Here’s a list of local issues that have been covered recently in the Gazette-Times and the status of those stories:

Schools dumping beef

THE STORY: School districts across the United States were notified in early February that beef from two major suppliers to the national school lunch program may be unsafe to eat. The Corvallis School District immediately stopped serving the suspect meat and switched to an Oregon-based food distributor, McDonald Wholesale Co. About 47 cases, approximately 1,800 pounds, of ground beef were frozen, wrapped and put into storage until the district received official instructions from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

THE UPDATE: The USDA has issued a directive that the recalled beef is to be destroyed locally by either incinerating the meat, taking it to a landfill or disposing of it through regular garbage disposal procedures once it has been rendered inedible. Corvallis officials plan to work with the Coffin Butte Landfill to dispose of its bad meat supply within the next two weeks. Because the meat supplies were distributed as part of the government’s school lunch subsidy program, food services director Sharon Gibson reported the district suffered “no dollar amount of loss” from the recall but that it would be seeking reimbursement from the USDA to pay for having to replace the meat supplies.

Ward 7 election

THE STORY: Just one candidate has completed paperwork to qualify for the Ward 7 City Council election in May. To run, candidates must be registered voters who have lived in Corvallis for at least one year. Candidates must reside within the ward they are seeking to represent at the time the nomination petition is filed, and they must gather 20 signatures from registered voters from within their ward.

THE UPDATE: Completed candidate packets must be turned in to the county elections office no later than

5 p.m. Friday. Because the petition signatures must be verified by that deadline, elections officials recommend that packets be turned in by mid-week to ensure that staff has time to complete the verification process.

CAAIR exceeds goal

THE STORY: Corvallis and Albany Assisting Iraqi Refugees was formed last year as a temporary fundraising organization to support the work of Mercy Corps International in Jordan, where many Iraqi refugees have fled. The organization held a number of fundraising events locally, from dinners to musical presentations to film screenings.

THE UPDATE: CAAIR raised a total of $35,000 to donate to Mercy Corps. The funds will allow Mercy Corps to support Iraqi refugees in a variety of ways, including providing food, educational programs and support for those with disabilities. “It really was a community-wide effort,” said organizer Jean Townes.

Adair Village establishes court

THE STORY: The city of Adair Village discussed creating a municipal court during its Feb. 5 meeting, with Monmouth’s municipal court judge Todd McCann and his staff handling the legal duties. The court would initial only handle speeding tickets and nuisance violations.

THE UPDATE: Last Tuesday, the City Council passed a motion to establish the court, and also updated its nuisance ordinances to create stronger language that set timelines and penalties, and eliminated some discretion. City Administrator Drew Foster said the court could be up and running as early as the end of March.

Legislative memorials pass

THE STORY: State Rep. Sara Gelser sought passage of HCR 103, a bill in memory of Ward 7 City Councilor Scott Zimbrick, who died in December shortly after being diagnosed with acute leukemia. The resolution recognized Zimbrick’s work on 20 different civic and nonprofit boards over 16 years. Another memorial resolution passed in the house, HCR 104, was introduced by State Rep. Andy Olsen to recognize Albany Mayor Doug Killin, who died in January of intestinal cancer.

THE UPDATE: State Sen. Frank Morse of Albany sponsored both of the bills in the Senate. They were passed unanimously there on Thursday.

Corvallis Gazette-Times