Larry Angland, 70, and his wife, Susan, are community-oriented, active volunteers, and it’s driven him to run for the School Board, he said.
Angland is running for position five, at large, including incumbent Diane Gerson, Billie Weber, Melany Glossa and Travis Luttmer.
“We’re the ones that put together the car show coming up in June,” he said, referring to the Sweet Home Sweet Ride Charity Car Show, which will benefit the Boys and Girls Club. He also is vice president of the Corvallis Corvette Club and a Kiwanis member. In the Kiwanis, he is in charge of the Holley BUGS program, which rewards children for bringing up their grades. He also has been involved with the Boy Scouts and Eagle Scout program.
“I wanted to get involved more with schools,” Angland said. “I can help out with the budget and see if we can get something going.”
His goal is to maintain the level of scholarship in the schools, which he called “fantastic,” and maintain the district’s teachers, he said. He’s not sure precisely how, yet.
“I really don’t know until I get involved and see what we have to work with,” he said.
He believes he can bring ideas to the table, he said. For instance, he has already been getting loads of hardwood free for the wood shop; and he knows contractors who might be willing to help the district with supplies.
“A lot of things can be donated for gratis if a person wants to put a lot of footwork to it to help,” he said.
He supports maintaining sports during the budget cuts happening now and future cutting, he said.
“It’s a great activity, and I really like the way Sweet Home holds their feet to the fire to keep their grades up to play sports.”
As a board member, his priority would be to help continue what the district already is doing, he said.
“I want to see what they have going first. I think Larry Horton (superintendent) is doing a great job over there. I want to see what his priorities are and work with him to reach the goals he wants to accomplish.
“I can put enough time in to better things. I don’t devote just a couple hours, I devote my time to make sure the project is completed.”
He loves children, he said. “That’s my one priority. I love kids. I want to see them get all the fair shake they can get.”
Angland is a retired general contractor who worked in fire repair construction. He was born and raised in Lakeview and served in the Marines from 1953 to 1958, including service in Korea during the Korean War.
He has lived in Sweet Home for more than two years, and he has two grown children.