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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (April 25, 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 Y T H E A R • I S S U E N O . 33 APRIL DOW N ON THE 25 • 2015 $1.00 Elliott family farm field trip tradition marks 50 years B Y J ACK D AVIS Siuslaw News FARM Volunteers honored for work Community Coalition awards scholarship, praises members B Y C HANTELLE M EYER Siuslaw News Florence Area Community Coalition (FACC) honored volunteers at its annual Volunteer Recognition Event at Florence Events Center Wednesday, April 15. The FACC presents this event each year to recognize the many volunteers who provide invaluable service to a long list of non-profit organizations in the area, including Siuslaw Outreach Services, Florence Food Share, Siuslaw School District, Florence Community PTA, Habitat for Humanity, National Alliance on Mental Illness, KXCR, City of Florence, Siuslaw Public Library, PFLAG, Peace Harbor Volunteers, Toastmasters, Friends of the FEC and Florence Needles and Hooks. “It is a giving and very creative com- munity,” said FACC President Karen Earnshaw. “Looking around, you see the needs of others. You see with your heart as well as with your eyes. ... You give thousands of hours to meet a huge array of needs and wishes.” Florence First Citizen Cindy Wobbe presented the keynote address. “Cindy Wobbe is known for her drive, her profession, her compassion and her deep belief that we should all give back to our community, if able,” said Earnshaw. See PHOTOS BY JACK DAVIS/SIUSLAW NEWS Siuslaw first-graders experience farm life April 23 during a field trip to the Elliott family farm, south of Florence on Canary Road. M ore than 100 Siuslaw Elementary School first-grade students experienced a day on the farm last week, continuing a half-century tradition of being immersed in farm life, compliments of members of the Elliott family and their friends. Current Elliott family field trip coordinator Loni Schofield’s grandparents, George and Leona Elliott, started a dairy farm along Canary Road, south of Florence, in 1946. The popular annual field trip started in 1965, the year Schofield was born. For the first few years, Elliott family members brought the animals to the elementary school for students to experience. This soon evolved into the current field trip out to the farm. The 116-acre farm has transitioned from a working dairy farm to a hobby farm, according to Schofield. “We raise Scottish Highlander cows and sell them as a lean beef alternative,” she said. “We originally raised them for show.” Students arrived at 11 a.m. with parents, teach- ers and chaperones. First item on the agenda was an early picnic lunch on the lawn, followed by ice cream provided by their hosts. Next, students split into classroom-size groups to explore the farm. They took turns cuddling 3- week-old bunnies, chicks and ducklings and pet- ting and feeding the goat, lamb and donkey. See FARM 6A Siuslaw News Lane County Board of Commissioners unanimous- ly selected Chief Deputy Byron Trapp as the county’s new sheriff this week. “Byron has spent his career in Lane County, and he knows and has the trust of our community,” said Lane County Board of Commissioners Chairman Jay Bozievich. “I look for- ward to working with Sheriff Trapp as we move forward rebuilding our pub- lic safety system.” Trapp has more than 27 years of service with the Lane County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) and current- ly serves as chief deputy sheriff. He began his career with the LCSO in 1988 as a deputy sheriff in the county jail and has since worked as a patrol deputy, resident deputy, field training offi- cer, drug enforcement offi- cer and SWAT officer. Trapp has 19 years of supervisory experience in the department and was named chief deputy by Sheriff Tom Turner in 2013. Angling Classifieds Community In Brief B1 B6 A5 A9 Obituaries Opinion SideShow Sports The Board of Commissioners held an open recruitment process after Sheriff Turner was selected as the new police chief for the city of Florence. The board accept- ed applications from April 3 to April 17 and held inter- views Wednesday, April 22, in an open meeting. The board interviewed two of the eight candidates who applied and met the criteria to hold the position under Oregon statute and Lane County code. See SHERIFF 6A PHOTO COURTESY OF LANE COUNTY Lane County Sheriff Tom Turner shakes hands with his successor, Chief Deputy Byron Trapp, who begins May 1 when Turner becomes Florence’s chief of police. SPORTS — B INSIDE S AT U R D AY Your A2 A4 B4 B Safe water on city’s agenda Staff to draft letter addressing pesticide spraying in Oregon B Y C HANTELLE M EYER Siuslaw News CHIEF DEPUTY BYRON TRAPP NAMED SHERIFF S TAFF R EPORT VOLUNTEER 6A Weather T ODAY S UNDAY M ONDAY T UESDAY Rain Rain 55 42 60 48 Mostly Sunny 65 49 Partly Sunny 58 46 Florence City Council president Joshua Greene promised area residents that the city is drafting a letter to address pesticide spraying within the Florence aquifer, the area’s sole source of drink- ing water. The promise came at the April 20 city council session, where 23 concerned cit- izens and members of Protect Florence Aquifer spoke to raise awareness for pesticide spraying in the Florence area. Representatives have addressed the council during public comments at all the council meetings since March, when the latest round of spraying was set to begin this year. Rosemary Alden, local acupuncturist and instructor at Lane Community College, said, “I think it’s the city’s job to be sure that we have nontoxic drink- ing water.” See WATER 6A CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK 125