Thursday, January 3, 2019 • Vol. 134, No. 27 • Oregon, WI • ConnectOregonWI.com • $1.25
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Oregon Observer The
Stories to watch in 2019
Big projects will progress Library, school, park, youth center all making strides or opening this year If 2018 was the year Oregon was preparing for big things to come, 2019 naturally should be the year they start coming. Major fundraising projects and municipal endeavors are combining with a school construction project and development on two ends of the village, which will have a new president for the first time in a dozen years. Clearly the new school and library are at the top of the list, though they’re a couple years off from opening. Major decisions still remain for both, including the size, scope and budget of the library and the grade configuration and attendance boundaries of the school. A new hotel opening on the east side and a new apartment complex downtown could affect local business traffic, and a housing development is in the works on the west
Stories to watch 1. Library construction plans, fundraising 2. New Fitchburg elementary school 3. A new village president 4. Impact of hotel 5. Jaycee West and Youth Center projects 6. Fixing the Rotary Path 7. Expansion West and East Photo by Emilie Heidemann
while the village continues planning for a east-side business park. Soon, Oregon will have a new youth center, and a local group is handling fundraising to turn Jaycee Park into a more comprehensive, up-to-date community recreational park. As of last week, only one person had thrown her hat into the ring for village president, and that person will have to lead the board into some tough decisions for fixing the four-year-old
Turn to 2019/Page 9
Evelyn Buell, 4, is pushed by her brother Brixton in a chair during open skate at the Oregon Ice Arena. Both kids are from Oregon.
Ice skating fun
Children and their families gathered at the Oregon Ice attendees who played hockey, pushed each other around in Arena Dec. 27 for some ice skating fun. chairs on the ice and skated figure eights. Poor weather conditions didn’t deter the dozens of
Starting a conversation
Directors share insights about mental health around holidays ‘The holidays are filled with images of happy, social and consuming experiences. We don’t always realize there are people living outside of that happy picture.’ You’ve likely heard these phras-
EMILIE HEIDEMANN Unified Newspaper Group
Krause won’t seek another term Board member since 2013, twice elected president SCOTT DE LARUELLE Unified Newspaper Group
The Oregon School Board will have a new member this spring after Dan Krause announced he won’t seek re-election. An Army veteran and attorney by trade, the low-key Krause was first elected to the board in 2013 after an unsuccessful write-in candidacy the
previous year. It wasn’t long before his colleagues elected him as president in 2014, and again the following year. Krause A Peace Corps volunteer who previously taught English for two years in Kenya, Krause frequently spoke up on issues of social justice and was a strong proponent for the increased
Turn to Krause/Page 3
es over the last few months: “Merry Christmas,” “Happy Holidays” or “Happy New Year.” If you celebrate the holidays, you probably uttered those phrases to loved ones. You may have decorated your homes, hosted a gathering or traveled to one. At least, that’s what many holiday advertisements and movies depict. But that’s not reality for everyone. Often overlooked amidst all the hustle and bustle, is one’s mental health, said Mary Sella, director and owner of Oregon Mental Health Services, LLC. Rachel Brickner, director of the Oregon Area Senior Center, emphasized there is help available for people from all walks of life who struggle with mental ailments, especially during a holiday season that’s not always cheery for some. “The holidays are filled with images
– Rachel Brickner, Oregon Area Senior Center director
of happy, social and consuming experiences,” Brickner told the Observer. “We don’t always realize there are people living outside of that happy picture.”
Support system Sella, a psychotherapist, said there are many reasons people don’t experience a storybook-type holiday season. Some deal with “toxic” and “abusive” family members at gatherings, or the trauma of the death of a spouse or parent. Others don’t have money for gifts or bills. Since the holidays are about receiving gifts and spending time with loved ones, it adds that extra layer
of negativity, she said. The problem when mental health arises or is made worse, Sella said, is when one or more physiological needs aren’t met, like food and water, safety and a sense of belonging. To help, OMHS has extended its services into the school district, offering in-school sessions to students so they don’t have to leave the premises. Sella said she and her staff of nine equip their clients with tools to know their needs and be confident in them – anything from knowing when to leave a family gathering that becomes toxic to volunteering at the food pantry, or
Turn to Health/Page 7
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