By Carolina Curran “Our Town” Editor It’s not every day someone can say they attended a Presidential Inaugura- tion…... but Coburg ’s very own Drew Minor can do just that about his opportunity this last January to see our 44th President, Barack Obama, sworn in. Drew is a junior at Sheldon High School and earned his opportunity by applying for a spot through the Presi- dential Youth Inaugural Conference organization. He and 39 other of Ore- gon’s top high school stu- dents earned this rare op- portunity. The conference consisted of approximately 7,000 students from across the country that had to go through a nomination and selection process. Along with watching the inaugura- tion the students got the opportunity to be involved in discussions and debates with congressional staff, journalist and military lead- ers as well as getting to visit historical sites and monuments. Coburg is very proud of this young man who was able to participate in this historic event and is also a student athlete at Sheldon High School . He works very hard out on the football field playing offensive end for the Irish. He is a moti- vated student who plans to pursue a college degree once he graduates from Sheldon. Well done Drew and con- gratulations!! A Once In a Lifetime Opportunity INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Food Pantry 2 Citizen Of The Year 3 Nacel Exchange Students 5 Calendar 9 School Auction 10 OUR TOWN March/April 2009 A PUBLICATION OF THE CITY OF COBURG Drew Minor visiting the Washington Monument while in D.C. for the Presidential Inauguration. By Kathy Emerson Food Pantry Manager Who knew when we opened 2 years ago that today's economy would change so dramatically! Each time that we are open, we see new people walking through our doors, very apologetic and hum- bled that they too, are in need of a food basket. In the past 5 months we have served 37 new fami- lies, many that have re- cently become unem- ployed and all from right here in our small town of Coburg. Our efforts are serving a huge need and all that visit are extremely grateful that we are here. The food drive during De- cember was a huge suc- cess, raising 1766 pounds of food, all of which stays here at the Coburg Pan- try. Our local mail carriers were very helpful in pick- ing this food up and drop- ping it off at the fire sta- tion. The youth group of the LDS church worked hard as well, sorting and putting it away the dona- tions. Thank you to all! Please watch for our next food drive in the spring, and remember that all food gathered here stays here in Coburg. In the meantime, you can drop food donations off at the Dari-Mart here in Coburg (ask where our food barrel is), or call me (Kathy Em- erson 434-6404), or stop by on our open day, the 2nd and 4th Monday of every month. The pantry would not be able to operate without volunteers (we have no paid positions). A luncheon was held in January as an apprecia- tion to them. We currently utilize about 32 volun- teers who work approxi- mately 50 hours a month. Jobs vary from helping with delivery, shopping for dairy items, stocking shelves, and serving our community when we are open. I am currently in need of one person that can attend a meeting at FFLC once a month on a Wednesday afternoon. This person would be the liaison for our Coburg pan- try, meeting with all the other pantries in Lane County, and discussing concerns and ideas. Let me know if this would be of interest to you. God bless all of you that help to make our food pantry work. There is such a huge need, espe- cially today. By helping with groceries we are al- lowing many to pay for their basic needs such as their rent and utilities. Food Pantry Is Needed Now More Than Ever Page 2 Our Town Ms. Priscilla Ing’s 4th grade reading group decided to take on a community pro- ject. After much discus- sion, they came up with a pro- ject: to coordi- nate an all- school food drive, and even gave themselves a name: the Hunger Solu- tions Club. They met with Judy Volta to discuss com- munity needs, made and posted many creative post- ers, and gave several an- nouncements over the in- tercom, encouraging the students to get involved. Every day they made their rounds to collect food from students, with the goal to collect 150 pounds of food by Valentine’s Day. The HSC members are: AJ L., Aubre Ann R, Bryan L., Cara T., Emma P., Gina P., Holly C., Jessica N., Miranda B., Moises G., and Wyatt P. The food drive was a re- sounding success. On Fri- day, Feb. 13th, the Club helped Dale Hunt, a pantry volunteer load over 270 pounds of much-needed food into his pickup for the Coburg Food Pantry. Kathy Emerson, Pantry Manager wrote a note to the Club, thanking them for their awesome efforts. Thanks, also to Ms. Ing, to the Coburg Elementary stu- dents with special recogni- tion to the Hunger Solutions Club for their good commu- nity work. Coburg Elementary “HUNGER SOLUTIONS CLUB” Does Mighty Good Work!! By Dorothy Vogel Linder (Note: this article is ex- cerpted from a written re- sponse from Dorothy after she received the 2009 Coburg Citizen of the Year) Dear Mayor Judy: Thank you for honoring me Tuesday evening at Coburg city hall. I enjoyed the eve- ning very much. It looked much nicer than the council room we used with two fire trucks also parked in the room. Don Brown (I called him God’s greatest plumber) was on the council and ap- proached me at the Methodist church saying the City needed a city recorder. He thought I could fill the office and all I needed to do was know how to type. That turned out to be a lie! At first, I was only in the office four hours a day, but people would knock on my door, see me at the post office and store and hand me their water bills. ($4 a month at the time). Lodge, Chambers and city employees got their water free. That didn’t last long. The former recorder, Louise Swartz, gave me the book on city ordinances and said, “Read these and remember use it like your Bible. Walk down the center of the road. Don’t say anything bad about anyone as they are probably related.” (The town was full of Smiths and Joneses and they were mar- ried, also!) Our two policemen, Wayne Lakin and Jack Greer alter- nated and worked two shifts a day. They also did street work, water problems, in- stalled meters in the City and Pioneer Estates. I also took care of fines and bails, set up the court for the judge, took in power bills, banked the city money each week, wrote fire permits, took care of seed grain farmers, money and permits to burn, gave out register voting re- cords, dog licenses and bicycle records. I worked for five mayors, Raleigh Manley more than once. I raised three lovely daughters here. I had loved and collected antiques since I was twenty years old. I was fifty when I worked at city hall; we bought Dr. Jarnigan’s house during the Columbus Day storm. Power was off for one week here, with roofs blown off and tree limbs breaking windows. The most fun in my life was putting seventeen pick up loads from a new mod- ern home into the one at 444 N. Willamette Street. The first thing I did was to go to the court house and to the museum and get everything they had on Coburg history. Thanks for the memories and the lovely key! Dorothy Vogel Linder Memories of My Years Serving the City Of Coburg By Judy Volta Mayor The January 13th Coburg City Council meeting was a busy time, with the swearing-in of mayor Judy Volta for a third elected term as well as the swearing-in of three re- elected council members, John Fox, Jerry Behney and Mike Wat- son. In keeping with a newly estab- lished tradition, special recogni- tion was given to a local citizen, as well as to city employee of the year and the annual State of the City address. Light refreshments were served to the crowd that gathered for this event. This year’s 2009 Coburg Citizen of the Year, Dorothy Vogel Linder, was presented with a Key to the City and given public recognition for her many years of public ser- vice. She served as city recorder and all-round key person in the city, under five mayors. Jim Broughton, Mary Guldager and the Dotsons all wrote personal recol- lections of her service. Dorothy responded with a delightful letter relating her memories, which is excerpted in a separate article in this Our Town. Jeannine Lavers, court clerk, was also publicly recognized as the City Employee of the Year, with city administrator Don Schuessler praising her strong skills in organi- zation in the municipal court. Coburg’s Kick Off a New Year at January 13th Council Meeting, with Special Swearings In and Recognition Page 3 March/April 2009 Page 4 Our Town By Rose Turtura School Secretary We’ve just begun our sec- ond semester of the school year and there are so many interesting educational ex- periences happening here at Coburg School. For the second year in a row, Coburg School, in con- junction with NACEL/Open Door Chinese short stay program, hosted six stu- dents and 3 adult chaper- ones from Kunshan Interna- tional School in Jiangsu, China. Our guests visited from February 1-14 and spent time in grades K-5 classrooms while staying with Coburg School Fami- lies. They toured Disney- land before joining us here in Coburg. Oregon. Some of their local experiences in- cluded fieldtrips to the Schnitzer Museum, the Mu- seum of Natural History, Gutoski filbert farm, the Coburg fire station, Coburg Primrose antiques, Coburg Police Department, Cal Young Middle School, lunch at the Coburg Café, and riding horses at Foster’s barn. The students also did memento projects; making model cars, a Coburg mem- ory scrapbook and Chad Minter made a slide show video for a keepsake for all the participants. Thanks to the Coburg Grange for host- ing a welcome BBQ and to the Coburg Fire station for letting the students work on projects and school work in their building each morning. For many years now, Coburg Community Connec- tions has partnered with Coburg Elementary to spon- sor Heritage Day to cele- brate our community and our state's history. This year's event, celebrat- ing Oregon’s sesquicenten- nial (150 years), was held Friday Feb 20th with an all- day, all-school celebration called "Live Like A Pioneer". Staff and community volun- teers offered hands-on ac- tivities emphasizing the Oregon Trail, Native Ameri- can heritage, natural dyeing with fruits & vegetables, making butter molds and singing folks songs. The students & staff came in costume. An all-school as- sembly featured the Razzle Dazzle Kids; a performance kids choir conducted by Cina Kraft. In preparation for this cele- bration, classes constructed class quilts with each stu- dent composing a square. Some of the class themes are "Sea life of Oregon", "Trees of Oregon" and "Lighthouses of Oregon". An evening community Heri- tage Celebration followed, featuring chicken & bis- cuits, a display of the class quilts, music, a big birthday cake and activities for all ages. Our school had an Artist in Residence Scheduled Feb- ruary 23-March 9th, Janas Durkee. She taught classes in Draw- ing with Scissors, mixed media landscape, crayon resist, water coloring, basic drawing and painting. Thanks to Janas for a great art experience for our stu- dents. Coburg’s retiring 5th grade teacher, Christine Thur- mond, was selected as the state representative for Teacher of The Year for ele- mentary teachers for the VFW. Congratulations to Chris! Upcoming events: March 6 No School, Plan- ning Day March 9-13 Book Fair be- fore and after school in the gym. March 23-31 No School, Spring Break April 10 No School, Profes- sional Development Day April 17 Artist Assembly, Hawaiian Music Assembly April 21 Spring Pictures April 22 Kindergarten Orien- tation. Kinders to be and their parents visit the school and register. Par- ents meet at 10:00 a.m. in the library; children go next door to the preschool room. The semester Has Begun “Coburg’s retiring 5th grade teacher, Christine Thurmond, was selected as the state representative for Teacher Of The Year…” By Haley Egbert Nacel Open Door Host 5th Grader Coburg Elementary Ni Hao! That means hello in Chinese. As most of you know the ex- change student program is back in Coburg, thanks to our local coordinator Michelle Sunia. Coburg Community was host to 6 children and 3 chaperones from Kunshan International School from Jiangsu, China. The student’s names were Chen, Lu, Xia, Yang, Yuki, Yan and the chaperones names were Jin, Zhang and Li. This year there was a much smaller group. The student that stayed with me was Xia Zhiting, we called him Eric. There are many things that are alike between America and China like the fact that we both have a McDonalds. While there are many things that are the same, there are a lot of things that are different. For example, we use forks in American and they like using chopsticks in China. My brother Cass and I had fun trying to use chop- sticks to eat dinner and Eric had fun trying to use a fork. The students went on a field trip with the 4th and 5th grad- ers. We went to the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art to see the Explore Asia! Exhibit at the University of Oregon. We saw many things from Korea, Japan and China, like a samu- rai sword, kimonos, and beau- tiful screens that are used to separate rooms. We also got to make dragons out of model magic clay to take home. It was a lot of fun and I would recommend going there some- time. The Chinese students go to a boarding school where they live Monday through Friday and go home to stay with their families on the weekend. This exchange program gave them the opportunity to come to our country and practice their Eng- lish and see what it is like to attend a school in America. The Nacel Open Door program is a fun way to meet kids from different countries. It is also a good way for the students that visit America to practice their English. Our family really enjoyed host- ing a student from a different country and we will continue to do it in the future. It was a great learning experience and we had a lot of fun. Nacel Exchange Students Page 5 March/April 2009 Exchange students from Nacel visit the Coburg Fire Department and University of Oregon’s Museum of Natural History. These were just two of the many activities the students participated in while visiting the United States. WILLAMETTE STAGE BICYCLE RACE APRIL 23, 2009 Mudslinger Event LLC will host a Pro men’s and women’s sixty mile bike race in Coburg on April 23, 2009. There will be approximately 100 -150 participants and vehicles in town for this event. Registration will be at the Pavilion begin- ning at 11:30 am. The races will start at 1 and 1:15 pm. Riders will depart from East McKenzie Street heading west to N. Willamette onto West Van Duyn and Coburg Road for a sixty mile ride. Flaggers will be stopping traffic on N. Willamette and at the intersection of Coburg Road and N. Van Duyn for no more than 3-5 minutes at 1 pm and 1:15 pm. Please contact Mike Ripley of Mudslinger Events, LLC at (541) 225-7946 for additional information. Four local Coburg elemen- tary students have been selected as cast members in The Emperor’s New Clothes, a play being pro- duced by The Rose Chil- dren’s Theatre of Eugene. They are Holly Claypool, Claire Lehnert, Gabrielle Lehnert and Kennedy Schull. This play will be held in late April and early May. For ticket informa- tion, please contact www.therct.com. Way to go, Coburg girls! Local Kids To Be In Play 5th Annual Coburg Quilt Show and Tea "Quilt Your Wagons" Saturday, July 25, 2009, 9am-4pm Planning is now underway for our annual outdoor quilt show and sale in downtown Coburg. This year we are celebrating the 150th anniversary of Oregon state- hood with lectures, displays, and a historical horse/wagon tour of Coburg. We are al- ready accepting quilt entries (beginners to professional, nonjuried) and quilt related ven- dors. We are also looking for volunteers to assist the day of the show (tea servers, quilt security, silent auction/info booth assistance, setup/takedown, etc. We would love to have your assistance for a couple of hours! You do not have to be a quilter to share in this event! Please contact Linda with any questions at www.coburgquiltshow.org or 541-302-9365. By Dr. Gary Powell, Pastor Coburg United Methodist Church Oregon turns 150 this year! In fact, today as I writing my column it is February 14, Oregon’s official birthday. We’re not the oldest state by any means. That honor belongs to Delaware home of Vice President Joe Biden. On the other hand we’re not the newest state either. That honor goes to Hawaii home of President Barack Obama. No, we’re somewhere in the mid- dle of pack between Minnesota (1858) and Kansas (1861). Good company as far as I am concerned! Our sesquicentennial year (sounds elegant) provides an opportunity to reflect on our unique heritage as Oregonians. When I think of the early settlers, words like “rugged” and “independent” come to mind. After all, many of them had to trek nearly 2000 miles just to get here. It was not a journey for the faint of heart! Add to these first phrases the words “independent” and “optimistic.” Our fore bearers looked west and saw an opportu- nity to create something new and grand. They felled trees and built cabins. They plowed the rich soil and grew abundant crops. And they also built schools, hospitals, stores, and churches bringing learning, order, and reverence to their new life out west. We owe so much of what we are today to the sacrifice, vision, and hard work of those who have gone before. At age 150 we are still pioneering here in Oregon. We are leading the revolution in green technology. We are pioneering ways to balance resource use with conservation. Our unique style of self govern- ment, though a bit chaotic at times, gives a unique voice to grass roots politics. And when the chips are down, Oregonians still know how to take care of each other. These are good things to keep in mind as we struggle through tough economic times. We’ve been there before and we will get through it. After all, we’re Oregonians! A Birthday For All Of Us Page 7 By Judy Volta Coburg Connections Others in this issue have already discussed Oregon turning 150 this year so other than talking about the joy of eating birthday cake, I will defer that discussion. However, as someone who is looking sixty in the eye, aging gracefully can be a sensitive topic! Connections began its existence in March of 2003 with three-year funding from The Ford Family Foundation as part of its Rural Community School Partnership. This grant came about through the hard work and efforts of many local people. Its mission has always been to be a bridge between the school and our com- munity, and to keep both our school and our community vital. Now in our sixth year, let’s take stock. Are we aging gracefully? We have provided our residents music (from choir to private les- sons, for all ages), physical fit- ness (from Pilates to gymnastics to our Field Improvement Pro- ject), history appreciation, home- work assistance, summer read- ing and discovery classes. We also sponsor the annual Coburg Car Classic and participate in our community-wide events from Golden Years to Christmas in Coburg. Our advisory board representing a broad swath of community leadership, has retained many of its original members and has even added new faces. Even though the program coordinator is a part-time school district em- ployee, all funding comes to the program from fees, donations and grants. So in taking stock, we realize that much work has been accom- plished in our six years. Many have come to realize the value of our programs and might even assume that Connections will continue. However in today’s economic climate, Connections’ future remains uncertain even past June of this year. If you have questions or ideas, please call me at 334-4705. If the com- munity wants to keep Connected, we want to work together to make that happen. Taking Stock By Sammy Egbert City Hall Admin Andy Bechdolt is em- ployed as a Police Offi- cer with the City of Coburg. The City of Coburg would like to welcome Andy Bechdolt, our new Police Officer hired in January. Andy is a vet- eran Police Officer, serving in the United States Coast Guard, Coos, Douglas, and Lane Counties with about 18 years of law enforcement experi- ence. Andy most re- cently worked at the State's Public Safety Training facility; DPSST, however was laid off due to budget cuts. The City of Coburg has been fortunate to have Andy come aboard and he has fit right in. He has wasted no time tackling tasks at hand and has been a huge addition to the Police Department. He has already taken charge in analyzing and organizing all training documents and re- cords, as well as start- ing a training schedule for the year. Andy will also be training at the local Lane County Re- serve Academy in trade for allowing all of our Police Officers to attend selected courses. He has also located and implemented free train- ing courses for the Po- lice Department and he is certified to train/instruct in most fields for our required maintenance training set forth by DPSST. Welcome Andy! Who Is That Coburg Employee? Andy Bechdolt Page 8 March . March 2nd — Oddfellows and Diamond Rebekahs meeting, 7:30 p.m., 100F Hall. . March 4th — Senior Meals, noon, 100F Hall, Park and Tree Committee, 6:30pm, City Hall. . March 6th — Poker Night, 7:00 pm, Grange Hall. . March 9th — Food Pantry Open, 2pm to 6pm, Pearl St. . March 10th — City Council meeting, 7pm, City Hall. . March 11th — Grange meeting, 7 pm, Grange Hall, Senior Meals, noon, 100F Hall. . March 12th — Coburg Quilters meeting, Grange, 6:30pm. . March 16th — PCS Meeting, 7:00pm, School Library, Oddfellows meeting, 7:30pm, 100F Hall . March 18th — Senior Meals, noon, 100F Hall, Chamber of Commerce meeting, noon, Countryside Christian Fellowship, Planning Commission meeting, 7pm, City Hall. . March 20th — Poker Night, 7:00 p.m., Grange Hall. . March 23rd — Food Pantry Open, 2pm to 6pm, Pearl St., Fire District Board meeting, 7pm, Fire Hall. . March 25th — Senior Meals, noon, 100F Hall, Grange Golden Years Meeting, 7 p.m., Grange. April . April 1st — Senior Meals, noon 100F Hall, Park/Tree Committee, 6:30pm, City Hall. . April 3rd — Poker Night, 6:30 p.m., Grange Hall. . April 6th — Oddfellows and Diamond Rebekahs meeting, 7:30 p.m., 100F Hall. . April 7th — Budget Committee meeting, 6pm, City Hall. . April 8th—- Senior Meals, noon, 100F Hall, Grange meeting, 7 p.m., Grange Hall. . April 9th — Coburg Quilters meeting, Grange, 6:30pm. . April 13th — Food Pantry Open, 2pm to 6pm, Pearl St. . April 14th — City Council Meeting, 7pm, City Hall. . April 15th — Senior Meals , noon, 100F Hall, Chamber of Commerce Meeting, noon, Countryside Christian Fel- lowship, Planning Commission meeting, 7 p.m., City Hall. . April 17th — Coburg Interchange Area Management Plan Open House, 5pm, City Hall, Poker Night, 6:30 p.m., Grange. . April 20th — PCS Meeting, 7:00pm, School Library, Oddfellows meeting, 7:30 p.m., 100F Hall. . April 21 — Budget Committee meeting, 6pm, City Hall. . April 22nd — Senior Meals, noon, 100F Hall, Grange Golden Years Meeting, 7pm, Grange. . April 27th — Food Pantry Open, 2pm to 6pm, Pearl St., Fire District Board meeting, 7pm, Fire Hall. . April 28th — City Council Work Season, 7pm, City Hall. . April 29th — Senior Meals , noon, 100F Hall. Our Town PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID EUGENE OR PERMIT NO. 364 ECRWSS Postal Customer Coburg City Hall P.O. Box 8316 Coburg, OR 97408 Phone: 682-7850 Fax: 485-0655 carocurran@att.net A PUBLICATION OF THE CITY OF COBURG Homework—Buy Tickets ! Coburg’s Elementary School Auction and Fiesta Dinner! May 2nd, 5:30 pm At The Country Inn Tickets can be purchased for $25.00 starting April 1st, at the School Office All Proceeds will go the enrichment of our Coburg Elementary students. Sponsored by People For Coburg School