In the Know: For Oregon Tax Returns, Now Everyone Can E-File For Free!

New for 2012

Anyone can file their Oregon Form 40 online for free! See

http://www.oregon.gov/DOR/ESERV/online.shtml

Select Free File Oregon for fillable forms and e-filing.

(In past years, there were income requirements, with a focus on serving lower income residents and those serving in the military. This year, this option is available to all regardless of income level.)

Have questions about filing or finding the right form? Ask us at the Reference Desk for assistance.

In the Know: November Election Info – Special Primary 1st District

A special vote-by-mail election is scheduled for November 8th – a  primary election in the 1st Congressional District. Ballots were mailed Friday, October 21st. To vote, you must have registered by last Tuesday (the 18th). If you live in this district and are registered as a Republican or Democrat, be sure to look out for your ballot and return it by Election Day.

Find out more about the candidates in this special primary at:

Voter Pamphlets for Washington County

Multnomah County Election Information

More Info

Oregon’s Governor has set a special election schedule to replace the congressman from the 1st Congressional District (map) after receiving a letter of resignation in August 2011. A special primary election will be held on November 8, 2011, where registered Republicans and Democrats in the 1st Congressional District will each nominate a candidate. A special general election will then be held on January 31, 2012, where all registered voters in the 1st Congressional District will be voting. The congressional lines that were put into place in 2001 apply to these special elections The redistricted congressional lines approved in 2011 will apply in the May 2012 Primary Election. Find out more at: http://www.oregonvotes.org

Blurbs From the Branch- Oregon Battle of the Books

Another school year begins and that means it’s time for the new year’s Oregon Battle of the Books (OBOB)!  For those of you who may not know what OBOB is, it’s a statewide voluntary reading program aimed to get kids reading and increase their reading comprehension. There are three grade divisions, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12, and each division has a list of sixteen books which includes a mix of classics and new books. Kids can then participate through their schools in team competitions where they answer questions about each book. Kids who have participated in the past have had a great time!

 Over the summer, I read most of the OBOBs, and thought I’d share my personal favorites from each division! It’s hard to pick a favorite from the 3-5 division because it includes classics such as E.B. White’s Charlotte’s Web,and The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary. However, I love Grace Lin’s Where the Mountain Meets the Moon. Lin’s novel has all the elements of a Chinese fairy tale: a family looking to improve their fortune, talking goldfish, a dragon that can’t fly, and an old magical man who lives high on a mountain, close to the moon. The author’s beautiful full color illustrations heighten the magic of the book and take readers to a whole new world!

 My favorite book from the 6-8 division is, hands down, Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld. This book takes place in an alternate 1914 Europe at the dawn of the first World War. The world is split into two groups: the Darwinists, who fabricate new species of animals, creating all types of living machinery; and the Clankers, who work strictly with gears and metal, creating massive walking machines. The chapters alternate between Alek, the Austrian Prince who is fleeing from his country to avoid be killed, and Deryn, a Scottish girl who poses as a boy, Dylan, to enlist in the British Air Force. This steam punk adventure is full of intrigue, action, and humor. I couldn’t wait to read the next book in the trilogy!

Finally, for the 9-12 division, I thoroughly enjoyed reading Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson. This book follows Isabel, a young slave girl during the American Revolution as she leaves her home in Rhode Island to be sold to a cruel couple in New York. Isabel’s new masters are British Loyalists in rebel America at the beginning of the war. In order to fight her way to freedom, Isabel becomes a spy for the rebel army. This book is extremely well researched and is full of historical information, including interesting fashion trends from the time, such as women gluing mouse hair to their eyebrows to make them look bushy! This book also left me wanting more, which readers are lucky enough to get in the sequel Forge, and the upcoming conclusion Ashes.

You can pick up a complete list of this year’s OBOBs at any library or online. Please be aware that there may be long holds lines for these titles and that your child may not be able to renew them. Have fun!

-Becca

Kids’ Corner – A mouse, a birthday and Oregon too!

Did you know Laura Numeroff’s best selling circle story If You Give a Mouse a Cookie has an Oregon connection?   Over twenty years ago, Laura was bored on a long car trip from San Francisco to Oregon.  To pass the time and entertain her friend, she started making up the now-famous, chain-of-events story about a mouse who’s never satisfied.    

Since July 14th was Laura Numeroff’s birthday, celebrate this month with cookies for mice, muffins for moose, cupcakes for cats and a party with pigs.   Discover one of her books you’ve never noticed before – there are lots more than the “If you give…” titles.   Her new Jellybeans series bring together four friends who appreciate each other’s differences.    Celebrate your family with your own version of Numeroff  titles like What Sisters do Best/What Brothers do Best and Would I Trade My Parents?

Discover more about Laura and fun things to do at her website  www.lauranumeroff.com

PS.  Who would have guessed that monsters love country western music?  (Laura knew!)

                    

- Nancy S.

It’s time! – Camping in Oregon

Many campgrounds have now opened for the season, and I’ve been looking for new places to pitch a tent this year.  Of the books I’ve used to help me with the process, these are my favorites.

 The best in tent camping, Oregon: a guide for car campers who hate RVs, concrete slabs, and loud portable stereos provides details on campgrounds that are either relatively quiet or too spectacular to miss. It offers suggestions for day hikes, choice campsites, and rates each campground on a number of factors including beauty, cleanliness, and quiet. Also consider The best in tent camping, Washington for points north of the Columbia.

 For a less exclusive list of campgrounds, check out the Moon Guide, Oregon Camping: the complete guide to tent and RV camping. Each campground has a “scenic rating” and some campgrounds feature a “best” stamp. There is no rating for solitude and there seems to be a ratings bias towards lakeside campgrounds with fishing, but the selection is much larger than The best in tent camping. I plan to bring this guide with me for back-up options when my chosen campground is full. If this guide is checked out, note that two smaller Moon guides, Oregon’s Columbia River Gorge camping & hiking and Oregon Coast camping and hiking include many of the campgrounds in the Oregon Camping guide, and they add trails to the mix. Unfortunately there is no way to find out which trails are near a campground without some tedious work with the index and maps.

 If you’re looking for more solitude than car camping offers but don’t want to spend a full day on the trail with a loaded pack, there are several short (e. g. 3 miles round trip) backpacking options to be found in One night wilderness: Portland: quick & convenient backpacking getaways within three hours of the city. 

And here’s how not to get lost. Bring a copy of the Benchmark Oregon Road & Recreation Atlas or the Oregon Atlas & Gazetteer. These are topographic atlases of the entire state with campgrounds, and even some hiking trails marked. The Road and Recreation Atlas is more explicit about which roads are only passable with a four wheel drive vehicle, but the Atlas & Gazeteer offers slightly more detail.

 A final note: While they’re not specifically for campgrounds, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention William Sullivan’s classic, but regularly updated) 100 hikes…  The campground icons on his hand-drawn maps lack names so it’s tricky to use them for campground ideas, but they’re a great companion for nearby hikes if you’ve already picked a destination. Note that Sullivan has also authored a few other guides on the Oregon wilderness worth perusing.

 If you have a favorite guide or website for planning trips to the wilderness, please share in the comments.

 Charles