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SATURDAY EDITION
LIGHTING
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❘ JULY 23, 2016 ❘ $1.00
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INSIDE — A3
SPORTS — B
126TH YEAR ❘ ISSUE NO. 59
Fire districts
agree to
automatic aid
on Hwy 126
Siuslaw Valley formalizes
aid agreement with
Mapleton Rural Fire
B Y C HANTELLE M EYER
SERVING WESTERN LANE COUNTY SINCE 1890
R HODODENDRON D RIVE
FLORENCE, OREGON
SHOULDER EXPANSION
Where the
rhodies meet
the road
CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK
THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM
Siuslaw News
Siuslaw Valley Fire Chief Jim
Langborg and Mapleton Fire Chief
Charlie Moore have been working
with their boards of directors to
update the fire districts’ mutual aid
agreement to automatic aid for certain
calls.
“We had some discussions earlier in
the year with the Mapleton Fire Chief
Charlie Moore about the possibility of
creating an automatic aid agreement,”
Langborg said.
Siuslaw Valley Fire and Rescue and
Mapleton Rural Fire District currently
have a mutual aid agreement, which
means each district can call on the
other if additional support is needed.
Siuslaw Valley also goes to calls
concerning car accidents through an
agreement with Western Lane
Ambulance District.
“With automatic aid, we are auto-
matically dispatched to their alarms,”
Langborg said. “Certain types of calls
are specified within that agreement —
vegetation fires, structure fires and
auto accidents. With those particular
types of calls, when Mapleton is dis-
patched, we will be included right off
the bat as it’s being processed through
the 911 dispatch center.”
The automatic aid agreement will
also mean that Mapleton Fire responds
to calls on Highway 126 up to mile-
post 3, near Cushman.
Siuslaw Valley Board President
John Scott said, “At Cushman, you
can meet in the middle and have a bet-
ter response.”
Langborg agreed.
“The benefit is that resources are
notified sooner and that they arrive
sooner,” he said.
Siuslaw Valley began pursuing the
agreement as a way to positively
affect the district’s services and
Insurance Services Office (ISO) rating
— a number that reflects the overall
effectiveness of the department.
“We continue to do work to
improve our ISO rating and strive to
find ways to improve service — not
only to our community, but to our
neighbors as well,” Langborg said.
Siuslaw Valley’s board of directors
asked for clarification on such points
as increased turnout response times
and rules for which calls take prece-
dence.
Langborg said either district can
cancel the call for the other if addi-
tional support is not needed.
See
DISTRICTS 6A
C
rew members from Ray Wells, Inc., work to
clear vegetation for two six-foot shoulders on
Rhododendron Drive. The Rhododendron Drive
Shoulder Expansion Project, set to be completed this fall,
will increase safety for
pedestrians and bicyclists
on Rhododendron Drive
between Ninth Street and
Wildwinds. The City of
Florence and the construc-
tion crews are minimizing
the removal and damage
to native rhododendrons
by using chainsaws and
hand-trimming tools. “Ray
Wells is going the extra
mile to preserve what they
can,” said Florence Project
Manager Megan Messmer. For more information on the
project, go to ci.florence.or.us.
COURTESY PHOTOS
Sharon Stiles selected to head LCC board
Expects search for new president and funding as major 2016-17 challenges
B Y J ACK D AVIS
Siuslaw News
lorence resident Sharon
Stiles was elected chair-
woman of the 2016-17 Lane
Community College’s (LCC)
Board of Education, at the board’s
July 13 meeting.
Stiles, 75, was first elected to
the LCC board in 2009 and
chaired the board in 2012-13. She
holds the Zone 1 seat on the
board, which includes Florence
and the Western part of the college
district.
“I’m looking forward to a
promising year of positive move-
ment,” Stiles said. “We have big
challenges in our budget balancing
but I have confidence in this
board’s ability to work together to
come to the best fiduciary deci-
sions.”
F
Stiles sees two priority issues
that need to be addressed during
her term.
“I wanted
to run for
chair because
of these two
things,” she
said. “One is
that LCC
President
Mary Spilde
is leaving.
She gave us
16 months in
order to
replace her.
“The other
reason is
budget con-
Sharon
cerns. We
have reached
a pinnacle point where we have to
make some tough decisions.”
Port financial position improving
B Y J ACK D AVIS
Siuslaw News
INSIDE
During the July 20 Port of
Siuslaw
board
meeting,
administrative assistant Dina
McClure reported on the
port’s end of year financial
condition. The port’s fiscal
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year ends June 30.
“At the end of fiscal year,
regarding expenses, all of the
appropriate categories are
within budget,” McClure said.
McClure said the port’s
June 30 balance sheet showed
a checking and savings bal-
ance of $512,646.
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“This is an increase of
$121,000 over last year,” she
said. “We ended up with a lot
more cash in the bank this
year over last year.”
McClure reported that
campground occupancy per-
centages were down slightly
from the 2014-15 record of 47
THIS WEEK ’ S
Spilde will retire as president of
LCC in June 2017.
Finding a
replacement
is Stiles’ first
priority. She
has been one
of three
board mem-
bers to be in
charge of the
recruitment
process and
has been
working to
find a
replacement
for almost six
months.
According
Stiles
to Stiles,
there are sev-
eral hundred vacancies for college
presidents and vice presidents in
See
COLLEGE 6A
Added revenue from rate increases bolsters
Port of Siuslaw’s financial statements
percent occupancy to 44 per-
cent in 2015-16, but revenue
has increased by almost
$16,000, due to a rate increase
enacted in December.
Moorage also showed a sig-
nificant
increase
from
$69,337 in 2014-15 to
$102,520 in 2015-16.
TODAY
SUNDAY
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WEATHER
Full Forecast, A3
the nation.
“We have been working with a
consultant, Dr. Preston Pulliams,
president of Gold Hill Associates
for about three months. He has a
really good reputation,” Stiles
said.
“Our profile will be coming out
in August. By January or February
of 2017 we expect to have some-
one selected,” she added.
Stiles said the LCC budget con-
cerns are a result of declining
enrollment numbers.
“We have fewer students now
than during the recession,” she
said. “During that time we went
up 45 percent, but now we are
down double-digits. It has come
back up a little, but it hasn’t
recovered as much as we would
like.”
This was also due to the
rate increase according to
McClure.
The hiker/biker camp-
ground also saw a slight
reduction in nightly stays, but
still showed a small increase
in revenue over last year.
McClure has previously
attributed the decrease in
campground and hiker/biker
overnight stays to the wetter
spring weather in 2016, com-
pared to 2015.
The RV/campground rate
increases implemented at the
end of 2015 were the first in
five years.
S IUSLAW N EWS
2 S ECTIONS ❘ 20 P AGES
C OPYRIGHT 2016