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SATURDAY EDITION
STEELHEAD
EDUCATION
❘ MAY 23, 2015 ❘ $1.00
Festival parade
award results
INSIDE — A8
SPORTS — B
SERVING WESTERN LANE COUNTY SINCE 1890
E LECTION
Voters
reject
vehicle
fee
POD
PLAY
FLORENCE, OREGON
Orcas make surprise
visit to Old Town
P HOTOS BY V ERN D I P IETRO
For the Siuslaw News
Commissioners must
balance budget before
July to avoid closure
B Y J ACK D AVIS
Tuesday’s results also
show many newcomers
elected to local boards
Siuslaw News
Port of Siuslaw commissioners
declined to adopt two of four rate
increase resolutions previously
approved by the budget committee as
part of the port’s operating budget for
the 2015 fiscal year.
A lively discussion between port
board members, including input from
interested community members, pre-
ceded the voting at the May 20 meet-
ing.
Prior to the discussion and voting,
port certified public accountant Bill
Trotter gave a brief overview of the
financial condition of the port.
“The (port’s) operating revenue has
increased since 2010, however, oper-
ating expenses have kept pace,”
Trotter said. “You derive a lot of your
revenues from fees.”
Trotter went on to say that the
port’s current financial situation was
stable, but that he suggested incre-
mental fee increases to keep ahead of
depreciation expenses.
B Y C HANTELLE M EYER
Siuslaw News
Many new faces will occupy local
boards and commissions after Lane
County announced Tuesday evening
the results of the May 19 Special
Election.
Lane County has 206,370 regis-
tered voters, but only about 35 per-
cent cast ballots, with 71,717
received by the 8 p.m. deadline on
Tuesday.
The big news is that the Lane
County Vehicle Registration Fee did
not pass. Despite support from Lane
County Commissioner Jay
Bozievich, Florence City Council
and other county cities, Measure 20-
231 failed with 46,925 votes against,
or 66 percent. Only 23,855 voters
were for the fee, or 34 percent.
“We appreciate the thoughtful
evaluation that Lane County voters
gave this important issue,” said
Bozievich. “Our goal from the start
of this conversation has been to
articulate the facts and give voters a
choice.”
The mandatory fee would have
put money into county and city roads
now that revenue sources to maintain
and build roadways have dried up.
Other options have included a gas
tax, which failed on the ballot last
November.
“We need a balanced approach
that includes stabilizing our expenses
and identifying appropriate local rev-
enue to support critical local servic-
es,” Bozievich said.
Locally, Siuslaw Valley Fire and
Rescue (SVFR) had one of the most
contested races on the ballot.
For director position 3, Tony
Phillips won with 2,649 votes, or 72
percent. He beat incumbent Rob
Ward.
Director position 4 will now be
filled by John Carnahan. He won
with 64 percent of the votes cast,
beating incumbent Cindy Spinner, 31
percent, and Ave Bernard, about 5
percent of the votes.
For director position 5, Woody
Woodbury narrowly beat longtime
incumbent Steve Olienyk. Woodbury
received 1,894 votes, or 52 percent.
Olienyk received 1,715 votes, or
about 48 percent.
Three positions on the Mapleton
Fire Department board of directors
will remain with the three incum-
bents, Carol Baxter, Guy Hansen and
Ann Miller, who all ran unopposed.
Swisshome-Deadwood Rural Fire
Protection District also keeps its
incumbents, Harvey McGlothlin and
Glen Davies. A vacant third position
will be filled by appointment.
INSIDE
See
See
B5
A5
A6
A4
SideShow . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Weather Data . . . . . . . . . . .
Word on the Street . . . . . . .
PORT 7A
County sheriffs
ensure peaceful
Rhody Days
B Y C HANTELLE M EYER
Siuslaw News
V
isitors to the 108th
Rhododendron Festival
last weekend received
quite the surprise when a pod of
about six orcas swam down the
Siuslaw River. On Sunday after-
noon, the killer whales swam
past the Siuslaw River Bridge in
Florence, looped around and
went back toward the sea. There
appeared to be four adults and
two calves, all with the distinct
markings of orcas. According to
the Orca Network, orcas some-
times swim in Oregon river
mouths. The pod provided a
nice photo opportunity for
those who stayed in Old Town
after the parade ended.
RESULTS 7A
Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Community . . . . . . . . . . . . .
In Brief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Port rate
increases
shot down
by board
B4
B
A2
A7
THIS WEEK ’ S
TODAY
SUNDAY
MONDAY
TUESDAY
58 50
60 50
62 49
62 49
WEATHER
Full Forecast, A3
Lane County Sheriff’s Office
(LCSO) deputies conducted satura-
tion patrols in the Florence area dur-
ing the 108th annual Rhododendron
Festival over the weekend.
Funding for these patrols was pro-
vided through the Oregon State
Sheriff’s Association and Oregon
Deptartment
of
Transportation
through three grants totalling
$20,000. This funding makes possible
the LCSO’s participation in state and
national campaigns to reduce traffic
crashes, injuries and fatalities on Lane
County roads.
Without grant funding from these
organizations, LCSO would not have
been able to staff deputies in Florence
for the event. These patrols empha-
sized seat belt violations, speed-relat-
ed incidents and driving under the
influence of intoxication (DUII)
detection and enforcement.
According to LCSO’s festival sta-
tistics, there were 230 incidents over
the weekend that resulted in traffic
citations, warnings or arrests.
These included two felony posses-
sion of stolen vehicle arrests, one war-
rant arrest, two DUII arrests, one driv-
ing while suspended citation, two
minor in possession of alcohol cita-
tions, 40 speeding citations, six seat
belt citations, three lack of insurance
citations and 28 miscellaneous mov-
ing violation citations.
S IUSLAW N EWS
125 TH Y EAR ❘ I SSUE N O . 41
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