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❘ JUNE 10, 2015 ❘ $1.00
Class of 2015
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COAST LIFE — B
SPORTS — C
SERVING WESTERN LANE COUNTY SINCE 1890
FLORENCE, OREGON
l
l
e
p
S
Port’s
business
prospects
expand
W-I-N-N-E-R
Telecommunication
companies now allowed
under new legislation
B Y J ACK D AVIS
Siuslaw News
PHOTOS BY CHANTELLE MEYER/SIUSLAW NEWS
Cast members rehearse Monday night before the comedic play opens June 12 for a two-weekend run at the Florence Events Center.
Last Resort Players’ ‘25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee’ opens Friday
B Y C HANTELLE M EYER
Siuslaw News
F
or the six contestants in
“The 25th Annual Putnam
County Spelling Bee,”
opening this weekend at
the Florence Events Center, spelling
isn’t a game. Each student attends
the bee to prove they are winners.
None of them wants to come in second — but
only one can win.
The Last Resort Players (LRP) puts together a
cast of community theater veterans and new talent
to fill the shoes of bee contestants and the three
adults who guide, comfort and antagonize the
spellers.
The cast, ranging in ages from 18 years old to
the mid-50s, play characters who are in elementary
school or the adults who lead the bee.
Despite the majority of the cast being pre-ado-
lescent, the show is rated PG-13 for the inclusion
of words that proba-
bly shouldn’t be
spelled in public.
“You want to come
and laugh and have a
good time,” said
musical director and
actor Jason Wood. “If
you’re looking for
depth and a story,
there’s a lot of that
here. The show will
catch you by surprise.
Obviously it’s very
funny, but there are
moments of real
humanness, moments
of real emotion. It’s not just all campy and improv
and over the top. There are moments of some real-
ly deep stuff.”
The cast has figured out how to create depth and
humor with their characters.
“The thing I like most about my character Leaf
Coneybear is that he has never really experienced
anything outside of his own home before, so
everything is new and exciting,” said Matt Korso.
The students
struggle with loneli-
ness, growing pains
and their families.
The adults also
struggle.
Jacob Ternyik
plays Mitch
Mahoney, a “comfort
counselor” for elimi-
nated contestants.
“He doesn’t want
to be there. He’s
doing his community
service at a spelling
bee. Who wants to
do that? At the end
of the show, he actually genuinely cares for the
kids,” Ternyik said.
Leah Goodwin tests spellers’ skills with words
ranging from South American rodents to uncom-
fortable bladder disorders. Her character, Vice
Principal Donna Panch, has plenty of her own
issues.
See
Oregon Revised Statutes chapter
777 (ORS 777) is the document
governing the scope and powers of
Oregon ports, including the Port of
Siuslaw. ORS 777 has been revised
to reflect 21st century business
needs because of a bill recently
passed by the state Legislature.
Port Manager Bob Forsythe and
then port commissioner Bill Fleenor
wrote the bill after port legal coun-
cil informed Forsythe that due to the
wording of ORS 777, the port was
prohibited from conducting busi-
ness with telecommunications com-
panies.
“When they wrote ORS 777,
telecommunications didn’t even
exist,” Forsythe said. “In fact, the
last time it was amended, it didn’t
exist. This is just adding to the long
laundry list of what ports are
allowed to do.”
Late in 2014, Forsythe and
Fleenor contacted State Rep. Caddy
McKeown about changing the lan-
guage in ORS 777.
McKeown and her staff worked
with Forsythe to craft the wording
of the bill.
Due to a potential conflict of
interest, Fleenor resigned his posi-
tion as commissioner and Forsythe
pursued the matter alone.
After minor changes in wording,
House Bill 3104 was approved by
the state House of Representatives.
State Sen. Arnie Roblan presented
the bill in the Senate where it also
passed. The Speaker of the House
signed the bill on May 19.
Gov. Kate Brown signed the bill
into law May 26.
BEE 7A
See
PORT 7A
‘ESCAPE THE ORDINARY’ WITH SUMMER READING
Siuslaw Public Library launches 2015
reading program in Florence, Mapleton
B Y C HANTELLE M EYER
Siuslaw News
INSIDE
This year’s summer reading
themes at Siuslaw Public
Library are all about being
extraordinary. Children will
learn that “Every Hero has a
Story” as they read or are read
to four times a week — if they
do, they are eligible for prizes
each week.
Summer reading activities
take place each Thursday. At
10:30 a.m., children’s librarian
Gayle Waiss will lead stories,
games, crafts and activities in
Florence. She will be at the
Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C6
Coast Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B
In Brief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A9
Library Tidings . . . . . . . . . . . A5
Mapleton branch to lead more
activities at 1 p.m.
Teen readers can submit to
weekly drawings and attend
two
superhero
movie
marathons — on Wednesday,
June 24, and Wednesday, July
22 — as part of their theme,
“Unmasked!”
Teens who read or listen to
an audiobook for at least 30
minutes a day can win prizes.
Adults get to “Escape the
Ordinary” with a variety of free
literary, ecological and cine-
matic events.
Librarian Kevin Mittge
opens the adult summer read-
Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A4
Police . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A2
Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C
Weather Data . . . . . . . . . . . A2
ing program tomorrow, June
11, at 1 p.m. He will discuss the
2015 endowment books.
Other features include Bob
DuBose and the foreign serv-
ice; Siuslaw News Editor Ryan
Cronk leading a discussion
about plagiarism and the film
“Shattered Glass;” Vicki
Sieber-Benson
and
Bill
Benson’s presentation on
Mongolia; evaluating a suc-
cessful downtown and movies,
writing groups, concerts, food
and more.
For each book adults read or
listen to and each program they
attend, they can place an entry
in a weekly prize drawing by
completing an entry form and
submitting a short book review.
The library also will have
THIS WEEK ’ S
Family Movie Nights every
Tuesday at 6 p.m. in the
Bromley Room.
These
films
include:
“Pokemon Heroes,” “The
Incredibles,” “Big Hero 6,”
“Despicable
Me
2,”
“Superman,” “The Lego
Movie,” “Rescuers,” “Box-
trolls” and “Alexander and the
Terrible, Horrible No Good
Very Bad Day.”
Drawings will be held each
Saturday, starting June 13, for a
variety of prizes, from the
entries received as of 6 p.m. the
day before. The more an indi-
vidual reads, listens and
attends, the more entry forms
he or she can fill out.
See
LIBRARY 7A
TODAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
61 50
63 50
64 48
63 49
WEATHER
Full Forecast, A3
COURTESY PHOTO
Mapleton Elementary School students hold up book bags
and books that they will read for Siuslaw Public Library’s
“Every Hero has a Story” summer reading program.
S IUSLAW N EWS
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