Hometown Newspai3er of Michael Whitmore
Serving the Sweet Home community since 1929
Wednesday, December 26, 2012 Vol. 83,'No. 52
75 Cents
Bank robbery sparks
manhunt, lock-down
at Sweet Home HS
Sweet Home police are searching for
a suspect who robbed Umpqua Bank in
Sweet Home Thursday morning.
According to "Police Chief Bob Bur-
ford, at approximately 10:08 a.m. officers
responded to an armed bank robbery at the
bank, 1890 Main St.
Burford said initial reports indicate the
suspect as being male, wearing a baggy
sweatshi'rt over a red tee shirt, light blue
jeans, white shoes and a face mask. The
suspect was also carrying a purse-like con-
• See Robbery, page 10
Photo by Scott Swanson
Sweet Home Police Sgt. Jeff Lynn, right, with Sweet Home High School Principal Keith Win-
slow behind him, stands watch during an assembly in the high school gym Thursday morning.
Schools feel fallout
from rumors after
Connecticut killings
By Sean C. Morgan
Of The New Era
The world didn't end last Friday, and
Thursday came and went with no problems at
Sweet Home schools, other than a lock-down
at Sweet Home High School following a bank
robbery.
Sweet Home police and School District
55 took extra precautions Thursday when ru-
mors of an impending school shooting filtered
into Sweet Home area social media posting.
The rumor had been circulating on social me-
• See Schools, page 10
Veteran director,
who moved here
last year, says he
finds community
"different' in ways
he wants to share
By Scott Swanson
Of The New Era
Paul Bright says he moved to
Sweet Home because he and his fam-
ily sensed a difference in the com-
munity compared to others they've
lived in.
"This-culture is so different
from the rest of the country," he said.
"There's an honesty and openness
here that I've never encountered
anywhere else."
Bright, 47, a veteran filmmaker
and actor who grew up in west Los
Angeles, has decided to share his ex-
• See Bright, page 3
Photo by Scott Swanson
Paul Bright, right, films an interview with Marks Ridge Winery owner Jay Westly for one of Bright's videos.
boree
By Sean C. Morgan
Of The New Era
The 2011 Oregon Jamboree
lost $26,710, according to tax docu-
ments released by the Sweet Home
Economic Development Group in
response to requests from The New
Era.
SHEDG filed its 2011 IRS Form
990 in November. The New Era ob-
tained a copy last week through a
public records request to SHEDG.
The IRS requires nonprofit organiza-
tions to file a Form 990 each year.
SHEDG officials have been re-
luctant to publicly discuss the orga-
nization's financial situation, which
includes losses for the Oregon Jam-
boree the past two years. The New
• See SHEDG, page 7
Local homeless students rate still among state's highest
By Sean C. Morgan
Of The New Era
The percentage of students
identified as homeless within the
boundaries of School District 55
remained about the same from last
year, but is still among the high-
est in the state, according to an
Oregon Department of Education
report on homelessness released
on Nov. 15.
The report shows that 10.3
percent of Sweet Home students
were homeless in 2011-12, the
same as 2010-11. In 2011-12, Dis-
trict 55 reported an enrollment of was 3.7 percent in 2010-.11 and been so high."
2,291 students, with 236 classified 3.64 in 2011-12. Forty of 197 dis- The most surprising part of
as homeless. In 2010-11, it report- tricts reported zero homeless stu- the report is that more of them
ed an enrollment of 2,347 with 242 dents in 2011-12. seem to be at the kindergarten and
classified as homeless. The Sweet Home numbers in- first-grade level, Pappin said. Usu-
District 55 had the highest rate creased in 2010-11 from about 202 ally, the numbers are higher among
among those with 1,000 or higher in 2009-10. high school students.
enrollment. A handful of districts So far this year, 2012-13, the In high school, students deal
with nearly 1,000 students had district has "identified about 162 with a number of circumstances.
higher rates, and several smaller homeless students. Among them, both parents may be
districts, with enrollments of a "It's gone up every year," said in prison. In other cases, parents
couple hundred or less, had even Joan Pappin, district nurse. The are divorced and the single mother
higher percentages homelessness, percentage may have, plateaued is incapable of making it, so the
such as 25 percent in Butte Falls. this year, but "it doesn t feel that
The statewide homeless rate way to me, I guess because it's • See Homeless, page 9
Inside on P, 11-
Christmas
wishes from the kids
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