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FOOTBALL
CAMP BEGINS
❘ JULY 25, 2015 ❘ $1.00
Yard-by-yard
fundraiser
INSIDE — A3
SPORTS — B
SERVING WESTERN LANE COUNTY SINCE 1890
CHIEF REINSTATED
Siuslaw fire board rescinds motion to dismiss Langborg
CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK
Family
to reopen
ABC
Preschool
FLORENCE, OREGON
Mother-daughter team
takes charge of revamped
childcare facility
B Y J ACK D AVIS
Siuslaw News
he Alice Brauer Christian (ABC)
Preschool, located in the New
Life Lutheran Church at 2100
Spruce St., will reopen Aug. 3. Stacie
Navarro and her daughter Meggan
Haflett will operate the preschool, which
will have an initial capacity of 20 chil-
dren from 3 to 6 years old.
Haflett and one aide will be in charge
of the classroom and Navarro will act as
a consultant.
Navarro was the director when Boys
and Girls Club of Western Lane County
operated the facility. She took a leave of
absence but returned to work as a con-
sultant for the club while working for the
state as a child welfare social service
specialist in Florence, a position she will
continue to hold while acting as consult-
ant to ABC.
“My daughter and I have always want-
ed to do something like this,” Navarro
said. “I have been involved in childcare
my whole life. When I worked here as
director, it was my third job as director
of a childcare facility.”
Both Navarro and Haflett are certified
teachers and are rated as a step 10 out of
12 on the state’s registry of childcare
providers. Ten is the equivalent of a
bachelor’s degree in the field of teaching
or childcare.
Navarro and Haflett had to move
quickly after learning the facility was
closing down.
“We were sitting in church one day
and the pastor announced to the congre-
gation that Boys and Girls Club had
decided not to renew their lease and they
weren’t sure what they were going to do
with the space,” she explained. “The
church really counts on it for rent.
“A few days later my daughter called
me and said ‘I’ve really been thinking
T
See
ABC 7A
CHANTELLE MEYER/SIUSLAW NEWS
Community members applaud after a speaker addressed the fire board Tuesday night. More than 100 people attended the meeting.
B Y C HANTELLE M EYER
Siuslaw News
Siuslaw Valley Fire and Rescue
(SVFR) Chief Jim Langborg
returned to his position Wednesday
after the district’s board of directors
rescinded its ruling to relieve him of
his duties last week.
“I am ready to get back to work
and serve our firefighters and citi-
zens,” Langborg said in a statement
released after Tuesday’s ruling.
“SVFR has gone through a tough
week, but I take great comfort in
knowing that the men and women of
this fire district are highly dedicated
professionals who share my passion
for serving this community.”
He spent Wednesday contacting
SVFR staff and volunteers.
The SVFR board held a special
meeting Tuesday night in response
to the ruling to dismiss Langborg
Siuslaw, Mapleton schools
hear funding proposal
B Y J ACK D AVIS
Siuslaw News
Siuslaw School Board members recently
received a presentation by Lynn Finney about
creating an educational foundation to acquire
grant money for programs and projects not cov-
See
CHIEF 7A
ered in normal state school budgets.
The Mapleton School Board received a simi-
lar presentation. The goal would be to combine
the two districts under one education foundation
Mapleton and Siuslaw school districts are
among a handful of state districts that do not
currently have nonprofit education foundations
to raise additional funds for the cash-strapped
schools. That may soon change.
Finney, who was instrumental in establishing
an education foundation in Park City, Utah,
spoke at the request of Siuslaw school board
member Suzanne Mann-Heintz.
“An education foundation is a 501(c)3 non-
profit corporation that exists for the purpose of
raising money to be given to the schools,”
Mann-Heintz explained. “The advantage of the
corporation is that it has access to lots of grants
that public entities don’t, like private founda-
tions and corporations.”
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SCHOOL 7A
Firefighters respond to 3-story
house fire in Heceta Beach area
B Y C HANTELLE M EYER
Siuslaw News
COURTESY PHOTO
INSIDE
supposed to be 30 minutes, but
Carnahan said it could go longer.
“We do have quite a few people
here,” he said.
At the final count, 132 people
filled the meeting room.
During public comment, 20 com-
munity leaders, business owners,
area residents and SVFR volunteers
stood to address the board.
SHARED EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION EXPLORED
Terry and
Kim Leo’s
house on
Joshua Lane
caught fire
on July 18.
Neighbors
used garden
hoses to
spray water
on the fire
until Siuslaw
Valley Fire
and Rescue
firefighters
arrived on
the scene.
No one was
hurt, but
one dog did
not survive.
Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B7
Courts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A2
Obituaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A2
Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A4
that was made at their regular meet-
ing on July 15.
Board President John Carnahan
opened the special meeting at the
main station by saying, “This meet-
ing is for public comment. I empha-
size that this is the time for the pub-
lic to speak to the board of directors.
The object is for everyone to be
heard that wants to speak.”
According to the agenda, the
maximum time for comment was
Religion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A5
SideShow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B6
Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B
Word on the Street . . . . . . . A7
THIS WEEK ’ S
Siuslaw Valley Fire and
Rescue and Western Lane
Ambulance District responded
to a house fire at 04582 Joshua
Lane last weekend that caused
an estimated $80,000 in damage
and killed a family pet.
The residents of the house,
owned by Terry and Kim Leo in
the Heceta Beach area, were not
home July 18 at about 6:35 p.m.,
the time of the fire.
According to Fire Marshal
Sean Barrett, the fire department
responded within three minutes
of receiving the call.
Once there, the first respon-
ders discovered the three-story
home showing flames from the
second and third floors.
The second unit arrived on
scene 10 minutes later. Together,
the units controlled the fire with-
in another 10 minutes.
“If it weren’t for the neigh-
bors using garden hoses to keep
the fire from spreading, the
damage would have been much
more severe,” Barrett said.
The main fire damage was to
the second story exterior and the
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third story.
According to Barrett, the fam-
ily had two dogs that were home
at the time of the fire. Only one
was found safe.
“Unfortunately, one of the
family dogs perished in the
fire,” he said. Responders
worked “tirelessly” to try to
revive the pet, he added.
One medical unit and 16 fire-
fighters responded. The cause
was determined to be a gas bar-
becue grill on the main deck of
the house.
S IUSLAW N EWS
125 TH Y EAR ❘ I SSUE N O . 59
C OPYRIGHT 2015
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FIRE 7A