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Schmerer named Bandon superintendent By JILLIAN WARD For The World
BANDON ─ The Bandon School Board has selected Shauna Schmerer to become its new superintendent, though she must still accept the position. Schmerer’s superintendent contract was approved by the Bandon School Board and will be presented to her for agreement. The board reviewed the contract during Monday evening’s regular school board meeting. Board Chair Angela Cardas thanked the staff for helping put on last week’s meet and greet with the top three candidates. “With the retirement of our
fabulous (outgoing Superintendent) Doug Ardiana, we began this search six or eight weeks ago,” Cardas said. “I can say with full confidence this process has been most inclusive, collaborative and transparent of any hiring of any superintendent in this district going back as far as I know.” Cardas said there were 300 responses to the Bandon School District’s initial superintendent survey, 18 staff and community participants on the Screening Committee, and “full board involvement.” “From 32 initial applicants to three finalists to our final choice in Mrs. (Shauna) Schmerer, we believe we’ve covered every base
that staff, students and community can be confident in the process and end result…,” Cardas said. Schmerer said she is thrilled to come to Bandon and work for students and families in the area. “I am honored to serve as superintendent for the district. I am so, so thrilled, I am not coming in with a preconceived, we have to do A, B, and C, but I have ideas, talent and skills,” she said. “It is my life’s passion to provide just awesome public school experiences for all children. It depends on what the community wants. "What do people want for their kids? What do educators want? Creating one vision with the board,
staff, students and community will be on the top of the agenda. The sky's the limit for Bandon.” The superintendent contract approved Monday shows an employment agreement beginning July 1 of this year. It will continue for three years until June 30, 2023 but can be extended. The salary listed in the contract is $125,000. The contract was approved unanimously. “I will present this to (Schmerer),” Cardas said. In a previous press release from the district, it was stated that
Nonprofit leader confident in future of project Hopes $50,000 matching donation will encourage local support ZACK DEMARS The World
With repairs underway, a Coos Bay nonprofit is asking for the community’s help to build a home. Leaders at the Devereux Center say there’s lots of repair work that needs to be done before Azalea House, one of the nonprofit’s newest projects, can open its five-bed adult foster home. “In essence, this will double the number of beds (in the county) for people who have persistent mental health issues,” said Tara Johnson, the nonprofit’s executive director. The building — a former psychiatric clinic, built in multiple sections over several decades — looks different than it did when Brent and Melanie Beetham donated it to the center late last year. Sheetrock has been torn out, a mix of wood floors and carpet exposed and new demolition has been done to investigate the building’s structure and Please see Azalea, Page A3
The World
are more likely to become homeless. It’s complex. I’m passionate about it… “It is a silent epidemic,” she said. During the month of March, Duggan attended the Brain Injury Alliance of Oregon conference over Zoom. She is working to get grants to fund research on how best to bring TBI education to the community “so people with brain injuries can get the support they need….” Becki Sparre, administrative assistant at the Brain Injury Alliance of Oregon, said that over 30 individuals attended the conference last month, including caregivers and attorneys. She explained that BIA of Oregon is involved with developing impactful legislation to raise brain injury awareness and enforce healthy practices. “There was a boy in Baker City
More than 40 years after he was shot twice in the line of duty, a former Douglas County sheriff’s deputy has died, and Sheriff John Hanlin said his death was directly related to the injuries he sustained in 1980. Hanlin announced over the weekend that retired Deputy Stanley “Allen” Burdic died March 11, saying he was saddened by the line-of-duty death. Burdic began his law enforcement career in 1976, when he was hired by the Canyonville Police Department. He served in that position until July 1979, when he was hired as a deputy with the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office. On Aug. 12, 1980, Burdic responded to a report of a shooting at the Nutshell Tavern in Myrtle Creek. Sometime early in the moring of August 13, Burdic located the suspect, Jack Flack, at a gravel turnout north of the Myrtle Creek Bridge near Interstate 5. The suspect opened fire on Burdic, striking him twice. Flack then stole Burdic’s patrol car, running over his legs while fleeing the scene. Flack was later captured, convicted and sentenced to 40 years in prison for attempted murder and other charges. Burdic sustained serious injuries from his gunshot wounds, including one that grazed his spine. Due to his injuries, he was unable to return to work as a deputy and was medically retired in 1982. He briefly returned to the Canyonville Police Department from July 1984 to November of 1985, before his ongoing pain from his injuries forced him to retire for good. His family said he suffered extreme pain for much of his life,
Please see Silent, Page A3
Please see Deputy, Page A2
Zack Demars/The World
The floors at Azalea House are one example of unexpected expenses, with more layers to pull up than project leaders expected.
By JILLIAN WARD For The World
The World
As case counts continue to decline in the county, Coos Health & Wellness officials aren’t yet worried about the impact the broad stoppage of administering the Johnson & Johnson vaccine will have on the county’s vaccination effort. The pause in administration, announced Tuesday by state health officials at the recommendation of federal health authorities, hasn’t caused Coos County vaccine providers to cancel appointments, according to Katrinka McReynolds, a CHW spokesperson. “Everyone was able to replace
Deputy dies from injuries sustained in 1980 By DAVID RUPKALVIS
Coos County officials Raising awareness for say pause shouldn’t the ‘silent epidemic’ impact vaccine effort By ZACK DEMARS
Shauna Schmerer
Please see Bandon, Page A2
Johnson & Johnson doses that had been offered with Moderna doses. So, at the moment it is not changing any of our planned clinics or outreach,” McReynolds said Tuesday. Around 5% of the 22,000 county residents who’ve received a vaccine dose have gotten the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, according to an analysis of state vaccination data — though the doses have begun making up a larger share of the vaccines allocated to the county by the state in the weeks since distribution began. McReynolds said the pause won’t impact the county’s vacciPlease see PAUSE, Page A2
COOS COUNTY ─ March was Brain Injury Awareness Month but one local advocate is working to bring awareness all year long. Bittin Duggan is the program manager for Growing Through it, a place where survivors of traumatic brain injuries can express themselves through collaborative and individual art workshops. The program was established in 1993 by Duggan and is part of Human Rights Advocates of Coos County. “I want to bring more education to our community through and with the schools,” Duggan said and pointed to the Brain Injury Association of America, which says there are more than 5.3 million children and adults living with a permanent TBI-related disability. “In my experience, people with brain injuries
Photo gallery: Council tours North Bend pool Photo gallery: Pinwheels return at Kids' HOPE Center
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