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JUNE
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Big reels stop turnin’
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E N T S
Street reconstruction
projects set to begin
Area residents might have noticed construction crews
working on Nopal Street last week. That work is the start of
street reconstruction projects that will be taking place in vari-
ous areas throughout the city over the next month.
Starting with Nopal Street, contractors with Johnson Rock
Products will be reconstructing the following streets:
• Nopal Street from Ninth to 10th streets
• The intersection of Ninth Street and Rhododendron Drive
• 15th Street from Highway 101 to Spruce Street
• 25th Street from Highway 101 to Spruce Street
In July 2012, the city established a street maintenance fee
to help provide the necessary funds to maintain streets. The
city is leveraging the street maintenance fee by borrowing
additional funds to complete larger projects. The loan is
allowing the city to totally rehabilitate (remove the existing
pavement and base rock material and reconstruction of the
street) the above streets.
Johnson Rock Products has already removed curbs and gut-
ters on Nopal Street, including substandard sidewalks, in
order to comply with Americans with Disabilities Act
See
STREETS 6A
Mapleton School District
approves 3-year contracts
PHOTO BY RYAN CRONK/SIUSLAW NEWS
F
lorence Cinemas will reopen this summer as City Lights Cinemas, thanks to new owners Michael Falter (left) and
his wife Susan Tive (second from right) who have reimagined the multiplex as a hybrid theater that plays both
new movies and independent films. With help from friends Ryan and Amber Uhlhorn, the Bellingham, Wash.,
couple began the process of removing the theater’s old 35mm film projectors Friday afternoon to make way for new
digital equipment next month. The complete story will be featured in Wednesday’s issue of the Siuslaw News.
Bozievich to run unopposed in fall election
Jay Bozievich will not face a
runoff election for West Lane
County Commissioner this fall,
according to the certified
recount results released by
Lane
County
Elections
Thursday. Bozievich had 18
votes above the 50 percent-
plus-one margin required to
prevent a runoff. Dawn Lesley
gained one vote in the recount.
Bozievich took 7,708 votes
or 50.12 percent. Lesley’s
count was very close: 7,634 or
49.64 percent. There were 37
(0.24 percent) write-in votes.
An automatic recount is
required if the number of votes
cast for a candidate differs
from a majority of votes cast
for the office by one-fifth of 1
percent or less.
Both the East and West Lane
County Commissioner elec-
tions fell within this margin,
triggering the recount, which
took approximately two days
for the two seats. Complete
election results are available on
the Lane County Elections
website at www.lanecounty
.org.
B Y J ACK D AVIS
Siuslaw News
During the June 11 board meeting, the Mapleton School
District approved three-year contracts for all certified and
classified personnel, and adopted the approved budget for the
2014-2015 school year in the amount of $3,499,897.
According to Superintendent Jodi O’Mara, “This is the sec-
ond year of our biennium, so it is pretty solid funding.”
“We settled our three-year contract with all 15 certified
staff members (teachers) and 14 classified staff members
(support personnel),” O’Mara said. “All include a 3 percent
salary increase per year and a 2.5 percent benefit increase
each year for three years for full-time employees.”
Teachers agreed to reduce personal leave days from five to
four, but will receive an additional professional development
day. Adjustments were also made to the extra-duty salary
See
MAPLETON 6A
THREE RIVERS MARKS 10 TH ANNIVERSARY
Special games and events are planned through the end of the month to celebrate.
B Y J ACK D AVIS
Siuslaw News
This month marks the 10-year anniversary of the
Three Rivers Casino and Hotel opening in Florence. To
commemorate its first decade, the facility will be hold-
ing a number of special events throughout the week
beginning with a $10,000 blackjack tournament tomor-
row and culminating with a Bingo Bash on Saturday,
June 28.
The Three Rivers Casino and Hotel complex is
owned by the Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Lower
Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians.
The original casino opened in June 2004. At that
time, the 98-acre facility consisted of a single tent-style
structure housing 265 slot machines and a small restau-
rant. The rest of the property was a parking lot with
two prefab administration office structures surrounded
by sand dunes.
The tent structure and manufactured offices are
gone, replaced by the current Three Rivers Casino and
Hotel. The new complex opened in 2007 and features a
93-room hotel, five dining options, more than 700 slot
machines, gaming tables and a 700-seat event center.
In 2012 the Confederated tribes acquired the adja-
cent 18-hole Ocean Dunes Golf Links, all part of a
master plan to turn Three Rivers Casino and Hotel into
a regional destination resort.
According to Chief Operations Officer Mike Rose,
“Ten years ago this month we opened up our little tent
facility, with 125 team members (staff) and now we
have more than 500. The thing that is most amazing is
See
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Three Rivers Casino and Hotel dominates an area nestled in the dunes east of
Florence. It plans to continue expanding. The casino first opened in 2004 in a
pre-fabricated tent near its current site. (courtesy photos)
CASINO 6A
Weather
T ODAY
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Partly
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Partly
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Partly
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12 • F AVORITE F RONT P AGES 2014
SPORTS — B