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SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF FLORENCE • DUNES CITY • WESTLAKE • MAPLETON • SWISSHOME • DEADWOOD • YACHATS AND ALL POINTS BETWEEN
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Born to read
Help make great things
happen at the
Library. Join the...
Friends of the
Siuslaw Public Library!
•
2014
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E N T S
Meg Spencer, Director, Siuslaw Library District
S TORY AND P HOTO BY R YAN C RONK
Siuslaw News
Books were prohibited at the breakfast table, a hard
order for a young girl whose passion was reading.
Instead, bending her parents’ rule a bit, Meg Spencer
would peek at the back of the cereal box, catching up
on the latest ingredients.
“I can’t get enough. I love to read,” said Spencer,
who began her tenure as director of the Siuslaw Public
Library District last November.
Now five months on the job, the 36-year-old reflects
on her decision to move to Florence from Salt Lake
City, Utah, and her vision for the library to become the
community’s primary site for lifelong learning.
Living in a small town is nothing new for Spencer,
who was born in Hemet, Calif., a retirement communi-
ty known for its square dancing in Southern California
near Palm Springs. Her family moved to Salt Lake City
when she was about 3 years old.
As a teenager, she would often spend the summer-
time with her grandparents, who liked to travel the
country. One summer, when she was 14, they visited
Florence, and she adored the area, especially the car-
nivorous plant Darlingtonia californica.
“My mom told me that I talked about Darlingtonia
— the bug-eating plant — for months afterward. It was
like my favorite thing,” Spencer recalled.
See
PHOTOS BY RYAN CRONK/SIUSLAW NEWS
S
iuslaw Elementary School students take the
stage Thursday and Friday evenings to enter-
tain audiences during the annual Florence
PTA Talent Show at the Florence Events Center.
Dozens of students performed a variety of songs,
dances and gymnastics in addition to the local Cub
and Boy Scouts, who presented the opening flag
ceremony. Above, Rhys Fleming plays a tune from
Star Wars on a cello while displaying his “dark side”
by wearing a stormtrooper costume. At right, the
school’s choir sings a song about countries. More
photos will soon be available on the Photo Gallery
at www.TheSiuslawNews.com.
SPENCER 6A
Graham honored for Power of One project
We’re looking for
new and returning
Friends to spread the
word about the
Library, take on new
projects, share new
ideas, and have fun!
L earn more: call 541-9997-33132,
visit www.siuslawlibrary.org, or come to
t he Siuslaw Public Library today.
C
LIKE A
TROOPER
New library director encourages
lifelong learning.
Give us a hand!
15
PHOTO BY RYAN CRONK/SIUSLAW NEWS
Kaylee Graham, an eighth-grader at Siuslaw Middle School, receives an engraved silver medallion Wednesday evening
at the Siuslaw School Board meeting to recognize her selection by the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards as one
of Oregon’s top two youth volunteers of 2014. Graham, above with board members Tammy Butler, Paul Burns,
Michelle Rose, Deena Mitchell and John Barnett, is the founder of the annual Power of Florence, a citywide day of
volunteering. Graham was also awarded a $1,000 scholarship. She will take an all-expense-paid trip to Washington,
D.C., in May for national recognition events.
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OSP reminds drivers
to not count on luck
St. Paddy’s Day
St. Patrick’s Day is Monday, March 17, and Oregon State
Police (OSP), local law enforcement agencies, ODOT and
traffic safety partners are reminding drivers not to get behind
the wheel if they’ve been drinking.
For many people, St. Patrick’s Day has become synony-
mous with drinking.
Unfortunately, that means that drunk drivers have made the
celebratory day very dangerous. St. Patrick’s Day is celebrat-
ed in many communities, large and small. Whether in the
Portland metropolitan area, The Dalles or at the 32nd Annual
A Wee Bit O’ Ireland weekend celebration in Heppner, author-
ities urge everyone to remember that “Buzzed Driving is
Drunk Driving,” so pledge and plan now to drive sober.
“If you celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, or on any other day, just
be smart about it. If you know you are going to drink alcohol
— whether with friends at a pub or attending a local event or
party — designate your sober driver ahead of time, use alter-
native transportation, or call a taxi to make sure you get
home,” said OSP Major Travis Hampton.
According to ODOT’'s Fatality Analysis Reporting System
(FARS), over the years 2007-2013, there have been four traf-
fic fatalities (one in 2007, three in 2012) of which two deaths
were in alcohol-involved crashes.
No deaths were recorded 2008 through 2011, or in 2013.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports
more than 269 people were killed by drunk drivers on St.
Patrick’s Day between 2007 and 2011. There were 45 people
killed in 2011 alone.
On average, every 53 minutes a person is killed in a drunk-
driving crash in the United States. Most of these crashes
involved drunk drivers who had blood alcohol concentrations
of .15 or higher, almost twice the legal limit of .08.
See
ST. PADDY 6A
SPORTS — B
F AVORITE F RONT P AGES 2014 • 5