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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 18, 2020)
8A | SATURDAY, JANUARY 18, 2020 | SIUSLAW NEWS Oregon teen Nyah’s debut EP ‘Disconnected’ out now On Jan. 17, InRage En- tertainment artist-in-development Nyah released her debut EP “Dis- connected,” produced by Sony/ATV writer/producer Automatic. “Dis- connected” is available for down- load and streaming on Apple Music, Spotify, Tidal and most major digital MAPLETON from page 1A The district has a webpage, but the social media footprint is small, aside from a Face- book page which posts news on local athletics. As far as public input di- rectly to the board, Wednes- day night’s board meeting was a stark reminder of how difficult it can be to get people involved as the board spoke to an empty room — an almost monthly occurrence. “When we see empty chairs, it’s almost like the school board is operating in a vacuum,” Hollman said. This can be difficult not only for the board and the families of the 153 students the district serves, but for the projects that affect the com- munity beyond school walls. As the only elected govern- ment in the upriver commu- nity, the issues discussed by Mapleton School Board go far beyond just what happens within the walls of the school. Recent discussions have included work to bring pub- lic transit to the area and the community clinic, which the school will be in charge of constructing through a $400,000 partnership with PeaceHealth Peace Harbor. “This new clinic is a boon for the entire Mapleton com- munity,” Holman said. “You don’t have to have just kids. It’s going to serve everyone that lives within our district. And the district is huge, geograph- ically. We may not have a huge population, but it spans a broad landmass.” And then there’s just gen- eral conversations about the community as a whole, which range from issues on jobs in the community, recreation music retailers. Two years after signing with In- Rage and one year after filming a music video for her single “Emp- ty Spaces” on the Port of Siuslaw Boardwalk, 15-year old Nyah has been supported and encouraged by the City of Florence since the be- ginning of her development as a re- cording artist. Accompanied by sup- portive friends, both old and new, along with Mayor Joe Henry and the Florence City Council, the Katie O’Grady-directed visual inspired a launch party at the Florence Events and homelessness. “We have conversations about land use, and how we can provide more housing for more families that really do want to live and school our kids in our district,” Holman said. In many ways, the district acts as a hub of progress for the upriver community — a “heart of the community,” as Hollman put it. But to make that work, Ma- pleton needs to get the public involved. “It’s just a more lively, deep- er conversation that happens when there’s members of the community there watch- ing and listening,” Holman said. “We encourage public participation. If you have a question or an issue, you’re always invited to come to the district, sign up and get your concerns registered. I think it just makes for a more robust meeting when there are mem- bers of the community in at- tendance.” To help create that discus- sion, the district is begin- ning to expand its outreach, though the steps are some- what incremental. The first part will be updat- ing the website mapleton.k12. or.us with calendar updates. The district’s business manag- er Jeron Ricks has been work- ing on this with students, and will also work on creating a Facebook page for the district itself. The district is also looking to reinstitute the school news- letter, digitally at first. “And for those of our resi- dents that don’t have comput- ers, we are making the switch to paper notices and newslet- ters for them,” Holman said. The district will move its Come see Jim about this 2020 Transit! Johnston Motor Company Since 1939 2150 Hwy. 101 • Florence (541) 997-3475 • 1-800-348-3475 THINKING OF SELLING YOUR HOME? * Free Market Evaluation * Competitive Commission Rates * Call For Your No Obligation Evaluation Today! To get the no obligation process started contact local Real Estate expert: Andrea Kirkpatrick, Licensed Broker in Oregon Hybrid Real Estate 541-505-1943 • oregonbrokerandrea@gmail.com Center where over 400 people cele- brated the launch of her debut single sponsored by The Hukilau Florence, ICM Restaurant and BJ’s Ice Cream. “Nyah has a depth in her soul that resonates deeply for all ages,” O’Grady said. “Disconnected” features Nyah’s singles “Empty Spaces,” “Flowers On My Grave” and “Midnight,” all of which have been streamed inter- nationally and have been played on Coast Radio KCST/KCFM, KXCR Community Radio 90.7, KBOG 97.9, Magic 98.3, Cambridge 105, board meeting to the third Wednesday of each month as well, a date that will no lon- ger compete with the Siuslaw School District, which holds its meeting on the second Wednesday. Mapleton School District will also look to rework its policy regarding public com- ment during the meetings, which originally stipulated that the public had to fill out and submit a form 48 hours in advance to speak, a rule that the board generally ignored anyway. Finally, the board also wants to take their meetings on the road. KXCJ, Portland Radio Project and KSFL 99.1. Nyah was also featured on Oregon television KVAL Chan- nel 13 (CBS) and KMTR Channel 16 (NBC). “Disconnected” was produced, mixed and mastered by Gram- my-nominated Sony/ATV produc- er and writer Bruce “Automatic” Vanderveer, co-owner of InRage, based in Los Angeles. The EP showcases alternative, ur- ban, pop and rock genres. According to Nyah, “all these songs were written during different “For some number of years, we’ve had the Deadwood Community host a school board meeting, but we could have meetings in other parts of our community, which could make it easier for peo- ple to talk to us,” Holman added. But to know where to go, the board needs the commu- nity to talk to them. “We’re a small enough dis- trict that the lines of commu- nication can be very open,” Holman said. “It’s easy to con- tact your school board mem- ber, it’s easy to have access to your school board member. We encourage that because it mental stages, different experienc- es and different events. They’re all pieces of my heart, even if they are kind of fractured from each other. This is where the title ‘Disconnected’ comes from.” Nyah is fully supported by her family and her parents and executive producers Scott and Marijo Vollmar. Nyah is the first out-of-state artist to sign with Los Angeles-based artist development company and record label InRage Entertainment. For more info, visit www.InRage. com and NyahTheUnicorn.com. makes our job more mean- ingful, and the decisions that actually get made have more meaning because there’s buy- in from the community.” In other news from Wednesday’s meeting, an update was given on “Friday school,” which is held by Ma- pleton High School Principal Brenda Moyer and teacher Lou Burruss from 9 a.m. to noon. Officially, the district does not have classes on Fri- days, but the two have been opening the doors for any student who needs to work on school projects, or just to have fun, including a project de- voted to making Rube Gold- berg devices. “It was just a good thing for kids to come in and get stuff done,” Burruss explained. “It gets them on the right side of the line, whether it’s an F to a C or a B to an A. It depends on the kid and it’s totally in- formal, but it’s been helping.” A program has also been instituted for student athletes, a study hall held twice weekly that helps the basketball play- ers keep on their grades. “I am so impressed by the culture that has been estab- lished there,” Moyer said. “They said it was a lot easier to stay ahead than to get be- hind.” GET YOUR TICKETS! BENEFITTING: OF WESTERN LANE COUNTY FRAUDVILLE Saturday, February 8, 2020 5-9 p.m. FLORENCE EVENTS CENTER Annual Lip-Sync Contest includes bands from B&G Club Teens • Florence Food Share B Oregon Pacific Bank • Coastal Fitness Coast Insurance (The Coastal Cuties will be defending their 2019 Championship) p p) visit https://bgcwlc.afrogs.org/ org/ y! for more information today! General Admission Tickets: $35 • VIP Tickets: s: $50
