Ernie Amling makes his  own history. Diane went along  for the buggy ride just for the  fun of it. She had a ready made  history since her family was  part of the famous Baltimore  Colony that came to Coos  County in 1859. Ernie is  famous for Ernie's barn which  houses some of his antique  buggy collection. He used to have about 15 old buggies but  said he had to down size. People also rent out the barn to  throw a party or a picnic.

The barbershoppers hold their  annual picnic and the Backman/Taylor family picnic is held  there along with Sawdusters and many other events. There  is plenty of parking, cover inside if you want it, a bathroom,  tables, chairs (you may have to bring extras if you are doing  it really big!) The swimming pool is next door and the  library, if your party is boring. Ernie just retired from being  a member of the Port Commission and was honored recently  for his years of service.

He's an Honorary Rotarian having  been an active member for years and was a three-time  president of the Coquille Chamber of Commerce.  According to Bob Taylor (mine) he was the last guy to let  you down. This was during the time he and Diane owned  the local mortuary, Amling/Schroeder.  You can often find him down at the barn. Sometimes  Diane goes along. Diane's family is so renowned that it's  hard to find something to write about it that hasn't been  written and in history books.

The Amling/Schroeder history began when Diane's mother  drove her to San Francisco to attend a school with  Diane's intention of becoming a private secretary. "Mother  cried all the way to San Francisco." Diane said, "She said  she just knew I would find some fellow and never come  home!"

She met Ernie at a private social party for law students  (oh?) Ernie was working in his family's wholesale  florist business. It wasn't long until Schroeder became an  Amling in November 1955. They stayed in San Francisco in  the florist business until Harold and Christopher were born.  Her mother still hoped Diane would come home. Ernie  finally agreed, coming back to start an apprenticeship in the  funeral home owned by Diane's father. The family went  back to San Francisco when Ernie enrolled in San Francisco  college in Mortuary Science. Diane's mother finally got her  wish when Ernie, Diane and family returned to Coquille to  spend 40 years in the business, retiring in December of  1999.  The family now consists of Harold, the oldest, a purple  heart vet wounded in Iraq after 20 yrs service in the military;  Dr. Christopher, an oncologist living in San Diego (has  3 children); Laura McDonald living in Coquille; Rosemary  Edwards living in Oakland (has 4 boys) and Kathleen  Augsburger, a teacher (4 boys) who lives in Bandon. The  Amling/Schroeder tree has branched considerably.

Diane was born and raised just a few yards from the  barn. She and Ernie turned the home into a chapel when  they had the mortuary. It's the red house to the right of the  barn. It was originally the Elbert Schroeder home. Diane  said her room was up stairs on the left hand side.  Diane's great grandfather was Henry Schroeder who  came with the Baltimore colony to Coos County in about  1859. Schroeders have been here ever since. The next judge  in this column will be Judge J. Henry Schroeder, #8 in the  string. He was the son of Henry Schroeder, of course, a part  of the Baltimore Colony.  For those of you who don't know about the Baltimore  Colony I will tell a little bit about it. You can find more in  most of the local history books.

It's obvious that the people  came from Baltimore, Maryland isn't it? Many of them  were born in Germany. The leader was Dr. Henry Hermann,  a medical doctor with a large practice which was beginning  to ruin his health. He decided he needed a new direction.  He was so well thought of that many families decided to  join him. Among those were the Henry Schroeder family;  William Volkar family; August Bender (my daughter-in-law  Linda Backman's ancestors;) David Holland family; Mrs.  Edward Pagles and family; Hermann Wilde and family;  Hermann Leeke, John A. Bothe and Charles Linderman  with Julius and Gustav Phohl from Philadelphia joining the  families. Next week will feature Judge J. Henry Schroeder  # 8 and more on the Baltimore Colony.

To the Voters of the Port of  Bandon:  Please join with me in  voting for Rich Goche as  Port of Bandon  Commissioner. I was going  to list Rick’s accomplishments  but they are too  extensive so I will only list  a sample. Rick is Chair of  the Oregon Albacore  Commission, is on the  Board of Southern Oregon  Ocean Resource Committee  and is Sec./Treas.of  Klamath Common Ground  Alliance. For Rick’s complete  resume, go to  www.gocheforrep.com.  Rick is a thoughtful,  intelligent man who will  serve the Port of Bandon  well. He has the experience  and willingness to serve in  this capacity. I believe that  we cannot elect a better  Commissioner to continue  the excellent work of the  Port of Bandon.  Respectfully Submitted,  Barbara Dodrill  Bandon

Letter to the Editor:

A few weeks ago, a group of  concerned parent’s from  Myrtle Point and Coquille  met over dinner to talk over  an idea of consolidating our  school districts. Right now  would be a great opportunity  to take that first step of  what we all felt was  inevitable by sharing superintendant  duties. Myrtle  Point’s current superintendant  is leaving in June, and  our school board voted to  hire a permanent replacement.

The consensus from  those of us that met about  this possible consolidation  was to generate support for  the concept and to come up  with pro’s and con’s. Most  of us present at the meeting  were either Bobcat alumni  or Devil alumni. Coquille is  in the same position that  Myrtle Point is with major  cuts being made that affect  the kids. None of us present  had an issue with combining  as we are all more concerned  about the lack of  education our kids will be  receiving at the current state  funding levels than whether  or not we were a Devil or a  Bobcat. Chances are the  funding levels will continue  to decline so something  needs to be done to live  within our means and what  better way to have a nonaffect  directly on the kids  than to look at downsizing  administrative positions in  the district office?

At the MP budget meeting  held on April 27, 2008 the  suggestion was made about  talking to Coquille and possibly  not hiring a superintendant,  but rather sharing that  duty. The board neither  agreed nor disagreed that  the sharing of District duties  and/or positions was an  option. We would strongly  like the board to consider  this. With the looming  budget projections that MP  is utilizing, there will be the  equivalent of 12 FTE positions  being cut. This means  that 3&4th grade as well as  5&6th grade students will  be looking at class sizes of  40+ next year. Sharing  superintendant duties could  save one of those FTE’s to  keep class sizes lower. We  feel that it is the duty of the  board to research this option  and report back to the community  the details.  Another fact for all to consider:  The other districts in  our area are utilizing a  $5.4billion hypothetical  budget to balance to.

Myrtle Point is using a  $5.8billion budget figure.  The State will not know  until late May or early June  what the actual dollar  amount is. At $5.4billion,  as other Districts are using  to forecast, there will need  to be many more cuts than  12 FTE to balance the budget.  In either case, the outcome  will affect our kids in  the form of offering of electives,  sports programs, graduation  requirements and  large class sizes.  We would like to encourage  you to attend the Public  Forum budget meeting for  the Myrtle Point School  District. This meeting is  designed for the community  to speak and make constructive  suggestions based on  facts of how the district can  save money and hopefully  avoid making cuts that  affect elective offerings, and  class room sizes as well as  graduation requirements.

This forum is not intended  for the public to point fingers  and make accusations  towards the board or district  employees. We are all in  this together and ideas need  to be presented that will  help with balancing the  budget while having the less  possible impact on our kids.  Adversity builds character  and how we handle these  changes and budget cuts  teach our kids how to work  together and problem solve.  We need to lead by example  with everyone working  together to reach a solution.  The meeting will be on May  18, 2009; 6:30 at the District  office gymnasium.  Lisa Miranda  Coquille

Letter to Editor,  I was pleasantly surprised  to read my recent copy of  the Coquille Valley Sentinel  on March 25th. It is long  over-due to clean up the  Coquille Police Department.  I just wonder how many  people living in Coquille  have had their world turned  upside down by the very  people who are supposed to  protect them. I know that  you have a new police chief  now.

My father had lived in  Coquille since 1954, over 50  years. He had a very traumatic  experience with  Officer Bryant in April  2007. My 86 year old father  had a dispute with his  grown grandson at 2 a.m.  He called the police to  remove his grandson and  instead Officer Bryant  arrested and handcuffed my  Dad.  At this point my Dad fell  to the floor incoherent. The  ambulance was called and  the handcuffs were removed  at the request of the medic.  My Dad had a stroke some  years ago and had a paralyzed  arm, was very feeble  on his feet, and had heart  and other health problems.  He had heart surgery less  than two months later,  almost dying. He passed  away eight months later. He  never really recovered from  the trauma of that night.

Elderly people often have  health problems, they need  to be worked with very  carefully especially in the  middle of the night. Officer  Bryant should have requested  that the grandson leave,  and then solve any further  issues in the light of day.  It is totally outrageous that  Officer Bryant would deliberately  mess with a sick old  man with a paralyzed arm  and numerous health problems,  inside his own home,  especially in the middle of  the night. his actions were  abusive and displayed a  total lack of common sense  and lack of respect for the  elderly.  Beverley Becker (Roberson)  Elgin, Nebraska

The Charleston Fire District  and community volunteers  will be conducting a second  community-based door-todoor  smoke alarm campaign  on the evening of  Wednesday, April 22, 2009.

Firefighters and community  volunteers will be testing  Smoke Alarms in all residences  and installing smoke  alarms in owner occupied  residences if needed in targeted  areas of the  Charleston/Barview  Community. Smoke alarms  are critical to home fire  safety because they alert us  to fire in its early stages.  Even more important, they  can alert us to a fire when  we are most vulnerable -  when we are asleep.  According to the Office of  State Fire Marshal, 80% of  Oregon's 41 fire fatalities  occurred in homes in 2004.  The majority of the home  fire victims died in homes  without a working smoke  alarm.

The smoke alarms  were not working, usually  because batteries were dead,  disconnected, or missing.  “The presence of a working  smoke alarm doubles your  chances of surviving a fire,  and our program will ensure  that more of our residents  have that protection,” states  Fire Chief Mick Sneddon.  Charleston Residents can  also call the Fire Station at  541-888-3268 for an  appointment to have their  smoke alarm tested or a new  one installed. Business  hours are Monday through  Friday, 9AM to 4PM.  Local funding for this program  was provided by a  grant through the Oregon  Office of State Fire Marshal  and the Assistance to  Firefighters Fire Prevention  Grant Program.  Sincerely,  Michael Sneddon, Fire  Chief, Charleston Fire  District

Let's see if the old "Year  'Round Gardner" can help  with your bindweed problem.  I did an article on  bindweed when I was writing  the weekly column, but  can't seem to find it. It is  most likely in your archives  if you want to look at it. It  was, as I remember, pretty  complete.

Anyway, pulling  the plant is about the worst  thing you can do. Every  break you make to the roots  or stem, results in more new  growth, especially below  ground. Since the roots can  easily reach a depth of 10  feet or more there is no way  you can ever successfully  get them all. You might look  at it as every time you pull a  root, you are propagating  the plant. The best treatment  is to spray with Round Up,  and when the plant regrows,  as it will, spray again.  Eventually you will  weaken it and it will appear  to be gone as no regrowth  will appear. But wait, there  is more. The seeds can live  in the soil for many years.  some have been known to  sprout after 30 years. If your  soil is friable you can dig a  lot of roots out, and this will  help.

If your soil is more  clayey, don't waste your  time. Spraying with Round  up or equivalent whenever  new growth appears is your  most successful treatment. If  the plant is wrapped around  an ornamental, or other  plant you wish to keep,  paint the bindweed leaves  with a soft paint brush.  There is a generic equivalent  of Round up put out by  Hi-Yield called Killzall that  is a bit cheaper then the  41% version of Round- Up.  Use it at the rate of 3  Tablespoons per gallon of  water. Much more economical  then buying the pre-mix  stuff. If you can't find it, the  Grange usually has it. Best  of gardening to you,  Mike Kelly