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SATURDAY EDITION
❘ FEBRUARY 13, 2016 ❘ $1.00
VIKINGS
FIGHT HARD
SPORTS — B
126TH YEAR ❘ ISSUE NO. 13
FEB. 14
SERVING WESTERN LANE COUNTY SINCE 1890
FLORENCE, OREGON
ODOT
Bridge
work
to delay
AND THE S ILVER S CREEN
traffic
Construction crews
to set new rails as part
of protection project
B Y C HANTELLE M EYER
Siuslaw News
COURTESY PHOTOS
Celebrity photographs taken by Richard LaFond (above with his wife, Alice) are on display at the Siuslaw Public Library.
Artist Richard LaFond debuts striking portraits at Florence library
B Y C HANTELLE M EYER
Siuslaw News
eal Rock artist Richard
LaFond captured some of
the most versatile and
famous celebrities of the
screen as a photographer in the
1960s, but not before capturing the
heart of his wife Alice, who togeth-
er are celebrating 53 years of mar-
riage tomorrow, Feb. 14.
“We married on Valentine’s Day,
1963,” Alice said.
S
The two met in Hollywood,
where Alice had traveled to find
work. She moved in with two
friends, who happened to know
Richard.
“He came in, this skinny kid on a
motorcycle, and sat in our kitchen,”
Alice remembered. “He offered to
show me around Hollywood.”
Within 18 months, the two were
married.
Siuslaw Public Library, 1460
Ninth St. in Florence, is displaying
40 of Richard’s black-and-white
photographs through mid-March.
A year ago, the couple showed
Richard’s floral photography and
Alice’s 2-dimensional art at the
library.
Mary Colgan-Bennetts, library
circulation supervisor, said, “As
they were talking, they gave me
their history, and I said it sounded
like a great show.”
She worked with the LaFonds to
bring some of Richard’s most
famous work to Florence.
“They were anxious to do the
show. He’s getting older, and they
want to get his stuff out there,”
Colgan-Bennetts said.
Richard worked on the “Steve
Allen Show,” taking photos of the
guest celebrities for publicity. He
used a Hasselblad camera to take
still photos, often while the film
cameras were rolling.
“They were true candid shots,”
Alice said. “Richard was the only
one who took them.”
See
PHOTOS 6A
Mapleton schools receive $4M state grant for improvements
Like Siuslaw, district must pass matching school bond measure to access funds
B Y J ACK D AVIS
Siuslaw News
INSIDE
During the Feb. 10
Mapleton School Board
meeting, discussion centered
around how best to utilize a
potential $4 million state
grant to complete much-
needed repairs and improve-
Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Coastal Events . . . . . . . . . .
Courts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
ments to the district’s aging
school buildings.
Curt Wilson, a representa-
tive from the Eugene firm
PIVOT Architecture, out-
lined the next steps in prepar-
ing to place a $4 million to
$5 million school improve-
ment bond measure on the
May ballot.
B9
A8
A2
A4
Three community meet-
ings in Mapleton, Deadwood
and Swisshome are sched-
uled over the next two weeks
to present ideas and receive
input from the community.
The Mapleton meeting is
Thursday, Feb. 18, at
Mapleton High School;
Deadwood is Tuesday, Feb.
Religion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A5
SideShow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B8
Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B
Word on the Street . . . . . . . B2
THIS WEEK ’ S
23, at Deadwood Community
Center; and Swisshome is
Thursday, Feb. 25, at the
Swisshome Church. All three
meetings will begin with a 6
p.m. open house, followed by
a community meeting from
6:30 to 7:30 p.m.
According to Wilson,
PIVOT will give a presenta-
tion on proposed work,
which includes preserving
the buildings’ history.
District Business Manager
Maria McEldowney will
explain the bond process and
how the state matching funds
program works.
See
TODAY
SUNDAY
MONDAY
TUESDAY
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60 47
58 50
WEATHER
Full Forecast, A3
Oregon Department of Transporta-
tion (ODOT) and its contractor,
Hamilton Construction Co., are
working hard to complete the
Siuslaw Bridge Protection Project,
which is slated to be finished in
February 2019.
According to ODOT public infor-
mation officers, the current construc-
tion goal is to complete the spans
over Bay Street by the end of April.
This will allow the opening of both
lanes of traffic in time for spring vis-
itors and Rhododendron Festival traf-
fic in May.
Mike Stennett, assistant project
manager, reported Friday that there
will be traffic delays on the bridge
from Tuesday, Feb. 16, to Thursday,
Feb. 18.
“Highway 101 single-lane closures
with flagger control will be required
starting early morning Tuesday
through Thursday for setting new
bridge rail on the southeast side,”
Stennett said.
He said crews will be working on
the City of Florence side of the
bridge as well as the south end.
The single-lane closures will be
controlled by flaggers. This allows
the contractor to transfer materials
and complete the rail work. A pilot
vehicle may also be used.
“Delays may be up to 20 minutes,
but will usually be of a shorter dura-
tion,” Stennett said.
ODOT is applying a zinc coating
to protect and extend the life of the
Siuslaw River Bridge. The project
includes replacing bridge rail, mak-
ing ADA sidewalk improvements at
each end of the bridge and earth-
quake upgrades.
According to ODOT, business
access will be maintained at all
times. Traffic for pedestrians and
vehicles on Bay Street will continue
to be controlled by signs.
Hamilton Construction is working
on multiple spans of the nine spans
of the north end of the bridge. Each
span takes about two to three months
to complete. Each span requires the
building of a containment structure,
concrete and rebar repair, checking
that the steel in the bridge is electri-
cally continuous, sandblasting the
concrete, applying a zinc coating to
the concrete and installing electrical
hardware to create an electrical cur-
rent that activates the coating.
According to ODOT, Old Town
residents and businesses near the
bridge are enduring the zinc coating
application over the next couple of
weeks.
SCHOOL 6A
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BRIDGE 6A
CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK
Leonard Nimoy
& Carol Burnett