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❘ JULY 18, 2015 ❘ $1.00
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Summer Shindig
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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