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SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 20, 2016
Add your voice to the area’s 10-year vision plan
Two opportunities for com-
munity members to offer ideas
for the future of the Siuslaw
Region are planned this
month, as the work of a dedi-
cated group of volunteers
enters the home stretch in the
creation of a 10-year vision for
the community.
The gatherings will be held
to engage residents and share
what has been learned in a
year’s worth of investigation,
meetings and conversations.
The first meeting is set for
Thursday, Jan. 21, at Mapleton
High School. The second
meeting
will
be
held
Thursday, Jan. 28, at the
Florence Events Center.
Both meetings will be held
from 5 to 8 p.m., with an open
house format from 5 to 6 p.m.
and 7 to 8 p.m.
From 6 to 7 p.m., there will
be a formal presentation of the
findings.
“We are structuring the
meetings this way so that more
people can attend,” said Becky
Goehring, a community mem-
ber and Fellow with The Ford
Family Foundation.
Those who would rather
come early to see the informal
presentation will be able to do
that and still be home by 7:15
p.m.
Those who are working or
have late afternoon commit-
ments, can arrive for the for-
mal presentation and tour
afterwards.
“This is an opportunity for
anyone who would like to
share their vision for the future
of our region to participate,”
Goehring said. “This is really
about community working
together as we move forward
in the next 10 years. Come to
whichever meeting works best
for your schedule so you can
add your ideas. We look for-
ward to seeing residents from
upriver communities, Florence
and Dunes City at whichever
date works best.”
Light refreshments will be
provided.
The final outcome of the
process is to create a vision
document that can be used by
groups, organizations and gov-
ernmental entities.
“With so much community
input, there is some real
dynamic information and pri-
orities that will have been
identified,” Goehring said.
“We know this document will
be useful over the next 10
years as our community
moves forward. But it will
also be adaptable and updated,
as needs and priorities change
in our region.”
The
Siuslaw
Region
Community Visioning Project
grew out of Pathways, a pro-
gram offered to the communi-
ty by The Ford Family
Foundation at its Alumni
Celebration held in April,
2014. More than 90 people
who attended leadership pro-
grams sponsored by the
Foundation, came together to
choose a path forward.
Eighteen people signed up
to work to develop a 10-year
vision and defined the focus
area as The Siuslaw Region, to
include the upriver communi-
ties from Deadwood to
Mapleton, and down through
Florence and Dunes City,
essentially the boundaries of
the Mapleton and Siuslaw
school districts.
The visioning work done by
the team is supported by the
City of Florence, Florence
Rotary, The Siuslaw Public
Library and The Ford Family
Foundation.
“I became involved in the
process because I saw the real
need for more focus in our
communities,” said Oregon
Pacifric Bank vice president
of commercial relationships
Mike Webb. “It seemed like
everyone was pulling, but not
in the same direction. Through
the visioning program, there
seemed to be a very timely
opportunity to find the direc-
tion(s) the community most
wanted to strive toward.
“If we can define that
vision, maybe our community
can make it a reality.”
The Visioning team spent its
first months together research-
ing the variety of vision state-
ments, finally settling on a
three-tiered format. It begins
with an overarching statement
or sentence that captures the
essence of the Siuslaw Region,
continues with a short para-
graph describing the area and,
finally, ends with bullet point
statements that highlight the
key strengths and attributes
identified by the community.
Community connections
were made initially through an
online and paper survey, con-
ducted in the fall of 2014.
More than 650 residents of
the Siuslaw Region, responded
to the survey, which examined
areas of community vitality.
The next step was to choose
10 areas of interest and hold
focus group meetings with key
representatives of each focus
area. Those areas included
both elements of community
vitality and demographic con-
siderations.
Those meetings provided a
wealth of information, ideas
and connections, according to
Goehring.
“We began to see common
threads, concerns and “ah-ha”
moments,” she said. “The
chance to just sit with 15 or so
people and have a conversa-
tion was engaging and made
us all realize what potential
exists in our communities.”
Some of the common ideas
or concerns included trans-
portation issues, health care,
affordable workforce housing,
affordable and reliable high
speed internet, jobs creation, a
community center with indoor
play space for young children,
redevelopment of abandoned
mill sites and intergenerational
connections.
Finding those common
threads and ideas was impor-
tant to Meg Spencer, director
of the Siuslaw Public Library
District and a member of the
visioning team.
“I became involved with the
Siuslaw visioning process to
uncover information about
what is needed and wanted by
local residents,” said Spencer.
“The Library is also engaged
in a strategic planning process
and I believe the broader
Siuslaw regional vision can
help lead that process. We are
all pieces of the bigger picture
and planning for our shared
future will benefit us all.”
“The team has done a great
job reaching out to various
members of the greater
Florence area to participate in
the focus groups,” said Joshua
Greene, who is a member of
the Visioning team. “When
you read the results they are
honest and express challenges
and desires which will become
the basis for the vision.”
The community meetings
will offer anyone who has an
interest in the future of the
region, to share ideas, com-
ment on the current input and
sign up to become more
involved in moving the vision
forward, Goehring said.
“There is often talk on some
of the social media sites that
target Florence and Mapleton
about what is wrong with our
area,” she said. “Instead of
just complaining, this is an
opportunity to come out and
share ideas. When we come
together as a community, so
much can be accomplished.”
Community Chorus
registration Jan. 25
On Monday, Jan. 25, at
6:30 p.m., registration for the
Community Chorus’ spring
program will take place at
Cross Road Church at 10th
and Maple streets.
The first rehearsal will fol-
low immediately afterwards
until 8:30 p.m. All singers
from high school age and
older are welcome.
There is a registration fee
of $60 to cover the cost of
music and other expenses.
Several scholarships are
available and may be dis-
cussed at registration. The
chorus regularly rehearses on
Monday evenings from 7 to
8:30 p.m. at the Cross Road
Church.
The May 1 concert will
take place 2 p.m. at the
Florence Events Center. Dr.
Paul Guthmuller will direct
the chorus.
The chorus is also seeking
volunteers for a number of
nonsinging roles, such as fund
raising, bookkeeping, com-
puter graphics, secretarial and
other administrative chores.
For more information, call
970-618-6307 or visit the
Community Chorus online at
www.communitychorusflore
nceor.org.
Registration forms for
returning members and new
members will be found on the
website, printed and brought
to registration night.
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