Oregon Observer The
Thursday, June 6, 2019 • Vol. 134, No. 49 • Oregon, WI • ConnectOregonWI.com • $1.25
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Oregon Youth Center
A safe place to learn, have fun Children see new building for first time EMILIE HEIDEMANN Unified Newspaper Group
With backpacks on and just having completed school for the day, around 150 kids and teens entered the new Oregon Youth Center building in a frenzy — rushing this way and that to check out their new surroundings. Some immediately took
to a living room-esque area with a blue couch and television while others played with a giant Jenga set. More started matches at the ping pong, pool, air hockey and foosball tables. The 6,000 square foot building also has a half basketball court, where a couple boys played oneon-one while some older kids practiced their free throw shots and layups. By comparison, the old
Turn to OYC/Page 18
Photo courtesy Oregon Area Historical Society
Oregon’s Lt. Dale Smith (left), stands with the crew of his B-26 “Marauder” bomber during training at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana on April 26, 1944. Within six weeks, he would be flying missions over German-occupied France in support of the D-Day landings on June 6.
Flying into history 75 years ago, Dale Smith piloted missions on critical D-Day
SCOTT DE LARUELLE Unified Newspaper Group
Had he survived a car crash, perhaps Dale Smith would be telling his tale today – at 96 – about flying over the skies of Nazi-occupied France as a 21-year-old, helping clear the way for the Allied D-Day invasion that started 75 years ago today. Tragically, after surviving World War II and several lifetimes’ worth of stunts and dodging enemy flak and fighter pilots, Smith was killed
driving on the highway, on the way back from Milwaukee, on the pre-Interstate highway. According to family members, it was a head-on crash, and even though he was dying of internal injuries, when the ambulance arrived, Smith told them to take care of others first. He died by the roadside. Smight had risked his life for others, both in war and back home, but as happens with history, much is lost with time. The Oregon Area Historical Society has a few clippings and
bits of information about him, as well as some anecdotal family history, but no information could be found about the date of his death, which happened sometime in the years following his return from the war. Before the war, he was known for driving a homemade car and flying a biplane. During the war, he earned the Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal with 12 oak leaf clusters, and Purple Heart.
Turn to Smith/Page 8
Oregon School District
Photo by Emilie Heidemann
The community welcomed the new Oregon Youth Center building with open arms last week Thursday, May 30. The exterior looks modern with the OYC logo in orange font on the building’s front with colored rectangular tiles.
Village of Oregon
Help is on the way for ‘drowning’ Foxboro course
Saying goodbye … for now
Officials didn’t know ponds on course were village’s responsibility
OHS seniors reflect on high school, look to their futures
AMBER LEVENHAGEN
Inside Details on Sunday’s graduation ceremony
EMILIE HEIDEMANN Unified Newspaper Group
Wi t h g r a d u a t i o n j u s t around the corner for Oregon High School seniors, they are likely wondering what their respective futures will look like — some already know, while
Unified Newspaper Group
Al Tameemi
Pearson
others are just figuring that out. Four seniors in particular, who all come from different backgrounds, reminisced with the Observer
Piper
Egwuonwu
Page 17
about their first day of high school and discussed where Scarlett Egwuonwu all had they aspire to end up after different stories, but shared walking the stage. similar feelings about Bekkan Pearson, Yousif Al Tameemi, Josh Piper and Turn to Grads/Page 17
Rain boots aren’t typical golf attire, but if you’ve tried to play a round at Foxboro Golf Course in the past few years, you might have wished you had a pair. That’s because some of the north side fairways on the course have been flooded, and course owner Brook Schmitt believes
the village bears some responsibility to fix it. T h e Vi l l a g e B o a r d agreed Monday to a series of steps officials say will hopefully alleviate the flooding, which is suspected to be caused in part due to two overflowing stormwater ponds, owned by the village and located on the course. The fixes include paying for a temporary pump, possibly installing a gravity pipeline to reduce the ponds’ level and starting on an engineering study of the ponds. Village officials had
Turn to Foxboro/Page 20
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