BRIEFLY.

Byline: The Register-Guard

School board sets rate for proposed tax levy

The Bethel School District Board on Tuesday night set a rate of $1 per $1,000 of assessed property value for its proposed local option levy, according to a district press release.

The five-year levy will be on the May 16 ballot next year. If voters approve the levy, it would provide the district with about $1.4 million per year, said Pat McGillivray, the district's community relations director.

The money would be used to help maintain current programs and prevent further cuts.

In addition, the board would aim to direct money toward increasing students' math performance, buying new textbooks and updating computers.

A recent scientific survey indicates the majority of Bethel residents will support a levy at that rate, McGillivray said.

Last local soldiers return from hurricane relief

The last few citizen-soldiers from the Cottage Grove-based 2nd Battalion, 162nd Infantry Regiment, returned home Tuesday from the Gulf Coast, where they spent the past three weeks aiding in the recovery effort following Hurricane Katrina and later Hurricane Rita.

The bulk of the 285 soldiers who deployed Sept. 7 from Lane County had returned home last week, but about two dozen remained behind.

They boarded a plane Tuesday morning and landed in Portland that afternoon, National Guard Capt. Peter Aguilar of Eugene said.

The soldiers were replaced by Alabama National Guard troops. More than 1,000 Oregon National Guard soldiers remain in the devastated region.