SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2015
Old Town Inn gets new
management team
John and Sharon Birdwell
cop to being “young 70-some-
things” and claim to have
retired two times before. So
why step into the manager's job
at the 40-room Old Town Inn
in Florence?
“We love Florence,” says
Sharon. “For its size it has so
much to offer. For example, the
Florence Events Center has
ballet, opera and an indoor
garage sale,” said John. “And
there’s not a bad restaurant in
town. I think we’ve tried every
one so far.”
Before retiring the first time,
Sharon was a commercial char-
ter pilot and John was a con-
tractor and commercial fisher-
man. Tired of being retired,
they went into property man-
agement for major chain
hotels, working for Best
Western, Holiday Inn, Red
Lion, Motel 6, and Days Inn
properties.
“We’ve worked at many
hotel companies since 2003,
but the Hoaglands (owners
Gary and Loretta Hoagland of
Hoagland Properties) are the
most decent, generous people
we’ve ever worked for. Theirs
is not a high-pressure style like
those of the big brand-name
hotels where we’ve worked
before. They listen to employ-
ee’s ideas and are willing to
implement them.
“They go out of their way to
invest in their properties, and
their people, unlike other com-
panies we’ve worked for in the
past.”
While the couple still main-
tains a home at Crooked River
in Central Oregon, they have
fully adopted Florence as their
home.
“We have traveled a lot and
stopped in Florence many
times, and have stayed at The
Old Town Inn,” said Sharon.
“Florence was so friendly. We
loved Old Town and the
Antique District, there are so
many great restaurants, and the
weather was not as bad as peo-
ple from outside the area say it
is.”
“We have the best crew
we’ve ever managed in our 14
Old Town Inn managers John and Sharon Birdwell
(courtesy photo)
years in the hospitality busi-
ness,” said John. “These kids
care. Success in this business
begins and ends with house-
keeping, and our crew is out-
standing.”
The Birdwells regularly led
previous teams into the top 20
of the 6,000 Best Western
properties in the US.
Housekeepers are rewarded
every time the word “clean”
appears on a guest comment
card. The Birdwells will not
release a room for use until it
has been thoroughly inspected,
even to the extent of staff get-
ting down on their hands and
knees with a flashlight to check
under beds and chairs, and
behind dressers and armoires.
A
recent
check
of
TripAdvisor, the world’s
largest travel website, shows
The Old Town Inn as the top-
rated of all Florence-area lodg-
ings and in the top 20 of 222
lodgings on the Oregon Coast.
Traveler’s reviews regularly
include words like “clean,”
“immaculate,”
“friendly,”
“great bargain for the price,”
“surprising find,” and “helpful
staff.”
“We get guests from all over
the US and from around the
world,” says John. Adds
Sharon, “We try to serve like a
big-time hotel concierge, help-
ing guests find all the great
stops for families or business
travelers on the coast.”
“We are willing to research
everything down to what each
local restaurant has on special
each evening. We will print
maps, menus, and tide charts;
make restaurant reservations;
coordinate dune buggy, horse-
back, or airplane rides; and
even organize golf foursomes,”
John said.
About 18 months ago,
Hoagland Properties, owners
of The Old Town Inn and The
River House Inn in Florence
invested nearly three-quarters
of a million dollars in
makeovers for the two proper-
ties. The Old Town Inn’s 40
rooms received numerous aes-
thetic and structural improve-
ments including new beds,
bedding, televisions, lounge
chairs, and wall art, as well as
professionally
refurbished
armoires, tables and desks.
The River House Inn
received all new furnishings
such as beds, bedding,
armoires, granite countertops,
tables, desks, lounge chairs,
and televisions in its 40 rooms.
Both properties received
new interior and exterior paint
and sound-deadening floor
coverings.
Traditional, organic basket
exhibit in Newport
The Oregon Coast Council for the Arts is
presenting works by Tillamook County artist
Kathleen Kanas in the Oregon Coast Visual
Artists Showcase (COVAS) at the Newport
Visual Arts Center.
Kanas includes traditional and organic
basketry in her exhibit, “Natural Fiber,” and
is featured in an artist video documenting her
work and process.
Kanas has been plying, plaiting and coil-
ing natural fibers for more than 50 years.
Born and raised in Portland, she spent
memorable times in the Pacific Northwest
outdoors. These experiences developed her
explorative nature, allowing use of a variety
of materials that resulted in an array of
styles.
Mostly self-taught, Kanas has taken work-
shops from well-known traditional Lummi
weavers such as Frances James, Bruce Miller
and Anna Jefferson, as well as Margaret
Matthewson.
Kanas has resided in Manzanita, Ore.,
throughout her 25 years in elementary educa-
tion, and she has devoted her extra time to
discovering new materials and techniques
that make her baskets special.
From early arts and crafts fairs to eventu-
ally opening and operating the 4th Street
Studio and Gallery in Manzanita, Kanas con-
tinues to highlight the beauty and versatility
of natural fibers found in life.
From spring through October, Kanas
builds up her supply of materials. Near her
home landscape she harvests akibia and wis-
teria vines, New Zealand flax and dracenae
leaves, and neighbors have helped by drop-
ping off pruned Manzanita branches.
When the winds are westerly, a walk on
Manzanita Beach can result in a batch of bull
kelp or an interesting piece of driftwood that
can be incorporated into her designs.
At low tide, nearby Nehalem Bay also
offers up spruce or cedar roots that have
made it downstream. Having traveled south
and east in Oregon, she has collected western
red cedar bark wild cherry bark, and bear
grass in the Cascade Mountains’ foothills;
willow, cattail and tule along the Blitzen
River; and Ponderosa pine needles near
Bend, Ore.
Much of what Kanas collects requires a
A natural fiber basket made from kelp
and created by Kathleen Kanas is now
on display at the Newport Visual Arts
Center (courtesy photo)
cleansing wash to remove dirt and critters, a
wipe-down and drying-out period; she then
sorts, and bundles or coils the material into
manageable amounts and stores them until
needed.
When ready to weave, the plant fibers
need to become pliable again by soaking or
moistening, the difference being in the densi-
ty of the fiber.
Awards and recognition have followed
Kanas and her basketry. In 2009, she was a
featured artist on Oregon Public
Broadcastings’ “Art Beat.” In 1988, she was
included in “Basic Weave,” a juried national
exhibition in Athens, Ohio.
She has regularly shown in juried exhibi-
tions such as the Beaverton Arts Showcase
and the “Celebration of Creativity” exhibit,
also located in Beaverton, Oregon. In 1986,
she received the first place, mixed media
award in the Kenai Art Guild’s 20th Annual
Juried Art Show in Kenai, Alaska.
The Covas Showcase is open from noon to
5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday.
For more information, call 541-265-6569
or email vac@coastarts.org.
Health care in retirement doubtful
WASHINGTON, DC —
AARP has released a new sur-
vey that says more than half of
working Americans over age
50 (55 percent) don’t believe
they will have enough money
for health care as they reach
the age they expect to retire.
While Medicare only covers
about half of health costs, 4-in-
10 surveyed (38 percent) say
they haven’t saved anything at
all for such expenses even
though multiple studies show
that these costs often reach
more than $200,000 for a
retired couple.
AARP also found that
among workers age 50 and
older, most (57 percent) say
they plan to work past the age
of 65. Although AARP found
that 68 percent believe they
should begin saving at age 35
or younger, only 28 percent
began saving at that age.
AARP’s recently launched
free online Health Care Costs
Calculator, a major addition to
its Ready for Retirement suite
of planning tools, could help
families and individuals of
all ages plan for health sav-
ings.
The calculator is avail-
able to all for free at www.
aarp.org/hccc.
“Our survey shows that
Americans haven’t planned
enough for health expenses
in retirement,” said AARP
Vice President for Financial
Security Debbie Banda.
“Even though these costs
can have a significant
impact on retirement sav-
ings, families and individu-
als often struggle to save
what they need because they
are paying other necessary
expenses or helping to support
other family members or loved
ones.
“We hope that we can help
people of all ages get a better
handle on these expenses with
AARP’s free Health Care
Costs Calculator.”
The Health Care Costs
Calculator estimates health
costs in retirement by utilizing
a database that includes $136
billion in costs from actual
health care claims. Users can
select from 82 medical condi-
tions to estimate how much
they may need to spend on out-
of-pocket health care costs.
The calculator also assumes
that individuals will be eligible
for and select Medicare Parts
A, B and D. After estimating
costs with the calculator, users
can create a customizable
action plan to help save for
health care in retirement and
make lifestyle changes that
could help reduce their out of
pocket costs.
For example, if a person
chooses “get to a healthier
weight” as a goal, the tool will
show how that action can
lower their predicted costs, as
well as offer possible next
steps for pursuing that goal.
“When faced with future
health costs, many people are
either overwhelmed or over-
confident,” added Banda.
“Thinking that your health care
will be paid for by Medicare
alone or avoiding health care
planning altogether are not the
right solutions. The more you
know and plan for you and
your family’s health care, the
better off you will be in the
long run.”
The Health Care Costs
Calculator requires no registra-
tion and collects no personal
data on any user. To learn more
about the tool visit www.
aarp.org/hccc.
For the 2014 survey
Planning for Health Care Costs
in Retirement: A 2014 Survey
of 50-plus Workers, telephone
interviews were conducted by
Woelfel Research, an inde-
pendent research company.
Hey, Parents and
Grandparents!
It’s Time
for the Siuslaw News
Gabriella Susan Cobb
April 4, 2014
BABY
BRAGGER!
Photos of babies born in 2014
will run on
Saturday, January 31, 2015
20 prepaid
$
Parents:
Katie and Richard Cobb
Grandparents:
Laurie and Darvin Smid
Three ways to submit;
1. Send completed form with photo and payment to Siuslaw News, PO Box 10, Florence, OR. 97439. Please enclose a
self-addressed stamped envelope if you would like photo returned. Write the name of the baby on the back of
photo.
2. Bring the completed form, photo and payment to 148 Maple St. Provide a self-addressed stamped envelope for
photo return. Write the name of the baby on the back of photo.
3. Email the baby photo and answers to the questions on the form to: classifieds@thesiuslawnews.com. You’ll be
contacted for payment. Please note BABY BRAGGER in the subject line of your email.
2015 BA BY BR AGGER
Buying or Selling? I can help.
Baby’s Name________________________________________________________________
Baby’s Birthdate______________________________________________________ , 2014
Parents _____________________________________________________________________
Grandparents _______________________________________________________________
34th Street #9000A – New construction, choose
your own colors to make it perfect! Ready to begin
construction on this 1105 sq. ft. home with granite
countertops, tile and carpet, and master suite with
a huge walk-in closet. Buyer to take out construc-
tion loan. $174,900. #2134-12329267
Tim Sapp
Owner /
Principal Broker
541 999-8230
1749 Highway 101 • 541-997-1200
____________________________________________________________________________
$20 pre-paid, see above
for three ways to submit.
Person Submitting Photo:
Name ______________________________________
Address _____________________________________
_________________________________________
541-997-3441
Phone_____________________________
CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK
6 B