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❘ JUNE 27, 2015 ❘ $1.00
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SANDBLASTERS
SPLIT WIN
SPORTS — B
INSIDE — A3
SERVING WESTERN LANE COUNTY SINCE 1890
Recreational
marijuana use
legal July 1
FLORENCE, OREGON
Missing swimmer
found deceased
Private, personal use legalized —
no buying or selling
B Y C HANTELLE M EYER
Jose De La Mora would have been
a Siuslaw senior this year
Siuslaw News
Wednesday, July 1, marks the first day for the legal use of
recreational marijuana in Oregon.
Florence Police Department Lt. John Pitcher said, “Now the
possession of marijuana will no longer be a crime, as long as
people abide by the new law. ... I’m not expecting any trouble.”
He also reminded the public that driving under the influence
of marijuana is illegal.
“It’s not legal to smoke it in public and we will definitely
enforce that,” he added. “It’s for private use. You can’t smoke it
in public, and you can’t sell it in public. Those are two things we
will be enforcing.”
City of Florence representatives Erin Reynolds, city manager,
and Wendy FarleyCampbell, planning director, discussed the
importance of knowing the law.
“Our concern from a city perspective is to ensure that people
know what legal really means,” Reynolds said.
An important part of the law is that people can use marijuana
recreationally, but only in private.
“July 1 means you can have recreational marijuana in your
possession if you’re over the age of 21,” she said.
It is also illegal to buy or sell recreational marijuana.
Another part of the law limits each residence to four cannabis
plants. “It doesn’t matter if one person lives there or 15,”
FarleyCampbell added.
See
MARIJUANA 11A
Honeyman Park meeting
brings trail prospects
B Y C HANTELLE M EYER
Siuslaw News
In the second of three public meetings, Honeyman State Park
and Oregon State Park representatives presented their findings
on pedestrian safety and trail evaluations on June 18.
The previous meeting on May 27 allowed community mem-
bers to discuss their favorite parts of Honeyman, which trails
they used recreationally and which areas of the park they fre-
quented.
Jaime English, senior planner for Oregon State Parks, sum-
marized findings from the previous meeting, such as the park’s
popularity for running, water sports, dune adventures and camp-
ing and that users want to utilize both sides of the park.
Keeping open the Social Trail was especially important to
local park users.
“We really heard that the Social Trail, and the trails in gener-
al, are incredibly popular with locals, especially for running,”
she said.
The Social Trail was historically part of Honeyman’s trail sys-
tem, but was removed from official use with the addition of the
Overpass Trail.
Although it is an informal trail, park users seem to prefer
using it to cross Highway 101.
In this meeting, English presented proposals to revise
Honeyman’s 2009 Trail Plan by looking at current trails and nav-
igation issues and identifying how to best cross Highway 101.
“What we learned from Oregon Department of Transportation
(ODOT) was that a crossing at that location, a formal crossing, a
crosswalk or other formal ODOT measure would not be some-
thing that they would recommend, based on their measurements
and standards for central crossing,” English said.
See
TRAILS 11A
Deadlines change for
Independence Day
INSIDE
Siuslaw News deadlines move up next week to accommo-
date the Fourth of July holiday on Saturday.
All advertising and news items for the Friday, July 3, issue
must be submitted by Wednesday, July 1, at noon. Line clas-
sifieds are due by noon on Thursday, July 2.
The Siuslaw News office will be closed on July 3.
Call 541-997-3441 for information.
Ambulance . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Church . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
A2
B7
A5
A4
Obituary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A2
Word on the Street . . . . . . . A9
Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B
Weather Data . . . . . . . . . . . A2
PHOTO BY JACK DAVIS/SIUSLAW NEWS
B Y C HANTELLE M EYER
Siuslaw News
A
fter a 10-hour search,
divers in Woahink
Lake recovered the
body of missing swimmer
Jose De La Mora, 17, Friday
between 10 and 11 a.m.
Initial reports indicate that
five juveniles were swimming
on the east side of the lake on
Thursday, June 25, at 6 p.m.
when they saw a member
of their group go under the
water and not resurface.
Siuslaw Valley Fire and
Rescue (SVFR), U.S. Coast
Guard and the Lane County
Sheriff’s Office (LCSO)
Search and Rescue Dive
Team responded to the
call.
Three Search and Rescue
volunteer divers searched the
area of water where De La
Mora was last seen but did not
locate him.
According to LCSO Sgt.
Carrie Carver, the divers
searched the area for more
than three hours, into the
night.
Local civilian divers, unaf-
filiated with LCSO, began
searching the water Friday
morning and located a male
believed to be the missing
swimmer.
SVFR and the Florence
Police were also at the scene
Emergency crews and vol-
unteer divers search
Woahink Lake Friday
morning to recover the
body of a teen drowning
victim.
Friday and LCSO was on its
way.
“Right before they
deployed, we discovered that
they found him,” Carver said.
She said that although its
main office is in Eugene,
LCSO has volunteer divers
from all over the county.
“We send our condolences
to the De La Mora family, his
friends and the whole commu-
nity,” she said. “What a hor-
rific tragedy.”
Carver also said that this is
the fifth water fatality in Lane
County this year.
LCSO will conduct the
death investigation.
“I hope that people will
enjoy the water responsibly
and always wear life vests,”
she added.
The Florence community is
already rallying around De La
Mora’s family and friends. A
fundraising account has been
set up at Oregon Pacific Bank.
H o w do th e s e g ar d en s g ro w ?
Florence Area Humane Society invites the public to Tour of Gardens tomorrow
B Y V ICKIE H IGGINS
For the Siuslaw News
F
ive delightful gardens will
entertain visitors on Sunday,
June 28, when the Florence Area
Humane Society (FAHS) hosts its annu-
al self-guided Tour of Gardens from 10
a.m. until 4 p.m.
Tickets are $15 and can be purchased
ahead of time or on the day of the tour
at any of the garden locations.
South of Florence, Bert and Shirley
Willie have the first garden. Visitors can
follow the soothing sound of water
along a path, complete with handrails,
leading to the garden’s lower levels with
waterfalls and ponds.
There visitors will find a pergola,
gazebo and a bench here and there for
relaxing to enjoy the lovely sounds and
smells.
Many blooming things add to the
charm along with statues peeking
around a corner.
In the middle of Florence is a garden
like no other and this is where
visitors will find the Food Share
Garden.
This garden sits on about half an acre
and produced more than 9,000 pounds
of food last year.
Sherri Koffler’s garden is a
wonderland of flowers and whimsical
garden art with lots of water trickling
down.
Decorative containers hold many
varieties of plants and lots of climbing
vines adorn the front yard as well
as the garden which surrounds the
home.
There’s a surprise at every turn.
Rhodell Willard and Ed Ogle’s gar-
den in front of their home is a breath-
taking display of shrubs and flowers but
that is only half the story. The back yard
is a courtyard garden complete with a
green house.
Here, visitors will find numerous
unusual varieties of shrubs and
flowers, many of them transported to
Oregon
from
their
home
in
THIS WEEK ’ S
PHOTOS BY ED GERVAIS
The five gardens included in the
Tour of Gardens will feature a riot of
summer blooms, cool shade, relax-
ing benches and places for snack
breaks. Visitors can admire water
features, a bridge, a green house
and statuary at these gardens in the
Florence area.
northern California.
Dr. and Mrs. Rex Underwood truly
have a Sweet Creek Paradise with 800
feet of property on the Siuslaw River as
it makes it way to the sea.
With their home centered between
two landscaped areas, the west side fea-
tures a collection of statuary. Gnomes,
bears, geese and raccoons adorn several
seating areas where one may enjoy the
river view.
East of the home, visitors can cross a
bright red bridge over a babbling brook
with breathtaking beauty. There’s a
small cabin, ideal for a private retreat.
Picnic tables in sheltered spots offer
breathtaking views.
The Underwoods offer these spots to
tour visitors who wish to bring along
snacks.
Tickets can be purchased at On Your
Feet with a Splash and Raining Cats and
TODAY
SUNDAY
MONDAY
TUESDAY
68 56
66 53
68 55
70 54
WEATHER
Full Forecast, A3
Dogs on Bay Street, Mary Ann’s
Natural Pet at 1541 Highway 101,
Premier Landscaping at 812 Quince St.,
Laurel Bay Gardens, north of Florence
at 88493 Highway 101, and the
FAHS Shelter at 2840 Rhododendron
Dr.
All proceeds from the Garden Tour
are used to provide care for dogs and
cats at the organization’s no-kill shelter.
For more information, contact FAHS
at 541-902-9714.
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