SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 2016
Splash
from 1A
“It’s so exciting to be mov-
ing into motion with this proj-
ect,” Connor said. “It has cer-
tainly been a dance getting my
sea lions in a row.”
All the artists completed
their work and sent the sea
lions to West Coast Auto Body
for final sealing.
“West Coast Auto Body
went over and above with their
sponsorship. They took in each
of the sea lions and clear coated
them for us,” Connor said.
After Saturday, the sea lions
will be dropped off at locations
in Florence, along Highway
101 and in Reedsport and
Newport.
City of Florence Public
Works Department created 440-
pound cement bases for the sea
lions. Each sea lion will be
mounted with a plaque detail-
ing the artist and the project.
The second phase is the part
where the sea lions take on “a
life of their own” by interac-
tions with the public, said
Connor.
Project planners hope visi-
tors follow maps to see each
sea lion and take pictures with
them, potentially posting to the
project’s social media sites.
“Dancing with Sea Lions is
really supposed to get people
talking about art. Art affects
everyone in a ripple or wave,
and this is one aspect of that,”
Connor said.
The arts in Florence are a big
deal lately, especially since
Florence City Council
approved guidelines from the
Florence Public Art Committee
on March 7.
Committee member Jo
Beaudreau worked closely with
the sea lion artists through
BeauxArts Fine Art Materials.
“Jo has been a great support
and a real lifeline for artists in
the community,” Connor said.
“She walked the artists through
each stage of the project, from
preparing the fiberglass surface
to the final varnishing. We’re
so lucky to have her here in the
area.”
Connor also thanked the
other members of the commit-
tee, events center and city staff
and community members.
“Dancing with Sea Lions is
going to put art right in front of
people who don’t always seek
it out. It makes art accessible,”
Connor said.
See the sea lions in person
on Saturday or follow the map
to their summer locations at
www.dancingwithsealions.com.
Club
from 1A
Siuslaw School District has
been providing meals to the Boys
and Girls Club after-school ele-
mentary program held at the ele-
mentary school, but the location
of the Teen Center has made dis-
trict-provided meals impractical.
“The school partnering with
us has been a great benefit to
everyone involved. But it did not
make sense to try and transport
meals back and forth from the
elementary school to the Teen
Center,” Trent said.
Previously, the Teen Center
provided daily snacks for its
members that were paid for out
of the club’s budget.
According to Teen Center
Director Tracy Aaron, because
the club is serving hot meals that
meet strict federal guidelines, the
State Department of Education
reimburses the club monthly for
food expenditures.
“We have to serve a protein,
we have to serve a grain, we
have to serve milk with every
meal and fruit and vegetables,”
Aaron said. “And, they have it
down to portion sizes, such as
three quarters cup of vegetables,
three quarters cup of fruit. You
have to have all the elements in
each meal in order to claim it for
reimbursement.”
The club creates menus a
month in advance. Copies of the
Travel
from 1A
“Florence is just a gem on the
coast, and you have more activi-
ties and more things for visitors to
do than really any community
combined,” Trendler added.
One aspect of Trendler’s job is
marketing Lane County in the
international market. A big part of
this campaign is the slogan
“Spend another day in Florence.”
According to Westlund, 15
percent of the overnight visitors
to Lane County spend the night in
Florence. Twenty-five percent of
the tourism spending happens
here as well.
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Teen Center members help prepare, serve and clean up
as part of the club’s new after-school hot meal program.
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food items they would like to
have and came up with options
that were similar and still meet
all the USDA requirements. The
kids have been very responsive
to the program.”
The members also help with
meal preparations, table and
chair setup and cleanup.
“A lot of these kids don’t get
to sit down at a family table at
dinnertime,” Aaron said. “This
gives them a chance to sit at a
table as a group with silverware
and dishes and have a family-
style meal.”
In addition to providing nutri-
tious hot meals, Trent envisions
doing well,” Westlund said. “I
just saw February numbers, and
you’re up around 6 or 7 percent
on the TRT, so continuing to
grow. We’ve been in a growth
pattern for a few years now.”
Travel Lane County hopes to
continue to see those numbers
rise by focusing on what makes
Florence truly unique, both along
the Oregon coast and in Lane
County.
“When we look at Florence
and the coast, you have many fab-
ulous attributes. You have an
incredible lighthouse, but there
are many along the coast. You
have what we believe is the best
historic merchant area, but there
are more than one of those as
well. When we look at how we’re
going to bring people out of the
Portland metro area, the first time
they can get into a dune buggy or
access the dunes is here,”
Westlund said.
She said that the dunes res-
onate across all Travel Lane
County’s markets, whether that is
its social media platforms, print
advertising or its new ads on
transportation vehicles in the
Eugene and Portland areas.
Councilor Joshua Greene said,
“You’re doing a great job as
always. It’s great to hear the
update and the success of it all,
and the fact that you really
embraced social media over the
last years. It’s really taken shape.”
Travel Lane County concluded
its presentation with new com-
mercials that will start to air as
part of a spring campaign. Video
footage of the dunes was taken in
large part by drones.
Greene suggested getting
video of another view of the
dunes, one that shows the enormi-
ty of the area.
“That’s the moment when peo-
ple get the space and the expanse
of it that’s so mind-blowing.
Maybe if you can get that view of
the vista, you’ll show more of the
mountainous expanse of the
sand,” Greene said.
Westlund agreed to look into it.
“It’s an incredible environment,
whether you’re a gearhead and
you’re on a rail or you’re on foot,
it is really a special place,” she
said.
For more information, go to
www.EugeneCascadesCoast.org.
Port
because we have to get the fig-
ures to FEMA,” Leskin added.
A secondary problem creat-
ed by the eroding banks is
where the material ends up.
Leskin said the sediment that
has sheered off of the banks
flows down river and ends up
in the port boat basin.
“That will be a part of our
dredging project later in the
year,” Leskin said.
Port commission meetings
are at 7 p.m. on the third
Wednesday of each month at
the port office, 80 Harbor St.
from 1A
Tuesday 3/29
Pattie Panther
Teresa Bartlett
Florence
Florence
Safeway
Oceanside Veterinary Hospital
Wednesday 3/30
Dixie Buss
Donna Tervo
Florence
Florence
Grocery Outlet
Brian’s Automotive
Thursday 3/31
Bear McDaniel
Elwin Price
Westlake
Florence
Safeway
Safeway
Friday 4/1
Doris Creager
Donna Price
Florence
Florence
Cheveux Spa
Safeway
Saturday 4/2
Joe Arsenault
Carole Jensen
Florence
Florence
A&W Family Restaurant
Safeway
Sunday 4/3
Betty Blake
Sharon Price
Florence
Florence
Books ‘N’ Bears
Safeway
Monday 4/4
Vicky Noland
Mary Phillips
Florence
Florence
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extending the meal program to
include participation from
PeaceHealth Peace Harbor
Medical Center nutritionists to
promote healthy eating cooking
classes.
“PeaceHealth representatives
with nutrition backgrounds will
teach club members what good
nutrition looks like and how to
have healthy meals,” Trent said.
According to Peace Harbor
Medical Center spokesperson
Michele Diffenderfer, the hospi-
tal is planning on working with
area service groups to promote
better health in the community.
“The Boys and Girls Club was
one of the first organizations that
came to mind,” Diffenderfer said.
“Our goal is to come up with a
class or demonstration for the
kids to show that eating healthy
can be tasty and it can be fun.”
She said starting healthy
habits at a young age can lead to
better health as an adult.
“The partnership with Boys
and Girls Club will enable Peace
Harbor to reach the children of
our community in a positive and
beneficial way, and there is noth-
ing but goodness in that,” she
added.
Aaron said the number of
teens showing up for the hot
meal program has increased
from about 17 to more than 25.
“Teenagers love food,” Aaron
said. “If you feed them, they will
come.”
menus are made available for
parents and their children.
Teen Center members are
encouraged to be involved in the
menu creation process. Aaron
sees this as another way to teach
youth better eating habits.
“They started off with things
like chicken nuggets,” Aaron
said. “We said, that’s all well and
good, but what else can you have
besides chicken nuggets, some-
thing that is a little healthier than
deep fried breaded chicken? We
got to teriyaki chicken, chicken
stir-fry, rotisserie chicken and
chicken sandwiches.”
She added, “We took the junk
“A marine engineer will be at
that meeting to give his esti-
mates and an overview of what
needs to be done. We should
have a cost estimate at that time
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