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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 3, 2016)
THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM ❘ / SIUSLAWNEWS ❘ @ SIUSLAWNEWS WEDNESDAY EDITION COAST CENTRAL SIUSLAW’S BEST TO BE INDUCTED SPORTS — B 126TH YEAR ❘ ISSUE NO. 62 ❘ AUGUST 3, 2016 ❘ $1.00 A&E — INSIDE SERVING WESTERN LANE COUNTY SINCE 1890 FLORENCE, OREGON PeaceHealth working to recruit more doctors S TAFF R EPORT Siuslaw News The recent loss of several primary care physicians at PeaceHealth Peace Harbor Medical Center could affect up to 6,000 patients in the Florence area, according to hospital officials who held a press conference last Friday to discuss the ongoing issues of doctor turnover and retention. Dr. Ron Shearer, medical director at Peace Harbor, said seven of the hospital’s 30 doctors have either already left or will leave by the end of this year due to a vari- ety of reasons, including retirement. Three of the doctors, Amir- Mohammad Jalilian-Nosraty, Idalee Posa and Stephen Kerner, are primary care providers. Kerner, however, will remain at the hospital but has changed from family practice to specializing in palliative care for the elderly. “When you ask the providers that leave, and I know some of them are writing letters, they left mostly for per- sonal reasons. Some have a need for themselves or their family that can only be supplied by a larger community,” Shearer said. “They leave for the same reasons that other people leave town. It’s unfortunate that so many happened to do it all at the same time.” Michael Penrose, system director of provider recruitment for PeaceHealth, said Peace Harbor was in the middle of a 12-month primary care recruit- ment campaign, focusing on providers who were born, licensed or educated in Oregon, Washington or Alaska. A SLAM-BANG FINISH “Recruiting primary care for rural markets is the most difficult recruit- ment right now. The moment someone starts thinking about rural Oregon, we will be there,” Penrose said. Shearer added, “There is more recruiting that has happened in the last year than has happened in the past 20 years, and we are set up to retain (the recruiting program).” See HOSPITAL 7A Branch causes power outage Crews work quickly to restore electricity B Y C HANTELLE M EYER Siuslaw News Nearly 650 Florence-area customers of Central Lincoln PUD were affected by a power outage Saturday evening that left Old Town and other areas around Highways 126 and 101 in the dark for 40 minutes. Residents first started report- ing power outages around 6 p.m. on July 30. Chris Chandler, communica- tion manager for Central Lincoln, said the outage began about one-half mile east on Highway 126. Customers also reported outages south of the Siuslaw River Bridge on Highway 101 and as far east as Tiernan on Highway 126. The outage was caused by a branch falling on Central Lincoln’s power line due to high winds, Chandler said. “Thanks to our fast-acting crew, power was back on in 40 minutes,” she said. Though power was restored within an hour, the outage lasted long enough to disturb the start of Port of Siuslaw’s WindFest on the boardwalk, diners on Bay Street and residents and visitors in their homes or hotels. PHOTOS BY CHANTELLE MEYER/SIUSLAW NEWS D ozens of youth and their families filled the parking lot of Siuslaw Public Library’s Florence location last Thursday for the Summer Reading Program Grand Finale. Youth banged into each other with inflatable bumper balls, threw water balloons at each other, splashed through wading pools, swarmed the inflatable slide, ate hot dogs and picked out a new book to take home, donated by Friends of the Library. This year’s Summer Reading theme was “Ready, Set, Read!” with an activity-based program to encourage reading and exercise during the summer months. Librarian Gayle Waiss said 636 kids, 39 teens and 103 adults participated this year. See C O O L P L A C ES Heceta Head Lighthouse TO VISIT THIS SUMMER Highway 101 North, Florence ❘ 541-547-3416 A T A GLANCE : One of the most photographed landmarks on the coast, Heceta Head Lighthouse and surrounding scenic trails attract more than 800,000 visitors each year. The historic lighthouse, perched on the tip of Heceta Head, about 13 miles north of Florence off Highway 101, opened in 1894 and stands 56 feet tall and 205 feet above sea level. The first-order Fresnel lens beam can be seen up to 24 miles INSIDE S PECIAL F EATURE : This summer we are highlighting unique spots that make the central Oregon coast one of the coolest places to live and play. New locations will be featured each month. Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Library Tidings . . . . . . . . . . . Obituaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B6 A5 A2 A4 Police . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A2 Scoreboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . B3 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B Weather Data . . . . . . . . . . . A2 SIUSLAW NEWS PHOTO THIS WEEK ’ S offshore and is the brightest light on the Oregon coast. Near the landmark is the old assistant lighthouse keeper’s house, which has been turned into a bed and breakfast. A day-use parking permit is required to visit the state scenic viewpoint, which is open year round and also features paved parking, a beach area with natural caves and tidepools, wildlife view- ing and hiking trails. TODAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY 69 52 68 54 66 51 66 54 WEATHER Full Forecast, A3 Florence, OR CCB#195304 S IUSLAW N EWS 2 S ECTIONS ❘ 16 P AGES C OPYRIGHT 2016 POWER 7A CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK Current shortage of primary care physicians in Florence may last through spring 2017