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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 4, 2015)
WWW.THESIUSLAWNEWS.COM WEDNESDAY SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF FLORENCE • DUNES CITY • WESTLAKE • MAPLETON • SWISSHOME • DEADWOOD • YACHATS AND ALL POINTS BETWEEN 125 Y T H E A R • I S S U E N O . 10 FEBRUARY 4 • 2015 $1.00 Mystery For the unfolds at Siuslaw of animals museum Love Travel Channel crew delves into local historical event for August show D OGS B Y J ACK D AVIS Siuslaw News DAY OUT Events center catering opens to new options FEC removes exclusivity, allows local caterers to apply CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK AT EVENTS CENTER A production crew from New York and a sound crew from Portland spent Saturday, Jan. 31, recording at the Siuslaw Pioneer Museum for an upcoming episode of the Travel Channel’s “Mysteries at the Museum,” sched- uled to air in August. The film and sound crews arrived at the museum at 7 a.m. and immediately began set- ting up for an all-day shoot. The museum was closed to all visitors during the production. Upstairs, in the Native American room, crew members staged the equipment for easy access. The military room was draped in black to shoot the artifacts used in the segment, as well as an interview. Siuslaw Pioneer Museum board President Del Phelps said, “A person who shall remain anony- mous was brought in from Portland to be inter- viewed in relation to the feature. I’m under con- tract not to say anything about why they were here, or what the segment is going to be about.” The crews didn’t finish until after 3 p.m. As quickly as they had arrived, the production crew was off to another mysterious shoot in a small museum in Colorado. “Mysteries at the Museum” is an hour-long series that has aired on the Travel Channel since 2010. It features segments about museum arti- facts that have unusual or mysterious origins and the stories regarding them. F LORENCE H UMANE S OCIETY BENEFITS PHOTO ABOVE BY CLAUDIA IGNATIEFF Visitors to the Florence Events Center celebrated their love of animals Jan. 31 while raising money for the local humane society. The exhibit and fundraiser, “For the Love of Animals,” garnered more than $600 in donations, pet photo and raffle ticket sales, and 343 pounds of dry pet food and 74 pet food cans, all for the Florence Area Humane Society. It was estimated that more than 100 people attended, along with 35 pets. Above, KiKi hams it up for the photographer. At right, Anya is ready for a road trip. Far right, local artist Ron Hildenbrand shows a sample of the pet portrait he will paint for a lucky pet owner. PHOTOS BY JACK DAVIS/SIUSLAW NEWS 60 YEARS STRONG Westover honored for American Legion membership B Y C HANTELLE M EYER Siuslaw News B Y C HANTELLE M EYER Siuslaw News After 19 years of operating with an exclusive caterer, the Florence Events Center (FEC) will now provide catering options to its clientele. FEC Director Kevin Rhodes presented the proposed change in catering services to the Florence City Council on Monday, Feb. 2. “The FEC hosts over 300 events per year,” Rhodes said. “Food and beverage services have been contracted exclusively through a caterer that operates out of our kitchen. In response to our clients’ desire to have a choice in catering options and allowing local caterers access to provide services at the FEC, staff proposes opening the services to a list of approved caterers.” With the council’s approval, the FEC will now accept proposals from area caterers. Red Rose Catering, which has provided FEC with catering services for the past 10 years, could be a possible option as well. Clients could then pick from qualified cater- ers for specific events. See Police Scoreboard Sports Tides Weather T Your INSIDE W E D N E S D AY Ambulance A9 Classifieds B8 In Brief A11 Library Tidings A5 Opinion A4 FEC 7A he local American Legion Post 59 honored Harold (Hal) Westover for 60 years of membership in the American Legion at its regular meeting last week. The American Legion is a veter- ans group for all branches of the military. According to Oregon Post 59 Adjutant Mike Nielsen, those eligi- ble are those who “served honor- ably within certain time periods set by congress. They are also eligible to join the legion if they have been overseas in the same time frame.” Each legion post functions to serve its members and community. “If there’s a specific need in the community, each American Legion post can try to concentrate on that,” Nielsen said. “We care about everything. We have a whole bunch of committees. We just had elections for the post and we’ve got several committees A5 B4 B B1 A2 PHOTO BY R. J. SHORES Post 59 Adjutant Mike Nielsen, Hal Westover and Commander of Oregon American Legion District 3 David Bowman that we’re trying to get going here that we’re trying to get leaders for, such as community service, rehab, community affairs, Boy Scouts and things like that,” Nielsen added. Westover, 84, joined the American Legion in 1954 after he got out of the Army. Westover now lives in Florence, but he maintains his original mem- bership. “I’m a faithful member of Weather T ODAY T HURSDAY F RIDAY S ATURDAY Cloudy Rain Rain 59 51 58 49 57 48 Mostly cloudy 58 49 Sports—B Pierre, S.D., Post 8. I haven’t been an active member, but I’ve been faithful. I come from a long Dakota family line, so I stay close,” he said. Post 8 contacted Nielsen at Post 59 in Florence about Westover’s membership. Nielsen said, “They said that one of their members, Hal Westover, had just completed 60 years of con- tinuous service in the American Legion. They asked if our post would be willing to put on some sort of recognition ceremony. It took me about three seconds to say, ‘You bet!’” Westover received the award at a ceremony on Jan. 27. “I was so surprised and humbled by the award,” he said. “Many members know me well in South Dakota and they took a special interest. I received a plaque … and a box of South Dakota-type items.” These gifts included a book about flights over South Dakota. See LEGION 7A