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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 29, 2021)
2B | WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2021 | SIUSLAW NEWS The Lane County Sheriff’s Office and Lane County transportation planners remind everyone to drive sober and slow down this holiday season. “We typically see an increase in impaired driving during the holi- days,” said Lane County Sheriff ’s Sergeant Tim Ware. “People are busy celebrating and maybe not tracking their alcohol or cannabis consump- tion. We also tend to encounter peo- ple who are drinking or using other substances more during the holi- days to cope with family or seasonal stressors – and if they get behind the wheel it can be deadly.” Utilizing grant funding provided through Oregon Impact, the Sher- iff ’s Office will be staffing additional DUII patrols this holiday season. WRESTLE from page B1 the junior varsity team, com- peted well and shows there’s a bright future for the SHS wres- tling program. “Lots of the JV kids did a good job and that’s encourag- ing,” said Siuslaw Wrestling Coach Neil Wartnick. “It’s nice when you see your younger kids developing.” The girls varsity team had an outstanding showing at Grants Pass, finishing tied for fourth. The three schools in front of them, Crater, North Medford and Del Norte (from California), have enrollments many times that of Siuslaw High School, making the Viking girls’ perfor- mance all the more impressive. Three girls brought home sec- ond place medals for SHS on Dec. 18, two seniors along with a breakout performance by a fresh- man. At 110, freshman Macali Lade was given the opportunity to PEACE from page B1 To truly understand the atroc- ities that Indigenous People in the area faced, watch a video narrated by Patricia Whereat Phillips, Miluk Coos and mem- ber of the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians (CTCLUSI), at youtu.be/N6D-wkqXGy0. Cedar is a sacred tree for many tribes of the Pacific Northwest. On Jan. 1, anyone interested in exploring cedar in prayers is in- vited to take a cedar sprig from a basket outside the Commons at the Lions Picnic Shelter or at Stay safe: Plan ahead for a sober driver to safely drive you to your destination. As with drunk driving, it is essential that drug-impaired drivers refrain from driving a vehicle. Passengers should never ride with an impaired driver. If you think a driver may be impaired, do not get in the car. Do you have a friend or family member who is about to drive while impaired by alcohol or drugs? Take the keys away and arrange to get them home safely. Don’t worry about offending someone — they’ll thank you later. If you see an impaired driver on the road, call 9-1-1. “We especially want to remind people who will be driving in ru- ral Lane County this holiday sea- son,” said Becky Taylor. “Our rural county roads are often winding and narrow with little room to recover if you leave your travel lane. Sadly, there are several county roads with high numbers of serious injury or fatal crashes, including London Road south of Cottage Grove which is our first Safety Corridor and the focus of several education and engi- neering efforts.” Firefighters to dispose of old Christmas trees Once again, the Siuslaw Valley Fire- fighters Association, representing local volunteer firefighters, will be conducting the annual Christmas Tree Pick-Up event in January. Firefighters will be available to pick up old Christmas Trees on Sunday, Jan. 2, or Saturday, Jan. 8. Simply call the Siuslaw Valley Fire and Rescue Administrative Office at 541-997- 3212 to schedule a pick-up. A minimum donation of $5 is suggested and you can place it in a plastic bag and attach it to the discarded tree. The Christmas Tree Pick-Up is a major fundraiser for the Firefighters Association, with all funds donated going to support association events such as our scholarship fund, which recognizes two graduating se- niors each year. This is a way for the community to help properly dispose of old and dried out Christmas Trees and support local fire- fighters. Learn more at svfr.org. avenge a previous loss when, in the second round, she beat North Bend’s Haley Buskerud. Buskerud had beaten Lade the weekend before at the North Bend Coast Classic. After the win, Lade received a bye in the final round to earn second place and 12 points for the team score. Senior Bailey Overton, at 120, also finished second and may have placed higher if not for an injury she suffered in her semifi- nal match, forcing her to forfeit a chance at a first-place medal. “It’s called an injury default,” said Warnick. “We did that just to keep her safe. We didn’t want her to get more injured and lose her for a longer period of time. Bailey has been great. She’s made great progress all year.” Also finishing second was another senior, Hayden Muller, at 140. “She fought hard,” said Wart- nick. “Always gives us every- thing she has. She had a week where she was battling sickness and minor injury, so just to see her compete was an accomplish- ment.” Besides Muller, other wres- tlers on the girls team were also facing injury and/or sickness and were forced to sit out the meet completely. The persever- ance showed in still pulling off a fourth place finish is indicative of the toughness of this team. “The girls are just really some- thing,” said Wartnick. “Even with girls out, we still came home with a pretty good place.” The boys team is also show- ing improvement as the season progresses and had their best showing of the season thus far at Grants Pass. The team is still working out some early season conditioning issues, as indi- cated by the fact they were in fourth place going into the fi- nals, but couldn’t get any wins in the last round and ended up finishing 10th. The Viks may have ran out of gas. “We did all our good work in earlier rounds,” said Wartnick. Even so, the Viking boys had two second-place finishers, Ma- son Buss and Dayne Muller. Buss, a junior, overcame sick- ness and injury himself but still managed to wrestle well at 170. “Just to see him compete was an accomplishment in itself,” said Wartnick. “The fact he came home with second place is a tribute to his skill.” Wartnick was especially im- pressed by the improvement Dayne showed from the previ- ous weekend’s matches. “He was able to make ad- justments from last week,” said Wartnick. “Previously he had had some losses that may- be could have gone the other way. This weekend he showed a whole lot more self-control and composure. He had a huge match in the semifinal where he came from behind and pinned his opponent. That was perhaps the most exciting match of the day for us.” The following Thursday, on Dec. 22, the Vikings traveled to Marshfield for a dual meet with the Pirates. SHS won six of the eight matches on the night, but because of forfeits, the home team picked up the win 42-36. “We wrestled very well,” said Wartnick. “Our lineup was de- pleted due to sickness, injury and travel.” Wins came from freshmen Aiden Armstrong and Leo Rob- ertson, sophomores Rosa Velas- co-Mendez and Cort Waggoner and juniors Yoskar DeLaMora and Hunter Petterson. The Viks are next on the mat Jan. 6 for their first home meet of the season. The Sky-Em Dual Meet Championship starts at 2 p.m. at Glen Butler Court in Florence. the Bears’ Statue on the Aman- da Trail. From there, they can take the sprig and walk with it, holding their vision of peace and what it means in one’s life. While there is no formal cer- emony at the Amanda Gath- ering Area, there will be two small ceremonial fires in which to place the cedar sprigs — one near the picnic shelter and one at the Amanda Gathering Area for those who hike the Amanda Trail. Amanda Tail will be open to the Gathering Area only that day. When hikers reach the Kit- tel driveway, signs will instruct them to walk down the drive- way to the green gate, turn left and walk down the new auxilia- ry road to the Gathering Area. Hikers will also have the oppor- tunity to see the progress on the suspension bridge construction. (The auxiliary road will remain closed to the public both before and after New Year’s Day.) This year’s Peace Hike but- ton has been beautifully cre- ated by artist and illustrator, Nora Sherwood, norasherwood. com. Peace Hike buttons can be picked up at the Picnic Shelter or at the Amanda Gathering Area during the Peace Hike. If you have hiked or celebrated peace throughout the day, both outdoors and at home or shelter, you may pick up peace hike but- tons at the Yachats Chamber of Commerce Visitor’s Center, lo- cated at Second Street and High- way 101. Water, energy bars and delicious cookies prepared and generously donated by the Yach- ats Ladies Club will be available at the Picnic Shelter and Gathering Area. The Yachats Trails Committee wishes you peace and good for- tune during this time of many cel- ebrations and in the year to come. It is though the Tribes’ and community endeavors with the Amanda and Ya’Xaik Trails that many people have become aware of the need to acknowledge the wrongs of the past and to be more conscious of the need to treat people of all cultures throughout the world with honor, dignity and respect. The Yachats Commons is locat- ed at 441 Highway 101. For more information, visit www.yachatstrails.org/peace- hike.html. Proud supporters of our local student athletes! Careers that make a difference Work with people with disabilities! On Siuslaw! 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