Tag: community

Upcoming League Events

The League has a great list of events upcoming all open to the public and free of charge.

We hope you will join us on the following dates from 7PM to 8:30PM at the Umpqua Valley Arts Center, 1624 West Harvard Avenue, Roseburg.

  • On January 23, the League will hold its annual program planning meeting. This is an important League function that is done by Leagues all over the country. Please come see what the League is about even if you’re not a member. All are welcome.
  • On February 20, please come and learn more about the CASA program (Court Appointed Special Advocates) from Katherine Elisar. This program is very important to children whose lives intersect the legal system in our county.
  • On March 20, we will hold an interactive forum and ask the question, “How Do We Relate to Each Other Without Offending?” Due to recent controversy around the misconduct allegations and origin the #MeToo movement, we will discuss personal and social boundaries.

All community members are welcome to attend any one or all of the above events.

And don’t forget to Vote! Election Day is Jan. 23! Make Your Voice Heard!

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Home Rule Charter vs. General Law County Government

Over 100 people attended a forum last night held by LWV Umpqua Valley at the Umpqua Valley Arts Center. Thank you to all who attended the County Government Options meeting.

Thanks also go to our speakers, Joe Leahy and Bill Van Vactor, who traveled from Eugene to discuss a current ballot measure 10-159 – Changes Douglas County Government to “Home Rule” Under County Charter versus the current form of Douglas County government, general law.

Joe Leahy (on the right) teaches Local Government Law at U of O Law School. Bill-Van-Vactor-Joe-LeahyHe was City Attorney for the City of Springfield and is Legal Counsel for the Springfield Utility Board.

Bill Van Vactor (on the left) was Lane County Legal Counsel for 15 years and then Lane County Administrator for 15 years. Lane County operates under a Home Rule Charter.

Remember to mail in or drop off your ballots by Nov. 7. Be sure to VOTE!

Links Galore!

Home Rule Charter proposal – http://www.co.douglas.or.us/clerk/documents/10-159HomeRule.pdf

Here are a few video links to a bit of last night’s information. Please ‘like’ the videos!

This is a link to the News-Review coverage

Our Facebook page

And here are some photos from last night, 10/17/17, too! Enjoy!

Off To A Good Start

Thank you to everyone who attended our first membership meeting of the year last night, Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2017.

The meeting of about 30 was interesting and fun in our new meeting room at the Umpqua Valley Arts Center, 1624 West Harvard Avenue, Roseburg. We had great speakers followed by a delicious ice cream social.

Betty Sparks, a new member, native Oregonian, and retired education teacher, spoke about kidney disease and how prevalent it is. She herself needs a kidney transplant and is on the list for one. However, many are also in line, nationally over 122,000 people. Betty explained how diabetes and high blood pressure contribute to the likelihood of the disease. In other words, we are all susceptible. For more information here are a few resources:

The Blue Zones Project representatives for the effort in Douglas County also spoke. Juliete Palenshus and Jessica Moore informed us about the project which is also seeking supporters and volunteers. Bluezones-tshirts.jpgThe three-year goal is to support well-being improvements in multiple areas here in Douglas County. For more information, see the website and contact Juliete Palenshus by emailing her.

They’ll even give you a t-shirt!

Welcome to new members who joined last night!

Here’s some familiar faces of a few of our lovely members:

 

Martha&Diana

Welcome, Members and Those Interested

Please attend the evening of Tuesday, Sept. 19, from 7:00-8:30 p.m.

We will be holding an Ice Cream Social, getting back together to kick off the new League year. Join us!

We are fortunate to locate our new meeting venue this year at the Umpqua Valley Arts Center. Bring your ideas for programs and focus for the year.

We hope to see you there!

Jenny Carloni
LWVUV President

Roseburg Library Rescue Action Team

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Further Info: 541-673-9759 or 671-2555
EMAIL rossjoe@hotmail.com

Grassroots Effort Building New Roseburg Cascadian Library

A Roseburg Library Rescue Action Team (LRAT) has formed, and the grassroots, volunteer, community effort is off to a great start to provide minimal library service in Roseburg after the main branch closes June 1.

The LRAT has partnered with Cascadian Coffee Co. to provide books, DVDs and CDs for loan at the business at 732 SE Cass Street, Roseburg, Or. Coordinator Joe Ross said, “A whole wall of shelves has been installed. DSC06879Now we need decent, clean, popular books and materials. We need volunteers to regularly maintain the collection, as well as some funds to purchase current items. ”

Donated books will be categorized as fiction, non-fiction, children’s and other books. They’ll be available for reading on-site or check out, using an honor system, during the coffeeshop’s normal business hours of 6:30 AM – 5:00 PM Monday through Saturday. “We may just trust that folks return items or have something as simple as a clipboard to sign out things for a couple weeks,” Ross said. “That’s all being worked out. It’s got to be simple, easy and low stress for everyone.”

The LRAT wanted to collaborate with a downtown business, and Cascadian Coffee had the interest, as well as a well-lit, welcoming space that also offers food, beverage, art and music. Business owner Courtney Dillon said, “We look forward to hosting a small Roseburg library to support education, literacy, knowledge and economic development within our community.” Using donated funds, LRAT purchased shelves from another supportive downtown business, Roseburg Resale, owned by Curt Smith.

Roseburg City Council was told about the library rescue efforts on 8 May. Three local library boards were briefed about plans on 16 May, including Friends of the Douglas County Library System, Douglas County Library Foundation and Douglas County Library Advisory Board. All were supportive. Although the latter is being disbanded by County Commissioners, the other two groups will continue supporting County public libraries. The Friends of the Library will ask their members to help with maintenance of the new Roseburg Cascadian Library. Some friends, like Marcy Tasso Belzner, have already provided great encouragement, advice and guidance.

The Roseburg Library Rescue Action Team has put out a call for community fundraising, book donations and volunteers. They hope to obtain non-profit 501(c)3 status. To provide books, magazine subscriptions, or audio/visual material to the Roseburg Cascadian Library’s collection, simply drop them off during open hours. Cash donations will be used to order items that people want, maybe even some computers. Checks payable to “Library Rescue” can be dropped or mailed to LRAT, c/o Cascadian Coffee, 732 SE Cass, Roseburg, Or. 97470. Any unused funds will be given to the Friends of the Library and/or Douglas Co Library Foundation.

The Library Rescue Action Team is an all-inclusive community effort, and all are welcome to attend their weekly Thursday meetings at 12:15 PM at Cascadian Coffee Co. The team welcomes your personal involvement, encouragement and support. An official ribbon cutting ceremony for the new Roseburg Cascadian Library will be announced soon. Grand Opening is expected about the time that the main branch closes (June 1). The actual date will depend on acquisition of books and development of an easy, informal system for book circulation.

Updates can be found here on Facebook here.

Thank you, Cascadian Coffee & Joe!

UC Veg Education

UC-VEG is honored to host Dr. Charlie Ross’ Total Health Improvement Program! Come for the first day to watch the impactful, Forks Over Knives, or register for the 12 week course to join the hundreds of students that have transformed their health!

We hope to see you there! 

Who is the Umpqua Community Veg Education Group? UC-VEG is a grassroots effort to support those who are interested in learning about the wide-ranging benefits of a plant-based lifestyle. UC-VEG offers educational events to the public as a community service with practical strategies to enhance personal health on all levels while contributing towards a healthier community and a more environmentally sustainable society.

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Contact: umpquacommunityveg@gmail.com
https://www.facebook.com/UCVEG
PO Box 89 | Umpqua, OR 97486
(541) 378-6359

Public Health Meeting In Roseburg

Public Health is Everybody’s Business!

Yesterday there was a well-attended public health meeting in Roseburg all about the Modernizing Oregon’s Public Health System and Douglas Public Health Network.  Public-health-mtg-shows-community-interest

‘How can I be involved?’

You can contact Lillian Shirley, the head of the state’s public health modernization program, by emailing her at Lillian.shirley@state.or.us or calling her at 971-673-1222.

This program is being conducted by the OHA, Oregon’s Health Authority’s Public Health division. This is only part of the changes going on in Public Health in Douglas County, Oregon.

Locally you can contact Louai Merhi, Epidemiologist, at the Douglas Public Health Network for more information at 541-677-5814 or email him at louai@douglaspublichealthnetwork.org.

Stay tuned by joining the League of Women Voters Umpqua Valley. Members of the League are following the progress of public health in Douglas County, which has been privatized to a non-profit Douglas County Public Health, a new trend in public health in Oregon.

What DPHN needs for successful community outreach:

  • Transparency at all levels including in strategic planning,
  • Openness to all community members who may not be health professionals to be part of this developing, ongoing community health program.
  • More open public meetings with more time to ask questions and give input.
  • Microphones should be used at all public meetings.
  • A meeting evaluation should be available at all meetings, and the result tallied, and publicly shared.

Who’s involved in public health in Douglas County, OR? The key is knowing where to go since it’s now all in different locations: http://www.co.douglas.or.us/health/.

The slide shown in this photo says:DPHN-public-mtg-2-11-16

Health Outcome Data
Quality of Life
Percentage of adults reporting fair or poor health:

  • Douglas County – 23%
  • Oregon – 14%

Average # of physically unhealthy days reported in past 30 days:

  • Douglas County – 5.4
  • Oregon – 3.7

Stats like these show how much we all need to be involved for better health in Douglas County. Our Health is our Wealth!

Join the Discussion

The public is invited to attend an informative and respectful community discussion.

Moved by the recent tragic event at Umpqua Community College, Lisa Nikedem, of Moms Demand Action will be speaking in Roseburg on Thursday, October 29, 6:30pm to 8:00pm at the Douglas County Public Library, 1409 NE Diamond Lake Blvd, Roseburg, Oregon.

For more information about this group, you may go to momsdemandaction.org

Garden Tour Tickets Available Now!

Garden Tour Tickets Available Now!

lwvuv garden tour 2014
lwvuv garden tour 2014

Tickets are on sale now for the June 13, 2015 Spring Garden Tour sponsored by the League of Women Voters of the Umpqua Valley. The tour, which runs from 10:00 a.m. to 5 p.m., features six town and country gardens complete with musicians and artists.

Tickets are available for $12 at:

  • While Away Books,
  • My Coffee,
  • Photo Frogg,
  • Local Umpqua Goods,
  • Hansen’s Jewelers in Roseburg,
  • Munchies in Glide, and
  • Sutherlin Water Garden & Nursery in Sutherlin

Tickets also will be available the day of the tour for $15 at the Chapman Garden (2018 Del Rio Rd.) and the Finney Garden (1433 SE Kane St.) in Roseburg.

Garden-Tour-Flyer-2015-10Download the poster here and post it where someone will see it. Thank you!

For more information, contact Penny Reed @ 541-637-7091.