East Toledo is only a "stones-throw' fom OREGON,OHIO

I am so sorry I have neglected oregon for so long!! I was raised in Oregon, Ohio and Oregon is actually THE PLACE where most East Toledoans wish they lived if they could afford it (if we had to live in this area anyway..)

So here is the run-down on th history of OREGON, OHIO as well as a few links to give you more information:

Oregon - City History

Oregon was once part of the Great Black Swamp. The swamp area was rich with oak, hickory, ash, walnut, elm and maple trees. This led to the establishment of numerous sawmills and settlements.


The harvested forests created rich farmland, but the area remained swampy and there was a need for storm drainage. Major ditches, usually along roadways that followed the path of old Indian trails, were constructed. These ditches continue to provide storm drainage today carrying storm water into Maumee Bay.

"The town was name Oregon by Pierre M. Irving, a nephew of Washington Irving, author of the popular book Astoria. This book attracted considerable interest in John Jacob Astor's trading lands which were located in what is now the city of Oregon. The story, however, is an account of Astor's fur trading in the territory of Oregon; but since the nephew was representing Astor's interest in fur trading east of the Maumee River, he succeeded in having the town named Oregon. In 1838, Mr. Irving accompanied by his wife, went to New York expecting to remain there for the summer; but for some reason he never returned." Quoted in the "History of Oregon and Jerusalem" book, authored by Josephine Fassett.

The first government was Oregon Township, formed in 1838. The land was surveyed and there were public sales for settlements. The area that was the township, is now the City of Oregon, which is bounded on the west by the City of Toledo, the North by Maumee Bay/Lake Erie, on the east by Jerusalem Township (Lucas County) and on the South by the City of Northwood (Wood County). In 1856 the township took ownership of two cemeteries which remain owned by the City today.

The 1800's and 1900's saw the development of an extensive rail system. The Port of Toledo began operations on the south bank of the Maumee River in the early 1800's and developed port operations on the Maumee Bay in Oregon in 1955. These operations continue in the Northwest area of the City.







Because of the water, rail, and surface transportation access that was available in the City, two major refineries, British Petroleum (BP) and Sun Marketing located in Oregon around the turn of the century. These two refineries have historically been two of the City's largest employers..



The northwestern end of the City grew as an industrial center with a coal powered electrical generating facility and several chemical plants. Pipelines were laid to carry petroleum products to and from the port facilities and other regions. Buckeye Pipeline has the largest pipeline distribution system in Oregon.

As industrialization continued, commercial and residential growth followed. Generally, urban growth continued eastward from Interstate 280 - one of the nation's first Interstates. Recently, residential growth has also occurred south of Maumee Bay in the waterfront areas and with perimeter development in the more rural areas.

In 1954 Oregon Township trustees sought to zone the area. At about the same time, City of Toledo officials sought to annex the northwest industrial area of Oregon Township. The annexation failed, and in 1957 there was an election for Oregon to become an incorporated City. The vote was 3,660 in favor and 2,925 opposed. A key issue in incorporation was to have Oregon own and operate a water and a wastewater plant.


The City of Oregon adopted their Charter in 1958. The new City adopted a slogan of "City of Opportunity." In the mid 1980's the City added Oregon on the Bay to the City of Opportunity. In 1959 voters approved an "earnings tax" now known as the municipal income tax. The water plant was constructed in 1964 and currently over 90% of the land in Oregon is serviced with waterlines. Plans for an estimated $17.9 million in improvements to the water plant continued in 1998. The









original water plant was paid for by a combination of local and federal funds. The City also has a wastewater treatment plant, constructed in 1977, with local and federal funds, which can process up to eight million gallons per day. In 1997 a major upgrade to the wastewater plant was completed. Approximately one-third of the land in the City is serviced by sanitary sewer lines. The City's water and wastewater operations also service portions of Jerusalem Township, northern Wood County and northwest Ottawa County.

Form of Government
The original Charter adopted in 1958 called for a Mayor/Council form of government. The City was divided into five wards, each represented by a councilman, and there were two at-large members for a total of seven councilmen. The Charter named the Mayor as the Administrator. The Mayor and Council were elected for two-year terms. In 1968 the Charter was amended to elect all councilmen at large. In 1988 the Charter was amended to change the term of the Mayor to four years. In 1993 there were two Charter changes: one was to create the position of City Administrator who would report to the Mayor; and the other was to abolish the position of Clerk Auditor and to create the positions of Finance Director and Clerk of Council. Other technical charter changes, such as reading the title of an ordinance instead of the entire ordinance, have been periodically approved by the voters.

Location
The City of Oregon is located in northwestern Ohio in the Toledo Metropolitan area. Oregon is Lucas County's largest suburb with 28.5 square miles and a population of 18,326. The City has approximately five miles of shoreline along Maumee Bay/Lake Erie. The City's elevation is approximately 606 feet above sea level. Local temperatures average 73 degrees in the summer and 25 degrees in the winter. The City has approximately 120 miles of roads with I-280 (which links the east - west Ohio Turnpike, I-80/90 with north-south I-75), State Route 2 (Lake Erie access road) and State Route 51 (Wood County and Ottawa County access road). The port facilities service foreign and domestic cargo for shipment in the Saint Lawrence Seaway and the Great Lakes.

The City of Oregon provides a variety of recreational opportunities for residents, workers, and visitors to the area. The City is home to Pearson Metropark, Maumee Bay State Park, South Shore Park and the Coontz Recreational Complex. Maumee Bay State Park has over 1,800 acres. The northern border is one mile of shoreline on Lake Erie. Maumee Bay has an eighteen hole Arthur Hill golf course, lodge and conference center, cabins, campgrounds, inland lake, nature trail, tennis courts, sledding hill and amphitheater. Wave runners, parasails, paddleboats, bikes and canoes are available for rent at the park. Pearson Metropark has 320 acres for biking, a nature center, fishing, picnicking, and paddle boating. The City of Oregon has two municipal parks, Coontz Park for active recreation with eight lighted ball fields and South Shore Park with a sledding hill, picnic area, and fitness trail.

Oregon schools offer a full range of programs from advanced placement courses to vocational education. The Oregon City School District includes a high school, two middle schools, and four elementary schools, one of which is located in Jerusalem township. Also located in the City is Cardinal Stritch High School, a coeducational parochial school. In addition to the Oregon schools, the region is serviced by the University of Toledo, Medical College of Ohio, Lourdes College, Owens Community College and Bowling Green State University. All of these schools are within approximately one-half hour drive time of the City.

Municipal Services
The City provides a wide variety of services authorized by its Charter and administrative codes. City services include police and fire protection, emergency medical service, municipal court, planning and engineering, zoning, code enforcement, street maintenance, traffic control, parks and recreation, building inspection, cemetery, community development, curbside recycling, solid waste collection and disposal and general administrative services. The City does not operate hospitals, schools or landfills. In 1998 the City continued to receive federal funding for persons, with qualifying income levels, to rehabilitate and/or receive down payments to purchase homes.

The City also operates two enterprise activities: water treatment and distribution, and wastewater collection and treatment. The enterprise funds are used to account for activities operated in a manner similar to a private business. The intent of the City is that the costs of providing the services to the general public on a continuing basis be financed primarily through user charges. The cost of capitalizing the water and wastewater plants is subsidized with a voter-approved designation of approximately twenty percent of income tax revenues for said purpose.

The City's enterprise activities are not subject to rate review or determination by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio or any similar regulatory body. The City Council has the necessary authority to establish and to amend appropriate user rates as required. The rates are monitored on an ongoing basis to insure their adequacy to meet operational and maintenance needs. The rates remain competitive in Northwest Ohio. Responsibility for the frequency and amount of rate change lies solely with the City Council.

FOUND AT: http://www.ci.oregon.oh.us/history/history.htm

THIS PAGE OFFERS LINKS TO THESE PAGES OF INFORMATION ABOUT OREGON, OHIO AS WELL:

Mayor Welcome and Link
City Departments
Schools
City Council (I was searching for the 2007 City Council candidates, and ran across this site...unfortunately, I STILL haven't found the 2007 candidates and their afiliation for my Aunt Sissy!)
Attractions
Directory
Search

MY FAVORITE THING ABOUT OREGON IS THAT IS IS MORE ACCESSIBLE TO LAKE ERIE and offers the beautiful MAUMEE BAY STATE PARK (and campground!).

HOROSCOPE=Real Life ALSO: "LIFE" on NBC

THIS - REALLY, honest to God, happened to me today:

October 17, 2007
Capricorn (12/22-1/19)

"You can expect to start this day with a lot of high energy -- so much so that you might jump out of bed and dance the tango! There are a lot of ideas swimming around in your head right now, and they are giving you a blast of physical strength that will carry you through the entire day. There is no question that you will have all the drive, rhythm and stamina you need to tackle all your tasks -- and complete them with the grace and ease of a real dancer."
Ever since Jo told me that she started playing her Bob Seger every day and trying to dance around and move (even if it's just tapping a foot) constantly, that she took off 4 more pounds, i have started trying to at least listen to more music and MOVE MY BODY.
OH SURE...I DID lie in bed and sleep off and on till almost 3 pm today...it was a cloudy, moist, cool morning, and I had stayed up all night on the computer looking for "writing programs, and grammar checker" downloads, as well as material to use in my NEW, UPDATED WEBSITE that I am going to begin re-vamping this month and throughout the winter..which is at http://www.geocities.com/webscoollinks
THEN when it's complete, I will purchase the domain for it again, but this time under a catchier name.
ANYWAY...GTG - "LIFE" my new favorite Fall program, Channel 24, 9:30 pm, is on. I Can't miss it.
TTYL!!
God Bless,
TTR
PS. LIFE on NBC:
http://www.cinemablend.com/television/2007-Fall-TV-Preview-Life-on-NBC-6264.html

Life - Season 1

Premieres: Wednesday, September 26th at 10:00 p.m. EST
Network: NBC
Creator(s): Rand Ravich
Starring: Damian Lewis, Sarah Shahi, Adam Arkin
Website: NBC.com

Watch Life on NBC
Don't Miss the New Series - Life on Wednesdays at 10/9C only on NBC!
www.NBC.com/Life

THE RUN-DOWN:
Charlie Crews (Damian Lewis) was a succesful Los Angeles detective before he was sent to jail for a triple homicide he did not commit. After years in prison, in solitary lockdown because of his reputation as a cop, Charlie is finally exonerated and sent back to the force. He’s partnered with Dani Reese (Sarah Shahi), who served her own time in rehab after her career working undercover in the drug world got a little too real. He’s also got the help of Ted (Adam Arkin), a friend from the inside who’s genius with money-- even though he’s an ex-felon. Now Charlie has to do his duties as a detective while still coping with the new reality of life on the outside.

"PREVIEW PULP"
Meh. Police procedurals do little for me unless they’ve got a neat hook (the upcoming New Amsterdam, for example). The idea of a cop who’s been in prison just doesn’t intrigue me-- don’t all TV cops act like they have some special insider knowledge? It’s also strange that there’s been virtually no promotion for this show, given that it comes right after Bionic Woman, which NBC is clearly expecting to be their new cash cow. As someone who can barely watch House without getting annoyed at the formula, I have my doubts that Charlie Crews will be a character worth watching this show for.

Social Media: scholarship for blogging

Social Media: scholarship for blogging

Social Media: scholarship for blogging

Social Media: scholarship for blogging