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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 24, 2016)
❘ / SIUSLAWNEWS ❘ @ SIUSLAWNEWS SATURDAY EDITION RISING TO THE CHALLENGE Florence Events Center celebrates 20 years INSIDE THIS ISSUE SPORTS — B 126TH YEAR ❘ ISSUE NO. 76 ❘ SEPTEMBER 24, 2016 ❘ $1.00 SERVING WESTERN LANE COUNTY SINCE 1890 ore than 115 stu- dents have enrolled in the Boys and Girls Club of Western Lane County fall sports, cheerlead- ing and drum corps pro- grams. M MARCHING ON Boys and Girls Club launches fall programs JACK DAVIS/SIUSLAW NEWS The club’s tackle football pro- gram has a roster of 30 fifth- and sixth-graders, five more players than last year. The first of five home games will be played Saturday, Oct. 1, against Siletz. The season wraps up on Nov. 11. Six of the 11-member Boys and Girls Club of Western Lane County drum corps, “The Tsunami,” practice under the direction of professional drum- mer John Aaron. FLORENCE, OREGON Teen Center Director Tracy Aaron said, “We are currently looking for parents and older teen volunteers to help with officiating games, running the clock, announcing the game and working in the burger wagon.” In addition to tackle football, 43 first- through fourth-grade stu- dents are enrolled in flag football, making up four teams, an increase of nine players from last year. The teams will play through Thursday, Oct. 27. Seventeen third- through sixth- grade girls have signed up for vol- leyball. The season wraps up Nov. 2. The club has two cheerleading squads this year. The “littles,” in grades one to four, have a squad of five girls. The older squad, in grades five B Y J ACK D AVIS Siuslaw News through eight, has 12 members. They will be cheering for the Boys and Girls Club tackle foot- ball team this fall and the club’s winter basketball games. According to Aaron, both squads are being coached by for- mer Siuslaw Viking varsity cheer- leaders. Cheerleading coach Ali Brown said, “The girls are really talented and I’m excited to see how much they improve over the season and grow as a team.” The newly formed Boys and Girls Club drum corps, called “The Tsunami,” has 11 members enrolled. See CLUB 7A ‘Always Ready to Rhody’ Chamber selects U.S. Coast Guard as 2017 Rhododendron Festival grand marshal B Y C HANTELLE M EYER Siuslaw News On Thursday, Florence Area Chamber of Commerce appointed U.S. Coast Guard Station Siuslaw River as the grand marshals for the 2017 Rhododendron Festival in May. “We’re excited to make this announce- ment,” Chamber President Jenna Bartlett said. “We’ll be celebrating both the 100th anniversary of the Coast Guard’s service to the area as well as the 110th annual Rhody Days.” Since the U.S. Coast Guard’s motto is “Semper Paratus,” or “Always Ready,” this year’s Rhododendron Festival theme is “Always Ready to Rhody.” “It’s such a ‘go-getter’ sounding theme,” said Bettina Hannigan, executive director of Florence Area Chamber of Commerce. “This year, we’ll always be ready for a party.” The U.S. Coast Guard began serving on the Siuslaw River in 1917. In honor of its upcoming 100th anniversary, the City of Florence is applying to be a nationally-rec- ognized “Coast Guard City.” “It just made sense to pick the Coast Guard to be grand marshals now, with this application in process. It will really honor the Coast Guard and its long tradition here,” Hannigan said. See D AY OF C ARING COMES TO THE COAST United Way of Lane County extends community outreach to Florence, Mapleton United Way volunteers from B Y J ACK D AVIS the Eugene and Springfield area Siuslaw News descended on Florence and Mapleton, Thursday, Sept. 22 as part of the county wide Day of Caring, sponsored by the Lane County chapter of United Way. This year, 783 Lane County United Way Day of Caring volunteers partnered with 36 nonprofit partners and 43 businesses to reach five cities in the county, pro- viding a total of 2,984 hours See VOLUNTEER 7A JACK DAVIS/SIUSLAW NEWS United Way volunteers descended on Florence and Mapleton to help paint and distribute food during the organization’s Day of Caring on Thursday. This is the first year this countywide event has extended to the coast. RHODY 7A Habitat for Humanity seeks help for troubled neighborhood Council reads National Domestic Violence Awareness Month proclamation, approves $2.6 million Rhododendron Drive bid uring the Sept. 19 Florence City Council meeting, councilors heard a report from Habitat for Humanity and received a bid update by Mike Miller on the Rhododendron Drive improvements. Mayor Joe Henry also read a proclamation nam- ing October National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Habitat Neighborhood Revitaliz- ation Manager Ken Gaylord talked INSIDE D Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Courts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Library Tidings . . . . . . . . . . . Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B9 A2 A5 A4 about the issues Habitat was having with the Keener Place neighborhood. “There is no storage and no place to park. It has been a bit of a mess,” Gaylord said. He added that Habitat is getting four of the homes back, two through people moving, one in lieu of foreclosure and one through foreclosure. “The good news is that it will be our first foreclosure since we have been Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A2 Religion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A5 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B Weather . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .A3 B Y J ACK D AVIS Siuslaw News here in 1999. We are going to rehab those homes and get them back out to new Habitat families,” Gaylord said. He said Habitat was going to refur- nish the homes, including adding wider driveways to accommodate two cars and add storage space to help eliminate yard clutter. THIS WEEK ’ S He also said the neighborhood had, “A whole lot more problems than that. We have a lot of drug trafficking. There is a huge amount of traffic all night long cruising through that neigh- borhood.” Gaylord said people were passing through the neighborhood dealing and using drugs and that neighborhood families were finding drug parapherna- lia, including used syringes, in the area. TODAY SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY 68 49 74 53 70 55 67 52 WEATHER Full Forecast, A3 “We need the city’s help to revital- ize that neighborhood so that it is fam- ily friendly,” he said. Later in the meeting, Public Works Director Mike Miller reported on the bids received to complete the Rhododendron Drive street improve- ments. S IUSLAW N EWS 2 S ECTIONS ❘ 24 P AGES C OPYRIGHT 2016 See COUNCIL 7A CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM
