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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (April 1, 2017)
SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ SATURDAY, APRIL 1, 2017 B Y D AVE R OBINSON Special to the Siuslaw News F ire drills are proven to save lives. On Dec. 1,1958, at Our Lady Of The Angels Catholic School, a school fire in Chicago claimed the lives of 92 children. The school was compli- ant with all the laws and safety practices at the time. One reason so many lives were lost was that students and teachers were trapped on the second floor and no one knew the best way out of the building. Since then, routine fire drills in every school across the country have taught children what to do when the alarm rings. When that happens, there is no time for instruction, debate or second- guessing. Every child in every school knows exactly what to do and where to go. As a result, there have been no school-fire-related fatalities in the United States for several decades. Make a dry run Sometime back, a tsunami drill was held in our local area. When the sirens sounded at the appointed time, hundreds of people made their way to high ground and to safe assembly points. Organizers claimed it was a resound- ing success because, just like the fire drills, participants will know exactly what to do when the real thing occurs. There is a reason (and a requirement) airlines go through those recitations before every take-off. You know the one, “Ladies and gentlemen, this is how a seatbelt works, and in the unlikely event of the loss of cabin pressure this mask will drop down…” Seasoned fly- ers always act bored and almost per- turbed that they must endure this one more time, but the truth is, those little briefings save lives. When there is an emergency landing, everyone already knows where the exits are, everyone knows how to open them and that there will be a big, inflatable slippery slide to safety. Passengers know to put their own mask on first, and then attend to the children and others around them. If a fire breaks out in your home in the middle of the night, does your fami- ly know the safest way to get out of the house? Do you have a designated assembly point outside so you know immediately when everyone is present and accounted for? It’s all about saving lives and minimizing injury. Fire drills and evacuation drills are all a part of your plan. You may have the most complete “kit” in your neighbor- hood, but if you haven’t taken the time to make a plan, your preparations may all be in vain. Backstreet Gallery gives call to artists COURTESY PHOTO An example of this year’s art challenge, a shoe creation by Backstreet artist Meredith Draper. Artists are invited to let their creative talents run wild in Backstreet Gallery’s 2017 Community Challenge Show. Pick up entry forms at the gallery, 1421 Bay St. Anything that can be worn on the feet is the basis for this fun art challenge. Shoes, flip- flops, skates, boots — a pair of anything that might be worn on the foot. Guidelines are on entry forms, and all media is accept- able, including paint, collage, glue, etc. The show will hang in the month of June. Entry forms are due May 15, but entries won’t be due until June 4. First Place winners of both 2-D and 3-D will receive a month-long display in November. Musician to perform house concert April 8 David Thomas Roberts will be appearing in concert as part of K a t h y Parsons’ h o u s e concert series on Saturday, April 8 at 7 p.m., in COURTESY PHOTO Florence David Robert at Sand- Thomas p i n e s West. Roberts is considered to be a leading authority on rag- time piano and is also a post- modernist, Neo-Romantic composer, pianist, painter and poet. Born in 1955, Roberts began composing, painting and writing at age eight. His first serious composi- tions date from 1971 and reflect the influence of com- posers Frederic Chopin, Erik Satie, Scott Joplin and Charles Ives. Since then he has com- posed over 140 solo piano works as well as a variety of chamber pieces, art songs, choral music and electronic works. As a pianist he recorded five LPs between 1978 and 1985, and has appeared on some 20 CDs since, many of them devoted to his own compositions. His music has been heard on the major media venues of North America, from ABC’s “Good Morning America” to National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered” and across Canada on CBC Radio. He also accompanied the Oakland (CA) Ballet with arrangements of Classic Ragtime by Scott Joplin. His eclectic suite for piano, New Orleans Streets, (1981- 85) was hailed by historian Al Rose in “ I Remember Jazz” as the single most important con- tribution to the culture of New Orleans in the past fifty years. His visual art has been fea- tured in the international Visionary/Outsider art maga- zine, Raw Vision, and his poetry appeared in the anthol- ogy Another South, published by University of Alabama Press. For more information about the artist, visit www. DavidThomasRoberts.com. Reservations are required and the address (Sandpines West in Florence) and direc- tions will be furnished at the time reservations are made. There is a suggested dona- tion of $15 at the door. Call Kathy at 541-999- 9720 or email her at kathypi- ano@gmail.com to reserve CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK DISASTER PREP 11 A
