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❘ MAY 14, 2016 ❘ $1.00
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LEAVING
THE HUDDLE
SPORTS — B
126TH YEAR ❘ ISSUE NO. 39
INSIDE — A3
SERVING WESTERN LANE COUNTY SINCE 1890
FLORENCE, OREGON
WCASE
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RHODY C
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CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK
Hanna Anderson
crowned 2016
Queen Rhododendra
B Y C HANTELLE M EYER
Siuslaw News
his would be the perfect
moment for my Polaroid!”
Queen Rhododendra Hanna
Anderson said right after
being crowned queen Wednesday night at the
2016 Rhododendron Court Scholarship
Showcase at the Florence Events Center.
Anderson, a Siuslaw High School junior,
and Princesses Taylor Coolidge, a junior, and
Lyndsey Keppol, a senior, led 10 Junior Court
princes and princesses in the May 11 showcase
directed by Jared Anderson and Meg Spencer.
The theme for the 109th annual Rhodendron
Festival, set for May 20 through 22, is “Catch
the Wave,” and showcase organizers kept to that theme
with music, introductions, costumes and a ghost story
about the good ship Florence, told by local actor Jim
Wellington.
Melanie Heard, dance instructor and creative director of
Children’s Repertory of Oregon Workshops (CROW), taught
the court a nautical dance to the tune of a sea shanty and
The Village People’s “In the Navy.”
“We want you for the captain’s crew,” the Rhody Court
sang to the audience.
The “captain of the evening” was master of ceremonies
Cindy Wobbe, who, along with 2015 Queen Rhododendra
Kennedy Roylance, interviewed members of the court.
Three teams performed together throughout the night.
Hanna Anderson led the Whalloping Whales, Coolidge led
the Jumping Jellyfish and Keppol led the Electric Eels in
skits about friendship and a series of silly games.
Judges analyzed the skits and used points won during the
games to assess each Senior Court Princess’s score.
The Senior Court also gave platforms and performed a
talent.
“T
See
SHOWCASE 10A
PHOTOS BY CHANTELLE MEYER/SIUSLAW NEWS
Siuslaw High School junior Hanna Anderson is crowned Queen Rhododendra for the 109th annual Rhododendron
Festival. The Rhody Court of three Senior Court Princesses, five Junior Court Princesses and five Junior Court
Princes performed together during the Scholarship Showcase on Wednesday at the Florence Events Center.
‘Coast Guard City’ could be on Florence’s horizon
Drop off votes
by Tuesday
for primary
National designation recognizes
communities that support their
local Coast Guard stations
B Y C HANTELLE M EYER
Siuslaw News
N
INSIDE
ewly sworn in U.S.
Coast Guard
Auxiliarist Deborah
Heldt Cordone and Florence
Mayor Joe Henry are look-
ing into what it will take to
have Florence designated a
“Coast Guard City.” The
designation recognizes com-
munities across the nation
for supporting “Team Coast
Guard.”
U.S. Coast Guard Station
Siuslaw River was estab-
lished in 1917 just off
Rhododendron Drive. Its
area of responsibility starts
16 miles north of the station
at Cape Perpetua and
extends nine miles south of
the station to Siltcoos River.
The station has 33 active
duty members.
Cordone started volun-
Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Coastal Events . . . . . . . . . . .
Obituaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
teering with the Coast
Guard by taking pictures of
the station’s 47-foot Life
Motor Boats drilling on the
active surf from her home
near the North Jetty. She
joined U.S. Coast Guard
Auxiliary Flotilla 52 offi-
cially in April and works in
public affairs.
Before long, Cordone
sought more ways the com-
munity could work with the
Coast Guard and began
looking into the Coast
Guard City Program.
A city can earn the dis-
tinction of being a Coast
Guard City by making spe-
cial efforts to acknowledge
work done in the area by
the Coast Guard, by reach-
ing out to personnel and
their families and by contin-
uing a “longstanding and
enduring relationship, with
an emphasis on considera-
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ELECTION 2016
S TAFF R EPORT
PHOTO BY DEBORAH HELDT CORDONE
Florence Planning Department’s Wendy Farley Campbell, Eric Rines and Nilda
Taylor demonstrate wearing life jackets at City Hall in support of “Wear Your Life
Jacket to Work Day,” which is set for Friday, May 20.
tions the community has
made for the members of
the Coast Guard family.”
Cordone said, “There has
been a lot of community
interaction and mutual sup-
port.”
She recruited Henry, a
personal friend, to talk with
the Florence City Council
about ways the city can
sponsor the application.
Religion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A5
SideShow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B6
Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B
Word on the Street . . . . . . . A7
THIS WEEK ’ S
“Our Coast Guard is an
active duty military unit in
our area. I personally —
and I believe so does the
city — value its presence
here, though we don’t often
speak it,” Henry said. “We
don’t recognize their contri-
bution as much as we
should.”
Henry is working with
Cordone to plan a Coast
Guard appreciation dinner,
where each ticket sold will
include the entrance of one
member of the Coast Guard
and their significant other.
“We’re starting it off by
proclaiming National Safe
Boating Week at Florence
City Council on Monday
night,” Henry said.
See
TODAY
SUNDAY
MONDAY
TUESDAY
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58 48
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61 46
WEATHER
Full Forecast, A3
CITY 10A
Ballots are due Tuesday for the May
17 Primary Election in Oregon. All bal-
lots must be received by 8 p.m., and
postmarks do not count.
Drop boxes will remain open until 8
p.m. on Election Day.
In Florence, the drop box is at the
Florence Justice Center, 900 Greenwood
St., which is accessed by Ninth Street.
The ballot includes the presidential
primary vote, where those registered
Democrat or Republican will vote for
their candidate, respectively, as well as
voting for Oregon governor and other
legislator candidates.
Local races include Lane County
Justice of the Peace; school bonds for
Siuslaw and Mapleton school districts;
and a levy for 4-H and Oregon State
University Extension Service programs
in Lane County.
For more information, go online to
www.oregonvotes.gov.
S IUSLAW N EWS
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