4 A
❘
SATURDAY EDITION
❘ OCTOBER 29, 2016
Siuslaw News
P.O. Box 10
Florence, OR 97439
NED HICKSON , EDITOR
❘ 541-902-3520 ❘
EDITOR @ THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM
Opinion
E XTRAORDINARY P EOPLE
Sky’s the limit for Melanie Heard
C ATHERINE J. R OURKE
For the Siuslaw News
_____________
Melanie Heard believes in reach-
ing for the stars. For her it began at
age 2, when she tap-danced with a
life-size Raggedy Andy doll and con-
tinued waltzing into a career that
involved dancing, singing, acting and
directing.
“I was weaned on the arts,” she
said. “They are and always have been
a part of who I am.”
Heard’s passion for the performing
arts became instilled by her parents,
who founded the Poison Pen Players,
a murder-mystery theater company.
By 14, the southern California native
was performing pirouettes with the
Joffrey Ballet in New York. She
received a full scholarship to the
Kirov Ballet School in Washington,
D.C., and joined Ballet West in Utah.
Heard went on to musical theater,
directing and choreographing more
than 60 shows and earning an
American College Theatre Festival
Meritorious Achievement Award for
Outstanding Choreography. But kids
were her calling, so she earned her
master’s degree and taught first-
graders in Los Angeles, where she
was named “Teacher of the Year.”
“I realized that working with kids
in the arts was my destiny,” she said.
“The sparkle I see in children’s eyes
when they step out onto the big stage
is magical.”
Heard and her husband, Chris,
moved to Florence in 2009 to reside
near her retired parents and for
“a better quality of life” for her
daughter, Sabrina.
“Florence is a fantastic
place,” she said. “Natural
beauty, friendly people, no
traffic… I feel truly blessed to
live here.”
But, fulfilling her dream to
provide high quality arts edu-
cation for local children would
require reaching for the stars.
Armed with a team of volun-
teers and some grant funding,
Heard
established
the
Children’s
Repertory
of
Oregon Workshops (CROW)
in 2011 with her slogan “The
Sky’s the Limit.”
She recalls building sets in
her driveway in the pouring
PHOTO BY CATHERINE ROURKE
rain. With a tremendous Melanie Heard inspires kids to “reach
amount of fundraising, grant for the stars” at CROW.
writing and community sup-
port, she transformed CROW
through the performing arts, summer
into a nonprofit organization. In 2015
camps and classes.
an anonymous investor purchased the
“We believe the arts should be
current center with CROW’s commit-
free,”
said Melanie. “CROW is dif-
ment to repay the debt.
ferent
from 90 percent of all other
“This community is so giving and
youth
theater organizations in the
we are blessed to have so many peo-
nation
in
that we do not charge chil-
ple supporting the arts,” Heard said.
dren
to
participate
in our main stage
“I am deeply grateful for the team of
musicals.
Last
summer
CROW pro-
amazing volunteers and the support
vided
$6,000
in
scholarships
to chil-
of our wonderful parents, local busi-
dren
who
would
not
have
been
able to
nesses and community members who
attend
summer
camp.”
made CROW possible.”
CROW’s next main stage produc-
CROW recently opened its new
tion
is a musical adaptation of “The
Center for the Performing Arts with a
Addams
Family.” Participants, rang-
mission “to build character, provide
ing
from
ages 4 to 22-plus, audition
constructive educational activities
like
any
professional production.
and shape responsible young adults”
Transcending silly costumes and
goofy lines, children’s theater now
offers surprising drama, bolder
scripts and even powerful entertain-
ment along with its trademark come-
dy.
“I like to think of CROW as adult
theater — with kids,” Heard said. “It
teaches them the courage to stand on
a stage instead of hiding behind
phones or a Facebook persona. It has
the power to shape their lives by
building character and self-esteem.
They have to prepare, practice, create
the part, dress the part and act the
part.”
Think of it as a fun boot camp for
developing life skills. The stage pro-
vides kids with the perfect platform
for the bravado to learn from their
mistakes and even laugh at them-
selves. It expands their horizons and
self-perceptions as they strive for
excellence.
“CROW’s educational philosophy
is to encourage kids to reach for the
stars,” Heard said. “It’s important
that children learn they can achieve
whatever they set their minds to with
dedication, drive and commitment.
Nothing teaches that better than the
arts.”
The applause from one successful
performance can instill self-confi-
dence in a kid for life. According to a
study at UCLA’s Graduate School of
Education, youth participation in the
arts significantly improves academic
performance, lowers drop-out rates
and increases participation in com-
munity service.
“Art creates freedom,” Heard said.
“It allows a child to blossom into a
well-rounded, contributing member
of society. It forces us to see humani-
ty for what it really is, fostering
acceptance, understanding and love
— things our world needs more of.”
But CROW still has a long way to
go. Melanie and her team have set
repaying the investor as their top pri-
ority through fundraisers, business
sponsorships and donations.
Additional construction projects
await completion, and Melanie hopes
to build a financial cushion for future
arts programming “so the focus
remains on the kids.”
The next fundraiser takes place
this weekend, through Oct. 31, with
the Scare-CROW Haunted Maze as
the center at 3120 Highway 101 turns
into a terrifying haunted house.
For details, visit www.crowkids
.com.
As CROW’s artistic director,
Heard receives no salary and every
dime goes to the kids. For her, it’s a
labor of love and a passion born out
of her own childhood.
“What drives me is seeing the kids’
faces and knowing we’re making
such a difference in their lives,” she
said. “The most important thing in
life is to follow your bliss.”
Catherine J. Rourke is an award-
winning journalist, author and book
editor who teaches creative writing
at the Florence Regional Arts
Alliance (FRAA).
Email CJReditor@gmail.com.
LETTERS
I have voted
One of the greatest things is that Oregon has
is mail-in ballots for elections. I just received
mine and filled it out.
Now I do not have to listen to any more
speeches from the any candidate or the pundits
on TV.
I have voted, which is a wonderful feeling in
our troubled times.
Win Jolley
Florence
Bush signed NAFTA
According to the Washington Post Fact
Checker report (May 9, 2016), “Bill Clinton
was certainly a supporter of NAFTA who
pushed approval through Congress. But it was
negotiated and signed by President George
H.W. Bush. Moreover, more Republicans than
Democrats voted for the deal, as the trade pact
was vehemently opposed by labor unions. One
key ally for Clinton was then-House Minority
Whip (and later House speaker) Newt Gingrich
(R-Ga.), who is said to be on Trump's list of
possible running mates.
“NAFTA was a successor to a free-trade pact
with Canada. Bush had viewed NAFTA as a
political opportunity, an achievement for his
reelection campaign. He initialed the deal on
Aug. 12, 1992, before the GOP convention, and
then formally signed it in December 1992, after
he had lost the election to Clinton.
Clinton had supported the pact during the
presidential campaign but said he wanted to
negotiate side agreements with Mexico con-
cerning enforcement of labor and environmen-
USPS# 497-660
tal laws. He didn’t pursue ratification in
Congress until after those agreements were
reached in August 1993 — but the deals were
denounced by labor and environmental groups
as too weak. So Clinton did not negotiate
NAFTA, nor did he sign it.
But he did put his political prestige on the
line to get it approved by Congress — even as
two top Democrats, House Majority Leader
Richard Gephardt (Mo.) and House Majority
Whip David Bonior (Mich.), opposed it.
“In the House, NAFTA passed; 132
Republicans and 102 Democrats voted in favor
of it. The Senate approved it, with the backing
of 34 Republicans and 27 Democrats.”
Al Anderson
Florence
Bait and switch
One of the many reasons that I enjoy the elec-
tion campaign season is because I’m always
fascinated by the marketing methods used by
the candidates. Having sold guitars, books and
even wasabi, I pay close attention to hopefully
garner some heads-up insights, and here is one
that truly stands out this year.
First, a spoiler alert: I’m a liberal Democrat
and I support Hillary Clinton. That said, I’d like
to draw everyone’s attention to the growing
strategy to elect a Republican Senate and House
“as a check on Hillary Clinton.”
This is a highly disingenuous tactic, because
I promise if we elect a “check on Hillary
Clinton” we are voting for gridlock plain and
simple — and four years from now the same
voices that urged us to put a check on Hillary
will be decrying the gridlock in Washington.
Our forefathers
had wisdom
In the last two weeks I have had conversation
with three different individuals regarding the
Electoral College vs. the popular vote by the
people deciding the outcome of our national
elections.
In each situation, the person I was speaking
with said they had always thought “we the peo-
ple should decide” the next president and not
the college. In this country, at least so far, usu-
ally the situation gathering the most popular
votes is the winner of the contest.
But by the grace of God our forefathers had
the wisdom way back then to institute the
Electoral College system to elect our president.
Had they not, as our country’s population grew,
five of the most heavily populated states would
be able to dictate to the rest of our 45 states.
They aniticpated this and what a disaster it
would be, thus created this safeguard.
Over the years, I’ve found too many of my
fellow citizens are not familiar with the reason
for the Electoral College. For the sake of our
country hopefully it will continue to be the
deciding factor.
Tony Cavarno
Florence
Dissolve HWD
There are many items on the election ballot
for Nov. 8. One that particularly interests
Heceta Water is a measure that concerns the
operation of our water district.
Since the May 2013 election, there have been
two water districts housed in the same building.
The Heceta Water District (HWD) board of
commissioners resolved to turn over the reins of
the district to the “new” water company, Heceta
Water People’s Utility District (HWPUD),
effective June 30, 2014.
At that time, the board of commissioners
turned all of their property and most of its assets
over to HWPUD.
HWD was not dissolved then because of the
complexity of the funding of a bond issue that
had been issued in 1996 to pay for the filtration
plant that was constructed. That bond was paid
off this past July.
That means it is time to dissolve HWD.
The ballot title is “Heceta Water District
Dissolution” which asks “Shall the Heceta
Water District be dissolved and all assets and
liabilities transferred to the Heceta Water
People's Utility District?”
By voting YES, you are agreeing with the
board of directors who has determined that it is
in the public interest to dissolve HWD and
transfer the remaining assets and liabilities to
HWPUD.
Vickie Kennedy
HWPUD Office Manager
Copyright 2016 © Siuslaw News
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WHERE TO WRITE
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Newspaper Association and Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association. Periodicals postage paid at Florence, Ore.
Postmaster, send address changes to: Siuslaw News, P.O. Box 10, Florence, OR 97439; phone 541-997-3441; fax
541-997-7979. All press releases may be sent to PressReleases@TheSiuslawNews.com.
John Bartlett
Jenna Bartlett
Ned Hickson
Susan Gutierrez
Cathy Dietz
Ron Annis
Jeremy Gentry
Ask people to actually vote for gridlock so
when the Republican-led House and Senate
accomplishes absolutely nothing they can shrug
and say, “Hey, it’s not our fault. You voters are
the ones who did this.”
Randal Matthies
Florence
Pres. Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington, D.C. 20500
Comments: 202-456-1111
Switchboard: 202-456-1414
FAX: 202-456-2461
TTY/TDD Comments: 202-456-6213
www.whitehouse.gov
Gov. Kate Brown
160 State Capitol
900 Court St.
Salem, OR 97301-4047
Governor’s Citizens’ Rep.
Message Line 503-378-4582
www.oregon.gov/gov
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden
221 Dirksen Senate Office Bldg
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-5244
541-431-0229
www.wyden.senate.gov
FAX: 503-986-1080
Email:
Sen.ArnieRoblan@state.or.us
U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley
313 Hart Senate Office Bldg
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-3753/FAX: 202-228-3997
541-465-6750
State Rep. Caddy McKeown
(Dist. 9)
900 Court St. NE
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1409
Email:
rep.caddymckeown@state.or.us
U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio (4th Dist.)
2134 Rayburn HOB
Washington, DC 20515
202-225-6416/ 800-944-9603
541-269-2609/ 541-465-6732
www.defazio.house.gov
State Sen. Arnie Roblan (Dist. 5)
900 Court St. NE - S-417
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1705
West Lane County Commissioner
Jay Bozievich
125 E. Eighth St.
Eugene, OR 97401
541-682-4203
FAX: 541-682-4616
Email:
Jay.Bozievich@co.lane.or.us