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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 19, 2015)
❘ / SIUSLAWNEWS ❘ @ SIUSLAWNEWS SATURDAY EDITION DECKING THE HALLS SAILORS VS. LAKERS SPORTS — B INSIDE — A3 SERVING WESTERN LANE COUNTY SINCE 1890 FLORENCE, OREGON MERCER LAKE SLIDE KILLS 1 Residents evacuated, homes damaged after heavy rainfall causes early morning landslide CHANTELLE MEYER/SIUSLAW NEWS B Y C HANTELLE M EYER Old Town opens to wholesale operations Florence’s revised code approves food, beverage manufacture in Zone A Siuslaw News C ontinuing heavy rains satu- rated the landscape this week and caused two land- slides in the Florence area, including one at Mercer Lake and Santa roads that destroyed homes and left one woman dead. On Friday, Dec. 18, Siuslaw Valley Fire and Rescue (SVFR) responded to a landslide at 3:15 a.m. on Mercer Lake Road near milepost 1.4 at Santa Road. On arrival, SVFR crews found a large landslide that had caused significant damage to two residential structures. The landslide pushed dirt, trees and other debris into both buildings. One of the structures was occupied by two adults and two dogs. Delores Miller, 70, and one of the dogs were killed. Miller’s husband, who was also in the residence, suffered minor injuries and was able to call 911. SVFR firefighters were able to assist him and locate the missing dog, which was not injured. The other structure was unoccu- pied. Mercer Lake Road was closed for several hours as a precaution before reopening to traffic. There are no alternate routes in that area. Lane County officials and response teams remained on scene to assess damages. County Public Works crews opened one lane of Mercer Lake Road with the aid of flaggers to direct traffic. Another slide occurred Friday morning near milepost 15.8 on North Fork Siuslaw Road, off Highway 126 east of Florence. Lane County has closed access to the area from mile- posts 14 to 17. Alternate routes include Highways 126 and 36. The National Weather Service in Portland reported that a flood watch remains in effect through this morn- ing. The Siuslaw River rose to 22.4 feet at 4 a.m. Friday. “It was expected to fall below flood stage around 10 p.m. Friday and continue falling for the next cou- ple days,” the service said. ❘ DECEMBER 19, 2015 ❘ $1.00 B Y C HANTELLE M EYER Siuslaw News A second public hearing was held at the combined Florence City Council and Planning Commission meeting Dec. 14, this time concerning a broadened definition of zoning in the Historic Old Town area. Ordinance No. 13, Series 2015 will now allow the manufacturing and wholesaling of provisions in Old Town Area A when accompanied by a retail or restaurant on- premises. Old Town Area A is the zone from Nopal Street in the east to Ivy Street in the west. It covers Historic Old Town on Bay Street and much of the area under the Siuslaw River Bridge. The city sent out a public notice about the potential change on Nov. 23. Assistant Planner Glen Southerland said, “This is a legislative land use appli- cation and there is an applicant. ... On Oct. 24, the applicant applied for a code amendment, which is something we allow, by code, a citizen to do.” The staff report listed Scott Waiss and Bert Wells as the applicants, who intend to open a small brewery and tasting room at 184 Maple St. “The applicant has stated that it is not cost effective to open a brewery produc- tion space without the ability to wholesale those items off-site at area restaurants and businesses, a use not currently allowed by city code in the Old Town District. See ZONING 11A Port to ‘dance’ with sea lions COURTESY PHOTOS A landslide near milepost 1.4 on Mercer Lake Road struck the area early Friday morning, causing damage to nearby homes and killing one resident. The road was closed for several hours as a precaution. Commission also narrows manager applicants to 2 B Y J ACK D AVIS Siuslaw News INSIDE During their Dec. 16 special meeting, Port of Siuslaw commissioners approved a $1,500 sponsorship for one of 20 life-size fiberglass sea lion sculptures to be painted by a local artist. The finished art piece will be displayed on port property from April to October and then it will be auctioned off. Commissioners will choose from one of several nautically inspired designs submit- ted by artists. In other business, board president Ron Caputo closed the special session and opened an executive session, not open to the public, to allow commissioners to dis- cuss several agenda items, including the employment of a port manager. After the executive session, interim port manager Dina McClure said commission- ers had narrowed the number of applicants for the Port of Siuslaw manager position to two people. Final interviews are scheduled for Monday, Jan. 4. Ambulance . . . . . . . . . . . . . Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Coastal Events . . . . . . . . . . . Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A7 B9 A9 A4 Religion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A5 SideShow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B8 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B Word on the Street . . . . . . . A7 THIS WEEK ’ S TODAY SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY 50 47 51 47 55 50 52 46 WEATHER Full Forecast, A3 S IUSLAW N EWS 125 TH Y EAR ❘ I SSUE N O . 101 C OPYRIGHT 2015 CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM