4 A
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Letters to the Editor:
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ongress shall make no law respecting an
establishment of religion or prohibiting the
free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom
of speech, or of the press, or the right of the
people peaceably to assemble, and to petition
the Government for a redress of grievances.
Editor@TheSiuslawNews.com
Press Releases:
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WEDNESDAY
JANUARY
28
•
2015
1 2 5 T H A N N I V E R S A R Y F L A S H B A C K
1890 ❙
T
T HE W EST
F LORENCE T IMES
T HE S IUSLAW O AR
T HE S IUSLAW N EWS
S IUSLAW N EWS
❙ 2015
his year marks Siuslaw News’ quasquicentennial, our 125th anniversary, a remarkable achievement for any business in a small
community like Florence. To commemorate this milestone, throughout the year we’ll feature some of the town’s history as origi-
nally published in the newspaper, including historic articles and photos from more than a century ago.
Beachcombers hit jackpot after storm
O RIGINALLY P UBLISHED J AN . 9, 1975
Beachcombers hit jackpots
over the weekend on the heels
of a storm with westerly winds
gusting to around 50 knots
with finds ranging from glass,
plastic and Styrofoam floats to
mute reminders of a sinking
near Coos Bay a week ago.
Larry Dier holds one of the treasure
trove of fishing floats he gathered
from the beach after the storms over
the weekend. Although all the floats
are good specimens, the one he’s
holding, fashioned of two floats fused
together, is one of the most prized.
... Florence residents found floats
encrusted in Japanese long-necked
barnacles, floats bound in thick fish-
ing nets and another rare double
float through the end of January.
T HE S IUSLAW N EWS , V OL . 15, N O . 2
Parties of beachcombers
working the beach south of the
south jetty Sunday night found
a life ring, hatch cover, raft and
other gear from the Mary Jo,
commercial fishing boat which
sank near Coos Bay with two
men aboard. Personnel at the
Coast Guard Siuslaw River
Station said no bodies have
been recovered.
Other scavengers found
more pleasant trophies, includ-
ing a wide range of fishing
floats and other debris driven
ashore by the wind and waves.
NEIGHBORS
Hawaiian adventure — Part II
B OB J ACKSON
N EIGHBORHOOD C ORRESPONDENT
For the Siuslaw News
P
eggy’s family had been
allowed to board the Mariposa
with us for an all too brief look
at the interior of this luxury ocean
liner that would soon be our home for
nearly a week, and then, way too
soon, we are hugging and saying our
goodbyes, for the loudspeakers are
telling us, “All ashore that are going
ashore!”
All the pampered passengers stand
at the polished railings and wave to
family and friends on the pier far
below as the crew casts off bow, stern
and spring lines, both fore and aft.
So, at 11 a.m., on a day blessed
with bright sunshine and no wind,
two harbor tugs back us out into the
bay. It is like something out of an old
movie, with long paper streamers and
confetti floating through the air,
while the ship’s band is playing.
The atmosphere is charged with
excitement and sadness in equal pro-
portions — excitement for us, and
sadness for those we are leaving
behind. There is a fleeting sense of
shame that we should be so fortunate,
a strange but inescapable emotion we
had not foreseen.
As we gradually get underway, the
legendary city of San Francisco is
sprawling over the hills on our port
side, while Alcatraz Island, Oakland
and the entire east bay metropolis fill
our senses on the starboard. A very
large helicopter appears and hovers
close alongside, they seem to be tak-
ing pictures, so we may be appearing
on the evening news.
It has been nearly 40 years, and yet
the memories remain as poignant and
vivid as if it had happened yesterday!
I remember telling Peggy what a
contrast it was to be passing under-
neath the orange colored Golden Gate
bridge on a luxury liner instead of
that dark gray warship U.S.S
Indianapolis in World War II. I also
told her that I had ridden across it on
a hitchhiking trip in 1939 when it was
only two years old.
The weather at sea was great, with
only a light NW wind chop. We were
told that this ship was very stable
because of being fitted with nine foot
stabilizers to dampen the roll.
Everywhere we went on this ship,
we were impressed with all the
happy, friendly passengers and crew.
There were around 300 passengers
and the same number of crew, which
meant we were going to be very well
cared for.
Like a couple of excited kids, we
explored the decks over and over
from stem to stern.
Around four in the afternoon we
passed a tugboat towing a lumber
barge. I scoped it with my binoculars
and could make out her name; it was
the Kokua, a Sause Brother’s sea-
going tug. I had once hired on her as
second engineer. We towed a lumber
barge from Davidson’s mill in
Mapleton to Long Beach, Calif.,
there had been cars and boats secured
on top of the lumber.
What a contrast there was between
the steady opulence of this 632-foot
“floating palace” and that 97-foot,
pitching, rolling tug out there, that
had once been my workplace. I low-
ered my binoculars, and at that very
moment I was fervently counting my
blessings.
More to come.
LETTER
Police professionals
Having just had an opportunity to read the Jan. 7 Guest
Viewpoint by Florence Police Chief Lamm, I would like to
heartily endorse the many good points raised therein.
Over a period of 18 years I worked very closely with law
enforcement, on a nationwide basis, in the design and implemen-
Fee
from 1A
Public Works Director
Mike Miller presented on the
condition
of
Florence’s
roads.
In his results, 87.1 percent
of city roads are in “very
good” to “good” condition. It
is the 12.9 percent in the
“poor” category that will need
the most maintenance in the
coming years.
However, even the roads in
better condition will need to
be maintained at a consistent
level.
“Our investment in the
USPS# 497-660
street network is $77.6 mil-
lion. It’s what the community
has invested in these streets,”
Miller said.
The VRF would ensure that
the city has a fund set aside
exclusively
to
protect
Florence’s investment in its
roads.
“It’s like changing the oil in
your car,” said Bozievich.
“It’s a lot cheaper to change
the oil in your car every 5,000
miles than it is to replace an
engine in 20,000 miles. That’s
the way asphalt works, too.”
“The roadways are the
backbone of our system,” said
County Engineer Morgan.
tation of computerized support systems.
Interacting with literally hundreds of police officers in 35 dif-
ferent departments, ranging in size from the 50 officers of
Hercules, Calif., to the 30,000-plus of the New York Police
Department, I came to understand not only what a terribly diffi-
cult job these men and women face each day, but also how dedi-
cated they are to the public safety of the citizens they protect and
“We strongly feel that road
maintenance and preservation
is a regional issue. Because it
really doesn’t matter where
you travel, you’re going to be
driving on roads. Road main-
tenance is a regional issue. ...
The public wants a function-
ing system,” he added.
Both
Bozievich
and
Morgan advised that, “A dol-
lar spent today extends the
roads’ current life, rather than
needing $12 down the road to
rebuild.”
“It will be a long-term
source of revenue and a very
stable source of income,”
Bozievich said.
Arson
from 1A
The fire started at approxi-
mately 5 a.m. on Dec. 7.
According to Barrett, it took
15 minutes from when the fire
began before the fire department
arrived. Gerber’s wife had to call
him home.
“I was actually on a hunting
trip in the local area. I got a call
from my wife and she said ‘You
need to come home right now.
… The building’s on fire.’ I
came back and the building
indeed was on fire.”
By the time Gerber arrived on
the scene, much of the fire had
been contained.
Barrett said that firefighters
had the fire under control in one
hour, but it took four hours to
fully extinguish it.
Gerber said, “There was still
some fire around the edges but
the entire roof system was gone
and all the ceilings.”
Austin said, “It’s just a devas-
tating thing. The building is
completely totaled.”
The damages to the building,
located at the corner of 19th and
Pine Streets, was estimated at
more than $300,000.
“We’re going to tear down
what’s left of the building and
rebuild,” Gerber said.
Copyright 2015 © Siuslaw News
Publisher, ext. 327
General Manager, ext. 318
Editor, ext. 313
Advertising Director, ext. 326
Office Supervisor, ext. 312
Production Supervisor
Press Manager
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WHERE TO WRITE
Published every Wednesday and Saturday at 148 Maple St. in Florence, Lane County, Oregon. A member of the National
Newspaper Association and Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association. Periodicals postage paid at Florence, Ore.
Postmaster, send address changes to: The Siuslaw News, P.O. Box 10, Florence, OR 97439. Phone (541) 997-3441 (See
extension numbers below). FAX (541) 997-7979.
John Bartlett
Jenna Bartlett
Ryan Cronk
Susan Gutierrez
Cathy Dietz
Ron Annis
Jeremy Gentry
The VRF could compete
with a local gas tax, which
may appear on a ballot again
after failing to gain a majority
vote
in
Florence
last
November.
Councilor Joshua Greene
said, “I will support this per-
sonally and come out for it,
which is something we needed
to declare with the gas tax.
Maybe we didn’t make it quite
clear enough or work at it
hard enough before.”
“What this does is empowers
us locally,” Bozievich said.
“We’re taking local control of
our road system with this. And
it’s fiscally responsible.”
the integrity with which they provide that protection.
According the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are some
780,000 police officers in the United States. To judge the entire
profession on the basis of a few isolated incidents is the exercise
of fools and pandering media.
Jimmie Zinn
Florence
Pres. Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington, D.C. 20500
Comments: 202-456-1111
Switchboard: 202-456-1414
FAX: 202-456-2461
TTY/TDD Comments: 202-456-6213
www.whitehouse.gov
Gov. John Kitzhaber
160 State Capitol
900 Court St.
Salem, OR 97301-4047
Governor’s Citizens’ Rep.
Message Line 503-378-4582
www.oregon.gov/gov
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden
221 Dirksen Senate Office Bldg
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-5244
541-431-0229
www.wyden.senate.gov
FAX: 503-986-1080
Email:
Sen.ArnieRoblan@state.or.us
U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley
313 Hart Senate Office Bldg
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-3753/FAX: 202-228-3997
541-465-6750
State Rep. Caddy McKeown
(Dist. 9)
900 Court St. NE
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1409
Email:
rep.caddymckeown@state.or.us
U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio (4th Dist.)
2134 Rayburn HOB
Washington, DC 20515
202-225-6416/ 800-944-9603
541-269-2609/ 541-465-6732
www.defazio.house.gov
State Sen. Arnie Roblan (Dist. 5)
900 Court St. NE - S-417
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1705
West Lane County Commissioner
Jay Bozievich
125 E. Eighth St.
Eugene, OR 97401
541-682-4203
FAX: 541-682-4616
Email:
Jay.Bozievich@co.lane.or.us