Local News

Denied tax exempt status, Mirror pond gallery faces closure. Nobody likes paying taxes, but when you're a small arts group with a federally recognized tax exempt status it probably stings just a little bit more - especially when the tax bill arrives to the tune of $28,000.

That's the case with Arts Central, Central Oregon's regional arts council, which was recently given an unprecedented bill for property taxes at its Mirror Pond Gallery and served notice that it could be on the hook for five years in back taxes.

It's a significant blow to Arts Central which has decided to close down the gallery in the next year, but it could have even larger ramifications for other arts groups and non-profits who count on retail sales from things like bake sales and thrift stores to support their charitable work.

"I can tell you for sure this is going to reverberate all over Oregon and all over the country," said Cate O'Hagan, Arts Central's executive director.

John Hummel had the life: A house in Bend. His own law firm. A seat on the city council. Lots of friends. But he wanted a change.

And change he got.

As a Project Manager for The Carter Center's Rule of Law Program in Liberia, Hummel is now working to develop a functioning justice system in a war-torn, economically-devastated West African country. He lives in Liberia's capitol, Monrovia. His house, which he shares with lizards and the occasional cockroach, is surrounded by a razor-wall fence. The area is so dangerous he doesn't walk outside at night. He rarely has power and never has hot water.

And he's got another problem: What to do with the chicken?

"I was invited by the Traditional Women of Liberia to come to their weekly meeting so they could officially welcome me to the country. They greeted me wearing their brightly colored traditional clothes, and sang, danced, and played music. They then presented me with a live chicken. I was honored. However, the chicken now lives in my yard," he wrote in a series of email correspondence. "I have no idea what to do with it."

Last year, five-year-old Madi Sebulsky attended Summit High School - sort of. Madi, along with approximately 35 other four, five and six-year-olds went to kindergarten at the high school because their school, High Lakes Elementary, didn't have enough classroom space to house all the newly arrived kindergartners. In an effort to keep class sizes from ballooning, High Lakes set up kindergarten classes at the nearby high school.

Getting creative is something that Oregonian educators, and students, have gotten accustomed to given the state's notoriously poor record of funding schools. But the results have been mixed. And one of the biggest, and largely unmet, challenges remains shrinking class sizes at the elementary level - something that researchers say is key to helping kids succeed later in life.
For the past decade, Oregon has been known for having class sizes well
above the national average. The Chalkboard Project, an independent
non-partisan organization created by five of Oregon's leading
foundations, shows Oregon's class sizes as being fourth highest in the
country. The Bend-La Pine School District has addressed this issue by
setting a goal of 18 students per teacher in grades K-3, but like other
districts throughout the state, local schools are finding it difficult
to maintain these target ratios, especially in tough economic times
when schools typically face cutbacks because of Oregon's centralized
funding system.
And right now there is a storm growing.