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