Editorial
Stand up and be counted
Stand up and be counted - literally. The U.S. Census Bureau will begin its
headcount of every man, woman and child - regardless of the language they speak - across
the nation this month.
Questionnaires will be mailed out in a couple weeks. The statistics are vital in
determining populations of cities, counties, states and the nation, and the final numbers
will determine the allotment of funds for a variety of federal- and state-funded programs.
According to one local Census Bureau worker, Oregon missed out on millions of dollars over
the last decade because the last census, taken in 1990, woefully undercounted the actual
number of people in the state.
While it may seem an inconvenience to answer a few questions from a census taker, the
information he or she seeks is important. When ranking civic duties, we rank cooperating
with census workers right up there with voting.
Census 2000 won't miss people on the road, either. Census takers will interview people
staying at campgrounds, fairs and carnivals and marinas.
Every person interviewed will have the opportunity to report their permanent address. With
the help of local experts, Census 2000 is identifying places where people without housing
receive services, such as emergency and transitional shelters, soup kitchens,
regularly-scheduled mobile food vans and targeted outdoor locations. Census workers will
go to these locations to conduct the census.
The Census Bureau will seek the advice of local experts to find areas where migrant and
seasonal farmworkers live and work, including unregistered labor camps, vehicles parked
near work sites and living areas along unnamed roads. Census 2000 is no easy task, but we
can help make it a little easier.
Sadly, in Clackamas County, the U.S. Census Bureau is having trouble finding enough people
to gather census information. A call has been put out for census bureau workers.
The pay isn't bad either. The temporary part-time jobs pay from $8.25 to $12.25 per hour
and generally include evening or weekend work. It's not a bad way to make some extra cash,
or perhaps pay off those Christmas debts.
Persons interested in seeking census jobs can call 1-888-325-7733. Workers will collect
census data generally in their local living areas, census bureau officials said.
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Letters
to the editor
Tour sold me on need
of Canby school bond
To the editor:
On Saturday, Feb. 12, I attended the Canby Schools Bus Tour/Open House to get an
understanding of the Canby School District's proposed $30.8 million bond issue on the May
16 ballot.
At first I was skeptical about the proposal, believing I'd find the school bureaucracy
using the bond measure to fund wants instead of needs.
But then, after studying the budget estimates and talking with several well-informed
people, I had a chance to see for myself the deterioration and decay that none of us would
find tolerable if it were in our own homes.
I can't say I agree with everything in the bond measure, but overall it's a good proposal,
and I'll support it. If you can find the time to go take a look at your neighborhood
schools, I think you'll want to support the bond measure, too.
Terry Bray
Oregon City
Thank you to drivers
who paid respect
To the editor:
My family and I wish to thank the people who pulled over to the shoulder of the road going
north on Highway 99E on Jan. 13, 2000, to honor and give condolences to us as we followed
the hearse carrying our beloved mother, Bernice Holmes to her final resting place, Belle
Passi Cemetery in Woodburn.
Thank you and God bless you.
Dee Schmiedeberg
Salem
Honor Society seeks
scholarship funds
To the editor:
I am writing on behalf of the Canby High School National Honor Society.
Each year, the National Honor Society Scholarship Committee raises funds from local
businesses and individuals in order to award scholarships to as many graduating senior
members as possible.
The recipients use their scholarships to help defray the costs of higher education.
As part of our fund-raising efforts, our committee sent letters to many local area
businesses requesting donations. We are aware, however, that many businesses, especially
those businesses new to Canby, did not receive letters.
Likewise, many private citizens have expressed an interest in contributing to our worthy
cause.
If you are a business owner or private citizen who would like to make a contribution to
our fund, you may make your tax-deductible check payable to NHS Scholarship Fund.
You may mail your contribution to: NHS Scholarship Fund, Canby High School, 721 S.W.
Fourth Ave., Canby, OR 97013. We thank you for your time and thoughtful consideration.
Jarret Hamstreet
Scholarship Committee Chair
CHS National Honor Society
Superintendent explains
objective behind youth summit
To the editor:
The purpose of the Canby Youth Summit is to examine those specific services that support
the sound development of Canby's youth population and to hear from young people their
perceptions of their current and future needs.
The ultimate goal is to identify areas where needs of young people are not being addressed
and to develop an action plan to meet those needs in the community - whether through the
efforts of Canby schools, the Blue Heron Recreation District, the city of Canby or local
service agencies and businesses.
To help plan and coordinate the upcoming Canby Youth Summit to be held on March 30, 2000,
and to assist the school district in gathering data on student attitudes and behavior to
help obtain future grant funding for new programs, the school district created a Youth
Coalition Coordinator position through a $10,000 grant from the Clackamas County
Commission on Family and Children. The Canby School District, Blue Heron and city of Canby
are joint applicants for this community coalition grant.
This position was filled following a competitive process that involved the screening of
applicant resumes and the interviewing of the top three candidates who applied for the
position. Robin Adcock was selected to fill the temporary position that extends until June
30, 2000.
Adcock was employed most recently by the Chillicothe, Missouri School District as a state
certified parent educator in the state-mandated Parents as Teachers program. She also has
been highly involved in other youth initiatives and activities, including the "Just
Say No" and the YMCA-Y-PALS youth mentoring programs. Mrs. Adcock has a background in
education and has served as a school resource specialist and teacher in California. She is
a graduate of San Francisco State University.
Both the school board and I support working in partnership with the city of Canby
regarding the needs of Canby-area youth. We, as educators, work with our young people only
about seven hours per day.
The opportunities available to our students in the community at large, when they are not
in school, can have a tremendous influence on them. I am hopeful that the Youth Summit
will be the first of many collaborative projects with the city.
Deborah Sommer
Canby School superintendent
Trost staff thanks family
night sponsors,
those who attended
To the editor:
Our staff is appreciative of the 240 folks who came to our Oregon State Standards Family
Night. Your presence was very rewarding to the 30 staff members who volunteered to be part
of this night. A big thanks especially to Cindy Bauer for organizing it.
Our staff was impressed with the discussions that took place about standards for student
performance and was pleased with the information that parents took home on how they could
help support these standards.
Your willingness to come and learn more about this very important topic was such an
encouragement to our staff and a great example to our students.
We also thank the Trost staff for the 40 door prizes donated by the school. Thanks also to
Michael Simpson of Smucker's for the 20 door prizes donated and to Jarboe's Grill for the
grand prize gift certificate.
We appreciate the partnership of everyone who helped to make it a successful evening. Roxa
Hawkins, principal Cecile Trost Elementary Canby
Call a volunteer for more information about school bond
To the editor: All of us value our Saturdays. For many, it may be the one day of the week
we have the opportunity to choose a leisure activity, to spend time with children or
grandchildren, visit with friends, or catch up on household chores.
Last Saturday, more than 200 members of the Canby community chose to spend their day
walking the streets of the Canby School District carrying an important question which they
asked each neighbor they met: "Can we send you more information about the upcoming
school bond measure?"
Those who responded positively will receive more detailed information in the mail
explaining the needs of our schools and the purpose of the bond. But they have already
received equally important information: a significant number of individuals are dedicated
to making sure that children in the Canby School District learn in a safe and secure
environment, with buildings that meet the current and future needs of our growing student
population.
If you weren't at home when a volunteer knocked on your door but would like to be included
in the growing list of those who are interested in protecting their investment in our
school facilities, please call us.
We'll be happy to add your name to the list and send you the details.
Nancy Muller, 266-7105 Lorrie Lankford, 266-1706 Roger Reif, 266-5989 Dana Tyler,
266-3279 John and Marty McCullough, 694-2216 Ron & Kathy Hostetler, 266-3584 Richard
& Jean Schallock, 694-2551 Gay Kuykendall, 266-3844 Tom & Ann Higgins, 694-2216
Randi Gunter, 266-4835 Mike Patton, 678-2718
Perhaps timely arrival
by mad concert-goer
would prevent a tow
To the editor:
The headline "Parking near Fine Arts Center a scam" on a letter to the editor
(in the Feb. 23 issue of the Herald) piqued my curiosity. When Ms. Morris stated she
wanted to "inform the public," I was hooked.
And what a revelation the letter did indeed contain.
A citizen, who didn't leave herself enough time to arrive comfortably for an event, parked
her car illegally for two and a half hours, came back to find it (predictably) towed away,
and is now so unhappy with K & L Grooming for enforcing its posted parking restriction
that she threatens to no longer patronize reputable businesses in Canby.
Not only that, but she writes "to inform the public," equating the practice of
restricting parking to "customers only" and enforcing it to rule by
"tyrants." What a profound sense of entitlement.
I'm interested to know where she will be taking her business, because if she knows of
places where the "for customers only" signs aren't enforced, it would be a
public service to provide that information to those of us who respect the signs because we
don't want to have our cars towed away.
But then, if more people began to ignore the signs, more businesses would be forced into
the unpleasantness of enforcing the rules.
Cathleen Whiting
Canby
Thanks to blood drive
volunteers, donors
To the editor:
The blood drive held Feb. 24, at Canby Adult Center was a great success. As with nearly
every endeavor, the credit for this lies with the volunteers who assisted with
registration, canteen and escort service to the bloodmobile.
Many thanks to Leonard and Donna Walker, David Howell, Grace Doering, Dorothy Simpson,
Juan Mejia and George Lyons.
Anna Phillips, director
Canby Adult Center |
