6 A SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20, 2016
rent and proposed ordinances.
Council
Estuary
from 1A He read, “Ordinance No. 228
Dunes City councilors and
residents have debated the
contentious septic ordinance
issue for more than 10 years.
Ordinance No. 228, the most
recent septic ordinance pro-
posed, is intended to repeal
and replace Ordinance No.
203 adopted by the council in
2010.
Because Dunes City does
not have a sewer system and
all residents and businesses
rely on septic systems for
wastewater disposal, concerns
have arisen over the years that
some septic systems have not
been properly maintained.
This concern is magnified
because city residents rely on
water from Woahink and
Siltcoos lakes for drinking
water. Improperly maintained
septic systems could jeopard-
ize the quality and safety of
that water.
The primary concern is how
often residential septic tanks
should be inspected and
whether or not it be mandato-
ry.
Jacob Callister from the
Lane Council of Governments
explained the county’s find-
ings on distinctions between
Ordinance No. 203 and
Ordinance No. 228.
Ordinance 203 requires res-
idential septic tank inspections
at least every five years and
annually for commercial prop-
erties. Several part-time resi-
dents argued that they are only
in the property a few months
out of the year and should not
be subject to the five-year
inspection rule.
According to Callister, in
November, the Dunes City
Planning Commission voted 2
to 1 to recommend the city
council take no action on
Ordinance No. 228.
Callister pointed out several
differences between the cur-
requires inspection by a ‘qual-
ified’ inspector based upon the
most current Oregon State
University Extension service
septic tank maintenance rules
or other standards adopted by
the city council.”
Ordinance No. 203 only
requires an inspector to have a
city license.
He added, “The state does
not require any maintenance
programs for septic tank sys-
tems and only gets involved
when they fail. The state is
only involved in the birth and
death of septic systems.”
Callister said state regula-
tions require any septic ordi-
nance adopted by the city must
be an improvement over what
the state requires. He said
Ordinance No. 228 meets that
requirement.
Councilor Tom Mallen said,
“I was a state of Oregon
plumbing inspector. For many
years I built and designed sep-
tic systems. This community is
not wealthy and our budget is
tight. My recommendation is
that we scrap the whole thing.
We don’t know what we are
doing, we don’t have the staff
and Lane County does. My
recommendation is we follow
their rules.”
Several Dunes City resi-
dents spoke in favor of and in
opposition to the proposed
new ordinance.
After John Stead requested
a two-week extension on pub-
lic input, Mills referenced a
letter from Sean Malone, attor-
ney for the Oregon Coast
Alliance, also requesting a
two-week extension. The
council then voted to extend
the deadline until April 28.
Anyone interested in mak-
ing a written comment regard-
ing Ordinance No. 228 may
submit it to Dunes City Hall at
82877 Spruce St., Dunes City,
by 4 p.m. April 28.
to dig for sand shrimp from
volunteer Steve Hatler.
“I’m showing the kids how
to harvest sand shrimp so they
can use them to go fishing.
They make great fishing bait,”
Hatler said. “We are also
showing them the difference
between a male and a female.
We finally got a female that
has some eggs.”
Hatler also showed students
the variety of marine life liv-
ing on the pilings exposed by
the minus tide.
Abigail DeYoung from the
U.S. Forest Service, assisted
by volunteer David Mills,
helped students explore the
wrack line, the debris left by
the tide at the high water
mark.
Marine engineer Jack Akin
from EMC Engineers in
Grants Pass told students
about the erosion problems
facing the east end of the port
property and possible solu-
tions.
The all-day field trip con-
cluded with the class taking
the bus out Highway 126 to
learn about the Waite Ranch
Tidal Wetland Restoration
project, which is reconverting
the 211-acre property back to
wetlands after being used as
cattle grazing for many years.
The grants from the two
organizations provide enough
money to pay for about 50
similar field trips for Siuslaw,
Mapleton and Reedsport
school districts.
from 1A
After pulling up the scotch
broom, the class — clad in
rubber boots and waders —
divided into four separate
groups to study various ele-
ments of the Siuslaw River
estuary during last Monday’s
-0.8 foot low tide.
Volunteer Brian Hudson
showed students how to dig
for bay clams while conduct-
ing a survey to estimate the
number of clams in the estu-
ary.
“We are doing a quick sur-
vey to count the number of
clams per square yard,”
Hudson explained. “Then we
will multiply that number by
the number of square yards in
an acre and multiply that by
100 acres, the size of the
Siuslaw estuary.”
By this method, Hudson
estimates the clam population
of the estuary to be more than
5 million. Most are soft shell
and purple varnish clams.
Both are invasive species,
according to Hudson.
“The soft shell clams came
in the 1800s on the lumber
boats,” Hudson said. “The
purple varnish clams are more
recent. In the last few years
they have come in from Asia.
They are in most of the
Oregon bays now.”
The positive news is that
both species are good eating.
Another group learned how
Search
from 1A
was reportedly under the influ-
ence of drugs and alcohol when
he swam 40 yards from shore
and never returned.
Responders arrived soon
after the caller advised dispatch-
ers that he could no longer see
O’Hollaren in the water.
The sheriff’s office, Siuslaw
Valley Fire and Rescue,
Florence Police Department and
the U.S. Coast Guard responded
and began the search.
According to Chief
Boatswain’s Mate (BMC) Ben
Snider, Coast Guard Station
Siuslaw River provided two 47-
foot motor lifeboats for the
search. Fifteen people respond-
ed, including the on-duty crews
and additional personnel.
The search continued
throughout the night using heli-
copters from Sector North
Bend.
“The visibility aspect is a
huge factor,” Snider said. “We
were looking at the surf line, an
area that is difficult to see dur-
ing day time.”
The search at sea factored in
winds, currents and tidal condi-
tions to define a search area that
eventually covered 100 miles.
“As time continued, we
expanded our search to include
the set and drift,” Snider said.
In total, Station Siuslaw
River’s two motor lifeboat
crews, an MH-65 Dolphin heli-
copter crew from Air Station
North Bend, a Dolphin aircrew
from Air Facility Newport and
an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter
crew from Coast Guard Air
Station Astoria all responded.
Lane County Search and
Rescue and Siuslaw Valley Fire
and Rescue searched the beach
areas north and south of the
Siuslaw River jetties. The fire
department used ATVs.
As the search continued, no
sign of O’Hollaren appeared.
Sector North Bend called off
the search at 1:40 p.m. on
Saturday, April 16.
“We extend our condolences
to the man’s family as the deci-
sion to suspend a search is
never easy,” said Lt. Anna
Steel, search and rescue mission
coordinator for the case. “We
also hope to prevent future
tragedies by reminding the pub-
lic that drinking impairs your
judgement, sense of distance
and direction. As the weather
warms up, we urge beachgoers
and boaters alike to stay sober
and stay alive.”
As of Tuesday, O’Hollaren
still had not been found.
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