Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 14, 2015)
WWW.THESIUSLAWNEWS.COM WEDNESDAY SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF FLORENCE • DUNES CITY • WESTLAKE • MAPLETON • SWISSHOME • DEADWOOD • YACHATS AND ALL POINTS BETWEEN 125 T H Y E A R • I N S S U E O . 4 JANUARY 14 • 2015 $1.00 Woodbury to receive Distinguished Service Award B Y J ACK D AVIS Siuslaw News The Florence Area Chamber of Commerce has selected Grocery Outlet owner Woody Woodbury to receive the Distinguished Service Award for 2014. The award will be presented on Wednesday, Jan. 21, during the Siuslaw Business Awards at the Florence Events Center. Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Cal Applebee said, “We feel that Woody’s leader- ship roles in chamber, community organizations and continued serv- ice to Florence citizens are the embodiment of the Distinguished Service Award. He is someone who selflessly acts each and every day, participating on committees, as a business owner of Grocery Outlet and as a caring individual, to help make Florence a great place to live, raise a family and retire.” Every year Woodbury, through Grocery Outlet, contributes almost 20,000 pounds of food for Food Share. He has served on the Florence Food Share board of directors and has been a part of numerous fundraising and pantry- stocking endeavors, including the Read for the Need event and the annual food pounding. Woodbury has stocked the cup- boards and pantry with food and supplies for the new Habitat for Humanity houses, helping new homeowners in their start on home- ownership. Over the years, he has contributed to Florence Area Humane Society events and month- ly fundraisers at his store. Currently, Woodbury is serving a second three-year term as a citizen participant on the Florence Urban Renewal Agency. This committee helps in plan- ning projects for the Florence Urban Renewal District, recently the $2.5 million water and Woody Woodbury Mapleton pool may get new lease on life commit to wellness pro- grams. “I’ve called Pacific Members of the Siuslaw Source,” Hesse said. “They Regional Aquatic Center said they would support (SRAC) will propose that wellness programs. They the Mapleton School said they won’t build a pool, District allow them to raise but they would support an money to repair and reopen aqua therapy program. They the pool located on school can provide funds for that. district property during “The big hurdle is acquir- tonight’s Mapleton School ing the $600,000 to bring Board meeting. the pool and building up to The SRAC board has current code standards.” already paid for initial engi- The SRAC board plans to neering to determine what do some major fundraising needs to be done to bring and convince charitable the pool up to current com- foundations like the Ford pliance standards. Family Foundation, the The SRAC took over Meyer Foundation and the operations of the pool in Oregon Community 2006, when government Foundation to provide funding to operate the pool matching fund grants. was lost due to budget cuts. O’Mara said the The Mapleton School Board Mapleton School District agreed to lease the pool supports the efforts of facilities to SRAC for $1 SRAC. per year in exchange for “That is one of the rea- SRAC taking over the sons for the meeting responsibility for mainte- tonight,” she said, “so that nance and operation of the SRAC people can come and PHOTO BY JODI O’MARA pool facility. present to the school board Above, the Mapleton pool facility sits empty, as the Mapleton School SRAC operated the pool the proposals that they Board ponders options during tonight's school board meeting at the facility until funds ran out in would like to go forward high school library at 6 p.m. Below, youngsters and seniors enjoy the 2009. with.” popular activity center in recent years. Lauren Hesse, acting On Friday, Jan. 9, mem- president of SRAC, said, bers of the community, “Within a month of closing the temporary repairs had been done cost to run the pool was $100,000 SRAC board members and school pool all the water had drained out, since they were installed in 1986.” per year. This included the pro- board members compiled a list of The money to posed pool direc- potential uses for the pool facility. on its own. We realized there must tor’s salary of In addition to the pool they include be some repairs that were needed. cover the cost of a p p r o x i m a t e l y a wellness center for visiting med- “We already knew that, by law, the engineering came $40,000 per year. ical professionals; a resource/com- there needed to be an upgrading of studies Potential revenues munity the two drains in the bottom of the from fundraising center; space for from lessons, mem- rehab/physical therapy, including pool. In the process of the drain and grants. The Rivers berships and facili- water therapy in the pool; a visi- work, concerns arose over the Three ty rentals would tor’s center; a large meeting space; pipes and vein-like cracks, which C o n f e d e r a t e d gave offset a portion of an indoor play space for students had previously been filled but the Tribes SRAC a grant to the annual cost. fillings didn’t hold. during and after school; an indoor Hesse said, walking space; and a place for “This led to the question of cover most of the “There is a project- people to exercise, use weights, whether there was a gap under the cost of the engi- survey ed gap of $30,000 treadmills, etc. pool caused by the water seeping neer’s to $40,000 between out through the cracks. No gaps report. An SRAC “As a district we realize that we revenue and cannot have a pool by ourselves,” were found. Nor was any pipe board member also made a large expenses that O’Mara said. leakage discovered.” SIUSLAW NEWS FILE PHOTO SRAC would have SRAC received an estimate of donation, “We can’t fund it. It is fiscally According to the engineer’s sur- to continue to meet through irresponsible for us to even think approximately $100,000 to seal the pool and repair degraded sur- vey report, the total cost to bring fundraising, big donors and part- that we could. Our economic base the pool up to code, including seal- nerships with organizations such is lower than it has been in the face edges of the pool. “The next question was the pool ing the cracks, was approximately as PeaceHealth Peace Harbor past. While we do own the facili- Medical Center.” equipment,” according to Hesse. $600,000. ties and the property, we Mapleton School Superintend- In addition, Hesse said many “Pumps, heaters and dehumidifiers needed upgrading, because only ent Jodi O’Mara said the estimated insurance companies have funds to See POOL 6A B Y J ACK D AVIS Siuslaw News Your INSIDE W E D N E S D AY Ambulance A2 Classifieds C6 Library Tidings A5 Ned Hickson A7 Opinion A4 Police Scoreboard Sports Tides Weather A2 C3 C C1 A2 Weather T ODAY T HURSDAY F RIDAY S ATURDAY Partly sunny 54 51 Some rain 55 49 Rain Some rain 55 50 54 50 Sports—C See WO0DBURY 6A Tom Paxton headlines Winter Folk Festival 13th annual music fest starts Saturday morning and runs through the weekend. Tom Paxton will headline the 2015 Winter Folk Festival on Saturday, Jan. 17, at 7:30 p.m. at the Florence Events Center. There also will be eight other performers during the day on Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 18, in addition to the annual Artisan Craft Fair and amateur pie- baking contest and sale. Paxton has become a voice of his genera- tion, addressing issues of injustice and inhu- manity, laying bare the absurdities of modern culture and celebrating the tenderest bonds of family, friends and community. In describing Paxton’s influence on his fel- low musicians, Pete Seeger said, “Tom’s songs have a way of sneaking up on you. You find yourself humming them, whistling them, and singing a verse to a friend. Like the songs of Woody Guthrie, they’re becoming part of America.” Paxton has been an integral part of the song- writing and folk music community since the early 1960s Greenwich Village scene, and con- tinues to be a primary influence on today’s “New Folk” performers. See FESTIVAL 6A U.S. Attorney may take over pipe bomb case B Y T HERESA B AER Siuslaw News The Florence Police Department (FPD) has announced that the case concerning pipe bombs found in this area late last year may be turned over to federal authori- ties. The case is current- ly under investigation by the Portland Police Neal Allen Bureau and the FPD is Panschow cooperating in the effort. In September 2014, a woman discovered a pipe bomb on 22nd Street near Highway 101, which she turned over to police. Two months later, a pipe bomb exploded near the same area. No one was injured, and no damage was reported in either incident. An FPD detective learned of other pipe bomb incidents that might have been COURTESY PORTLAND POLICE BUREAU See BOMB 6A CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK Chamber of Commerce to host awards ceremony Jan. 21.