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WEDNESDAY EDITION
VIKS SPLIT
OPENER
REGIONAL
EXPOSURE
COAST LIFE — B
SPORTS — C
126TH YEAR ❘ ISSUE NO. 30
❘ APRIL 13, 2016 ❘ $1.00
SERVING WESTERN LANE COUNTY SINCE 1890
FLORENCE, OREGON
20 TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION
!
H
S
SPLA
More than 750 people ‘dance’ with sea lions
for Florence Events Center’s Splash Off!
F
lorence Events
Center (FEC) is
celebrating its 20th
year with Dancing
with Sea Lions, a public art
program that will feature 20
hand-decorated fiberglass sea
lions from Reedsport to
Newport and locations
throughout Florence.
On April 8, the FEC held an artist reception
for the Dancing with Sea Lions artists, commit-
tee members,
B Y C HANTELLE M EYER
sponsors,
Siuslaw News
underwriters
_________________________
and the
Friends of the FEC before the free Splash Off!
event on April 9. About 750 people viewed the
sea lions during the two days.
Jennifer Connor, FEC marketing specialist
and project coordinator, loved that the project
makes art accessible.
“I keep going back to our original theme,
that the arts have a ripple effect on the commu-
nity. Art reaches
out to all ages,
and this project
will reach out to
all ages too,”
Connor said.
FEC Director
Kevin Rhodes
opened the artist
reception, where
all 20 full-sized
sea lions filled
the flat floor of
the events center.
“Thank you
for joining us for
the 20-year
anniversary of
the Florence
Events Center.
It’s been quite an incredible time,” he said.
Rhodes said the FEC continues to host local
and regional events. By the end of this year, the
tally will total 8,000 events.
See FEC 9A
PHOTOS BY CHANTELLE MEYER/SIUSLAW NEWS
JACK DAVIS/SIUSLAW NEWS
Top, artist Kassy Keppol and her husband Danial stand
with “Diver’s Story.” Far left, FEC Director Kevin
Rhodes, Project Coordinator Jennifer Connor and Friends
of the FEC President Margaret McDiarmid pose with
“Porter Performs,” by artist Colleen Goodwin-Chronister.
Above and at left, spectators check out the art.
Pepperoaks Park reopens with new upgrades
City secures grants
to improve accessibility
and play equipment
Florence named
‘most beautiful’
town in America
B Y C HANTELLE M EYER
Siuslaw News
B Y C HANTELLE M EYER
Siuslaw News
Expedia, an online travel website,
has ranked Florence first among the
top 30 beautiful towns in the United
States.
Expedia staff writer Chloe Mulliner
published “The 30 Most Beautiful
Towns in America” on April 8.
“While it’s impossible to tell you
which destination is the prettiest in
the land, we did rank 30 of the most
beautiful towns in America,” she
wrote.
Mulliner’s article spoke of the
attractions, landscape and charm
around each town on her list.
In the No. 1 spot, she referred to
Florence as “an attractive waterfront
town at the mouth of the Siuslaw
River ... surrounded by scenic vistas.”
Mulliner drew comparisons to
J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle Earth — in
reference to the Hobbit Trail — point-
ed out area forests and greenery, the
rugged coastline, sand dunes, hiking,
Sea Lion Caves and more.
The top 10 on Mulliner’s list fea-
tured locations in Arkansas,
California, Colorado, Georgia,
Illinois, Michigan, South Carolina,
Washington and West Virginia.
The Expedia article about Florence
comes on the tail of being voted
“People’s Choice” for best Oregon
coast getaway by The Oregonian ear-
lier this year.
S
INSIDE
lides, swings and climbing structures are
all part of the reopened Pepperoaks Park,
located in the 34th Place cul-de-sac.
The City of Florence and Mayor Joe Henry held
a ceremony April 8 to open the park after
upgrades.
More than 20 families and their children, volun-
teers and city officials attended the reopening.
Henry thanked Public Works staff for securing
grants for the new play equipment, including a
new play structure, two slides, a climbing struc-
ture, a swingset, wood fiber fall surfacing and a
handicap accessible ramp. He also thanked volun-
teers from Oregon Pacific Bank.
“It was certainly a worthwhile project and one
that was on its list of 50 things to do for our com-
munity,” Henry said.
Mike Webb, Oregon Pacific Bank vice presi-
dent commercial relationship officer, said, “We
made a pledge internally to give back to our com-
munity. The city identified a need for volunteers,
so we helped out.”
Ellen Huntingdon, bank marketing coordinator,
said the bank is creating a culture of volunteerism.
Employees are encouraged to take four hours out
of their work time every month to volunteer.
“We were spurred to do acts of kindness by our
35th anniversary in 2014,” Huntingdon said.
“We’re trying to keep active in volunteer activi-
ties.”
According to Webb, 10 bank volunteers helped
set up and level the play equipment in March after
Public Works drilled holes. Their help left the park
Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C6
Coast Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B
Library Tidings . . . . . . . . . . . A5
Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A4
ready for concrete and the final layer of
wood fiber.
At the park, Henry also thanked park
neighbors and other community mem-
bers for their volunteer time and energy
to get the park finished.
Then, he was the first down the slide.
“That is just awesome,” he said.
Oregon Pacific Bank volunteers
helped Public Works install the
new play structures at Pepperoaks
Park. At right, neighborhood
youth jumped at the chance to try
the new equipment.
Police . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A2
Scoreboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . C3
Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C
Weather Data . . . . . . . . . . . A2
THIS WEEK ’ S
PHOTOS BY CHANTELLE MEYER/SIUSLAW NEWS
TODAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
57 47
55 44
58 43
65 48
WEATHER
Full Forecast, A3
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