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Umpqua Post
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Weekly news from the Heart of the Dunes AN EDITION OF
Wednesday, August 7, 2013 | Serving the Reedsport area since 1996 | theworldlink.com/reedsport | $1.00
Striving to stabilize school enrollment BY STEVE LINDSLEY The Umpqua Post
REEDSPORT — Declining enrollment has the superintendent of Reedsport schools concerned, but the district is being proactive about shoring up those numbers. The district started the 2012-2013 school year with 598 students on Sept. 6, saw the numbers go as high
as 612 on Sept. 28 and fall to 578 on June 12. The district ended the 2011-2012 school year with 617 students, a decrease from the 638 on opening day. “It’s a very transient population,” Superintendent Jim Thomas said. He said it appeared there were 170 students that went in and out of the district
Lower Umpqua to buy clinic By Steve Lindsley The Umpqua Post REEDSPORT — It’s not official until later in the week, but the Lower Umpqua Hospital board voted to purchase Dunes Family Health Care. The two entities share a parking lot, but were separate entities. At a special meeting Monday morning, the board voted unanimously to approve the purchase of the Dunes Family building, its assets and will hire employees for the facility. Sandra Reese is the administrator of Lower Umpqua Hospital. She said, after the meeting, they purchased the Dunes building for $760,000. The Lower Umpqua Hospital District also owns Reedsport Medical Clinic, which is just up the street. Reese said they’ll keep all facili-
Enrollment has declined by an average of 30 students for each of the past five years throughout the last school year. “Some people leave because there’s no employment,” Thomas said. “That’s a big issue because, basically, there are not a lot of jobs here. Some people move out because they don’t have the services here
that they’d like to see. And, frankly, some people move because we don’t have the (class) offerings that they’d like to have.” Thomas was candid as they speculated why parents and students leave the district. “I think the fourth thing
is,” he continued, “is the fact that, you know, we haven’t done as good a job for the children as we should be doing. We’re a low-performing school in the elementary school and, frankly, at high school as well.” The enrollment numbers are important because the district receives state funding based on the
number of students. “At least we have a pretty good idea, when the year starts, what the money is going to be,” Thomas said. The district won’t know the numbers for the 20132014 school year until school actually begins in September. Thomas said, roughly,
SEE ENROLLMENT, PAGE A6
Doin’ it the DuneFest way
By Alysha Beck, The Umpqua Post
A motocross biker pops a wheelie riding up Banshee Hill at the 2013 DuneFest in Winchester Bay on Aug. 3.
SEE HOSPITAL, PAGE A6
Discovery Center celebrates 20th
Local oysters OK with acid BY THOMAS MORIARTY
BY STEVE LINDSLEY
The Umpqua Post
The Umpqua Post
COOS BAY — As a federal research vessel heads out to study the impact of ocean acidification on Pacific marine life, Oregon biologists are reporting both benign and negative impacts on regional shellfish. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration dispatched the R/V Fairweather from Seattle on Monday for a monthlong cruise to collect water, plankton and algae samples. The agency is concerned that increasing ocean acidity levels attributed to greenhouse gas emissions are threatening marine ecosystems the fisheries they support. The Oregon coast oyster industry has firsthand experience with the problem. Several years ago, Netarts Bay’s Whiskey Creek Shellfish Hatchery — which produces much of the oyster seed used by commercial farms in the region — began experiencing a decline in production that Oregon State University researchers traced directly to ocean acidification. But biologist Steve Rumrill said the future of the South Coast’s native oyster isn’t looking too bad. “The short answer is that the native Olympia oysters may be doing OK and recovering in Coos Bay despite ocean acidification,” he said. Rumrill, currently the director of Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife shellfish monitoring program, was instrumental in Olympia oyster recovery efforts at the South Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve near Charleston. “It may be that the shallow parts of Coos Bay may be able to act sort of as a buffer,” he said. Oregon State University
SEE OYSTERS, PAGE A6
REEDSPORT — Free admission, music, guest speakers, birds of prey and a tribal canoe will highlight the 20th anniversary celebration for the iconic Umpqua Discovery Center on Aug. 17. Director Diane Novak has been with the center since it opened and said things have By Steve Lindsley, The Umpqua Post evolved. The group Décor’mm was one of the musical guests of a concert series “The two exhibit areas were at the Umpqua Discovery Center in Reedsport. The center will celebrate just flat rooms,” she remembered its 20th anniversary this month. of the center when it first
opened, “and one of the exhibit areas had information on the Antarctic research vessel ‘Hero.’” The Hero was docked at the waterfront for a few years before the discovery center was built. It was sold and drydocked and repaired in Portland before moving to the port of Newport for several years. Since then, it was sold and moved to Bay Center, Wash. ... off Highway 101 about 40 miles north of Astoria. The center opened in August
SEE 20TH ANNIVERSARY, PAGE A6
Kitzhaber will veto mascot name bill THE UMPQUA POST REEDSPORT — It appears Governor John Kitzhaber will veto SB 215, a bill that would have allowed some school districts to keep their American Indian mascot names. The bill was in response to an Oregon State Board of Education mandate that districts rid themselves of names, such as “Braves” and “Indians” by July of 2017. The Reedsport Community Charter School uses the name “Braves.” The Oregonian reported the governor intends the issue a “rare veto” of the bill. The governor’s staff has not responded to repeated requests from The Umpqua Post for information about the veto and did not make themselves available for an interview. Although, a governor’s spokesman did talk with an Oregonian reporter. “We worked hard to let them know our concerns and the governor doesn’t think the bill gets there,” Kitzhaber spokesman Tim
In Oregon, SB 215 would allow local school districts to keep their names, if they got the permission of a local tribe. Raphael told Oregonian reporter Christian Gaston. State Sen. Jeff Kruse, RRoseburg, is one of the chief sponsors of the bill. He said Saturday that even though the votes in the house and senate were overwhelming in support of the bill, he doesn’t think there would be a veto override. “History shows us that,” he said. “There were some bills when John was governor before that had massive votes in favor of that he vetoed. And, this was when Republicans controlled both chambers and it was impossible to override. It’s not something, now that Democrats control, they are not going to override their governor on a veto, no matter how they voted on the bill.” Kruse said, since the mandate doesn’t take effect until 2017, to try other bills in upcoming ses-
sions, but admitted it will be difficult with Kitzhaber still in office. “It’s still going to be hard,” he said. “The conditions he wanted to put on the issue just don’t work.” Kitzhaber has said he supported a National Collegiate Athletic Association-style allowance for using American Indian mascots during post-season tournaments. Rules require the use of specific tribal names with the permission of the tribe. For instance, the Florida State Seminoles. Universities that have already changed their names include St. John’s (from Redmen to Red Storm) and Marquette (from Warriors to Golden Eagles). In Oregon, SB 215 would have allowed local school districts to keep their names, if they got the
permission of a local tribe. However, names such as Braves and Indians were a sticking point in the negotiations over the bill between Republicans and the governor’s office. “This isn’t a conversation I had with the governor,” Kruse said. “It was with his people on this. We could do things that were specific to Oregon tribes and so I asked ‘which would mean you couldn’t do “Brave” or “Indian” because that’s generic.’ I said, ‘Give me example of something specific to the Grand Ronde tribe.’ And he said, ‘Well, I can’t think of anything.’” Kruse said, if Roseburg wanted to keep its name, which tribe would it choose to negotiate with? Kruse is a Roseburg High graduate. Kruse said he’s puzzled by the concern over the use of the term.
SEE MASCOT, PAGE A6
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