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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (June 10, 2015)
❘ / SIUSLAWNEWS ❘ @ THESIUSLAWNEWS WEDNESDAY EDITION REELY GOOD TIME ❘ JUNE 10, 2015 ❘ $1.00 Class of 2015 graduates COAST LIFE — B SPORTS — C SERVING WESTERN LANE COUNTY SINCE 1890 FLORENCE, OREGON l l e p S Port’s business prospects expand W-I-N-N-E-R Telecommunication companies now allowed under new legislation B Y J ACK D AVIS Siuslaw News PHOTOS BY CHANTELLE MEYER/SIUSLAW NEWS Cast members rehearse Monday night before the comedic play opens June 12 for a two-weekend run at the Florence Events Center. Last Resort Players’ ‘25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee’ opens Friday B Y C HANTELLE M EYER Siuslaw News F or the six contestants in “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” opening this weekend at the Florence Events Center, spelling isn’t a game. Each student attends the bee to prove they are winners. None of them wants to come in second — but only one can win. The Last Resort Players (LRP) puts together a cast of community theater veterans and new talent to fill the shoes of bee contestants and the three adults who guide, comfort and antagonize the spellers. The cast, ranging in ages from 18 years old to the mid-50s, play characters who are in elementary school or the adults who lead the bee. Despite the majority of the cast being pre-ado- lescent, the show is rated PG-13 for the inclusion of words that proba- bly shouldn’t be spelled in public. “You want to come and laugh and have a good time,” said musical director and actor Jason Wood. “If you’re looking for depth and a story, there’s a lot of that here. The show will catch you by surprise. Obviously it’s very funny, but there are moments of real humanness, moments of real emotion. It’s not just all campy and improv and over the top. There are moments of some real- ly deep stuff.” The cast has figured out how to create depth and humor with their characters. “The thing I like most about my character Leaf Coneybear is that he has never really experienced anything outside of his own home before, so everything is new and exciting,” said Matt Korso. The students struggle with loneli- ness, growing pains and their families. The adults also struggle. Jacob Ternyik plays Mitch Mahoney, a “comfort counselor” for elimi- nated contestants. “He doesn’t want to be there. He’s doing his community service at a spelling bee. Who wants to do that? At the end of the show, he actually genuinely cares for the kids,” Ternyik said. Leah Goodwin tests spellers’ skills with words ranging from South American rodents to uncom- fortable bladder disorders. Her character, Vice Principal Donna Panch, has plenty of her own issues. See Oregon Revised Statutes chapter 777 (ORS 777) is the document governing the scope and powers of Oregon ports, including the Port of Siuslaw. ORS 777 has been revised to reflect 21st century business needs because of a bill recently passed by the state Legislature. Port Manager Bob Forsythe and then port commissioner Bill Fleenor wrote the bill after port legal coun- cil informed Forsythe that due to the wording of ORS 777, the port was prohibited from conducting busi- ness with telecommunications com- panies. “When they wrote ORS 777, telecommunications didn’t even exist,” Forsythe said. “In fact, the last time it was amended, it didn’t exist. This is just adding to the long laundry list of what ports are allowed to do.” Late in 2014, Forsythe and Fleenor contacted State Rep. Caddy McKeown about changing the lan- guage in ORS 777. McKeown and her staff worked with Forsythe to craft the wording of the bill. Due to a potential conflict of interest, Fleenor resigned his posi- tion as commissioner and Forsythe pursued the matter alone. After minor changes in wording, House Bill 3104 was approved by the state House of Representatives. State Sen. Arnie Roblan presented the bill in the Senate where it also passed. The Speaker of the House signed the bill on May 19. Gov. Kate Brown signed the bill into law May 26. BEE 7A See PORT 7A ‘ESCAPE THE ORDINARY’ WITH SUMMER READING Siuslaw Public Library launches 2015 reading program in Florence, Mapleton B Y C HANTELLE M EYER Siuslaw News INSIDE This year’s summer reading themes at Siuslaw Public Library are all about being extraordinary. Children will learn that “Every Hero has a Story” as they read or are read to four times a week — if they do, they are eligible for prizes each week. Summer reading activities take place each Thursday. At 10:30 a.m., children’s librarian Gayle Waiss will lead stories, games, crafts and activities in Florence. She will be at the Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C6 Coast Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B In Brief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A9 Library Tidings . . . . . . . . . . . A5 Mapleton branch to lead more activities at 1 p.m. Teen readers can submit to weekly drawings and attend two superhero movie marathons — on Wednesday, June 24, and Wednesday, July 22 — as part of their theme, “Unmasked!” Teens who read or listen to an audiobook for at least 30 minutes a day can win prizes. Adults get to “Escape the Ordinary” with a variety of free literary, ecological and cine- matic events. Librarian Kevin Mittge opens the adult summer read- Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A4 Police . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A2 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C Weather Data . . . . . . . . . . . A2 ing program tomorrow, June 11, at 1 p.m. He will discuss the 2015 endowment books. Other features include Bob DuBose and the foreign serv- ice; Siuslaw News Editor Ryan Cronk leading a discussion about plagiarism and the film “Shattered Glass;” Vicki Sieber-Benson and Bill Benson’s presentation on Mongolia; evaluating a suc- cessful downtown and movies, writing groups, concerts, food and more. For each book adults read or listen to and each program they attend, they can place an entry in a weekly prize drawing by completing an entry form and submitting a short book review. The library also will have THIS WEEK ’ S Family Movie Nights every Tuesday at 6 p.m. in the Bromley Room. These films include: “Pokemon Heroes,” “The Incredibles,” “Big Hero 6,” “Despicable Me 2,” “Superman,” “The Lego Movie,” “Rescuers,” “Box- trolls” and “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible No Good Very Bad Day.” Drawings will be held each Saturday, starting June 13, for a variety of prizes, from the entries received as of 6 p.m. the day before. The more an indi- vidual reads, listens and attends, the more entry forms he or she can fill out. See LIBRARY 7A TODAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY 61 50 63 50 64 48 63 49 WEATHER Full Forecast, A3 COURTESY PHOTO Mapleton Elementary School students hold up book bags and books that they will read for Siuslaw Public Library’s “Every Hero has a Story” summer reading program. S IUSLAW N EWS 125 TH Y EAR ❘ I SSUE N O . 46 C OPYRIGHT 2015 CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM