SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ WEDNESDAY, APRIL 27, 2016
3 A
Rhody Showcase set Lutheran Church donates to Helping Hands
for May 11 at FEC
Queen Rhododendra to be crowned
during the fun-filled event
This year’s junior and sen-
ior Rhody Courts are gearing
up for the Rhododendron
Court Scholarship Showcase
set for Wednesday, May 11, at
6:30 p.m., at the Florence
Events Center.
Formerly known as the
Rhododendron Pageant and
now held in advance of
the annual Rhododendron
Festival, this year’s event
features two juniors, Han-
nah Anderson and Taylor
Coolidge, and one senior,
Lyndsey
Keppel,
from
Siuslaw High School who
will compete for scholar-
ships and title Queen
Rhododendra.
The junior court is made up
of five princesses and five
princes representing grades 1
through 5 from both Florence
and Mapleton.
For the past several weeks,
members of the Senior Rhody
Court and Junior Princesses
have been serving as ambas-
sadors for the festival by vis-
iting senior residences, vol-
unteering in the community
and, most recently, rehearsing
their talents for the fun-filled
Rhody Showcase.
Court members will be
judged individually and as
teams on participation, men-
torship, public speaking and
platform presentation, pin
sales and talent.
Queen Rhododendra will
be crowned at the end of the
showcase, and both courts
will make appearances in the
the Kids Parade and Grand
Floral Parade during the
109th Rhododendron Fest-
ival, May 20 through 22.
Advance tickets are on sale
now for $13 and are available
through the Florence Events
Center box office, or online
www.eventcenter.org.
On April 20, members from
the Resurrection Lutheran
Church congregation presented
Helping Hands Coalition
$1,100 from their fundraising
tea efforts last week, as well as
food donations to help stock
their pantry.
Helping Hands Coalition is
an all-volunteer community
organization dedicated to pro-
viding services, food, clothing
and a daytime center for the
homeless and the less fortu-
nate.
It provides hot meals every
Monday, Wednesday and
Friday, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.,
at 1339 Rhododendron Drive
in Florence. For more informa-
tion, visit www.helpinghands
florence.org.
From left: Helping Hands
volunteer Jan Hirsch with
Resurrection Lutheran
Church members Charlene
Blodgett, Deborah Heldt
Cordone and Minn Depweg.
DEBORAH HELDT CORDONE
Soroptimists host human trafficking seminar
Soroptimist International
Club of Florence with its
sponsors hosted a Human
Trafficking
Seminar
on
Saturday, April 2, from 9 a.m.
to 1 p.m.
The speakers for the panel
were Chief Turner of the
Florence Police Department,
Runaway and Homeless Youth
Services of Eugene director
Kristin London, Hope Ranch
Youth Ministries founder and
board president Diana Jantz,
and two formerly trafficked
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young women who left that
life to become productive citi-
zens..
Chief Turner gave an
enlightened view of the crime
aspect and how difficult it is to
prosecute if a victim is afraid
to report. He encouraged citi-
zens to report any suspicious
behavior or call one of the hot-
lines.
London focused on why
youth are runaways and how
to get them into a safe living
arrangement that can begin
giving them positive paths to
follow or lead.
Janz presented slides and a
video showing actual traffick-
ing happening, as well as pho-
tos of past and present victims.
The former trafficked
women presented their stories
of abuse and how they have
turned their lives around to
become productive citizens.
There
were
handouts
describing how to recognize
child victims, how to identify
the trafficker and how to look
beneath the surface to see a
person.
The purpose of the hand-
outs was to inform others
how to recognize red flags and
take a proper course of action.
Sponsors of the seminar
included: Oregon pacific
Bank,
Holloway
and
Associates LLC, CPAs, The
Shippin’ Shack, Sea Lion
Caves,
Neil’s
Carpet
Cleaning, Cindy Wobbe and
Associates, and Grocery
Outlet.
Police pursue reckless driver on Highway 101
B Y C HANTELLE M EYER
Siuslaw News
On April 22, multiple police
agencies responded to a pur-
suit on Highway 101 that led
to the arrest of Charles
Richard Farrell III, of
Vancouver, Wash.
According to a report, an
Oregon State Police trooper
stopped the vehicle Farrell,
25, was driving on Highway
101 south of Winchester Bay.
“The operator drove away
while I was approaching the
vehicle,” the trooper said.
Farrell fled northbound at
speeds over 100 miles per
hour and continued driving
recklessly through Reedsport
and Gardiner and into Lane
County.
Other agencies joined in the
pursuit, including Reedsport
Police Department, Douglas
County Sheriff’s Office, Lane
WEDNESDAY THURSDAY
County Sheriff’s Office,
Florence Police Department,
Coos County Sheriff’s Office
and Confederated Tribes of
Coos, Lower Umpqua and
Siuslaw
Indians
Police
Department.
Florence Police Department
set up spike strips on Highway
101 at the Siuslaw River
Bridge, but Farrell turned the
vehicle onto a side road before
the bridge. He continued
down the road until reaching a
dead end at a residence.
At that point, Farrell and his
passenger, Danielle Dawn
Reed, 25, left the vehicle and
entered a wooded area near
the Siuslaw River. Farrell left
the vehicle running, however
— it continued its forward
motion until coming to a rest
against a retaining wall.
Coos County Deputy Adam
Slater and his K9 partner Odin
pursued Farrell, locating him
in an adjacent wooded area.
Reed faced no criminal
charges and was not pursued
further.
Farrell was arrested and
transported to the Reedsport
Police Department jail where
he was issued criminal cita-
tions for felony elude, reck-
less driving, reckless endan-
gering and misdemeanor
elude. He was issued viola-
tion citations for violation of
basic rule driving over 100
miles per hour, driving with a
suspended license and care-
less driving.
Farrell was then taken to
Lane County Jail.
Cleanup crews removed a
green pickup truck from the
southbound lane of Highway
101 on Siuslaw River Bridge.
Drivers crossing the bridge
experienced minor traffic
delays until the incident con-
cluded around 9:30 a.m.
FRIDAY
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APRIL 27
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MAY 1
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Partly
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limiting
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yielding
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Showers
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