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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 3, 2015)
COUPONS INSIDE www.shoppelocal.biz WWW.THESIUSLAWNEWS.COM SATURDAY SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF FLORENCE • DUNES CITY • WESTLAKE • MAPLETON • SWISSHOME • DEADWOOD • YACHATS AND ALL POINTS BETWEEN 125 Y T H E A R • I N S S U E O . 1 JANUARY 3 • 2015 $1.00 Celebrating 125 Years SEE PAGE 4A H ISTORY • C OMMUNITY • H ERITAGE Free Lunch program in jeopardy of the S TORY AND P HOTO BY J ACK D AVIS new year Siuslaw News For 19 years, the Free Lunch pro- gram, which has operated out of the United Methodist Church kitchen, at 333 Kingwood St., has served hot lunches every Tuesday and Thursday, free of charge to anyone who showed up. Now the program may have to cut back or shut down. Finances are not the problem. The funds are there to keep food on the table. Volunteers to prepare, serve and clean up are what is in short supply. Free Lunch program board member and coordinator Suzanne Mann-Heintz said, “Last year we served just over 2,400 lunches. This year we served more than 3,800. That is more than 1,000 more lunches than we served the year before. This points to the growing need for this service in our community.” The Free Lunch program and the Helping Hands Coalition together offer See LUNCH 6A Emergency warming center opens B Y J ACK D AVIS Siuslaw News During the recent bout of freezing weather earlier this week, the Masonic Lodge, south of Florence, opened its doors to homeless individuals seeking shelter from the cold. The Masons voted in November to make the lodge available as an emer- gency warming shelter whenever tem- peratures drop below 30 degrees, or a combination of wind chill, wind and rainfall make it necessary to provide shelter from the elements. The Florence emergency cold weath- er shelter committee supplied cots, blan- kets and pillows. They also coordinated the volunteers who helped serve dinner, remove the tables and chairs, set up the cots and bedding and monitored the premises throughout the night. In the morning, a second shift of volunteers removed the cots, set up tables and pre- pared breakfast for the seven men who stayed both Tuesday and Wednesday nights. Committee member Bob DuBose said, “I think everything went very well for our first two nights. We opened at 4 p.m. We had volunteers from several churches that worked various shifts. The See B1 A2 A2 B5 A5 Tim Baldwin, Aurieannah Merrifield, April Merrifield and new arrival Jayce Merrifield A CENTER 6A INSIDE S AT U R D AY Angling Anniversary Births Classifieds Community PHOTO BY JACK DAVIS/SIUSLAW NEWS Engagement A2 Opinion A4 SideShow B4 Sports B Tides B1 pril Merrifield, 25, rang in the New Year by delivering the Florence area’s first baby of the new year: Jayce Merrifield, a 7 pound, 10 ounce boy measuring 21 inches, at 5:07 a.m., Jan. 1, 2015. Both mother and baby are doing well, and Your T ODAY Partly sunny 51 43 Weather S UNDAY Mostly cloudy 53 49 M ONDAY Clouds & rain 55 49 T UESDAY Sun 56 46 were tentatively scheduled to check out of PeaceHealth Peace Harbor Medical Center Friday, Dec. 2. Merrifield works as a beverage server for Three Rivers Casino and Hotel. The father, Tim Baldwin, 28, works for Laurel Bay Gardens, Inc. SPORTS — B “I feel great, but it took forever,” Merrifield said. “I didn’t want to know ahead of time if it was a boy or girl, but I found out anyway.” Merrifield, a Florence resident, has three other children: a son, Matthew, 5, and daughters Bailee, 8, and Aurieannah, 3. INSIDE CITY OFFICIALS SHARE NEW YEAR’S WISH LISTS. PAGE 3A CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK First baby
