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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (July 18, 2015)
THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM ❘ / SIUSLAWNEWS ❘ @ THESIUSLAWNEWS SATURDAY EDITION ❘ JULY 18, 2015 ❘ $1.00 EQUESTRIANS ROPE HIGH MARKS Summer Shindig supports garden SPORTS — B INSIDE — A3 SERVING WESTERN LANE COUNTY SINCE 1890 FLORENCE, OREGON Former chief John Buchanan will assume interim position beginning Monday B Y C HANTELLE M EYER Siuslaw News During Wednesday night’s regular session of the Siuslaw Valley Fire and Rescue (SVFR) board of directors, new members were sworn in — but the chief was voted out. According to board member and for- mer board president John Scott, the main item on the agenda had been the first meeting with the full new board: current boardmembers Scott and Lori Gates and new members John Carnahan, Tony Phillips and Woody Woodbury. Once the new board swore in, new officers were elected, with Carnahan voted as the new board president. “I handed him the gavel,” Scott said, “and he pulled out a piece of paper and read a very brief statement saying that they were going to summarily dismiss Jim Langborg, the chief.” The board then went into executive session. Carnahan made a motion to Jim Langborg John Buchanan dismiss Langborg, but didn’t get a sec- ond. Scott said, “Then I offered a solu- tion. I said I didn’t understand where all this was coming from. We’ve given Jim no guidance that there was any dis- satisfaction whatsoever with his lead- ership or anything, so I advised giving Theater in Florence a ‘class act’ him at least six months as a probation- ary period — give him some guidance, see if it’s all taken care of and go from there. They didn’t approve that either.” While Scott’s motion did get a sec- ond, it failed to get a majority vote. One last measure, presented by Gates, received a second, and ultimate- ly, the vote. Langborg’s employment was termi- nated with a 3-2 vote. Scott and Woodbury were the dissenting votes. “It wasn’t really a kind termination,” Scott said. “I questioned them as what prompted this, and Carnahan just basi- cally said they want the department to go in a different direction.” According to Carnahan, this deci- sion had grounds. “What happened between (the elec- tion in) May and last night was that I did research,” Carnahan said on Thursday. “I talked to people. One of the big things is that none of the incumbents were re-elected. ... That told me loud and clear that the public did not like the direction that the board was going or the fire department.” He also included the decreased num- ber of volunteers as a sign of the pub- lic’s unhappiness with Langborg. See BOARD 9A RUNNING FOR A GOOD CAUSE Building remodels for two new theaters earn city approval B Y C HANTELLE M EYER Siuslaw News Florence Planning Commission approved two theater remodels at its session on Tuesday, July 14. David and Rosemary Lauria pur- chased property at 509 Kingwood St. from the Christian Science Society and plan to extend the building’s use to include a theater. Besides hosting religious meet- ings, the building will also be the home of the new Class Act Theater. Inside the current building, an auditorium space holds 60 theater- style seats. The Laurias will begin renovations to add a 460-square foot addition with a larger lobby, more restrooms and storage space. See THEATER 8A New port commissioner sworn in Update to last week’s marina diesel fuel spill also discussed B Y J ACK D AVIS Siuslaw News Newly appointed commissioner Mike Buckwald took the oath of office from president Ron Caputo during the Port of Siuslaw July 15 board meeting. Buckwald was cho- sen over six other applicants to fill the rest of the position No. 3 term of Jay Cable, who resigned May 26. “I don’t have an opinion. I don’t have an agenda,” Buckwald said. “I would like to see the port continue to provide the outstanding services it does and work on economic develop- ment.” INSIDE See PORT 8A Births . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Courts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A2 B7 A2 A4 COURTESY PHOTOS Crew members from U.S. Coast Guard Station Siuslaw River gather Thursday for the Special Olympics Law Enforcement Torch Run. Carrying the torch U.S. Coast Guard Station Siuslaw River joins fellow agencies for Torch Run S TAFF R EPORT Siuslaw News T he U.S. Coast Guard Station Siuslaw River (USCG) took part Thursday morning in the Special Olympics Law Enforcement Torch Run, with support from its local law enforcement partners. Torch runners included USCG Officer In Charge Senior Chief Timothy Tregoning and his crew, listed below. The run was escorted by a Coos Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians patrol car, Siuslaw Valley Fire and Rescue representatives, Oregon State Police and the Florence Religion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A5 SideShow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B6 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B Word on the Street . . . . . . . . A8 THIS WEEK ’ S Police Department. The torch has been carried up the Oregon coast by Coast Guard men and women and law enforcement officers from local coastal towns. The Florence run began south of the Siuslaw River Bridge and continued north through town on Highway 101 to the Fred Meyer parking lot. TODAY SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY 81 58 71 56 71 56 70 57 WEATHER Full Forecast, A3 The torch will continue its way up the coast, passing off to the next Coast Guard team in Newport. Participants from the USCG Station Siuslaw River were: BM1 Daniel Nielsen, BM1 Allen Veach, FS1 Christopher Ricketts, SK2 Angela Martin, MK2 Manny Mercado, BM3 Sydnee Sansone, DC3 Cody Wagner, MK3 Matthew Schmader, BM3 Joshua Broman, SN Kelsey Eldridge, SN Christian Johnson and SA Brandon Ortiz. Ruger and Piper, two USCG station dogs, also joined the run. “We had such a great turnout,” Nielsen said. “Thank you to the community for sup- porting our run.” S IUSLAW N EWS 125 TH Y EAR ❘ I SSUE N O . 57 C OPYRIGHT 2015 CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK FIRE BOARD DISMISSES CHIEF LANGBORG