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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 24, 2016)
❘ / SIUSLAWNEWS ❘ @ SIUSLAWNEWS WEDNESDAY EDITION WRESTLING RESULTS UP FOR ADOPTION INSIDE — A6 SPORTS — B 126TH YEAR ❘ ISSUE NO. 16 FISH ❘ FEBRUARY 24, 2016 ❘ $1.00 SERVING WESTERN LANE COUNTY SINCE 1890 OUT OF FLORENCE, OREGON WATER Science, native tradition merge for steelhead field trip Integrating art into the fabric of Florence Public Art Committee presents vision for future artwork in city B Y C HANTELLE M EYER Siuslaw News F PHOTOS BY JACK DAVIS/SIUSLAW NEWS Members of Jamie Hunt’s Siuslaw Elementary third-grade class learn steelhead anatomy during a field trip to the Salmon Trout Enhancement Program at Whittaker Creek. B Y J ACK D AVIS Siuslaw News almon Trout Enhancement Program (STEP) volunteers recently gave Siuslaw third graders a first-hand look at the spawning cycle of native steelhead at the Whittaker Creek fish trap, about 10 miles east of Mapleton. The Feb. 18 school field trip program, which has been in operation since 2007 and is funded by an Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board grant, runs during the steelhead spawning season from January through May. During that time, as many as 2,000 steel- head are captured in the Whittaker Creek trap. Hatchery-raised steelhead, which are marked, are “milked” of eggs and milt then released downstream. Native steelhead are released up stream of the trap to spawn naturally. S The field trip is broken down into three separate stations: steelhead anato- my, stream ecology and general flora and fauna. Students are also taught the significant role salmon and steelhead played in the lives and survival of the local Siuslaw Tribe. STEP field trip coordinator Jim Grano explains, “After the anatomy lesson and the dissection, we walk the steelhead carcass down to the stream. We explain to the students that the fish remains are a part of the food web and the lifecycle of the salmon. The insects feed on the carcass and the juvenile fish feed on the insects. “Raccoons and bear might drag the carcass into the woods and eat it and the fish and the bear scat fertilize the trees. We actually have proof that trees grow better near salmon streams,” Grano added. When the students returned the fish carcass back into the creek, STEP volunteers shared a part of the ceremony the Siuslaw Tribe held when returning the unused portions of the fish back into the creek. “The Siuslaw Tribe depended on the salmon and steelhead for their existence, their survival over the winter,” Grano said. “A part of their religion was to take care of the ‘Salmon Nation.’ They returned the carcasses to the stream. They did it with respect and ceremony.” See STEP 11A Dunes City sets financial stability as top priority B Y J ACK D AVIS Siuslaw News INSIDE Dunes City council members set goals and priorities for the coming year during its annual goal-setting meeting Feb. 3. Prior to the goal-setting process, Dunes City Interim Administrator Ambulance . . . . . . . . . . . . A12 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B6 Community Calendar . . . . A10 Library Tidings . . . . . . . . . . . A5 Jamie Mills sent surveys to resi- dents who signed up to be on the “Interested Parties” list, city coun- cilors and city volunteers, seeking input on city goals and priorities. Mills reported the results of the survey to the council during the meeting. The No. 1 priority listed by those who returned the survey Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A4 Police . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A2 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B Weather Data . . . . . . . . . . . A2 was split between the city’s need to maintain a balanced budget and maintaining roadways and city drainage facilities. According to a statement released by Mills, the council determined that financial stability was the primary priority. “In order to accomplish this, the THIS WEEK ’ S city needs to improve on its signature event, the Oregon Dunes Triathlon and Duathlon,” Mills said. “The city needs to explore other ways to aug- ment its resources and review inter- nal practices that may be adjusted to improve financial efficiency.” See COUNCIL 11A TODAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY 57 46 62 46 58 48 58 49 WEATHER Full Forecast, A3 lorence Public Art Committee has a plan to beautify the City of Florence and incorporate art into the total experience of visitors to the coast. The committee present- ed this vision to the Florence City Council at a work session last week. On Feb. 17, the Public Art Committee dis- cussed its goals for public art, its vision state- ment and a detailed plan for how public art will work in Florence. Harlen Springer, committee chairman, pre- sented the committee’s vision to “integrate art into the daily life of our community and inspire extraordinary creative expression that will enrich public awareness, enhancing the vitality, economy and diversity of Florence through the arts.” The group’s core statement is “Experience Florence, where every day is a celebration of the arts.” “The word ‘experience’ is very important to us,” Springer said. “Experiencing Florence through public art means that people come to town, they touch art, they see it, they walk around it and it becomes part of the fabric of Florence.” The seven-member committee has met 15 times over the past six months. Members researched other Oregon and national cities that have focused on creating public art spaces and put together a 25-page document outlining policy for the city. Its mission is to support the arts as a basic city service to generate economic growth; to cultivate, exhibit and maintain exceptional public art for the enjoyment of all; to encour- age public participation; to provide support to the arts community; to expand and deepen the role of the arts in education; to engage in dia- logue around support of the arts; and to honor and support artistic vision, excellence and free- dom of expression. The policy will be presented formally at the upcoming March 7 city council meeting at 6 p.m. at Florence City Hall, 250 Highway 101. City Recorder Kelli Weese, who serves as the ex-officio city staff representative on the committee, said, “The public art committee has spent a lot of time working on their docu- ments. ... There’s a lot to think about with all of this. If we’re going to do this, we need to do it right.” The committee’s guidelines talk about how art will be displayed, how it will be selected for display, the artists’ and the city’s responsi- bilities, how the art can be sold and the poten- tial for the city to purchase art based on a pub- lic vote. The committee will look at locations for public art, such as beautifying utilities, paint- ing murals on the sides of buildings and work- ing with current landmarks. It also wants to incorporate public opinion into the art selection process. “The point of all of this is to ensure that the city has a quality, permanent art collection that our citizens can enjoy forever, or as long as the art piece works,” Weese said. S IUSLAW N EWS 2 S ECTIONS ❘ 20 P AGES C OPYRIGHT 2016 See ART 11A CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM
