By Emily Scarvie
(PORTLAND, Ore.) Hello Portlanders! It's Thursday, Nov. 11 - Here's your daily round up of all the news happening in the City of Roses.
1. Demonstration planned to protest firing of Newberg Superintendent Joe Morelock
After the Newberg School Board voted 4-3 to fire the district's superintendent Joe Morelock without cause on Tuesday, a protest is planned for noon on Thursday. The protest is expected to include community members and veterans who are upset with the school board’s decision.
The four board members who voted to oust Morelock from his position are the same members that voted to ban all Black Lives Matter and Pride symbols in classrooms in the district. Brandy Penner, one of the three minority votes on the school board, said his firing “has been the shadiest process ever. And it’s our children who will be suffering, because they’ll be losing resources out of their classrooms – and those are my kids.”
The school district will now have to pay Morelock a year’s salary, on top of paying a new interim superintendent a comparable salary. There will also be expenses accrued in the process of looking for a new superintendent, which can cost up to $40,000.
2. Portland City Council hears public testimony regarding proposed police, homeless services budget
After Mayor Ted Wheeler laid out his proposed budget for the city’s annual fall Budget Monitoring Process, the Portland City Council adopted a number of amendments on Wednesday that will likely be up for final vote next week.
Wheeler’s proposed budget includes a $62 million surplus in one-time revenue, a large portion of which would go towards investment packages he unveiled last week. The packages include $18 million toward homeless services and $10 million toward public safety, including Portland Police Bureau staffing.
The proposal set a goal of hiring 200 police officers and 100 unarmed community safety specialists within the next three years. Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty proposed an amendment that would limit contracts to one year for the retire-rehire program and disqualify officers who have pending disciplinary matters, complaints in their personnel file from the last 10 year or those who retired instead of being investigated, from being rehired. All 14 amendments proposed at the meeting passed.
Wednesday’s meeting also heard public comment from nearly 100 community members regarding the proposed budget.
3. Beaverton School District hosting vaccination clinic for anyone 5 years and older
On Friday, the Beaverton School District is partnering with Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center to host a COVID-19 vaccination clinic at Aloha-Huber K-8 School for anyone ages 5 and older. The clinic will run from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. and those who are receiving their first dose are eligible for a $50 grocery store gift card.
“We are thrilled that our youngest students will now have the opportunity to get the same vaccine protection that’s been afforded the rest of the community,” BSD Superintendent Carl Mead said in a press release. “It’s the most important way of mitigating the spread of COVID-19 and ensuring that students can continue to attend school in person.”
The mobile clinic will host a number of other school-based vaccination opportunities in Washington and Yamhill counties in the coming weeks. For other vaccination clinics planned for Washington County, click here.
4. Here's what events are happening, what's closed on Veterans Day this year
A number of events are taking place in Oregon on Thursday to honor all those that have served in the armed forces. The University of Portland is continuing its tradition of a 24-hour vigil at the Praying Hands/Broken Wall Memorial, which will end at 11 a.m. on Thursday. The public is welcome for the closing ceremony. There is also a 2021 Veterans Day Parade in Albany at 12:30 p.m. and a ceremony at Fort Vancouver at 11 a.m.
For a list of Veterans Day events, as well as closures for the federal holiday, click here.
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