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126TH YEAR ❘ ISSUE NO. 26
❘ MARCH 30, 2016 ❘ $1.00
SERVING WESTERN LANE COUNTY SINCE 1890
FLORENCE, OREGON
HOSPITAL EXPANSION
Peace Harbor’s $5M
project stays on budget
and on time for
September completion
B Y J ACK D AVIS
Siuslaw News
eaceHealth Peace Harbor
Medical Center staff gave a
tour of the newly completed
phase-one section of the hospital’s
new 5,000-square-foot emergency
department last Friday to Rotary
Club of Florence members.
P
PHOTOS BY JACK DAVIS/SIUSLAW NEWS
Concerns rise over land reassessment
The department began accepting patients on Monday.
Paving for the new ambulance bay is scheduled to be fin-
ished this Friday, April 1.
Peace Harbor Medical Center Chief Executive Officer
Rick Yecny said, “We are on budget at this point in time.
We still have the remodel of the back half to go, but we
spent 70 percent of the budget so far and we are on budget.”
The $5 million campaign was the largest fundraising
effort in the history of
Florence. The new emer-
Above, Nena Harvey,
gency department includes
director of PeaceHealth
nine private rooms, two
Medical Group
dedicated triage rooms, two
Operations, and Peace
large trauma rooms, a pri-
Harbor Medical Center
vate consultation room and
Chief Executive Officer
a separate waiting area. The
Rick Yecny stand outside
expanded area is expected
the entrance to the new
to meet the needs of the
Emergency Department.
community through 2030.
With the completion of
The entrance to the
phase one, the depart-
emergency department is
ment began receiving
patients on Monday. Tours now directly off the main
hospital entrance.
of the facility were given
More than 300 tons of
March 25, including a
concrete and 17,750 bricks
look at the new nurses’
were used in the project.
station (far left).
EGG - CELLENT SURPRISE
Additional 832 properties are now required to pay for wildfire protection
B Y C HANTELLE M EYER
Siuslaw News
Oregon Department of Forestry
Western Lane District held an informa-
tional meeting before a town hall with
Sen. Arnie Roblan and Rep. Caddy
McKeown on March 28 to “put out fires”
about new forest patrol assessments for
hundreds of properties from Dunes City
to Heceta Beach, north of Florence.
According to District Forester Link
Smith, each district reassesses land desig-
nations every 10 years. This year,
Wildland Fire Supervisor Tom Soward
evaluated the Western Lane District from
the ocean to 15 miles inland and discov-
ered that 832 properties would now fall
under forest patrol assessment.
According to ODF, these properties
should have been paying for wildfire pro-
tection for the past 10 years, even if they
are in the “urban interface” classification,
meaning homes mixed with wildlands.
“People say ‘I don’t own forestland,’”
Smith said. “They are picturing the
forestland out here in the coastal area
being mostly Douglas firs. That’s a forest,
but forestland by definition is anything
that can carry fire.”
Soward said, “It wasn’t a subjective
selection. ... It’s based on criteria that’s writ-
ten into law. If the law says there is a risk, we
need to assess that to provide protection.”
More than 45 people attended the
meeting at Siuslaw Valley Fire and
Rescue’s main station. Several speakers
expressed frustration of finding out about
the assessment through a letter and with-
out further information.
See
LAND 10A
Police chief updates council on crime stats
B Y C HANTELLE M EYER
Siuslaw News
INSIDE
Florence Police Chief Tom
Turner recently presented
local crime and public safety
statistics to the Florence City
Council.
At the council meeting on
March 21, he said that despite
Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Library Tidings . . . . . . . . . . .
Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Police . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
B6
A5
A4
A2
social media making incidents
public quickly — and some-
times blowing things out of
proportion — Florence is still
a safe place to live.
Concerns for public safety
arose after an assault occurred
in Florence earlier this year. A
group of citizens formed Old
Town East Neighborhood
School Zone . . . . . . . . . Inside
Scoreboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . B2
Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B
Weather Data . . . . . . . . . . . A2
Watch to discuss issues of
safety.
“I’m not trying to underes-
timate crime in our city,”
Turner said to the councilors.
“Overall, we live in a safe
community and we will try
and continue to keep it even
safer.”
According to Turner, his
THIS WEEK ’ S
department receives around
300 police response calls a
month.
In
comparison,
Siuslaw Valley Fire and
Rescue receives 20 emergency
calls and Western Lane
Ambulance District receives
160 emergency calls.
See
COUNCIL 10A
TODAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
65 44
65 45
62 47
56 43
WEATHER
Full Forecast, A3
JACK DAVIS/SIUSLAW NEWS
T
he rain held off just long enough for hundreds
of local children to participate in the annual
Florence Community Easter Egg Hunt at Miller
Park March 26. The Siuslaw High School Interact Club
organized the event with help from the Rotary Club of
Florence. More than 4,000 candy-filled plastic eggs
were gathered up by eager hunters, ages 1 to 10.
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