I do not usually post an article I didn’t write, but I felt it was important to share this perspective for our community and our students.

Your Community Voice

Joan Mariner

There has been much talk about how alienated and unheard segments of our nation feel.  That seems to be particularly true for people in urban settings.  However, rural communities with a local paper have a voice that speaks to and for them in multiple ways. If you are one of those who fail to see the value of your local, weekly newspaper, this article is for you.  If you do see that value, it is hoped that you find more information to support that opinion. Communication is an essential element to any healthy relationship. Whether it be couples, parents and children, business groups or schools, strong communication networks make relationships function smoother and remove or reduce areas of stress and conflict.  Some companies spend time and money to facilitate the lines of communication with their employees with the knowledge that productivity will be improved. This need for clear lines of communication exists for communities also.  Without information about what is going on in one’s community, the connections that tie people together begin to erode.  For about nine months between December of 2009 and August of 2010, the Fern Ridge Area was without a local paper, and its absence was keenly felt.  That voice of community activities helps people stay aware of events going on around them in a line of communication not easily replaced elsewhere. A letter to the editor to the urban daily paper has little chance of being published, but one to a local paper will almost certainly be printed.

An article published by the Stanford Review (http://web.stanford.edu/group/ruralwest/cgi-bin/drupal/content/rural-newspapers) had this to say:

Rural Newspapers Doing Better Than Their City Counterparts

“In the United States, some 7,500 community newspapers–papers with under 30,000 in circulation–still hit the streets, front porches, and mailboxes at least once a week. A 2010 survey conducted by the University of Missouri, Columbia for the National Newspaper Association produced some enviable statistics: More than three-quarters of respondents said they read most or all of a local newspaper every week. And in news to warm the heart of any publisher, a full 94 percent said that they paid for their papers.

The community newspaper business is healthier than metro newspapers, because it hasn’t been invaded by Internet competition,” says Al Cross, director of the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues at the University of Kentucky. “Craigslist doesn’t serve these kinds of communities. They have no effective competition for local news. Rural papers own the franchise locally of the most credible information.”

Newspaper publishers are beginning to take notice of the fact that weekly newspapers in rural communities are continuing to thrive even as daily publications struggle to stay afloat.  It is not difficult to understand why this would be the case.  Larger city publications do not focus on the events, sporting and otherwise, that form the ties that connect people in nearby rural areas.  Youth leagues of baseball, softball, and basketball, among other sports, draw enthusiastic crowds of family and friends, but the urban daily will seldom even report the scores, let alone have pictures.  The local weekly, however, will give rundowns of the winners and the losers with pictures of the action. Parents and participants can see their efforts depicted, and they point with pride when their faces are in the photographs.

Other community events will be reported in a local weekly that are generally ignored by the urban daily paper.  Library events, local theater productions, annual BBQ feasts, and Harvest Festivals or Scandinavian Festivals all get their coverage as an acknowledgement of how these things both build and reflect a community.  The local paper will have articles on businesses and services that interact with people in its area, and these help people to know the support systems available to them.  Informative articles concerning issues such as highway safety, local construction projects, and school events help the entire community stay connected in ways that would not be possible without their weekly newspaper. Another key aspect of the local weekly is the ongoing interest in the people who make a community work.  Teachers, principals, business leaders, fire fighters and other local personalities are introduced to their community.  These people often live without the recognition that a local paper can provide.

A key element in the local weekly is the Calendar of Meetings inside the front page.   That allows the reader to review quickly who is scheduled to meet, and when and where that meeting can be found.  The news briefs under the meeting schedule give advance notice of upcoming events and service opportunities scheduled. People can easily keep track of what is going on in their local government and their schools.  While some of this information is available in the urban daily, it is frequently buried in small print sections difficult to access. This is particularly true of the deliberations and decisions by Veneta and Junction City governmental agencies.  The weekly provides the only regular updates on those local government activities.

Running a weekly newspaper is not a task for the faint of heart.  Because they serve rural communities, the advertising base is not large, and because it is available at local outlets, people often do not subscribe.  Needless to say, it is not a short-cut to wealth or fame.  However, the people who do it, stay with it because they have a commitment to their community and a vision of the niche they fill. The Owner/Publishers of D & P Connections, LLC, Pam and Jean Petersdorf, grew up in this area and have a wealth of experience with what it means to live in a rural area. The seventh generation of Petersdorfs are growing up here. They publish the Fern Ridge Review which covers events in Veneta, Elmira, Noti, Walton, Blachly, Alvadore, Triangle Lake, Crow, Lorane and Cheshire. Their other paper is the Junction City Tribune News which covers Junction City, Harrisburg, Monroe, Blachly, Alvadore, Triangle Lake and Cheshire. They have kept both papers going through significant personal hardships as they each worked their way through serious health issues.  Not only do they search out and organize the content of the paper, they get up at 4 AM Mondays to pick it up, put labels on the ones being mailed, and deliver them to the Post Office and the localities that distribute it. Knowing the individual characteristics of the two communities, they keep the two papers separate so that the information will relate directly to the readers in those communities.  Occasionally, articles can be shared by the two papers, but often the material is completely different.

Also published by D & P Connection, LLC is the local phone book.  In a rural area, cell phone coverage can be absent or spotty, and many seniors do not have cell phones.  A local phone book not only provides information about local residents, it also informs people about nearby business activities that they may otherwise not be aware of. A local phone book allows the user to quickly get to the local information they want without wading through the volume of information they don’t want from the surrounding cities, and because it doesn’t have that volume, the larger print size makes it easier to read.

Please take the time to evaluate the key role the local weekly paper plays in the life of our rural communities.  It communicates many important aspects of a community’s function, and that communication link not only improves the function, in some cases it makes it possible. Arranging for a subscription will allow it to be delivered in the mail, assuring that nothing will be missed.  The price is very reasonable when compared to the daily paper published by the nearby city.  Business people who advertise in the local paper make connections with the people around them, both in adding a customer base and in making themselves visible to their neighbors. It is all too easy to underestimate the value this local voice adds to our communities.

Interested in reading more?  Try this article: http://articles.latimes.com/2011/sep/13/opinion/la-oe-muller-weeklies-20110913

ACHIEVEMENTS

On February 11, 2017, the first Annual Hall of Fame was held at Elmira High School.  The purpose of this event is to recognize, honor and provide an enduring memorial for those persons whose outstanding contributions have enriched the athletic program and brought honor to the school.  The recognition of past individuals and their significant contributions to EHS Athletics will serve to provide models for future generations to emulate.  Recognition is given to entire teams, individuals team members and coaches as well as other significant figures in the district.

Teams honored Saturday night include the 1964 Men’s Champion Basketball team and the 1993 and 2004 Champion Softball teams.  Fifteen individuals were also honored from different teams as well as community members Gary and June Horkey [40+ years of service],Tom Page [30+ years of service], and Dwight and Ginger Warternbee [20+ years of service].  We thank them for their thoughtful donations and time which have allowed EHS students to also reach their goals of being involved in athletics and other extra-curricular activities.

Life’s Lessons:  Perspective for us all

 This inspirational article, written by Dick Ingram [Executive Director Teachers’ Retirement System of the State of Illinois] about his son’s cross country bike race was brought to us by Craig Soderberg and read at our School Board Retreat on August 8^th.  We all agreed that this is an important message for the board, the district, the community and all of us in the world community.  I present it here with Mr. Ingram’s permission.

Before I left for my vacation, I shared with you some tidbits about my oldest son participating in the Race Across America., the longest single stage [that means non-stop] bike race in the world.  Now that I am back from vacation I thought I would close the loop on that story and share some thoughts with you that came to me from sharing the experience with Colin.  I started jotting down these thoughts over two weeks ago while I was flying to New Hampshire on my way to our family vacation on Lake Winnipesaukee.

Before it began, I had no idea what a major deal this race is, nor did Colin and his teammates and crew.  This was serious racing, with strict and detailed rules and one goal, to get from the pier in Oceanside, California to the City Dock in Annapolis, Maryland as fast as you can over the official 3069 mile course.  The team took turns rotating in two four-man groups that rode individual legs non-stop.  Depending on the terrain, the legs could be 10 to 60 miles.  Their average team speed over the entire race was 20.25 miles per hour.  Once the gun goes off, the clock keeps running.  There are official checkpoints about every 50 miles or so all across the country.  A GPS device monitors your progress so shortcuts aren’t possible. One team mistakenly left their device in a vehicle that was hopscotching ahead to a hand off and was called out by the race committee who were wondering how the bike was going 70 miles an hour.

Okay so first the results.  Colin’s team finished third [well, second officially, but more on that in a minute].  His team was made up of 8 riders and a 6-person crew.  Not all of them knew each other before the race.  Even though they had all been riding on their own, it was a sideline to their first love and their day job, running.   The entry fees, rented vans and chase car, gas, food, laundry, miscellaneous supplies and the occasional seedy motel room for a shower totaled about $42,000.  They brought their own bikes [each had just one].  New Balance provided the “kit” or the racing uniform, but other than that the eight of them kicked in the money out of their own pockets.  The crew donated their time just to be part of the adventure.

Who was their competition?  Well let’s leave it at this.  The first [more on them a little later], second and fourth teams all had race budgets of $150,000 that had been paid for by sponsors.  They each traveled by tour bus [one of which had just been used by Axl Rose during part of the Guns’n Roses concert tour], so no seedy motels for them.  They each had two bikes for every rider – one especially designed for climbing in the mountains and one for the rest of the course.  Masseuses were on the bus along with hot showers and beds.  Rock star comforts.  Some of the riders were world-class triathlon competitors.  In contrast to Colin’s team of runners riding bikes for a change, all were serious and experienced bike racers.

So what were some of the things that struck me as I shared this experience with him?  I have probably forgotten some but I think I got the most important ones.  They are below, in no particular order.  As you read them, I hope you realize that each of them could be applied in some way to our work together here at the Fern Ridge School District [and in the Fern Ridge Community].

Be a good sport; be gracious and kind no matter where you finish.  I mentioned that Colin’s team finished third.  Their official place was second because the winning team was disqualified for poor sportsmanship.  They didn’t cheat or cut corners.  They pedaled the fastest but were just jerks, and the Race Committee took the title away from them after awarding it because they were so graceless.  Quite a message in a world where elite athletes are often insufferably vain without consequence.

Don’t taunt or make fun of the other guy.  It only makes you look small and sets you up for embarrassment later.  Colin’s team had been solidly in third since they climbed the Rockies – all through Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois and Indiana.  After they had been slowed by weather and some mishaps in Ohio and West Virginia on the fifth day of the race, the eventual fourth place team was closing the gap and began taunting Colin and his team when they would meet up on the course.  Colin’s message to his team was simple: “There is no way we come in behind these guys.”  He was good to his word.

Conditions will never be optimal or what you want them to be.  It does not matter. Push through.  They rode through cloudless skies and heat that maxed out at 131 degrees, heat that softened their tires and killed their speed.   They climbed 10,000 feet three times in a row through the Rockies into a 15 mph headwind.  They slogged through rain and mud as they climbed through the Appalachians in West Virginia.  They endured serious and juvenile harassment from motorists and passerby.  But they recognized it was those things that would make the experience the epic adventure that it was.

Strangers will do nice things for you.  In Kansas, total strangers who realized why these lone cyclists were pedaling through their town would drive ahead and block intersections after intersection to ensure a safe and unhindered passage through.

It takes a lot of people to make the things that matter work.  I was struck by the kindness and support of the many volunteers who manned the time stops for many hours at a time.  They generously had food, drinks and supplies for the riders. They were often the only ones around to cheer the riders as they went through.  They did it for free: alone- in the dark, in the middle of the night, in the middle of nowhere.  When you experience those things, you are reminded about how good we can be as a people.   It sounds corny, but it makes you proud.  I was proud to have Illinois represented by the kind young couple from Mattoon who spent the night manning the Effingham station.

Hand-offs and keeping track of your teammates is important.   In an incident that became humorous only after the race was finished, Colin was left behind at a remote gas station in western Maryland.  Thinking he was asleep in the back of the van when he actually was in the rest room, they drove off.  Only when they were 40 miles down the road did one of his sleep deprived teammates [who is Irish] asked “Lads, where is Colin…”  I have an amusing voice mail from him while he was stranded.  Not the best use of time on the last day of the race with the aforementioned fourth place team closing the gap.

Appreciate the people who do the unheralded dirty work.  The crew was just as important as the riders.  They did all the little things to keep them moving and focused.  This struck home for me when I met Colin in Effingham  As I mentioned above, they had two vans, one for each four-man group.  The vans carried all the supplies, the bikes, etc.  But there was a third vehicle also: a chase car that stayed with the rider every minute all through the race.  I personally cannot imagine driving across country at 20 mph with my flashers on, but they did, along with many other thankless tasks.

Invest in relationships.  Be willing to meet new people.  They create the opportunity to do amazing things together.  Some lifelong friendships were forged over the course of the race.  The testimonies several of them wrote online after the race were some of the most heartfelt pieces I have every read.

Likewise, nurture your old friends as well.  One of the key crew members was one of Colin’s former colleagues when he worked at Mizuno before joining New Balance.  Old friends won’t let you down.

Step up without being asked.  If your teammates are lagging, aren’t performing well or can’t ride their next leg, you can lift them up by doing more without making them ask for help, expecting any praise or giving them a hard time.  Just answer the question “who’s next?” with “I am”.

Celebrate together.  After over six days of individual rides, Colin asked his four-man team to ride with him for the last 31 miles.  They were joined 15 miles from the finish by the other four.  They rode together as a team the rest of the way, a perfect parade finish.  Not the fastest way to finish but the best.

Have fun.  The race committee noted the team’s good humor, sportsmanship and humility that stood in stark contrast to the boorish behavior of the fastest team.  The pictures they took along the way testified to the fact that racing hard wasn’t mutually exclusive of having fun.

Don’t be afraid to step outside your comfort zone.  Do the hard things.  Colin is a fairly elite athlete who has experienced the highest highs and the lowest lows of competition, but this experience was far beyond anything he had done.  In his words, “it was a 6 day, 7 hour and 36 minute catharsis that left me feeling more alive, more thankful to be alive and itching for the next challenge.”

Little gestures mean the world.  There were hundreds of little kindnesses and thoughtful gestures during the ride- within the team and from strangers they met along the way.  Like the people in Kansas and the older lady in West Virginia who offered to do their laundry so the crew could rest.  You can imagine just how skeevy their laundry had to be and what a kind thing it was for her to wash, sort and fold it all!

I will wrap this up with a more personal reflection about waiting in the dark.  I had promised Colin that I would meet him as he came across Illinois.  That ended up happening at 1:30 am on June 23^rd, a very early Thursday morning in Effingham.  As it turned out, he rode the leg into the Effingham time station.  So I waited for him in the dark.  I can’t quite find the right words, but there is something very moving about waiting for your son in the dark of night.  It brought floods of memories.

After a while the group’s van rolled in to get the next rider set up for the exchange. “Are you Colin’s dad?  It’s true; you do look just like him!”  Then I waited for the pinprick of light from his headlamp to appear in the darkness.  Behind him was the chase car with its flasher on.  And out of the darkness he came.

So we had fifteen minutes together on an ungodly hot and humid night in the middle of America, and they were off to the next hand off and a truly epic final two days of the race.  And I head back to Springfield and a final day of work before I took a vacation.  I got the distinct impression that some thought I was a bit crazy to drive to Effingham for a brief snatch of time with him in the small hours of the morning.  I would have driven to Effingham even if just to wave as he rode by.  Why?  Because in a very special way, I knew how much this race meant to him and what was driving him through the miles.  He knew I would be there, and I wasn’t going to let him down.  If you care about someone you should always be willing to wait for him in the dark.  I wouldn’t have missed the moment for anything.

First of all, let me begin by reminding my readers that this column is my opinion and my opinion only.  By that I mean that I am not speaking for the board merely making observations about educational topics and asking for your perspective and input.  As I said in my last article appearing in the Fern Ridge Review on June 22, 2016, emotional and psychological support of programs for ages 0-6 help our children find the onramps to success through education and into life.  And, as promised in that article, I want to now talk about the economic advantages for all – and that means even those of us who no longer or never had any children in the schools.  How in the world could these programs help all of us economically?

While some recognize the importance of social equity in economic terms as well, let’s look more directly at the issues that are affected here.  According to the Register Guard Guest Viewpoint from the Oregon Community Foundation, dollars spent in the “early years pay off many times over.  We can save anywhere from $3 to $17 for every $1 invested because of lower costs for remedial education, lower crime and incarceration costs, and higher productivity over a lifetime.”  [Register Guard 6/16/16]   Besides the obvious costs of crime and jail, the higher productivity translates to more taxes paid into local coffers and advances in livability in the community itself.  Equally, important in this time of political questions, these children will be better citizens as well and be more informed and ready to make critical decisions so necessary in our political and social world.

In addition, as crime drops and taxes and livability rise, property values rise as well.  Needless to say, if one owns property of any kind, one wants to get the most money a person can when selling it.  Run down, crime ridden cities are not prime real estate.  The Family Resource Center focuses on programs to improve family stability and effective parenting while creating the foundation for effective learning as well as self-regulation which I talked about last time.  Ultimately, one of the goals would be reducing the opportunity gap for all ages while aligning learning supports for students AND families.

Our Family Resource Center, active at both elementary schools, is a starting point.  At some point, we should hope to coordinate with all community agencies, including the school district, while reaching out for resources to support families and extended learning opportunities for students.  Remember, it is through learning that we all can reach our potential. We need to grow and change for as long as we are alive with the world we inhabit. Morally, ethically, psychologically, judicially, AND economically, this is one way to improve the quality of life for all who share our world and our community.

Check out these short videos from Vroom Brain Games: https://youtu.be/trm38G2e5NE and https://youtu.be/PB1Uo9nbIVU are introductions.  Then watch these to see examples of things you might do with your baby or toddler. https://youtu.be/Auns4tHyXes and https://youtu.be/iAj3wW1piTI  and this one https://youtu.be/WwkLayJQHQ8 to feel good for all you already do for your child, grandchild, niece, nephew, foster child, adopted children and all kiddos – young and old- in your life and neighborhood.

I leave you with this quote from Rose Kennedy:  “When you hold your baby in your arms the first time, and you think of all the things you can say and do to influence him, it’s a tremendous responsibility. What you do with him can influence not only him, but everyone he meets and not for a day or a month or a year but for time and eternity.”  As always, keep writing to me at tmorton@fernridge.k12.or.us and see you in July!

School District Questions and Answers –

With board vice- chair- Twinkle Ann Morton

OPERATING BUDGET IS NOT BOND CONSTRUCTION

and

Key Communicator Questions

First of all, let me begin by reminding my readers that this column is my opinion and my opinion only.  By that I mean that I am not speaking for the board merely making observations about educational topics and asking for your perspective and input.  A few people appear to be confused about the issue of the bond and the projected budget issue that was reported in the paper last week.  So I am trying to address those problems as they were asked of our Key Communicators.  Here we go.

We just passed a bond.  How could the school district have a budget issue?  Interesting Question.  In reading the bond description, one can see that the bond money can be used only to build schools, remodel existing schools, and increase safety and technology.  The promise of transparency and progress reports has been fulfilled for those interested.  The agreement is “The Fern Ridge School District will provide a monthly update on the progress of the work funded by the $26.7 million bond approved by voters last May, to be published regularly. This has been done as well as listing project plans and information pertaining to each project. You will find this additional information on the District’s website www.fernridge.k12.or.us under the heading BOND.

So what caused a budget shortage?  The district shortfall is a result of years of underfunding from the state as well as unfunded mandates created by the legislature.  Our district is the only one, I believe, who returned to a full school year this year.  We hope to maintain a full schedule while other districts have cut days and positions.  The administration has worked tirelessly to maintain our staff and our lower class sizes so as to protect the students’ learning.  The bond can do nothing to fund salaries, insurance, supplies, textbooks, or bus and food contracts.  The teachers through FREA have been wonderful in their attempts to keep costs at a minimum while maintaining the full school year.  They too have seen the cost of insurance and PERS rise while the cost of some “must have” commodities has also increased.

Will this bond save us money in the Operating Budget?  Many people understand the difference but still have this question.  The answer is a resounding YES.  The roofs at the buildings will not need fixing; the new walls will not need to be painted; the new systems will not need to be perfected; so many unforeseeable issues that arise for maintenance should be taken care of.  Will there still be some issues?  Of course, but they will be surprises – not issues that we have band aided because of money issues.  Elmira Elementary and Veneta Elementary will be relatively new and protected by an improved security system as will the Middle School and the High School.

So will there be a Reduction in Force [RIF]?  The simple answer is no.  The administrative team has been working to turn yet another shortage from the state school fund into as good as possible. “Lemons to Lemonade sort of thing”.  Teachers who are retiring will not be replaced.  The Elementary Principals have met and are looking for ways to balance their numbers and class sizes.  It is time for some textbook replacements- it is likely they will be put off yet again for a better time.  But at this time, we will be able to keep all of our wonderful staff.

What remains for Veneta Elementary and for Elmira Elementary School?     

   VES

With most of the Veneta Elementary construction project wrapping up for this school year, we’re excited to share a few pictures of the new wing, classrooms, library, and the cafeteria on the District Webpage. New flooring, more technology, landscaping, and new parking and bus loops are some of the improvements still to come.

   EES

It is with great anticipation that constriction is in full swing at Elmira Elementary. The ground works are moving along on schedule, despite the weather’s occasional lack of cooperation.

Plumbing and underground electrical have been laid, and the concrete has been poured.  Framing has begun, and it is very exciting to watch as the walls go up.  Drive by sometime and see.

   FRMS

The work at Fern Ridge Middle School is mostly complete and the students and staff have settled in to the school year.

   EHS

At Elmira High School the installation of the new field lights is complete, which has greatly improved the viewing of activities on the field and increased both the safety of the students and security of the campus. The new auxiliary gym project for the high school has begun its design phase and bids have come in within our hopes but a bit higher than predicted.  As time passes in the economy beginning recover, the costs of product and of labor will continue to rise.  The Company representing the District, Cornerstone, has done an excellent job at seizing the golden ring when they can, and the companies we are working with have been great as well.

Why is some work not done at all the places?  As you know, when you need to have an electrician or a plumber- any highly skilled work person- to your home, it is wise to have any and all projects lined out so they can be achieved all at once.  Several important reasons for that apply here.  One is scheduling- Once you have them on sight, do it all at once.  The other reason is cost.  If someone comes out to do the security upgrade at one school, he or she loads up all the stuff, drives here, completes that job- load up and goes home.  Then they do it all again for the next job… so the bond committee is saving money by doing the total project all at once for several things.

So keep those questions coming- I’ll answer as best I can and as quickly as I can.   Here’s a short video to raise your spirits.  https://youtu.be/vANn8BMSi9M   Aa quote to think about from Nelson Mandela.  “There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children.”  Write to me at tmorton@fernridge.k12.or.us.