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NB school board members define ‘controversial’ BY CHELSEA DAVIS
More online: Read the school district’s revised policy online www.theworldlink.com.
The World
Photos by Alysha Beck, The World
Jesse Lorentz with the Oregon National Guard’s Bravo Company, 1-186th Infantry unit hands out clothing, sleeping bags and other surplus supplies to homeless veterans including Vietnam veteran James Duke at the fifth annual Veterans Stand Down at the National Guard Armory in Coos Bay on Friday.
Stand Down delivers for vets BY EMILY THORNTON
You can still help
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COOS BAY — The community came together once again to help those in need at the fifth annual Veterans Stand Down. The event took place Friday at the National Guard Armory. Traditionally, a stand down refers to providing exhausted troops in combat a place of relative security and safety, but this event was aimed at helping homeless veterans who might not otherwise receive help. It also provided services to other veterans, including information on housing, employment and counseling, as well as free dental care, clothing and food. There are about 8,900 veterans signed up to receive benefits in Coos County, said Eric Gleason, veterans service officer for the Coos County Veterans Service Office. The event helped about 500 of those last year, he said. He expected the same number this year. The 50 or so tables at Friday’s event provided a cornucopia of information and services.
Send monetary or other donations to the Coos Community Foundation/Veterans Stand Down Fund, 1499 N. Collier St., Coquille, OR 97423. For more information on the annual Veterans Stand Down, visit www.coosbaystanddown.org.
A veteran walks around at the fifth annual Veterans Stand Down on Friday. Veterans enjoyed free meals, clothing and medical services at the event. “If you need it and it’s not here, I’d be surprised,” Gleason said. Doors were open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. with a line-up of veterans of all ages, branches and economic status. Although veterans may have asked for many things, they might not have received them.
“They get mostly what they need more than what they want,” said Norman Fraser, a veteran who served six years in the Marines and manned the front counter of the distribution area of surplus military supplies. This year, the Department of Defense supplied 25 pallets of clothing, bedding and backpacks, compared to last year’s 72, according to Sgt. Justin T. Gray, with the Oregon National Guard. “It depends on what your living condition is,” said Sgt. Steve Mann. “If you’re truly homeless, you’re getting a decent amount of stuff.” Regardless of receiving fewer supplies, soldiers manning the disSEE VETERANS | A8
NORTH BEND — North Bend teachers who want to bring “controversial” material into their classrooms have to follow a new procedure, one that some school board members worry will cause those teachers to shy away from refreshing their curriculum with new ideas. This all began in May,when North Bend High Principal Bill Lucero came to Scott Peters’classroom with a box and demanded the students return their copies of the Toni Morrison novel, “The Bluest Eye.” The incident found its way to the school board, which decided to review the district’s little-known “Studying Controversial Issues” policy so this wouldn’t happen again. The policy committee came back with revisions last month, but they couldn’t decide on a definition for “controversial issues.” At the school board meeting Monday night, the committee found the words: “Controversy arises when opinions differ on a subject because of deeply held values that conflict. For the purpose of this policy, a controversial issue is restricted to those subjects which, when stud-
ied, can reasonably be expected to produce a need for interventional support for members of the class.” Previously, the policy required a teacher to present “obviously controversial” topics to his or her principal, who would then approve or deny the request. Now, teachers are required to discuss the controversial issue with their professional learning community. No matter what the PLC decides, it then has to submit a Studying Controversial Issues form to its principal, who will convene a Curriculum Review Committee. That committee will consist of the principal, assistant principal and curriculum director. The principal can choose to include others when appropriate, i.e., including a librarian when discussing a controversial text. This idea grew from a discussion between Superintendent Bill Yester, Lucero,Curriculum Director Tiffany Rush and most of the high school English department, Yester said. SEE CONTROVERSY | A8
Modular classroom approved for North Bend Middle School BY CHELSEA DAVIS The World
NORTH BEND — A modular classroom will soon be secured on the back of North Bend Middle School, giving extra room for the addition of Lighthouse School. The North Bend planning commission approved North Bend School District’s modular request Thursday night. The two modulars will be connected, similar to a doublewide mobile home, city planner David Voss said. The foundation rock already has been laid, said school board chair Megan Jacquot. “It used to be a playground, so this will be quieter than what it
used to be used for,” she laughed. Neighbor Jason Bowman is concerned about traffic and parking. The intersection of 16th and E streets already bottlenecks after school every day, he said. “I’d hate to see kids running across the street in front of cars to get to their parents’ cars,” he said. District facilities and maintenance manager Rhonda Hoffine said staff and families have been notified they are not allowed to park or idle on the surrounding streets. Superintendent Bill Yester hopes to ease congestion by staggering buses after school. Three SEE APPROVED | A8
A united effort with some bite
NORTH BEND — It did not take long for the training room at the Menasha Forest Products office in North Bend to start to get a little warm Thursday afternoon. The hard workers crammed inside did not seem to notice, however, as they kept busy on a grass-roots oral
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Kathleen Mrotzek, Bandon Douglas Fletcher, North Bend James Russell, Coos Bay Jimmie Nelson, Crescent Ethel Wright, Eugene
By Tim Novotny, The World
Ron Ray, left, and volunteers from Campbell Global, join with Soroptimist volunteers to package more than 1,000 dental kits for the Oregon Community Foundation’s Ready to Smile program.
Mary Desrosiers, North Bend Linda Helfrich, Coos Bay Norman Atteberry, Reedsport Raymond Crooks, Coos Bay
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good healthy start it will make their life better all the way along.” Soroptimist International of Coos Bay Area, with about 30 current members, was chartered in 1941, with the mission to improve the lives of women and girls. The CHOHPS program began in 2005, after a need for improved dental health among the children of the area was identified through discussions with local school’s and the Boys & Girls Club of Southwestern Oregon. They began by garnering donations from local businesses and dentists to distribute to the
FORECAST
BY TIM NOVOTNY
health assembly line. It is a coming together of three programs that have similar goals. Campbell Global, which purchased Menasha in 2007, has a charitable program called “Grow the Good.” Soroptimist has CHOHPS, otherwise known as Children’s Oral Hygiene Project for Success. Both have come together in recent years to help Oregon Community Foundation’s Ready to Smile. Together, they work to build a healthy foundation for South Coast youth. “If you get to the kids, that’s where everything starts,” Soroptimist member Elaine Raper said Thursday. “If you give them a
DEATHS
Three groups come together to work toward a better, healthier future for South Coast kids ■