. First is an overview fol- lowed by learning about and applying the resources and materials and shadowing vet- eran volunteers as they work with students. Once a mentor is assigned students, they continue to work with them through graduation. All local seniors enrolled in ASPIRE have mentors, but half of area juniors, most its sophomores and all area freshmen need mentors. Contact Steve Moser, ASPIRE coordinator and Bou Kilgore, ASPIRE Team Leader, at aspire@Siuslaw .k12.or.us, or call Siuslaw High School at 541-997- 3448. Commissioners unanimous on performance audit decision The Lane County Board of Commissioners recently voted unanimously to approve the creation of a new independent Performance Audit Co- mmittee. Three members of the pub- lic will make up the majority of the committee. Two com- missioners will also sit on the committee. The board of commission- ers is expected to discuss the selection process for the public members of the committee at its Tuesday, Jan. 26 meeting. The new Performance Audit Committee replaces the tem- porary audit committee that met six times in 2015 and rec- ommended the new committee structure. Commissioners also approved the temporary audit committee’s recommendation for a new set of policies for the performance audit program. “Having a citizen-majority audit committee watch over the auditor and advise the Board of Commissioners will help ensure the auditor is inde- pendent,” said Commissioner Pat Farr. “The committee is also responsible for making sure the program functions well.” A performance auditor reviews programs to provide fair information regarding the degree to which programs and services are effective. The aim is to improve the organization. The Board of Commissioners hired Shanda Miller as Lane County’s per- formance auditor in early 2015. The county hired its first performance auditor in 1986. The position was vacant between 2010 and 2015. In 2014, commissioners decided to bring back the performance auditor position. Policies for the performance audit function were last updated in 1986. The performance auditor’s priorities for the first half of 2016 are to review the finan- cial health of the county, review mental health services, and implement an anonymous hotline for county employees to report suspected fraud, waste and abuse. Deadlines for press releases and news items are by noon Mondays and Thursdays. Email them to: P RESS R ELEASES @T HE S IUSLAW N EWS . COM . S TAR SPANGLED GRATITUDE U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden thanks veterans, Oregon Coast Military Museum PHOTOS BY CHANTELLE MEYER/SIUSLAW NEWS B oard members and volunteers from the Oregon Coast Military Museum (from left) Bob Warner, Gene Wobbe, Don Drozdenko, Wayne Sharpe, Greg Freeze and Tom Benedict receive an American flag from U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden at the Town Hall Meeting at Siuslaw High School on Jan. 8. Wyden also presented a flag to the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) Florence Chapter No. 23. DAV Commander David “Skip” Stitt (inset) gives the audience a thumbs up before thanking Wyden for his efforts on veterans’ behalf. Wyden congratulated both groups for their work benefitting the American military, veterans and entire Florence com- munity. The flags Wyden presented flew over the Capitol. Most transfer stations now accepting credit, debit cards Lane County Waste Management is now accept- ing credit and debit cards at the majority of its solid waste transfer stations in Florence, Cottage Grove, Veneta, Oakridge, Creswell, Rattlesnake, Vida and Marcola. The large Glenwood transfer station that serves Eugene and Springfield is also accepting credit and debit cards. “Most people use credit or debit cards on a regular basis,” said Daniel Hurley, Waste Management Division manager. “Updating our sys- tems from a cash-only system will be more convenient for our customers and increase the level of service we offer.” There are seven small, rural transfer stations that do not have electricity and will con- tinue to accept only cash or checks. Those transfer stations are: McKenzie Bridge, Low Pass, Swisshome, Sharps Creek, London, Walton and Mapleton. The Florence disposal site is at 2820 Rhododendron Drive. It is open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Saturday. It can be reached at 541-997-6243. The Mapleton disposal site is at 13570 Highway 126. It is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays. It can be reached at 541-729-4787. For more information on Lane County Waste Managementfacilities, go to www.lanecounty.org/Departm ents/PW/WMD/Pages/Waste DisposalSitesIndex.aspx. WELLSPRING CLINIC OPEN HOUSE January 23, 2016 ~ 1-4pm 1845 HWY 126, Suite H Park Place (corner of Quince & 126) 2:00-2:30 Points of Grace presentation with Patricia 3:00-3:30 Open Q & A with Dr. Mark Sample Rose & Crown Apothecary Formulations We hope to see you for a lovely afternoon! 541-999-5083 your source for natural medicine Visit us online: www.TheSiuslawNews.com. Seacoast Entertainment Association proudly presents JESSE COOK January 29 7 pm (pre-concert talk 6:15) Florence Events Center Let Paul show you a new car or truck. Stop by today! Jesse Arnaud Cook is a Canadian guitarist, composer, and producer. Widely considered one of the most influential figures in nuevo flamenco music, he incorporates elements of flamenco rumba, jazz and many formsof world music into his work. 2150 Hwy. 101 • Florence (541) 997-3475 • 1-800-348-3475 Reserved Seating Tickets: $ 30 • Youth/Students Under 18: $ 10 Florence Events Center Box Office | 541-997-1994 | 715 Quince St. Buy Tickets Online! www.SEAcoastEA.org Thank You SEA Patrons and Sponsors for supporting this event and the Florence Community! CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK 12 A
