Carus
Elementary in need of extra support
Photo by Steve Wilkowske
Wayne Laymon, maintenance superintendent for the Canby School District, examines rotting wood on the underside of a roof at Carus Elementary School on Monday. The bond measure includes funds for roof repairs.
By Stephanie South
Rotted ceiling beams were
discovered by custodians in January in Kathy Steiner's fourth-grade classroom at Carus
Elementary School.
Students were evacuated from the classroom for fear the ceiling might cave in.
The moldy environment also caused Steiner to have allergic reactions that required allergy
medication, said Carus Principal Mary Hochstetler.
"Her doctor told her she had to get out of the situation," Hochstetler said.
"And who knows how many of the kids were affected."
A room with a rotted ceiling isn't an appropriate educational setting, Hochstetler said.
"The kids and teachers get comfortable in their space," she said, "and to
have to tear them out in the middle of the year is disconcerting . . . but kids are good
troopers."
Hochstetler said it's time to take care of the roof problems once and for all.
"About 10 years ago, someone cut back the dry rot and put support beams in,"
Hochstetler said. "We have to fix the problem. We can't just keep repairing the
symptoms."
Carus counselor Cary Buchanan said it's unsettling to have dry rot in the roofs.
"It's only a matter of time before more ceilings start to crumble," he said.
Not only do the roofs need to be repaired, but the school's siding does too, Hochstetler
said.
"We've been doing some patching on the rooms," Hochstetler said. "You can
look up and see the water damage and incredible condensation on the tiles."
Hochstetler said that if the blind gutters in the walls aren't impeccably maintained, they
leak water back into the wall and create dry rot.
"The siding is just rotting away," she said.
The dry rot problems will be solved if the proposed $30.8 million bond measure passes. The
Canby School District has submitted a maintenance bond that seeks voter approval May 16.
Canby School District Business Manager Don Staehely said about $2.5 million of the $30.8
million bond would be used for maintenance repairs at Carus.
Another concern at Carus is the safety factor of the parking lot off Highway 213.
"This is a real mess as far as having enough parking and safety issues,"
Buchanan said.
The bond would provide a new bus loading area off Carus Road and lighted parking near the
covered play area.
"This would be a tremendous improvement as far as the students' safety is
concerned," Buchanan said.
Other projects include replacing heating and ventilation systems, adding classrooms by
relocating production and staff rooms, paving a pair of parking lots, replacing curbs,
adding sidewalks and outside lighting, and adding a retaining wall by the kitchen.
Plans also call for adding rain walls to the covered play area, providing a roof over the
existing ramp to the cafeteria, upgrading plumbing and sinks, refinishing gym floors,
replacing the tile floor in the cafeteria, upgrading septic systems, replacing frayed
carpets, replacing windows with insulated glass, and adding electronic door locking
systems for student safety and building security.
Bond
backers amass
$14,500 in contributions
By Tom Morlan
The committee promoting the Canby School District's
$30.8 million bond measure has received nearly $14,500 in contributions, according to
reports filed with the Clackamas County Elections Division on April 17.
The group - registered as the Committee to Protect Your Investment and Provide
Opportunities for Our Children's Future - had spent almost $4,400 campaigning for Measure
3-71 by the filing deadline. That figure will undoubtedly increase in the coming weeks,
because ballots are scheduled to be mailed to voters Friday.
Marty McCullough, treasurer for the political action committee, said some of the money has
been used to purchase advertising in the Canby Herald. Funds also have defrayed the cost
of mailings, informational videos and lawn signs.
"Our budget is pretty tight," McCullough said. "The bulk of the money we
have has been spent on newspaper advertising and mailing."
On Saturday, volunteers will go door-to-door distributing fliers throughout the district.
McCullough encouraged bond supporters to show up at the Canby Adult Center at 9 a.m.
Political action committees are required by law to file contributions and expenditures
reports. The report filed by bond supporters lists those organizations that have played a
key role in funding the PAC.
Clebob Seattle Investments, which lists a Canby post office box as its address, led the
way with a $5,000 contribution. Calvin Eugene Hull, the owner of Ryder Transportation,
donated $3,000 to the cause, as did the Canby Educational Association.
The other main contributors were Boora Architects of Portland and Roth Heating and Cooling
of Canby. Each contributed $1,000 to the PAC.
The PAC also received smaller donations from a number of sources. McCullough said she
appreciates the widespread support.
"We've had some very generous donors in the district who want to make sure this bond
passes," McCullough said. "It's not just critical for our schools. It's critical
for our community."
District Superintendent Deborah Sommer said she's been heartened by the response from the
community.
"I'm very appreciative of the donation of time and money and energy that people have
come forward with," Sommer said. "I believe we have very strong support from a
wide variety of folks in the community. I get those messages all the time."
The measure requires a 50 percent voter approval and a 50 percent turnout of registered
voters. Election ballots must be received by elections officials by 8 p.m. Tuesday, May
16.
Motor home takes a dive
By David Howell
Reality can be far stranger than the dreams conjured up in a deep sleep.
Just ask Gwen Schweitzer.
The Canby resident awoke to quite a fright - and quite a sight - early Friday morning.
Looking from her rear deck, Schweitzer saw the back end of a $34,000 motor home protruding
from her pond.
"I saw this white thing sticking out of the water, and I thought it was the front end
of a plane that had crashed," she said. "I called 9-1-1, and county deputies
quickly arrived. So, too, did two TV stations."
Gwen and Harold Schweitzer have lived on their 43 acres off Highway 99E in Canby since
1964. Few days in the last 36 years have started in such an odd fashion, she said.
Naturally, seeing the 1996 Itasca Sundance motor home partially submerged in their usually
tranquil pond was more than a surprise.
"It went through a couple of fences of ours, and over a couple of stumps," she
said. "It shook me up quite a bit."
The Clackamas County Sheriff's Office said the large vehicle crashed into the secluded
pond sometime between 7:30 p.m. April 20 and 8:30 a.m. April 21.
The motor home was driven from the gravel parking lot of The Spinning Wheel Restaurant
& Lounge on Highway 99E, through an old rusty barbed wire fence, across a freshly
plowed field, down a grassy embankment, and into the large pond, according to Deputy
William Lanier's report.
Canby Fire District No. 62 was dispatched to the scene at 6:46 a.m. Three vehicles
arrived, and Canby Fire Lt. Hal Kraxberger crawled into the motor home to make sure no one
was inside.
Brenda Kathleen Kennedy, who has no fixed abode but who said she was staying with her
boyfriend at his sister-in-law's southwest Canby apartment, reported at 9 a.m. April 21
she owned a motor home that had been stolen from a bar's parking lot.
Lanier and Sgt. Vaughn Klier were dispatched to an apartment in the 300 block of Southwest
First Street to take her stolen vehicle complaint.
Kennedy, 42, who was shaking and at times verbally abusive and irate toward the two
deputies, could not remember what happened the night before because she said she got
"very intoxicated at The Spinning Wheel and she could not remember very much,"
the CCSO report said.
She said the couple began drinking at the 99E bar at 5:30 p.m., and that she left alone at
10:30 p.m. to walk into Canby to get a cup of coffee.
Kennedy - whose vehicle operator's license is suspended, police records showed - said she
never returned to The Spinning Wheel, and instead walked to the apartment.
She said she returned to the bar's parking lot at 8:30 a.m. Friday, only to find her motor
home missing.
Kennedy denied driving the vehicle, which had been her home since December 1999, into the
pond. Nevertheless, she agreed to pay the towing costs of extracting the vehicle - which
was flagged as sold, police records showed - from its newfound soggy home.
"She said she had the keys to her motor home with her the tavern," the report
stated. "She then changed this statement and said she left the keys on the bar. She
then said her boyfriend may have had the keys, and that she had no idea what happened to
the vehicle keys. She said she had been talking to an unknown Hispanic male in the tavern,
and maybe he has her keys."
Canby police backup was requested by the deputies because her anger was rising and her
boyfriend was to be taken into custody, and Officer Jorge Tro arrived at the apartment.
County deputies arrested and jailed her boyfriend, Stephan Ray Miller, 42, after they were
informed he was wanted on outstanding Deschutes County warrants. Like his girlfriend, he
had a revoked operator's license, too.
Miller told deputies he and Kennedy had driven the motor home from Bend to visit his
relative in Canby. During the trip, the motor home's entire rear window broke.
He said he could not remember everything that happened Thursday night because he was very
drunk, but recalls them playing pool and singing karaoke. Miller said he passed out at
unknown time and destination later, and that he did not have the motor home's keys.
Miller said he did not drive the vehicle into the pond, and did not know who did.
An employee of the tavern said the couple had been drinking and arguing in the bar from
7-10:30 p.m., when Kennedy left the premises. She returned five or 10 minutes later, and
told the employee someone had stolen her motor home from the parking lot.
He offered to call police and report the theft, but Kennedy "told him her boyfriend
had some keys to the motor home and he probably took the vehicle," the report stated.
The employee said Kennedy then left on foot again, and that he had no idea where she went
to.
At 11 a.m. Friday, Kennedy returned to the tavern to check on the submerged motor home.
"(The employee) said there is no doubt in his mind that Brenda Kennedy or her
boyfriend drove the motor home into the pond," the nine-page report concluded.
The deployment of a Life Flight helicopter was stood down, and local firefighters and
paramedics returned to the South Pine Street fire station at 7:36 a.m.
County deputies continue to investigate the case. No action has yet been taken, and
deputies hope to develop further suspect information.
CUB officials say it's
time to lighten up
By Tom Morlan
The image projected by the Canby Utility Board's logo is less than
electric. In fact, even CUB General Manager Dirk Borges describes the 30-year-old seal as
"stodgy."
"It's an overbearing kind of thing," Borges said. "It looks like a
government logo."
That's not surprising, given the fact that CUB is owned by the city. But CUB has
reinforced its bureaucratic image on every utility bill, and officials want to change
that.
"Over the years, although we've gotten very high marks from our customers, there's
been a feeling that we're maybe a little too much like our logo - too bureaucratic, too
governmental," Borges said. "There was something kind of missing."
What's been missing is the human element, the fact that CUB is responsive to the needs of
the community.
That will all change Saturday when CUB unveils a new graphic identity during a community
celebration at Pioneer Plaza. The 10 a.m. event will feature live music, food and
refreshments, along with water and electricity exhibits.
CUB Chairman Bob Westcott emphasized that the utility is doing more than changing its
logo. Officials want to change the way CUB relates to its customers as well.
"We're enthusiastic about our renewed customer service focus at Canby Utility and the
new look we will be projecting," Westcott said. "We want to share our news with
all customers and encourage everyone to come down to the square to participate."
It's the first step in a plan designed to increase CUB's presence in the community,
according to Borges. In the past, CUB has taken a low-key approach when participating in
local service projects.
"We weren't that visible in the community compared to other utilities," Borges
said. "That's because we feel people want us to be conservative. ''That hasn't
changed, but we feel people want us to be a little more visible in community
activities."
Board member Georgia Newton said she wants rate payers to realize that CUB is providing
good service at a great price.
"Our rates our substantially lower than PGE rates," Newton said. "I don't
think the community knows what a good job we've done."
But CUB isn't satisfied with the status quo, Newton said. A community survey indicated
that CUB could improve in a number of areas, and the utility is responding to those
concerns.
The threat of deregulation prompted CUB to undertake the survey. If new competitors were
to come on line, CUB officials wanted to make sure they were well-positioned in the
marketplace.
That threat has passed, at least for the time being. But CUB officials have decided that
providing superior customer service is a worthy goal in its own right.
"We will be conservative and fiscally responsible, but we will take our customers'
needs more into consideration," Newton said. "This is the start of that."
CUB laid the groundwork for better service by investing $250,000 in a new computer system.
That means the waits are shorter when customers call.
In addition, new clients don't have to come to the office in person anymore.
They can sign up for service over the phone, saving them time and the hassle of
rearranging their work schedules.
CUB also wants to make it more convenient for customers to pay their bills. For instance,
folks may soon have the option of paying with a credit card instead of being limited to
writing a check.
Another change involves a utility payment plan that levels out monthly bills over the
course of a year. Now CUB customers can register for the plan anytime, not just during a
brief period in the summer.
Borges said the community survey provided some valuable guidance for CUB, which has been
around for nearly 80 years.
"Even though competition won't be here for a long time, our customers get the
benefits of us going out," Borges said. "The bottom line is we suspect no one
will be able to beat our price for power for the next three to five years."
