Senior center bids, Rotary education grant, fire damages home and an alternative education

Senior Center Bid Process to Begin…

Construction on a new senior center in the City of Florence could be underway by late summer. The City Council is expected to decide tonight to go out for bid on a construction proposal for the five-thousand square foot facility on Kingwood Street. Most of the construction costs will be paid from an $800-thousand Community Development Block Grant that was prepared and submitted by Jan Nieberlein. She said initially the proposal was for a pre-manufactured building, but the city’s architectural firm suggested that they not limit themselves to any one type of construction.
214 – “He spec’d it for both, what they call stick built, which is site built and for a modular and it’s going out for bid that way.”

If the process is approved tonight, bids would be opened and a contract awarded in early July, with construction on the new center to begin sometime in August.

The garage of a house on 37th street sustained heavy damage late Wednesday night, but the actions of one of the occupants prevented spread of a fire to the living portion of the home. A crew of about 20-firefighters worked into the early morning hours of Thursday to extinguish the blaze at 1910 37th Street. According to Fire Marshall Sean Barrett the occupants of the Home, Rob Poe, Carrie Gries (GREEZ) and three children, all got out of the home safely. Barrett said Poe discovered the blaze and his actions – quote – “saved the home” by making sure the garage door was closed as they evacuated. Barrett said the cause of the blaze was still under investigation.

Mapleton school teacher John Wagner will spend much of his summer break building what he hopes will be a long-term relationship between his students and residents of Guatemala. Wagner, who teaches foreign languages and math, is the recipient of a $3-thousand fellowship grant from the Florence Rotary Club. The money will pay for an extended visit to the South American country. Wagner says as a result of the trip he hopes to establish and on-going relationship between Guatemalan and American students. Florence Rotary President Dee Osborne says the purpose of professional development grants provided by the club are critical to the overall education, health and government of the area.

Parents of pre-school and kindergarten age students in Florence will have a chance tomorrow to find out more about an alternative education experience that emphasizes a – quote – “multi-sensory approach”.
215 – “Maria Montessori noticed that children take information into the brain by first learning it through their hands.”

Patricia Immel says the Florence Montessori School will begin its third year of classes in the fall. They have two classes totaling about 20-students aged three to six. An open house tomorrow from 4:30 to six pm will allow parents a chance to learn more about the philosophy. That’s at St. Andrews Episcopal Church at 19th and Tamarack Street.

TAKING A LOOK INTO COAST RADIO SPORTS:

College Baseball:

The season came to an end last night in Forth Worth, Texas for the Oregon State Beavers. They began regional play in the NCAA Tournament Friday with a 9-8 win over Texas A&M, then lost to TCU Saturday afternoon 13-1. A second victory over A&M yesterday, 13-5, set up a rematch with Texas Christian last night.

The Beavers took an early 4-nothing lead, but the Horned Frogs chipped away at it with one run in the third, then tied it with three runs in the fifth. The score remained knotted until the bottom of the ninth when the Frogs scored on a walk-off RBI Single to right field. TCU advances to the Austin Super-Regionals this weekend… Oregon State heads home with a 37-19 overall record for the season.