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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (April 30, 2016)
/ SIUSLAWNEWS ❘ @ SIUSLAWNEWS SATURDAY EDITION VIKINGS BASEBALL HANDS-ON LEARNING SCHOOL ZONE SPORTS — B 126TH YEAR ❘ ISSUE NO. 35 Solutions to repair erosion proposed ❘ APRIL 30, 2016 ❘ $1.00 SERVING WESTERN LANE COUNTY SINCE 1890 FLORENCE, OREGON ELECTION 2016 ON THE HUNT Lane County preps for primary High school career and job fair draws hundreds Dredging slurry may help fix port’s riverbank problem Voters should receive ballots by Tuesday B Y J ACK D AVIS Siuslaw News B Y C HANTELLE M EYER Siuslaw News During the Port of Siuslaw board meeting April 20, maritime engi- neer Jack Aiken presented possible solutions to the ongoing erosion problems along an 800-foot section of riverbank at the east end of the port’s campground property. The erosion problem was exacerbated during the series of last December high tides and storms. The port has closed this portion of the campground along the Siuslaw River to the public due to safety concerns created by ongoing riverbank erosion. Aiken proposed using a Geotube, a large cylindrical tube made of strong woven black plastic material that is filled with dredged sand slurry taken from the Siuslaw River and then covered with riprap (large irregular shaped rocks). “Once I have the Geotube and riprap in, I’m expecting biologi- cal events to occur,” Aiken said. “I’m expecting vegetation growth. I’m expecting serious sedimentation accumulation.” According to Aiken, the proj- ect could be funded through two separate Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grants: a FEMA restoration fund grant and a FEMA 406 hazard mitigation fund grant. By using the sand dredged from the river, a project the port plans to do later this year regard- less, the FEMA money would pay for a significant portion of the dredging expense. The port recently joined the South Coast Ports Coalition and now has access to a dredge the coalition owns. “It will cost about $30 per yard to move material you already have on dry land,” Aiken said. “The dredging, utilizing the coalition’s equipment, which your port was smart enough to get involved in, will cost between $3 and $4 per yard.” He added, “FEMA may cover the cost of setting up and remov- ing the dredge and pipe, which is approximately half of the entire dredging cost.” Aiken estimated the cost to set up and remove the dredge to be about $30,000. “I wouldn’t be surprised if you reached $400,000 for the whole project,” he said. The amount the port would have to pay is not known at this time. “The FEMA restoration fund grant will cover 75 percent of the cost of the project,” Aiken said. “But in terms of some bank ero- sion, the FEMA 406 hazard mitiga- tion fund will pay 100 percent, and we are working on that now.” INSIDE See PORT 7A Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Coastal Events . . . . . . . . . . . Courts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B9 A8 A2 A4 PHOTOS BY JACK DAVIS/SIUSLAW NEWS H undreds of students from Siuslaw and Mapleton schools attended the first Siuslaw High School Career and Job Fair held Thursday inside the school’s gymnasium. In total, more than 500 students were invited to visit with 36 local businesses and organizations, which presented job opportunities and career informa- tion to interested students. Lane County will send out ballots for the May 17 Primary Election between now and Tuesday, May 3. Households should have already received the Voters’ Pamphlet. The ballot will contain the pres- idential primary vote, where those registered as Democrat or Republican will vote for their can- didate; a vote for Oregon gover- nor, with candidates including cur- rent Gov. Kate Brown; and sever- al state and national positions. In Lane County, voters will also choose between four candidates for Justice of the Peace, a position based at the Lane County Justice Court in Florence. Two school bonds will be included, one for Siuslaw School District and one for Mapleton School District, for voters within each of those districts, respective- ly. The ballot also contains a levy for 4-H and Oregon State University Extension Service pro- grams in Lane County. Voters who do not receive a ballot for the Primary Election by Tuesday can check on the status of their registration and ballot at oregonvotes.gov/MyVote. They may also contact Lane County Elections at 541-682- 4234 to determine if they need to update their voter registration to receive a ballot. Voters may drop off their ballots at one of many official drop box locations listed in the insert includ- ed with their ballot. In Florence, the drop box is at the Florence Justice Center, 900 Greenwood St. Drop boxes are open now until 8 p.m. on Election Day. Voters may also mail their bal- lots to Lane County Elections at 275 W. 10th Ave., Eugene, OR, 97401. All ballots must be received by 8 p.m. on May 17, and postmarks do not count. For more information, go to www.oregonvotes.gov. AMBULANCE, FIRE DISTRICTS ADVANCE WITH IGA PLAN Boards continue developing potential agreement for shared admin services B Y C HANTELLE M EYER Siuslaw News The boards of directors for Western Lane Ambulance District and Siuslaw Valley Fire and Rescue have voted to proceed to the next step in developing an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) for shared administration services. Fire Chief Jim Langborg and Western Lane Interim Executive Religion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A5 SideShow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B8 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B Word on the Street . . . . . . . A7 Director Brian Burright were present at Siuslaw Valley’s April 20 meeting and the ambulance district’s April 28 meeting. “We held a combined workshop with both boards to look into the feasi- bility of combining administrative services,” Langborg said. “The two districts are still going to be separate agencies. The IGA will address the administrative oversight of THIS WEEK ’ S both agencies,” said Burright. Board members were able to voice concerns, bring up ideas and discuss the ramifications of the IGA. Then, each board met to decide if members thought it was a good idea to proceed. “We need to know whether or not you want to continue exploring this option,” Langborg said. “It doesn’t mean we’re entering into anything at this point.” At Siuslaw Valley, the board mem- bers were cautious at first, especially as they were not sure what Western Lane board members were thinking. TODAY SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY 61 49 74 52 68 51 62 50 WEATHER Full Forecast, A3 “I think there are some concerns and questions from both boards on what this means. I guess I would say that both agencies would be fine if we decide not to do an IGA for adminis- trative services. But this is a risk-free opportunity to look at how we can work together,” Burright said. Director Lori Gates said, “You can’t know if you don’t try.” The board agreed to move forward — but only if Western Lane chose to proceed. S IUSLAW N EWS 2 S ECTIONS ❘ 24 P AGES C OPYRIGHT 2016 See DISTRICTS 7A CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK ❘ THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM
