Lookout PM: Longtime youth soccer coach to retire

Good evening,

Tomorrow is Election Day. It’s an off year, but if you are a registered voter in Springfield or Dunes City, or in the Lane Fire Authority or the South Lane County Fire & Rescue districts, you should have received a ballot. Yes, you have measures to vote on. So get your ballot in a drop box by 8 p.m. Tuesday. I’ll remind you again tomorrow, in case you are a leave-it-to-the-last-minute kind of person.

Today, Lilly St. Angelo profiles 81-year-old Mario Lobo Hernandez. He is an immigrant from Honduras who came to Eugene in 1977. He received death threats as a journalist in his native Honduras. And he has coached youth soccer in Eugene for 47 years. Now, he says, he will retire from coaching in the spring — maybe.

An industrial fire in the scrapyard of Radius Recycling in Eugene that broke out about 4 p.m. closed traffic in both directions on Highway 99 near the Big Y commercial area. Michael Zhang reports.

There is a style of meeting called a “world cafe,” in which a larger group breaks into smaller groups for simultaneous discussions. A recent Springfield school board meeting that used this format has raised questions of whether it runs afoul of Oregon’s open meetings law. Lilly has this story as well.

A pedestrian was killed Sunday afternoon after being struck by a vehicle on a county road about a mile north of Junction City.

In our opinion section, members of the local Jewish Community Relations Council contribute a column calling for “healing and reconciliation” among Palestinians and Israelis, as well as more understanding and empathy here in Lane County.

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DAILY DIGEST

Champion of the underdogs: Youth soccer coach’s commitment to kids spans 47 years

By Lilly St. Angelo

Mario Lobo Hernandez has coached kindergarteners through high school seniors. Beyond the soccer pitch, his lifelong political activism and service work, especially in the Latino community, has touched lives.

Springfield school board’s small-group meeting format raises legal questions

By Lilly St. Angelo

The board’s “world café” approach to a discussion about attendance was meant to foster deeper conversations among board members and district administrators. But in doing so, the board made it impossible for the public to fully access the conversation.