10A | WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 15, 2018 | SIUSLAW NEWS
SHELTER from page 1A
MARK BRENNAN/SIUSLAW NEWS
A private hangar and the Florence Municipal Airport served as class space for the Air Academy.
ACADEMY from page 1A
“Retired colonels Sam Spayd
and Terry Tomeny approached
the club with an idea to create
the opportunity to help young
people, especially those who
need it most, develop passion
and an aptitude for careers in
aviation,” Trent said. “Their
goal was to inspire kids and to
share with them the love of avi-
ation.”
Ultimately, the two pilots,
Spayd, the founder of Aero Leg-
ends, and Tomeny, the current
owner, wanted to give students
a taste for flight and help them
learn what it takes to be a pilot.
“The Florence Air Acade-
my was designed to show kids
what careers are possible,” Trent
continued. “STEM does not
necessarily mean being a scien-
tist. Sam and Terry are famous
for telling our kids, ‘If you find
something that you are good at,
something that you love to do,
you will never work a day in
your life.’”
The Air Academy was held
at the Florence Municipal Air-
port, 2001 Airport Lane, in a
private hanger that serves as the
students’ classroom.
Tomeny, Spayd and other
licensed pilots taught the stu-
dents basic aeronautical the-
ories, simple airplane main-
tenance and other skills not
directly related to avionics,
which the instructors hope will
translate to other areas in the
students’ lives.
“The Air Academy was really
Sam’s idea,” Tomeny said. “Last
year, I teamed with him as a
flight instructor. Our goal was
not really to encourage the kids
to be pilots, but rather to en-
courage them to pursue some-
thing that they are passionate
about that they can enjoy for a
lifetime.”
Trent also believes the con-
cept of providing the reasons
that the world works in the way
it does, will inspire and moti-
vate young people, even when
school is not in session.
“Research has shown that
the out-of-school environment
— after school and during the
summer — advances STEM
knowledge and increases in-
terest in STEM-related careers.
The challenge is getting our
kids to understand careers in
STEM exist, that there is op-
portunity all around them and
that they have what it takes to
be successful in STEM jobs,”
he said. “It's important to help
kids understand what's under-
neath the everyday things that
they love: what's underneath
the games, the apps and the
devices. It's math, science and
engineering. BGC’s mission is
to create ladders of opportunity
and help our kids climb as high
as they want to go.”
Trent and Tomeny were both
pleased with the turnout for
this year’s Air Academy, which
is held at no cost to the partic-
ipants. There were about 10 to-
tal participants from different
grades.
On graduation day last Fri-
day, all of the students did pre-
flight inspections on the four
aircraft they would be co-pilot-
ing and then all took a ride in
the planes.
According to Trent, all of the
students expressed appreciation
for the chance to learn about a
subject they were interested in
finding out more about, while
getting a chance to fly.
Tomeny feels the first two
seasons of Air Academy were
a success and wants to add to
the classes available to students
during the summer.
“In the future, in addition to
the Air Academy, we have ideas
for a similar Builders Acade-
my or Automotive Academy,”
he said. “I also have another
idea called Microds (miniature
hot rods) for the kids and local
businesses and the community.”
He added, “Aero Legends is
very interested in helping the
BGC help the youth of Florence.
They do a fantastic job. We
could either just donate money
— or get personally involved.
We chose the latter, and to be
honest I think we get more out
of it than the kids do. It’s very
special when you see a spark lit.”
Trent
was
particularly
pleased with the response from
this year’s attendees. He sees the
effort as a way to instill in stu-
dents a sense of their place in
the world.
“For me, the best part of the
Florence Air Academy was
graduation day, when each of
the kids got to go up with a li-
censed pilot. Standing on the
flight-line with parents and
grandparents listening to the
kids making the radio calls
during the flight was fantas-
tic,” Trent said. “As each plane
landed, watching the joy, ex-
citement and sense of accom-
plishment for each ‘Young Ea-
gle’ confirmed that the goal was
achieved.
“There is no greater sense
of accomplishment than to see
kids come into the program
shy, apprehensive and unsure,
but walk out of the program
curious, confident and excited
about the possibilities ahead of
them.”
For more information about
the Boys and Girls Club of
Western Lane County, visit
bgcwlc.org.
Robbers is well aware of the
furor surrounding the eutha-
nasia issue and points to the
organization’s website, which
has a description of the proto-
cols and procedures in place to
determine if, and when, an ani-
mal should be euthanized.
“We have a very active ani-
mal welfare committee and we
have updated the animal wel-
fare and euthanasia informa-
tion on our website,” Robbers
said. “It spells out very clearly
the process we have in place to
determine what is best for each
animal.”
One of the most repeated
claims on social media plat-
forms states that the end-of-life
policies that govern the assess-
ment and determination of an
animal’s long-term health and
quality of life at OCHS are be-
ing ignored.
Some have also accused the
Animal Welfare Committee
(AWC) of not following past
practices with end-of-life de-
cisions for some shelter ani-
mals. That claim, however, is
not consistent with the OCHS
policies currently online and
not within the guiding princi-
ples indicated by the shelter’s
policies.
Robbers said that any indi-
viduals with concerns about an
animal’s adoptability or health
circumstances has the oppor-
tunity to make their concerns
known and participate in the
deliberations surrounding that
animal’s ultimate disposition.
The OCHS website states
that any party may refer any
shelter or foster care animal to
the AWC for deliberation by
submitting an Animal Refer-
ral Form, or any other written
means, that states the name
of the animal and the nature
of concern. The AWC referral
forms are available at the shel-
ter and must be turned in to the
shelter manager. A copy will be
forwarded to the committee
chairperson. The validity of the
referral is for the committee to
determine.
The AWC policy goes on to
say, “It is the responsibility of
the AWC to conduct meetings
and make recommendations
for or against the non-emer-
gency euthanasia of an animal.
When euthanasia is consid-
ered, a quorum of the AWC
must be present, of which a
majority must vote for eutha-
nasia in order to issue a recom-
mendation to the shelter. All
ballots regarding euthanasia
shall be conducted by written
secret ballot with the shelter
manager or designee as the
neutral observer to validate
the ballot. The final decision to
euthanize shall be made by the
shelter manager or, if the shel-
ter manager is unavailable, by
majority vote of a quorum of
the board of directors.”
In addition, one of the sug-
gestions made by the Depart-
ment of Justice seems not to
have resulted in achieving the
department’s desired outcome.
Barbara Butzer was hired
by the department in April to
oversee and manage the situ-
ation at OCHS. Her primary
goal was to help the organi-
zation and to implement the
Department of Justice’s sug-
gestions for replacing board
members and, secondarily, to
find an individual to run the
organization. She was hired on
a short-term basis but was un-
successful in finding a replace-
ment for her position who she
felt was qualified to run OCHS.
At the annual OCHS mem-
bership meeting held in June,
Butzer stated that she was
widening the search and was
hopeful that a suitable candi-
date would be found before
her contract was concluded.
Unfortunately, that was not
accomplished before her de-
parture, but interviews for the
position are underway.
Robbers said she believes an
executive director for OCHS
will be found soon.
According
to
Elizabeth
Grant, the senior assistant at-
torney general at the Oregon
Department of Justice, OCHS
has been diligent in its efforts
to implement her department’s
suggestions. She also believes
the organization has adequately
addressed their major concerns.
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