On this day, May 5, 1903, James Beard, US culinary expert, author (Delights & Prejudices), was born in Portland, Ore.
Also on this day, May 5, 1945, A Japanese balloon bomb exploded on Gearhart Mountain in Oregon, killing Mrs. Elsie Mitchell, the pregnant wife of a minister, and five children after they attempted to drag it out the woods in Lakeview, Oregon. The balloon was armed, and exploded soon after they began tampering with it. They became the 1st and only known American civilians to be killed in the continental US during World War II.
Also on this day, May 5, 1945, Bly minister Archie Mitchell, his pregnant wife Elsie, and five children from Mitchell's Sunday school class were on a Saturday morning picnic. Thirteen miles northeast of Bly, or about sixty miles northeast of Klamath Falls, Mitchell parked the car, and Elsie and the children headed to Leonard Creek. Mitchell later remembered: "As I got out of the car to bring the lunch, the others were not far away and called to me they had found something that looked like a balloon. I heard of Japanese balloons so I shouted a warning not to touch it. But just then there was a big explosion. I ran up there--and they were all dead." It was a Japanese balloon bomb. They were 70 feet tall with a 33-foot diameter paper canopy connected to the main device by shroud lines. Balloons inflated with hydrogen followed the jet stream at an altitude of 30,000 feet.
Citing racial and transphobic comments
The Salem-Keizer School Board work session scheduled for August 24, 2021 has
been canceled. Please refer to the following statement released by school board leadership:
It is with deep regret that due to ongoing public safety concerns within our community, the Salem-Keizer School Board meeting for August 24 is canceled. This was to have been an opportunity for the board to hear from staff and students about the amazing partnership between our school district and Chemeketa Community College, including the redesign of our alternative education program. Our goal was to interact with students and staff while seeing the new agriculture complex at Chemeketa. We will reschedule at a time we can accomplish this in person. To the students and staff who prepared for this meeting and to our partners at Chemeketa, we apologize.
We are seeing a continual call in our community to create disruption to our board and our schools with divisiveness that has no place in the lives of our students. At our last board meeting, we witnessed disrespect, racial and transphobic comments, and a disregard for health and safety protocols. We believe our communities of Salem and Keizer are better than this, and board leadership does not want any person to be in an environment where they will not feel safe or welcome.
As a board, we remain highly committed to our goal of getting our students back to school for five days a week of in-person instruction. Getting students in school physically and having them remain in school is our single focus.
Please join us as a community in our commitment to get our students back in school, and support our healthcare workers who are working around the clock taking care of our critically ill community members.
Be safe, mask up, get vaccinated and support the safe return of our students to school!
--Bruce Armstrong| Post Date: 2021-08-19 13:47:58 | Last Update: 2021-08-19 14:06:20 |
