Posted: Sunday, April 2, 2006 12:00 am
Corvallis Gazette-Times
Here's a list of local issues that have been covered recently in the Gazette-Times and the status of those stories:
Walnut sidewalk
THE ISSUE: A portion of the sidewalk on the south side of Northwest Walnut Boulevard between Kings Boulevard and Rolling Green Drive collapsed in late December, settling as much as 18 inches.
WHAT'S HAPPENED SO FAR: As a precaution, Corvallis Public Works closed the sidewalk and the right eastbound lane of Walnut while negotiating with Timberhill Shopping Center to fix a retaining wall that failed, the suspected cause of damage to the sidewalk in the public right of way.
WHAT'S NEXT: City officials say Timberhill representatives have not responded to the city's inquiries and that repair work could be delayed until this summer.
John & Phil's
THE ISSUE: John & Phil's Toyota plans to relocate to south Corvallis on land on the west side of U.S. Highway 99W between Goodnight and Rivergreen avenues.
WHAT'S HAPPENED SO FAR: The Corvallis Planning Commission approved the development plans by a vote of 6-1 on March 15.
THE LATEST: An appeal period to challenge the decision to the City Council expired Tuesday night.
Inavale School
THE ISSUE: The Corvallis School Board voted in February to close Inavale School in June.
WHAT'S HAPPENED SO FAR: Some Inavale parents are working on a charter school proposal as the district surveys families about where to send their students next year.
WHAT'S NEXT: At the Corvallis School Board meeting on Monday, Superintendent Dawn Tarzian is expected to announce changes to the Lincoln Elementary School boundary and grade configurations to accommodate Inavale students there in a K-8 school.
Tax errors
THE ISSUE: Benton County Assessor's Office discovered two errors in taxes collected in 2004 and 2005.
WHAT'S HAPPENED SO FAR: The county learned that 400 downtown Corvallis property owners were not billed for 2004 and 2005 for the jail space levy, resulting in an underpayment of $74,000. In addition, the county used the wrong tax rate in collecting fire protection taxes for the Oregon Department of Forestry in 2005.
WHAT'S NEXT: Under state law, the county must collect taxes owed. A letter will be mailed to affected property owners this week. The amount owed will be added to 2006 tax statements, which will be mailed in October.
College of Forestry
THE ISSUE: An Oregon state senator, Charlie Ringo, has requested internal Oregon State University documents regarding a controversy swirling around OSU's College of Forestry.
WHAT'S HAPPENED SO FAR: OSU graduate student Dan Donato and fellow researchers had a study published in the journal Science concluding that salvage logging slows forest regrowth and creates tinder that can increase fire risk. Some OSU forestry faculty tried to delay publication of the study, saying they wanted time to prepare a response. A firestorm of criticism erupted, and Hal Salwasser, dean of the college, expressed regret for how he handled the matter.
WHAT'S NEXT: OSU officials, noting that it's already cost the university more than $3,500 to comply with Ringo's request thus far, say they'll ask the senator to scale back his request. Ringo, D-Beaverton, was traveling last week in Taiwan and was due back in Oregon this week.