SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11, 2015
Candidacy deadline nears
for Special Election
B Y C HANTELLE M EYER
Siuslaw News
The Lane County May 19
Special Election is two months
away, but candidates who wish
to be considered for positions
must file before the 5 p.m.
deadline on March 19.
There is a noon filing dead-
line for explanatory state-
ments, candidate statements
and measure arguments. The
last day for voters to register
and be eligible to vote is April
28.
Candidates have filed for
various open positions in the
Mapleton and Florence areas.
As of Tuesday, John
Simington Jr., Carl West and
Michelle Holman have applied
for three open director posi-
tions in Mapleton School
District.
Three candidates have
applied for three director posi-
tions at Mapleton Fire
Department: Carol J. Baxter,
Guy Hansen and Ann M.
Miller.
Larry P. Baxter and Frank A.
Wilson are the candidates who
have applied for two out of
three open positions in
Mapleton Water District.
Siuslaw Public Library
District has three open director
positions with terms to be
determined. So far, Susy
Lacer, Patricia Riley and Jane
E. Yecny have applied.
Western Lane Ambulance
District has two four-year
director
openings.
Karl
Enlund, Brian Jagoe, Cindy A.
Russell and Richard E. Childs
are candidates.
Siuslaw School District has
five open director positions,
and two people have applied,
Tamera A. Butler and Suzanne
Mann-Heintz.
Port of Siuslaw has one
applicant, Nancy Rickard, for
two commissioner openings.
Heceta Water District has
three open commissioner posi-
tions. Debby Todd and Chuck
Gesik are the applicants so far.
Long-time Siuslaw Valley
Fire and Rescue (SVFR) board
member Steve Olienyk is run-
ning unopposed for his direc-
tor position. One position at
SVFR has two candidates —
Tony Phillips and incumbent
Rob Ward — and Ave Bernard,
John A. Carnahan and incum-
bent Cindy Spinner are candi-
dates for the third position.
For more information on fil-
ing a candidacy and to find
forms, go to the Lane
County Elections website,
www.lanecounty.org, or call
the Lane County clerk at 541-
682-4234.
7 A
Port lobbies Congress for more funding
B Y J ACK D AVIS
Siuslaw News
Port of Siuslaw relies on the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
to keep the Siuslaw River navi-
gable. The Corps is responsible
for dredging the river channel to
remove accumulated sand and
silt and the maintenance and
repair of the two jetties that jut
out from the mouth of the river.
Congress allocates the funds
necessary to pay for these serv-
ices and competition for those
funds are fierce. The Port of
Siuslaw is just one of more than
360 commercial ports in the
U.S. vying for those funds.
Each year, the Pacific
Northwest
Waterways
Association (PNWA) hosts its
annual mission to Washington,
D.C., to set up meetings
between Senate and house mem-
bers, governmental agencies,
like the Corps of Engineers, and
port representatives.
This year, 72 PNWA mem-
bers, representing 41 different
entities, met in the District of
Columbia March 1 through 5 to
make their case for funding.
“When we meet with them to
tell them what our needs are this
year it is meaningful,” Port of
Siuslaw Manager Bob Forsythe
said, “because those 72 people
represent a lot more people.
They pay attention.”
Forsythe acknowledged that it
is expensive for the port to be a
part of the delegation, but it pays
dividends.
“Every year I have gone to
the PNWA meeting in the
District, we seem to come away
with $100,000 more in funding
for the following year,” he said.
“These funds pay for the dredg-
ing that is necessary to keep the
channel of the Siuslaw River
open for commercial and pleas-
ure boats.”
The elephant in the room is
the degraded condition of the
jetties, both at the mouth of the
Siuslaw River and other port
entries up and down the West
Coast. Jetty funding has lagged
behind maintenance and repair
needs for decades.
“One of the recurring conver-
sations I have with U.S. Rep.
Peter DeFazio and others is
about our jetties,” Forsythe said.
“Almost every port that has jet-
ties is doing the same thing. The
Corps is right there behind us,
saying help us, help us.
Dredging is always an issue, but
that goes hand in hand with the
jetties. The worse the jetties are,
the more dredging has to be
done.”
According to Forsythe, the
two jetties at the enterance to the
Siuslaw River have lost a total
of 473 feet in length, due to ero-
sion and storm activity.
The estimated cost of repairs,
including repositioning the
angle of the jetties, is $120 mil-
lion.
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Siuslaw Pioneer Museum in Old Town Florence sports a new roof in addition to being mortgage-free, thanks to funds
received from the estate of Jean Chapman. Museum board members plan for future upgrades, including an elevator,
but will need additional funds.
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“We were doing pretty good
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years,” Phelps said. “The
recession or something slowed
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Even though the museum is
debt free, future expansion
projects far exceed the balance
of the funds remaining from
the bequeathal.
Plans include expansion of
Show
the museum’s library area to
create an artifact intake and
storage area, a work area and
added display area.
“As we gather more funds
we will probably extend the
covered porch area,” Phelps
from 1A
“We base the success of the
show on comments about the
quality and variety of vendors
we receive from those attend-
ing and vendor feedback and
sales. By all accounts, it was a
great show for many of the
vendors and a tremendous
show according to some. ...
Show reviews from those who
attended were extremely posi-
tive,” said Thompson.
More than 2,000
people attended this
year’s show.
The Florence Home and
Garden Show will return in
INVITATION
TO SUBMIT
PROPOSALS
Th e City of Florence is requesting
proposals for catering services for the
Florence Events Center (FEC). Th e FEC
intends to establish multiple contracts to
a pool of qualifi ed contractors providing
Catering Services. Th e closing date for
proposals is March 19, 2015 at 4:00 PM.
Interested parties can view and download
a Request for Proposal (RFP) application
by visiting www.eventcenter.org or by
contacting the Florence Events Center at
541-997-1994. Proposals will be accepted
at the FEC located at 715 Quince Street,
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said. “Four more display
rooms are planned, in addition
to an elevator to make the sec-
ond floor accessible to every-
one. This is where we need to
direct these legacy funds.”
2016 with its milestone 20th
annual event.
Bank
from 1A
Employees volunteer their
services, including thousands
of hours of company-paid
time.
Portland Business Journal
recognized Siuslaw Bank as
one of the top philanthropic
companies in the state. Also,
the bank received the
Community Caring Award
from the Florence Area
Chamber of Commerce in
2009.
Dee Osborne, vice presi-
dent and manager for the
Mapleton and Florence
branches, said, “I think
Banner Bank is going to be
great for the community. It’s
all the same staff that you
love in both Mapleton and
Florence.”
Some staff members have
been part of the bank for
more than 20 years.
Banner Bank can be
accessed online at
BannerBank.com.
In Mapleton, it can be
reached at 541-268-4462 and
at 10756 Highway 126.
In Florence, call 541-997-
3486 or go to 777 Highway
101.
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541.997.1994 | 888.968.4086
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