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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 20, 2016)
SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2016 U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Siuslaw Station seeks volunteers The local U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary is looking for a few good volunteers. With nearby inland waterways, ocean, fish- ing and recreational boating, Station Siuslaw River is a busy place that counts on that sup- port. The station’s responsibility includes a large area from about Cape Perpetua south to the Siltcoos River, with much of the activity right here on the Siuslaw River. The auxiliary is a group of volunteer members forming a uniformed unit called a Flotilla. They assist the active-duty Coast Guard in a myriad of ways, offering unique volunteer opportunities to give back to the community. Members sometimes work alongside active-duty person- nel and share the Coast Guard’s motto “Semper Paratus,” or “Always Ready!” Individuals from Oakridge to Florence make up the local Flotilla 52 membership, which is assigned under the Department of Homeland Security, just like the active- duty U.S. Coast Guard. As an auxiliary member, 541-997-7121 opbc.com from 1A “The feedback in our initial community meetings last year was that the connection between the upriver communi- ties and Florence/Dunes City was important and needed to be strengthened,” Goehring said, adding that core issues identified include the need for reliable, affordable transporta- tion between upriver communi- ties and Florence. “People struggle to get to Florence for medical appoint- ments, to shop and to take their kids to events. Another is affordable rental housing. There just isn’t enough supply for the demand,” she said. Barth added, “We are filling in a painting of the Siuslaw Region 10 years from now. What’s missing in the details? What are the unique ideas to add? This process is bringing those into focus and these com- munity meetings are a chance to add more.” The SRV team will meet over the next month and pre- pare an overall vision based on the community’s input. For more information, call Jane Barth at 541-760-4693 __________ volunteers can bring and often use past skills and talents, as well as learn new skills in areas like vessel inspections, safety checks, teaching boat- ing safety courses and partici- pating in boat crew operations. The auxiliary patrols inland waterways and lakes, and pro- vides water safety materials at marine dealers and sporting goods stores. Administrative and techno- logical tasks are also necessary to support the auxiliary team and station. Hands-on, online and class- room training are offered to auxiliarists, depending on their interests. There is no upper-age limit to join the auxiliary if there is something that you can con- tribute — and no need to do 50 push-ups. Volunteers should just be capable of safely accomplish- ing the missions they choose. For more information, con- tact Flotilla Commander Norm Hoffman at 541-688-6069 or Flotilla Vice-Commander Bradley Hooper at the station, 541-997-2486, option 3, or visit www.cgaux.org. We are Florence owned and operated, investing local dollars back into our community! member Vision JACK DAVIS/SIUSLAW NEWS Residents from the Mapleton area gather to discuss the Siuslaw regional 10-year vision plan during the Jan. 21 meeting at Mapleton High School. Below, Florence-area residents review one of six vision sta- tions at another vision meeting Jan. 28 at the Florence Events Center. Follow Jack on Twitter @SNews_Jack. Email him at jack@thesiuslawnews.com. Barber from 1A “We’re doing this because we want to give back to the community and to people who don’t really have the opportu- nity to do stuff themselves,” Shawnell said. Along with two Camp Florence counselors, the youths set up two chairs in the front room on Feb. 15 at Helping Hands Coalition and began cutting guests’ hair for free. While they worked, they chatted with the men and @OregonPacBank ,VQ¶WLWWLPHWRWRXU 7KH6KRUHZRRG $QGGLVFRYHUa ͞dŚĞWĞƌĨĞĐƚ>ŝĨĞƐƚLJůĞ͟ Admin from 1A “The time is really now to look into a strategic partner- ship that may or may not work,” Langborg said. “The ambulance district is basically here to ask our board if you are interested in exploring the fea- sibility of this. At this point, no one is committing to anything, but researching the financial feasibility and functionality of it.” In an interview on Thursday, Langborg said that he, Burright and the districts’ current administrative staff members would be meeting as early as Monday, Feb. 22, to explore administrative services and to /HWXVWDNHFDUHRIWKHZHHNO\FKRUHV:HGRWKH VKRSSLQJ FOHDQLQJ JDUGHQLQJ PDLQWHQDQFH DQG OLQHQ VHUYLFH $QG IRU DQ\ RWKHU QHHGV WKDW PD\ DULVH WKH OLYH LQ PDQDJHPHQW LV RQ FDOO $OORIWKLVIRURQHPRQWKO\SD\PHQW &RPHIRUDWRXUDQGZHZLOOEX\OXQFK 6SUXFH6W)ORUHQFHa -- VKRUHZRRGUHWLUHPHQW#JPDLOFRP WORD www.shoppelocal.biz CHANTELLE MEYER/SIUSLAW NEWS women who were there for a meal or other services. “We’ve been in positions like this before, too. We just like to give back,” Shawnell said. He said the three could do any style for men and women. Salvador gave one man a mohawk when he asked for one. “I’m proud of them,” one leader said. He added that Shawnell, Austin and Salvador came up with the idea on their own. The youths plan to provide haircutting services at Helping Hands once a month. Their next scheduled day is Monday, March 14, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. “We’re here to cut hair for as many as want us to do it,” Shawnell said. Helping Hands Coalition, 1339 Rhododendron Drive, provides members in the com- munity with food, clothing and other essentials, as well as a hot meal every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. For more information or to volunteer, contact Helping Hands at 541-997-5057. see which processes could be compatible. “Off the cuff, I’d say that we’re doing more than 65 per- cent identical administrative processes and using a lot of identical software,” Langborg said. Webb said, “When our director Henry Hanf got sick and passed away last year, and then when our administrator left the district, we were forced to outsource some services. ... Julie has helped us out and we’ve been able to bring some of that back in. “Basically we’re looking to fill the position for our direc- tor. This agreement is one avenue we need to explore. I think the time is right to do so.” This option was one of sev- eral ideas for filling the direc- tor’s position that came out of WLAD’s strategic planning process. Burright said, “We want to make sure that people don’t jump too far ahead and think the districts are merging. Some of the benefits of this scenario if it’s approved is that it does set the stage for better commu- nication, better understandings between the boards and more motivation and inclination to start looking at some of the steps to successfully do a future consolidation or merg- er.” Langborg and Burright said that the WLAD and SVFR boards of directors broached the idea of a merger in the past. “I think our approach this time has been a little different. Our approach has been more of efficiency and cost savings. From the fire district’s stand- point, we know that financially we’re sound and doing good. We want to maintain that,” Langborg said. Burright asked, “Is there a way to respond to emergencies more efficiently, more effec- tively and be cost effective, and do it together? I think that’s what brought up the dis- cussion.” SVFR board member John Carnahan said at the board meeting, “All you’re asking for is to look into it and see what you research. I’d say go ahead.” Webb said, “If it works out the way I envision it, it could be a very smooth, seamless transition and really beneficial for both groups.” The current timeframe for the districts is to gather infor- mation now and present initial findings to both boards in March in a combined work ses- sion, with the IGA finalized in April. __________ Stop by Siuslaw Public Library on Friday, Feb. 26, at 1 p.m. to hear the staff’s selection of the best books of 2015 during “60 Reviews in 60 Minutes.” ON THE STREET What was your favorite book that you recently read? “‘The Last Policeman’ by Ben Winters. It’s about a policeman who is promoted to detective at the same time the world is com- ing to an end. It’s funny and sad.” —M EG S PENCER , L IBRARY D IRECTOR “‘Golden Son’ by Pierce Brown. It’s about someone who lives underground on a planet and finally realizes that there are people liv- ing up on top.” —Y VONNE P APPAGALLO , L IBRARIAN “The ‘Chief Inspector Armand Gamache’ series by Louise Penny. He is a very com- passionate person and kind and has a good relationship with his wife and kids.” —S USIE V OTH , M APLETON L IBRARIAN DISCLAIMER: The opinions expressed above are solely those of the contributors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Siuslaw News or its advertisers. O LD T OWN C ONDO WITH R IVER V IEW ! Coast Real Estate 100 Hwy. 101, Florence, OR 97439 Cell: CB#11161 MLS#16151066 $237,500 541-999-7317 diana@cbcoast.com Follow Chantelle on Twitter @SNews_Chantelle. Email her at cmeyer@thesiuslawnews.com. Siuslaw News + 9 A