SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13, 2016
11 A
2015 YEAR IN REVIEW continued
Review
from 10A
Renovation to help
bridge span years
Construction signs are now
up in Old Town — “Bridge
Work Ahead” — following the
start of a major renovation
project by Oregon Department
of Transportation on the
Siuslaw River Bridge this
week, and Bay Street is where
it will all begin.
For the next five to six
months, the small ODOT park-
ing lot next to the river under
the bridge will be closed and
there will be some one-lane
closures intermittently — but
businesses on Bay
Street will suffer
only minor incon-
venience.
Crews should be
out of Bay Street
by the
Rhododendron
Festival in May.
The Art of
Florence
Florence Regional
Arts Alliance (FRAA) unveiled
the first of what the group
hopes to be many public art
pieces on Sept. 19. The piece
sits on a landscaped section of
Port of Siuslaw property at the
corner of Bay and Nopal
streets in Old Town.
Artist Kat Cunningham
hand-painted the three-sided,
tiled column that represents
three of the most well-known
features of Florence: the Port
of Siuslaw, the Siuslaw River
and the dunes. It took her
about two months to complete.
In total, $7,500 was raised to
fund the project. Friday after-
noon, the artistic labor of love
was unveiled to an appreciative
crowd that included port and
city officials and many mem-
bers of the Florence artistic
community.
Port manager resigns
Port of Siuslaw Manager
Bob Forsythe submitted his
resignation letter Sept. 23 to
port board President Ron
Caputo.
Forsythe, 65, has been port
manager since March 2012. At
the time he accepted the posi-
tion, he agreed to serve as
manager for three to five years.
When Forsythe took over the
management of the port, he
and the board developed a list
of 41 goals to accomplish.
“We have accomplished 37
of them,” Forsythe said.
OCTOBER
Case closed for Justice
of the Peace
Local officials spoke
Wednesday afternoon at a
retirement party for Cindy
Cable, now Cindy Forsythe,
who retired as
Lane County
Justice of the
Peace after
nearly 25
years.
“With my
retirement, I
am retiring
my name
‘Cable’ and
I’ll be
‘Forsythe’ from now on,”
Forsythe said.
In her term of service in the
Lane County Justice Court, she
counts more than 600 small
claims, 1,200 weddings, 6,000
civil cases and 86,000 criminal
and traffic cases.
“And I have a million mem-
ories,” Forsythe said.
Lane County Commissioner
Jay Bozievich said Forsythe
was instrumental in keeping a
justice court in Lane County.
“We made sure, because of
her advocacy, that this was the
only Justice Court to remain
open,” Bozievich said.
#IamUCC
Lane Community College
(LCC) Florence joined other
community colleges around the
nation in a solidarity effort
Thursday at 11 a.m. to memo-
rialize last week’s tragic shoot-
ing at Umpqua Community
College (UCC) in Roseburg.
More than 1,130 community
colleges participated in the
minute-long moment of
silence. According to LCC
Let Paul show you a new car or truck.
Stop by today!
Florence Interim Director Russ
Pierson, LCC and UCC have a
strong relationship and are sis-
ter colleges.
“I have felt here in Florence
that there is a similar size and
spirit to our two communities,”
Pierson said.
Hilden retires,
councilor steps in
Dunes City administrator
Fred Hilden has retired from
his position after two years on
the job. Hilden, 65, was pro-
moted to city administrator in
August 2013 after serving as
city recorder since April 2010.
City councilor Jamie Mills
was appointed to assume the
role of interim administrator.
According to Mills, Hilden,
who turned 65 in May, had
been talking about retirement
for several months. She is
uncertain whether or not this
will be a permanent move for
her.
SOS burns mortgage
Fortunately for Siuslaw
Outreach Services (SOS), Lane
County lifted its burn ban in
time for the non-
profit organiza-
tion to hold a
“Burn the
Mortgage” party
on Oct. 28.
The third
annual SOS
Soiree was held
Oct. 4 at
Homegrown
Public House
and attracted
more than 60 participants. A
total of $26,353 was raised,
covering the mortgage balance
of approximately $23,400.
The original mortgage was
dated March 14, 1994, and was
for $153,000. SOS Executive
Director David Wiegan said
SOS is “now debt free.”
NOVEMBER
Protecting a park
Lane County Parks (LCP) is
working on a draft of its
Master Plan Update, which
indicates the proposed sale of
Ocean Woods Park, a 40-acre
undeveloped county park with-
in the City of Florence’s urban
growth boundary.
More than 70 area residents
attended a meeting at the
Florence Elks Lodge on
Wednesday to discuss the park.
A petition against Ocean
Woods’ sale already has more
than 300 signatures.
Many of the properties near
Heceta South and Idylwood
subdivisions border or have
views of the park, located at
the end of Heceta Park Way
from the north and Saltaire
Street from the south. The park
provides seasonal birdwatching
opportunities and chances to
glimpse bears, eagles, deer and
other wildlife.
The meeting provided back-
ground information on the his-
tory of Ocean Woods Park —
which has belonged to Lane
County since 1940 — as well
as on legal issues tied to past
attempts to sell the property.
B&G Club stunned
by major gift
Approximately three weeks
ago, John and Patricia
Hardison walked through the
doors of the Boys and Girls
Club of Western Lane County
and introduced themselves to
club executive director Chuck
Trent.
Trent was up front in admit-
ting that if the club were to
close, the Boys and Girls Club
of America would never char-
ter another club in the Florence
area. John Hardison then told
Trent that he had some good
news and some bad news for
the club.
“The good news,” Trent
said, “was that John was going
to give the club some money.
The bad news was that the club
wouldn’t get it
until he died.
You see, John
has incurable
cancer and told
me, ‘My time is
limited.’”
Trent and the
other club board
members had been
saddled with the
Herculean task of
digging the club
out of a financial hole that had
been years in the making.
The Hardisons gave the club
$182,000 in cash, and an addi-
tional $17,000 from an auto-
motive transaction to fund
scholarships.
Applebee to retire
from chamber
Florence Area
Chamber of
Commerce announced
that Executive Director
Cal Applebee will
retire in February after
nearly five years.
Applebee, 64, moved
with his wife to Florence in
2005.
Applebee first joined the
chamber in 2009, after he left
the title and escrow industry
and started doing business
development. He soon joined
the board of directors, and, in
2011, became executive direc-
tor of the chamber.
Besides working with cham-
ber functions, Applebee and
fellow military vehicle enthusi-
ast Tim Sapp started the
Veterans Day Parade. They
were also integral in starting
the momentum of the Oregon
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Coast Military Museum, which
opened this year.
While he has been executive
director, the chamber has near-
ly doubled its business mem-
bership and increased the num-
ber of events it sponsors for
the City of Florence and its
constituents.
“The primary purpose of the
facility is for seniors in our
community, but it can be uti-
lized by people of all ages.”
Once the restriction lifts, the
center can rent space out to
local groups for meetings and
events, in addition to their reg-
ular programming.
2 dead after dispute
Storm toll continues
An early morning shooting
that police are calling a mur-
der-suicide left two brothers
dead Sunday on Hemlock
Street in
Florence.
“It is the first
murder inside the
city limits in 23
years,” Florence
Police Chief Tom
Turner said.
The police
department received
a call at about 2:39
a.m. on Nov. 15
reporting a shooting in the 400
block of Hemlock Street.
According to the police,
Gary Circle, 51, of Dexter,
Ore., went to his brother’s resi-
dence on Saturday at about
10:30 p.m. During this visit,
the two men engaged in a dis-
pute, allegedly over property.
Around 2:30 a.m., Gary
Circle left the residence and
got into his truck parked out-
side when his brother, Joseph
Circle, 55, of Florence, came
out of the home and shot him.
Joseph Circle then went back
into the residence and shot
himself.
After a full week of heavy
rains and high winds, the
waters continue to rise in the
Florence and
Mapleton areas.
Statewide, the
storm caused
Gov. Kate
Brown to
declare a state
of emergency
in 13 counties,
including
Lane,
Lincoln, Linn
and Benton.
Locally, the Siuslaw River
flooded areas from Cushman
to the Port of Siuslaw.
Highway 126 at Cushman was
closed for several hours due to
high water.
Siuslaw National Forest
closed South Jetty Road, start-
ing at parking lot No. 5, about
five miles from the Highway
101 intersection south of
Florence, due to erosion. Ten
Mile Road, north of Florence
off Highway 101, was also
closed due to a landslide and
trees blocking the roadway.
On Friday, the U.S. Coast
Guard closed all river
entrances, including the
Siuslaw River, indefinitely due
to severe conditions and debris
in the water.
Many state parks were also
closed due to high surf and
storm debris.
Bells will ring
The Salvation Army will
soon bring holiday cheer to
locations in Florence, starting
Thanksgiving Day. Geraldine
Lucio and Old Town
Barbershop
hosted the
Salvation
Army’s
Kettle
Kick-off
Thursday.
Florence
Mayor Joe
Henry,
Florence
Area
Chamber
of Commerce Executive
Director Cal Applebee and
Grocery Outlet owner Woody
Woodbury joined local pilot
Sam Spayd in supporting the
effort to raise money for west-
ern Lane County.
Six locations in Florence
will have kettles daily from
Thursday, Nov. 26, to
Christmas Eve, Dec. 24,
including Fred Meyer, BiMart,
Grocery Outlet, Safeway and
Old Town Barbershop on Bay
Street.
Salvation Army volunteer
coordinator Janet Snow and
director of planned giving Bill
Olson are working to get addi-
tional volunteers in the
Florence area. Their Red
Kettle Campaign goal is to
raise $10,000 in the area.
DECEMBER
Simplify
your
financial life.
Let’s talk.
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Sweets for your Sweetheart
Just in time for Valentine’s Day!
Please stop by, call or email to pre-order
your candy and help with our
Graduation fundraiser!
Alice Brauer Christian Preschool
Meggan Haslett, Director, 541-603-1562
abchristianprek@gmail.com • 21st and Spruce Street
COME SEE US AT PARK PLACE!
Andy Baber, AAMS®
Financial Advisor
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1010 Highway 101
Florence, OR 97439
541-997-8755
www.edwardjones.com
your source for natural medicine
1845 Highway 126, Suite H
Dr. Mark Immel, Naturopathic Physician
Patricia Immel, Lic. Acupuncturist & Herbalist
541-902-8860
Member SIPC
www.TheWellspringClinic.com
Dawn of a new age
for Senior Center
Florence Senior Center will
be able to host events for a
larger age range starting
Monday, Dec. 14,
when the 60-and-
above age restric-
tions are lifted.
The City of
Florence received
a Community
Development
Block Grant
(CDBG) to con-
struct the Senior
Center on city
property at 1570 Kingwood St.
It was completed in 2010.
The CDBG included restric-
tions that limited the use of the
facility to seniors 60 years or
older, as defined by the state
and federal governments.
According to the grant con-
tract, the restrictions would
end after five years.
The agreement now reads,
Mercer Lake slide kills 1
Continuing heavy rains satu-
rated the landscape this week
and caused two landslides 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 land-
slide 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. Her husband, who was
also in the residence, suffered
minor injuries and was able to
call 911. The other dog was
unharmed.
The other structure was
unoccupied.
Mapleton schools
consider state grant
A newly passed state Senate
Bill may allow the Mapleton
School District to take advan-
tage of a 2-1 matching fund
grant offered through the
Oregon Department of
Education to pay for long over-
due facility maintenance and
upgrades.
The school
district could
be eligible for
up to $4 million
in state grant
funds, but in
order to take
advantage of the
grant, the dis-
trict must have
voters approve a
bond measure to
cover one-third of the cost, up
to $2 million. That would give
the school district up to $6 mil-
lion for badly needed improve-
ments.
The last time the Mapleton
School District passed a bond
measure was more than 50
years ago when the school
complex was built. ❖