Corrections:
♦ Due to an error, names were missing from the East Linn Christian Academy Honor Roll published in last month’s edition. Following is the complete list of students who finished the first semester with a GPA of 3.50 to 3.99: Aden Aerni, Gavin Baker, Alli Beachy, Jaren Bowler, Isabella Castillo, Kolby Clark, Kylie Eastman, Victoria Ferrioli, Kaitlyn Gaskey, Seth Goins, Mackenzie Griffin, Alayna Grunerud, Ethan Hurst, Jacob Johns, Josiah Johnson, Elias Johnson, Avery Jones, Sienna Lacy, Allison Medford, Natalie Miner, Rachel Morton, Heath Nichol, Ruth Pearce, Evan Peters, Bailey Pool, Matthew Puentes, Londyn Randall, Elia Rybolt, Gavin Sewell, Hana Slayden, Joshua Vokes, Brandon Williams and Nellie Wyatt.
♦ Janice Jackola’s name was misspelled in a story about The Cellar in last month’s edition.
Star Spangled Celebration
It was announced in December that the Lebanon Community Foundation would no longer put on the annual Star Spangled Celebration, but another nonprofit in town recently announced they would take up the reins.
The Lebanon Strawberry Festival board decided to take over because they didn’t want to see the community event disappear, said Cindy Kerby, board chairperson.
“There are only a few July 4th events left in the valley, and we wanted to ensure that the community of Lebanon continued to have this event,” Kerby said. “As the Festival, we already have a lot of the equipment and some volunteers to put on the event, and felt it was a good fit for our group.”
The Lebanon Strawberry Festival board wants to offer free parking and live music, as well as family activities, vendors, and Oregon Beverage Services, she said.
“The Star Spangled Celebration will be the largest fireworks show in the Willamette Valley,” Kerby said. “We have a huge, beautiful fireworks show planned that is larger than both the shows during the Strawberry Festival because, who doesn’t love fireworks?”
Two of the main reasons the Lebanon Community Foundation discontinued the event was due to the amount of money needed to put it on, and a lack of volunteers. Now it is a hurdle the Lebanon Strawberry Festival board must overcome.
The Star Spangled Celebration will be funded by sponsors and donations, and is also seeking volunteers. Anyone interested in sponsoring or helping can email [email protected], or call (541) 200-6929. Updates for the July 4th event will be posted on the Festival’s Facebook page.
Read Across America and Hamilton Creek
This year’s theme at Hamilton Creek Elementary during “Read Across America” week was “Read around the castle.” Students took part in classroom activities. They made fire breathing dragons, face masks, Red Riding Hood baskets, catapults, Rapunzel braids, unicorn puppets and gingerbread men.
Photos courtesy of Jan Miller
SNAP update
The federal government finalized a new rule regarding the Supplemental Nutrition Program in December, a move that could affect nearly 4,500 recipients in Linn County.
The rule goes into effect April 1, and will restrict the state’s ability to allow certain adults to receive benefits for more than three months in a three-year period if they aren’t working or training at least 20 hours a week.
In response, Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum joined other states to sue the Trump administration, urging the court to declare the rule unlawful.
The litigation is still in process, so the federal rule is still active, said Kristina Edmunson, communications director for Oregon’s attorney general.
“The Department of Human Services has teamed up with the Oregon Employment Department to help the people affected, offering training and assistance to help people meet their employment goals,” said Christine Stone, at the Department of Human Services.
Applegate and Crossroads
Last year, James Lutz, the great-grandson of Edward C. Allworth, and KJ Ullfers, co-founder of Crossroads Community, submitted a request for funding to build a 48-unit housing project called Applegate Landing, off Strawberry Lane.
They received the funding they needed, including access to $12.6 million from federal tax credits, and other sources, Ullfers said. Applegate plans on breaking ground in June, if all goes smoothly with the City of Lebanon.
Applegate will provide housing for veterans, with some units set aside for low-income residents, though they will be veteran-preference as well. Crossroads will use some of the units as transitional housing.
Crossroads will manage intake applications for Applegate’s subsidized housing, provide life skills classes, and connect people with various social service and educational resources.
For more about the housing project, visit LebanonLocalNews.com/veterans-housing-in-lebanon-in-works.
LHS JROTC wins national title at rifle sport competition
Lebanon High School’s JROTC team captured its fifth Army JROTC National Air Rifle Championship after competing in Arizona Feb. 16.
This made them the No. 1 Army team in the United States among more than 1,700 other Army JROTC programs, explained Lt. Col. Mike Smith, instructor at LHS.
“Most of the kids here may not continue competitively, but the thing people realize is that it’s a sport that reinforces a lot of good qualities, like hard work,” he said.
The sport also teaches skills such as goal setting, dealing with setbacks or failure, and teamwork, Smith said.
The team will return to Camp Perry on March 17 to compete against the best teams from all JROTC service branches, including their strongest competitors from the Navy and Marine Corps schools.
LHS OBOB team advances
Lebanon High School’s Oregon Battle of the Books team won the regional competition Feb. 29, and will advance to the state competition April 4.* This is the fourth year in a row the team won regionals.
Teacher Deanna Chambers, left, sits with, from left, junior Joshua Kohut, senior Samuel Long, freshman Gwen Bjerklund, sophomore Justin Genski and junior Chloe Lewis.
*State competition was canceled due to coronavirus.
(Photo courtesy of Deanna Chambers)
Warrior musicians prepare for state competition, trip
The Lebanon High School musicians competed in the District 11 competition Feb. 29, vying for a chance at the state championships in solo voice, solo instrument, choir and band.
Viktoriya Bagmut won in the Alto Voice category, and Taylor Bilyeu earned second place in her solo ensemble in the Oboe Solo category. Both will compete at the state competition in May.
The Wind Ensemble took second place while also receiving “incredibly high scores and high praise from some of the greatest directors in the state.” The Large Vocal Ensemble and Large Percussion Ensemble took second and third places, and may have an opportunity to be invited to perform at the state competition.
