By Judy Volta Mayor I am an inveterate list maker. My lists have lists; I have Things To Do Today, Tomorrow, This Week, This Month and Things to Do Before I Die. Sometimes I can cross off ALL my To Do’s. Anyone who shares my List afflic- tion knows the brief satis- faction that effort brings, because all those things accomplished just makes room for more To Do’s! As a city we have had a very eventful year. Some good things accomplished (such as our FEMA Flood Rating re-designation and our wastewater project ground- breaking) and some hard challenges (wrestling with our municipal budget is- sues, for example). Do I get discouraged? Sometimes. Although many citizens express their sup- port and encouragement for the work done, there are those who are very critical. One of my goals this com- ing year is to listen to those voices but to keep the broad perspective. I con- tinue to be amazed at our citizens who toil to keep our city a wonderful place to live and raise their families. As our city heads into 2009, we need to stay fo- cused, to work together, and to forge ahead with our important To Do’s. And the List goes on…. INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Christmas 2 Sewer 3 Photos 4-6 Calendar 7 UMC 8 OUR TOWN January/February 2009 A PUBLICATION OF THE CITY OF COBURG Coburg Community works to- gether for Arbor Day. To Do’s... By Bill Judd Grange President What an awesome "Christmas in Coburg" event with way to many people to thank! As a co- operative event through the Coburg Chamber of Commerce, Coburg Com- munity Grange and Coburg Community Con- nections we had stuff go- ing on all weekend. The awesome Grange members found a way to get the "Coburg Carriage" (bus) operable for the 3 light parades, Fill The Bus With Food Project and a couple of Christmas Light Tours. Coburg should be so grateful for ALL the com- munity members that step-up and participate in ALL the projects and Events that continue to make our community the unique wonder that we all enjoy. Thank You All! Christmas in Coburg Page 2 Our Town Some of our Coburg community enjoying breakfast with Santa. Santa makes an appearance on the “Coburg Carraige”. Reindeer on display for the Christmas in Coburg cele- bration. By Craig Gibons Project Manager The first phase of the wastewater system construction is completed. There are now two new pipelines running underneath the length of Industrial Way. One is for wastewa- ter, which will flow north to the treatment plant and the other is for the treated water, which will flow south from the plant into town. It will be three years before the rest of the system is com- pleted and water flows through the pipes. The job was completed on time and with only one change order. It was for $5,000, which added less than 1% to the $755,000 project. The next phase of the project is the construction of the rest of the collection system throughout town. This phase is scheduled to begin in the spring and last all summer long. Plans call for this work to be done a section of town at a time, so that any one street will not be disrupted for too long. Meanwhile, design work on the Treatment Plant itself, continues. The City Council selected a vendor for the membrane treatment por- tion of the facility, and now the rest of the facility will be designed around that piece of equipment. Page 3 January/February 2009 The first phase of the wastewater system construction is completed. There are now two new pipelines running under- neath the length of In- dustrial Way. Officials at the September 12, 2008 groundbreaking for the Coburg Municipal Wastewater System (from left): Lane County Commissioner Faye Stewart; City Councilor John Fox; Karmen Fore, Juine Chada, & Terri Moffett (representing Representatives Peter DeFazio and Sena- tors Ron Wyden and Gordon Smith, respectively); Mayor Judy Volta; City Councilors Bill Judd and Jerry Behney; Rosanne Volker-Bronson (USDA); City Councilor Mike Watson: and Audrey Eldridge (Oregon DEQ). Phase One Is Done Photo Memories — 2008 Car Classic 2008 Quilt Fair Car Classic Antique Fair Coburg is a community in action with resi- dents that care. A Community that Bonds together! I continue to be amazed at our citizens who toil to keep our city a wonderful place to live and raise their fami- lies. …...Judy Volta, Mayor Coburg Elementary says goodbye to it’s long time teacher, Chris Thurmond, at her retirement party. Coburg Community School hosts first Chinese Exchange program and welcomes children from Shanghai. Coburg’s Little League team, Sheldon Black, celebrate the end of the season with a huge slip and slide with the assistance from the coburg Fire Dept. January . Jan. 2nd — Poker Night, 7:00 pm, Grange Hall. . Jan. 7th— Senior Meals, noon, 100F Hall, Park and Tree Committee, 6:30pm, City Hall. . Jan. 8th — Coburg Quilters meeting, Grange, 6:30pm. . Jan. 10th — City Council Retreat, 10am—1pm, City Hall. . Jan. 12th — Food Pantry Open, 2pm to 6pm, Pearl St. . Jan. 13th — City Council meeting, State of the City Address, 7pm, City Hall. . Jan. 14th — Grange meeting, 7 pm, Grange Hall, Senior Meals, noon, 100F Hall. . Jan. 15th — PCS Meeting, 7:00pm, School Library, Oddfellows meeting, 7:30pm, 100F Hall. . Jan. 16th — Poker Night, 7:00 p.m., Grange Hall. . Jan. 21st — Senior Meals, noon, 100F Hall, Chamber of Commerce meeting, noon, Countryside Christian Fellow- ship, Planning Commission meeting, 7pm, City Hall, . Jan. 26th — Food Pantry Open, 2pm to 6pm, Pearl St., Fire District Board meeting, 7pm, Fire Hall. . Jan 28th — Senior Meals, noon, 100F Hall, Grange Golden Years Meeting, 7 p.m., Grange. February . Feb. 4th — Senior Meals, noon 100F Hall, Park/Tree Committee, 6:30pm, City Hall. . Feb. 5th — Oddfellows and Diamond Rebekahs meeting, 7:30 p.m., 100F Hall. . Feb. 6th — Poker Night, 6:30 p.m., Grange Hall. . Feb. 9th — Food Pantry Open, 2pm to 6pm, Pearl St, Dec. 9th — City Council, 7 p.m., City Hall. . Feb. 10th — City Council Meeting, 7pm, City Hall. . Feb. 11th —- Senior Meals, noon, 100F Hall, Grange meeting, 7 p.m., Grange Hall. . Feb. 12th — Coburg Quilters meeting, Grange, 6:30pm. . Feb. 18th — Senior Meals Christmas Dinner, noon, 100F Hall, Chamber of Commerce Meeting, noon, Countryside Christian Fellowship, Planning Commission meeting, 7 p.m., City Hall. . Feb. 19th — PCS Meeting, 7:00pm, School Library, Oddfellows meeting, 7:30 p.m., 100F Hall. . Feb. 20th — Coburg Interchange Area Management Plan Open House, 5pm, City Hall, Poker Night, 6:30 p.m., Grange. . Feb. 21st — Coburg and Lane County Planning Commission, 5:30pm, City Hall. . Feb. 23rd — Food Pantry Open, 2pm to 6pm, Pearl St. . Feb. 24th — City Council Work Season, 7pm, City Hall. . Feb. 25th — Senior Meals, noon, 100F Hall, Grange Golden Years Meeting, 7pm, Grange. . Feb. 27th — Coburg Loop Open House, 5:30pm, City Hal. Pastor Gary Powell Coburg United Methodist Church Some years ago I was presiding at a funeral for a prominent member of the community. The congrega- tion was made up of persons from a variety of churches including many who were unchurched. As a part of the service, the congrega- tion recited the Lord’s Prayer in unison. My tradition (Methodist) uses the word “trespass” in the prayer, while Presbyterians use “debt” and Roman Catholics use “sins.” When it came to recite the prayer, each person attempted to be accommodating by a using a word other than their tradition. The result was an unrecognizable mish-mash of words! While we may use different words, the idea of forgiveness lies at the heart of nearly every religious tra- dition. Not coincidentally, forgive- ness is also a key component of mental and physical health. That’s right; many studies indicate a strong connection between forgive- ness and happiness, and even forgiveness and physical well- being! A new year lies before us. If it is like every other year, we will all pick up share of “bumps and bruises”, not to mention the hurts that we inflict on others through our words and actions. The bot- tom line is, none of us are perfect! What better time to begin putting forgiveness into practice? Instead of letting our hurts “fester” until they get in the way of relation- ships, why not learn to say to one another, “I made a mistake; I’m sorry, and I ask for your forgive- ness.” And when we are on the other side of the equation, learn to say, “I accept your apology, and I forgive you.” These simple phrases, spoken from our heart, have the power to bring healing to our lives, our com- munity, even our world. I invite you to try them on this year. You’ll be glad you did. Put Forgiveness Into Practice 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