Oregon Observer Thursday, March 14, 2019 • Vol. 134, No. 37 • Oregon, WI • ConnectOregonWI.com • $1.25
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Observer gets top award JIM
Observer editor
Second-graders Owen Kramer, 7, and Isaac VanHeuklon, 7, demonstrate an experiment with vibrations.
Photo by Emilie Heidemann
Creating a sense of wonder Inside More photos from the STEAM Fair that took place over the weekend Page 18
Caring for ‘gentle giants’ in Thailand Oregon native gains hands-on experience as veterinarian EMILIE HEIDEMANN Unified Newspaper Group
I t w a s O r e g o n n a t iv e F a i t h Vaughan’s first time in a foreign country, and she was following around an elephant named Mae Srinuan. Vaughan observed how the creature moved about her natural habitat while conducting a diet study Vaughan’s second week there. From Jan. 4-20, the 2017 Oregon High School graduate and University of Wisconsin-Platteville animal
sciences student, embarked on a trip to Chiang Mai, Thailand, to help animals and learn how to be a veterinarian. She traveled with study-abroad organization, Loop Abroad. The organization’s Veterinary Service program brings students to Thailand for two weeks to volunteer alongside veterinarians from the U.S. and Thailand, a news release states from the organization. The elephant, among others at Elephant Nature Park in Chiang Mai, Thailand, faced previous abuses – having been rescued from trekking, logging, the circus and forced breeding programs. Vaughan could see evidence of this in her elephant friend – when
passersby took photos of Mae Srinuan, Vaughan said she would raise one of her front legs to pose. She spent her first week working with dogs at a local clinic. Vaughan has wanted to work with animals since she was a young girl, she said, having been raised around dogs, cats and horses. Vaughan learned, during her the week taking care of Mae Srinuan and other elephants at the nature park, that the creatures can grieve the loss of loved ones, that they have the capacity to think humans are “cute” and that their ability to feel emotions is comparable to a human’s. “I think that was probably one of
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Oregon School District
District likely to add minutes Options limited to make up for three excess ‘snow days’ SCOTT DE LARUELLE Unified Newspaper Group
With a week of winter left and memories of last year’s spring blizzard still fresh in their minds, Oregon School District officials were perhaps tempting fate Monday night as they discussed options to make up three missed days. After consulting with parents, educators and board members during the past few weeks, district administrators planned
to choose one of three options by Wednesday night, district superintendent Brian Busler said. The district has missed six school days from inclement weather so far this year, blowing right past the three built-in days it had set aside. According to Wisconsin law, OSD needs to provide 1,137 hours of classes for grades 7-12, so three of those days – or equivalent minutes – must be made up, district corporate counsel and human resources director Jina Jonen told board members. The last day of class for graduating seniors will
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Kids and their parents turned out to the STEAM Fair at Prairie View Elementary School last Saturday. Hundreds viewed art exhibitions, science experiments and did crafts for a day of education, imagination and family fun. – Emilie Heidemann
For a second time in three years, the Oregon Observer has been chosen the best newspaper in the state of its size. The Observer won the General Excellence category at the Wisconsin Newspaper Association’s annual awards banquet March 7 at Madison’s Concourse Hotel. It was one of three first-place awards the newspaper took home in the annual contest and eight overall. The Observer also won first place for Scott De Laruelle’s education reporting and its annual Summer Fest photo essay. And Cramer was an honorable mention pick among all weekly publications for Rookie Reporter of the Year. The Observer shares its staff with two other weekly news publications in Unified Newspaper
Group, the Verona Press and Stoughton Courier Hub. UNG took home eight first-place awards and 28 awards overall. UNG staff dominated several categories, De Laruelle including winning first and second place in education reporti n g , fi r s t and second place in photo essay, second and third place Cramer in enterprise reporting and first and third in general news story. UNG’s quarterly magazine, Your Family, which
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