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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (April 18, 2015)
COUPONS INSIDE www.shoppelocal.biz SATURDAY WWW.THESIUSLAWNEWS.COM SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF FLORENCE • DUNES CITY • WESTLAKE • MAPLETON • SWISSHOME • DEADWOOD • YACHATS AND ALL POINTS BETWEEN T H Y • E A R I S S U E N O . 31 APRIL 18 • 2015 $1.00 Rotary auction exceeds $100K From sheriff to chief Tom Turner signs contract for Florence Chief of Police Late donations help club surpass goal B Y C HANTELLE M EYER Siuslaw News Wednesday was a good day for Lane County Sheriff Tom Turner, who officially signed the contract for Florence police chief. He begins his new role May 1 and will swear in to office the fol- lowing Monday at the Florence City Council meeting. Tom Turner Turner, 54, had been working with city staff to settle last-minute details, including an extensive background check, before signing. “It was great to see this long process come to fruition,” Turner said. “It was wonderful. I’m over- joyed.” As police chief, Turner will work closely with the city’s management team and City Manager Erin Reynolds. “I am so excited to start working with Tom and to have him as a part of our management team,” Reynolds said. The police chief is responsible for managing the Florence Police Department (FPD) operations at the Florence Justice Center. This includes law enforcement, West Lane County 911 Public Safety Answering Point Communications Center and the 18-cell municipal jail. Turner will work with the lieu- tenant, sergeants, patrol officers, corrections officer, detective, com- munications supervisor, communi- cations officers, executive assistant and the reserve and auxiliary officer volunteers that make up the FPD. Reynolds said, “I feel confident in Tom’s ability to hit the ground run- ning to help address the current and future challenges and opportunities of our police department.” She referenced Turner’s law enforcement background as a county and city officer. “He brings to Florence the proven ability to communicate well with the public in matters of public safety and concern,” she said. See CHIEF 9A B Y J ACK D AVIS Siuslaw News PHOTOS BY JACK DAVIS/SIUSLAW NEWS Gina Halpin’s fourth-grade class awaits the arrival of their fellow students to share their knowledge of the Lewis and Clark expedition. Below, Ian Young shows his edible display of Fort Clatsop. CLASSROOM EXPEDITION Siuslaw fourth-graders discover Lewis and Clark B Y J ACK D AVIS Siuslaw News H istory came alive for 32 of Gina Halpin’s fourth-grade students, as they took on the Common Core project of the Lewis and Clark expedition. Each student chose one of nine expedition projects, including Fort Clatsop (the fort Lewis and Clark built at the mouth of the Columbia River), President Thomas Jefferson, Sacagawea and even Seaman, the dog that accompanied the expedi- tion. The project was sched- uled to last five weeks, but was so popular that it stretched to 12 weeks, cul- minating in an afternoon presentation to the other elementary school grades earlier this month. “Students had to create timelines, taking events and putting them into sequential order; do background research on the person or animal they picked; create a tri-fold display and develop a personal narrative to present to the class,” Halpin said. One Common Core feature was to compare the dif- ferences and similarities between the students’ lives today and the person or animal they were studying in the early 1800s. Students split into teams to discuss how they would overcome the obstacles that the Lewis and Clark expedi- tion faced. Then they had to research to see if they were correct. “Common Core requires more writing than Oregon Assessment of Skills and Knowledge (OAKS),” Halpin said. “If you can explain something, rather than just click on an answer and maybe get lucky, it helps with verbal skills, vocabulary and writing skills. Any child that can actually lay it out in their own handwriting ... has a deeper understanding of what they are studying.” See SCHOOL 9A NIKE AWARDS MAPLETON HIGH $25K GRANT Funds support college prep training B Y J ACK D AVIS Siuslaw News Mapleton High School Principal Brenda Moyer was recently informed that the Nike School Innovation Fund had approved a $25,877 grant to allow eight of Mapleton’s nine high school INSIDE S AT U R D AY Ambulance Angling Classifieds Community Courts A12 B1 B5 A5 A2 In Brief Obituaries Opinion SideShow Sports teachers to attend the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) training session in Denver, Co., July 23 to 25. Nike made AVID grants available to up to 50 Oregon schools. “I don’t know how many high schools applied,” Moyer said, “but we were thrilled to be selected.” The ninth teacher won’t be left behind. Moyer said the district would use federal Title funds made available Your A8 A2 A4 B4 B Rotarians apparently don’t like to come up short. After raising more than $94,000 last month from the annual Rotary Auction, the Florence club received a few last-minute donations that pushed the final fundraising amount beyond its 2015 goal of $100,000. According to Rotary Auction co- chairs Kevin McMullen and Bobbie Brubaker, four donors gave an addi- tional $7,500, which brought the final total, after expenses, to more than $101,000. “This is the largest auction to date for our club,” McMullen said. “It’s amazing how supportive the community is, and we thank each and every one of them for their continued support.” The funds help pay for local stu- dent scholarships and to support other community projects. through the Elementary and Second- ary Education Act to cover the costs. “It is a very intense three-day con- ference with big sessions and breakout sessions,” Moyer said. “Our math teachers will be in different sessions than our language arts instructors. They do curriculum focus. To be able to meet up with other teachers from across the country within the same curriculum is energizing. The net- working is unbelievable.” AVID is a one-time training pro- gram. When new teachers are hired, if the district can’t afford to send them to training, they are trained in house. “AVID is designed to promote stu- dents who are at a higher risk for not going to college — to give those stu- dents the support and instruction they need to get to college,” Moyer explained. Weather T ODAY S UNDAY M ONDAY T UESDAY Clouds & Sun 60 45 Sunny Partly Sunny 62 48 Mostly Sunny 58 47 63 46 SPORTS — B See MAPLETON 9A Port fills vacancy David Huntington to finish Fleenor’s remaining term B Y J ACK D AVIS Siuslaw News During the April 15 board meet- ing, Port of Siuslaw commissioners voted David Huntington to fill the remaining two months of commis- sion position No. 4, which became vacant when Bill Fleenor submitted his resignation last month. Fleenor cited potential business conflict of interest as the reason for his resignation. Huntington had pre- viously indicated he would be run- ning for position No. 4 when Fleenor’s term expired at the end of June. He is the only candidate who filed for the seat. “He’s young, vibrant and ener- getic, and I think he will be good for the port,” commission President Ron Caputo said. In other business, commissioners continued to discuss proposed rate increases for the port’s marina and campground. “We have an increase in electricity and water. We have to make a change in these rates,” said Commissioner Nancy Rickard. “There were six or seven years when there were absolute- ly no increases at all. We have to do something to get some income.” See PORT 9A CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK 125