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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 9, 2015)
❘ / SIUSLAWNEWS ❘ @ SIUSLAWNEWS WEDNESDAY EDITION LADY VIKS START SEASON ❘ DECEMBER 9, 2015 ❘ $1.00 STAR WARS SPECIAL PUBLICATION INSIDE SPORTS — C SERVING WESTERN LANE COUNTY SINCE 1890 Making spirits bright FLORENCE, OREGON WEATHER BOYS & GIRLS CLUB Powerful storms bring threats of flooding Donations needed for Community Christmas Baskets Siuslaw River rises as heavy rains continue to fall B Y C HANTELLE M EYER Siuslaw News B Y C HANTELLE M EYER Soroptimist of Florence wants to bring the holidays home to more than 400 area families by providing them with baskets of food and toys for their children. The annual Florence Community Christmas Baskets program helps the community sponsor families who need a lit- tle assistance. “Soroptimist of Florence has been organizing this project that benefits the poor in our com- munity for over 30 years,” said Soroptimist member Jo Hine. In a coordinated effort with volunteers, Siuslaw Valley Fire and Rescue and other service clubs, the Soroptimists have set up designated areas to donate food, gifts and money. “It’s a club project with a lot of people involved,” said Michelle Fraley. “The commu- nity here is pretty fantastic and generous.” Fraley is one of the chair- women in charge of the toy drive. Gifts are needed for chil- dren newborn to 12 years old. “Typically, we get a lot of toys for the younger kids. We usually fall short on toys for the older kids, aged 8 to 12,” Fraley said. She said that children in the older age bracket appreciate toys that help them stay active, like Nerf brand items or fishing poles. ‘They’re not as into Barbies, dumptrucks or Legos anymore, so they are harder to shop for,” Fraley said. The Soroptimists will also collect board games, card games and puzzles. These will go to families with multiple children. “We hope this will help them have family time together,” Fraley said. See BASKETS 7A Siuslaw News PHOTOS BY JACK DAVIS/SIUSLAW NEWS Boys and Girls Club of Western Lane County Teen Center members create holiday baskets to be filled and distributed Friday to Spruce Point residents in Florence. FORMING BONDS Teen Center reaches out to seniors B Y J ACK D AVIS Siuslaw News A bit of holiday cheer is coming Friday to residents of Spruce Point Assisted Living Community thanks to the Boys and Girls Club of Western Lane County. Last Wednesday, Teen Center club members gathered to create small individually crafted gift baskets to give to Spruce Point residents. “We will fill the baskets with all kinds of good- ies and each resident will receive their own bas- ket,” said club executive director Chuck Trent. “The kids have made the baskets and all the deco- rations that go on them. As we hand them out, we will be singing Christmas carols.” According to Trent, the project is part of the recently reopened Teen Center’s commitment to community service and involvement. “This is part of the overall strategy of the Teen Center,” Trent said. “In order to become a member, kids have to agree to perform two hours of communi- ty service per week. The whole purpose is to get these kids connected with the community and to get the community connected with the kids.” See CLUB 7A Multiple winter storms have hit the central coast, starting with last week’s wind storm and continuing with heavy rains this week. The first in a series of very wet Pacific frontal systems moved into the area Sunday night. Storms continued through Tuesday, and another storm is forecasted to last through tomorrow. Local response agencies answered calls this week for trees across roadways, downed power lines and water hazards, all while han- dling their normal duties. Bernhardt Creek Road in Mapleton was closed Tuesday because of trees across the roadway. “We had a busy day Monday,” said Siuslaw Valley Fire and Rescue (SVFR) Fire Marshal Sean Barrett. SVFR responded to its first call at 8:40 a.m., when a tree fell on a home on Buck Lake Drive in Florence. “Luckily, no one was home,” Barrett said. Florence Police Department listed 11 fall- en trees in the area on Monday. Most trees fell across Highway 101, driveways or roads. Central Lincoln PUD crews responded to multiple downed power lines. In one location, an energized power line delayed SVFR from reaching a medical call. “It was interesting, because a tree fell in the power lines. It was even energizing the guard rail. The PUD took an hour to clear, but it worked out. Luckily, the people were doing OK when we got there,” Barrett said. SVFR also assisted the U.S. Coast Guard Station Siuslaw River for a call near the North Fork of the Siuslaw River. Water con- ditions prevented both agencies from assist- ing a boater in the water, but SVFR moni- tored from shore while the boater rowed to safety. “There was a positive ending to all our calls today,” Barrett said. Al Kreitz, paramedic and public informa- tion officer with Western Lane Ambulance District (WLAD), said, “Fortunately, no one got hurt today. It wasn’t that kind of storm.” Kreitz added that the most important thing in a storm like this is to be prepared ahead of time. See STORM 7A LCC Florence teacher receives coveted honor Math instructor Robert Estill presented with Faculty Recognition Award B Y J ACK D AVIS Siuslaw News INSIDE Lane Community College (LCC) Florence Center math instructor Bob Estill was inter- rupted during his math class last week with a surprise presentation of the LCC Faculty Recognition Award presented by LCC Interim Executive Dean of the School of Professional and Technical Careers Mary Jeanne Kuhar. Estill, who has taught at the Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C6 Coast Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B Courts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A5 Library Tidings . . . . . . . . . . . A5 Florence Center since 2011, was one of only two student-initiated award recipients this quarter from LCC’s more than 500 eligi- ble instructors. Typically, stu- dents nominate as many as 50 instructors each quarter. This is the first time a Florence-based instructor has received the award since Jean Spriggs won a similar award in 1985. “Bob Estill had several stu- dents who nominated him for the Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A4 Police . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A2 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C Weather Data . . . . . . . . . . . A2 award,” Kuhar said. “They spoke about him and his teaching in a way that was so compelling to the committee that he was select- ed from the group of faculty who were nominated.” At the Dec. 1 presentation, LCC Florence Center Interim Director Russ Pierson said, “The fact that Bob received this award is an indication of the quality of instruction here at the Florence Center. We have some excellent instructors that THIS WEEK ’ S live and work here.” Pierson said only one other Florence Center instructor, Andrea Ciaston; a part-time art instructor based in Eugene, won the award in 2013. According to Pierson, in addi- tion to Estill’s teaching schedule at LCC, he helps students with math at Siuslaw High School and is involved with the high school wrestling program. See LCC 7A TODAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY 56 51 52 47 51 48 51 45 WEATHER Full Forecast, A3 JACK DAVIS/SIUSLAW NEWS LCC math instructor Robert Estill (second from left) holds the Faculty Recognition Award presented to him by LCC administrators Russ Pierson and Mary Jeanne Kuhar and Faculty Council co-chairman Joseph Coulton. S IUSLAW N EWS 125 TH Y EAR ❘ I SSUE N O . 98 C OPYRIGHT 2015 CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM