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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 11, 2019)
SIUSLAW NEWS | WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2019 | 5A FEATURED HOME OF THE WEEK 30 STONE BRIDGE CT, YACHATS OVERLEAF VILLAGE BEAUTY! Elegant yet comfy & homey. 4 bedroom 3 baths 3,970 SF home. Detached oversize 2 car garage with upstairs studio with bath & built-ins. Awesome soaring ceiling in LR with stone gas insert FP. 500 gal underground propane tank ensures your cozy fire year round. Light, bright kitchen with conveniently located pantry/laundry room. Custom library with floor to ceiling bookcases & SO MUCH MORE. OUTSTANDING VALUE! $529,500 #11850 MLS#19391723 “We’re next to the Bridge” 100 Hwy. 101 See all Florence Listings at cbcoast.com COAST REAL ESTATE 541-997-7777 Christmas with On The DAY R U T A THIS S NIGHT! Coast Charles Suniga and the Angels Saturday , December 14th • 6pm Florence Events Center Charles Suniga a Florence native, Siuslaw High School Alum, and two time grammy nominee brings his classic holiday cheer back to the coast. Charles will be backed up by the “Angels” Audrey Breznikar, Jeannine Harwood, and Julia Weiss along with returning guest vocalists performing many of the holiday tunes we all grew up with. For more information or to charge by phone, call the Florence Events Center’s ticket offi ce at 541-997-1994 or visit their website at www.eventcenter.org Tickets for the performance are $20 each Sponsored by: LOFY CONSTRUCTION, LLC MAPLETON from page 1A The CIP Mapleton creat- ed focuses on three major improvement areas: mental health/behavior support, language arts learning out- comes and increased com- munity involvement. The first goal is to ensure that all students have access to mental and behavioral health resources. The district has already made progress on this with the hiring of a school counselor and a part- nership with the Western Lane Health Network. For the second goal, the school district is looking to focus on the AVID Instruc- tional Strategies, which it has already been implementing. They school will also look to expand academic support for non-school days, such as Friday’s, and look to improve attendance across the board. In goal three, the district will look to hold more com- munity events, create a staff/ student/community mem- ber focus group, have a larg- er social media presence and possibly even revive the de- funct school newsletter. The specifics of the CIP will be more broadly intro- duced early in 2020, as SAA requires districts to hold multiple community meet- ings for public comment. However, it’s a difficult task because the rules regarding the act are still in flux. “I’ve been to four or five presentations on this, and I’m still confused, just to be honest,” O’Mara said. “I went to a presentation that I had heard before. Same presenta- tion, same people presenting it, yet we still hear new infor- mation, and people had dif- ferent questions that brought up new information. Talk about head swimming.” One of the things school representatives were told is that the plans the school dis- tricts make should be flexi- ble. “If your plan is to hire a counselor, and you can’t find a counselor, you need a back- up plan,” District Business Manager Jeron Ricks said. O’Mara added, “That is one of the concerns that was brought up in superin- tendent meetings and off- the-record meetings: ‘This is great, give us an extra bil- lion in education, but you’ve got to give us the people to meet the needs.’ I guarantee you everybody’s going to be hiring counselors for mental health needs, teachers and staff to help with class sizes. Where are you going to find those people?” Mapleton has already hired a school counselor and is working on partner- ing with PeaceHealth for additional services. But oth- er schools might not be so lucky. “Districts are gobbling up the people they need, in- stead of waiting till July to post,” O’Mara said. “There’s still some unfulfilled teach- er positions in neighboring districts in special education, math and CTE (Career Tech- nical Education). We’re all aware of it.” Regarding the Student Investment application, the Oregon Department of Ed- ucation (ODE) is still devel- oping it. “In order to apply for that money, which is a non-com- petitive grant, they still have to develop the application,” O’Mara said, pointing out that ODE still hasn’t hired the staff needed to process the applications once they’re done. In short, “We’re building the plane while we’re flying,” she added. Figuring out the compli- cated process is difficult, par- ticularly in a small school. “It’s a challenge in a small rural district to do this, but still be able to focus on the kids and staff and give them what they need,” said O’Mara. With that said, Mapleton NEW LISTING Goldenwest 3 Bdrm, 2 Ba including 240 sqft heated sunroom. Totally private backyard. Wood burning stove in familyroom. Small fenced area for dogs. Dbl 24x28 garage with workbench & sink. 3 Bdrm, 2 Ba 1752 sq ft $289,900 BH7968 ML#19037547 is about to get some help. Lane ESD is hiring a SSA coordinator to help out, and will be working closely with Mapleton on doing commu- nity outreach in 2020. Still, the district has put some projects on hold to navigate through the pro- cess. “I’ve been on the board so long, and I’ve seen so many of these grand schemes that are just so fantastic,” Maple- ton board member Michelle Holman said. “A lot of this looks like the same insides with a new chassis. Like a lot of them, they were great and the best rig you could ride in. But the next year, there’s a new model. I don’t know. We’ll see where this one goes.” O’Mara pointed out that this time, there’s money in- volved. “Twenty percent of that is earmarked for early edu- cation. That is phenomenal, right?” she asked. “That’s the biggest difference. It’s true, it’s the same things packaged differently. Different acro- nyms, different expectations. But this isn’t taking money away, it’s giving us money, and we get to decide how to use it. We’re going to do the work to get it, and we’re go- ing to use it wisely. But it’s a lot of work.” In other news from the meeting, O’Mara announced that preschool teacher Am- ber Tucker is starting a parenting class for parents inside the district, or in out- lying areas such as Walton or Florence. “It doesn’t matter if its pre- school, single parents, five kids or one kids. It’s a class that she’s offering for fami- lies,” O’Mara said. “It’s creat- ing a safe place to learn and share issues that families are having with kids. It’s a differ- ent world than what we grew up in, so it’s helping families navigate that.” Board member Mizu Bur- russ spoke of the importance NEW LISTING 2 Bdrm, 2 Ba home with fi ltered Ocean views. Tandem garage/shop approx. 66’ long, patio, outside storage, shop bldg., enclosed sunroom. All vinyl dbl pane windows & sliders 2 Bdrm, 2 Ba 1464 sq ft $214,000 BH7969 ML#19472101 of such classes. “It’s giving parents the opportunity to network or make friendships,” she said. “Sometimes, if there isn’t a reason for you to cross paths, you don’t know that there are other parents hav- ing the same issues as you.” Finally, a presentation was given at the top of the meet- ing by Mapleton’s student council, which includes act- ing President Orion Ricks, Secretary JJ Neece and rep- resentatives Kaleb Lewis and Opal Burruss. “We are now holding open council meetings to invite students to be a part of the student council,” Ricks said. “We invited representatives from each grade to give us thoughts from their separate grades … and we took opin- ions on the student dance.” Only one student showed up for the first meeting, where the council picked the idea for the upcoming win- ter dance. “They thought it should be more of a theme than just ‘winter,’” Lewis said. “The theme they came up with is ‘disco.’ We’re planning on getting a disco ball and all the good stuff.” He then gave a recap of a recent conference the coun- cil attended on student gov- ernment. “It was an amazing expe- rience,” he said. “They had a talk on how to get kids involved with school spirit. A major one was these scan- ners for student IDs. When- ever you go to a game or support your school some- how, they would scan the ID and they student would get points. At the end of the school year, the whole class grade would get to do some- thing fun.” Neece pointed out that most of the schools had the same issues as Mapleton. “It was kind of funny, all schools are basically the same once you get down to it, small or big,” he said. FEATURED LISTING Beautiful lake views from this acre lot. Septic approved, water is available. Come & look, you’ll be excited with the view. 1.04 acre $175,000 BH7888 ML#19312768 SALE PENDING NEW LISTING Pride of ownership shows in this immaculate custom home with end of the road privacy. Oversized double garage with lots of shelving & storage 3 Bdrm, 2 Ba 1395 sq ft $337,000 BH7961 ML#19432677 NEW LISTING Palm Harbor 2003 custom home in 55 plus gated community of Florentine Estates. New roof in 2017, painted inside & out 2014 3 Bdrm, 2 Ba 2095 sq ft $329,900 BH7954 ML#19635137 NEW LISTING Hobbyist’s dream on .84 acre! “Super Good Cents” home with soild surface counters, tile & vinyl plank fl ooring sits above 30’ x 30’ fi nished insulated garage AND a 30’ x 60’ shop with 12’ door 1 Bdrm, 1 ½ Ba 900 sq ft $395,000 BH7949 ML#19229722 SALE PENDING PRICE REDUCED Golden West beauty! River access or fi sh from the deck surrounding this well maintained home on the Siuslaw River. Fruit trees & a place to garden 3 Bdrm, 2 Ba 1674 sq ft $299,900 BH7829 ML#17341221 PRICE REDUCED Looking to retire, downsize or simplify? Don’t miss this home in gated- community, spacious living/dining room. Bay window in kitchen/family room, shop & hobby area 2 Bdrm, 2 Ba 1440 sq ft $200,000 BH7858 ML#19618705 FEATURED LISTING Contemporary 2 story, private setting. Great home with large windows to enjoy outdoor beauty. Vaulted ceilings, open kitchen/dining with slider to covered deck. 2 Bdrm, 1 ½ Ba 1284 sq ft $250,000 BH7925 ML#19003236