from 1A
surface,” Knabe said.
The
debris
recovered
Saturday included an old
refrigerator, a reclining chair,
12 tires, a toilet, a sink and
assorted bottles, cans and dis-
carded household items.
The hardest part of the
process is often getting the
debris to shore.
“We had to work really hard
to get the refrigerator out,”
Knabe said. “It was buried
pretty deep and the visibility
down there is very limited.”
FEC
from 1A
Rhodes joined the FEC staff
in 1996, just months before the
center opened its doors on
Aug. 31, 1996.
“Opening the FEC was one
of the highlights, or even the
highlight, of my terms as
For more information on
Project Aware, call Eugene
conceived to celebrate the
events center and its impact on
the Florence area.
FEC Marketing Specialist
Connor brought the event to
the Florence City Council in
April 2015.
Florence City Councilor
Susy Lacer said, “I have to
give huge props to Jennifer,
DENTURE SERVICES INC.
Here to serve
your denture needs:
William Foster LD
Sherry, Offi ce Manager
FREE CONSULTATIONS
Monday-Thursday
10am - 2 pm
Relines and Repairs
Same Day
Or by special appointment
Financing: Citi Health Card
12 Month no Interest
524 Laurel St.
541-997-6054
Experienced and new
divers work together to
locate, map and bring
debris to the surface.
Skin Divers Supply at 541-
342-2351.
mayor. It’s one of the things
I’m most proud of,” McCorkle
said. “My congratulations to
everyone who has worked on
this thing for well over 20
years to make it successful.
“Lord willing, I hope to
look forward to another 20
years here.”
Dancing with Sea Lions was
Dentures
Immediate Dentures
Implant Dentures
Relines and Repairs
because it was an amazing
project. She designed it from
the get-go with a full spectrum
of benefits for all kinds of par-
ties. It was going to benefit our
economy, the businesses in
town, tourists and, of course,
the artists, for they would get a
front-row seat for displaying
their talents. It was a very
well-designed project.”
Connor formed a committee
to plan a timeline, create the
logo, design the fiberglass sea
lions and find artists and spon-
sors.
“I had a wonderful commit-
tee,” Connor said. She went on
to thank Calista Cates,
Rhodes, Reynolds, City of
Florence
Public
Works
Director Mike Miller and his
staff, the FEC staff, Friends of
the FEC, the Florence Public
Art Committee and volunteers.
“They really encouraged
this project and gave me lots
of support,” she said.
Lacer, who served on the
Dancing with Sea Lions com-
mittee said, “It’s been a won-
derful project, and I am very
pleased to be a part of it.
Tonight, we are celebrating the
end of this wonderful journey
and finding permanent homes
for the remaining eight sea
lions.”
Auctioneer Bob Sneddon
Land
WOMEN & MEN I N B USINESS
Name of Business
"!
#$%&'
#
,
!3(&&54
6*!4 '
& *% ) ) &# '(%" #
" " (&"&& '##
74!55!8$29
:&4*;0/4!
!'
! # %&#"
' $'#"
#% #% !#% '" #"
Women
in Business will run on
6&
October
15 - Deadline: October
4 -$<4
-% 13
Men in Business will run on
&
October 19 - Deadline: October 17
4 ;-<4 -.
%&& " + #" (!%
<54=
4!5!&
+ 4'
!
)#%& #% && #(' ' $%&#" '(% 545 *3344'
from 1A
The business park original-
ly had 24 lots. If this deal
closes, nine will be left
unsold.
“He wants to build a facto-
ry here in Florence, starting
with five employees that he
thinks over time could grow
to 20 employees,” Henry said.
Reynolds said, “The excit-
ing thing about this deal is
that it has all the aspects that
the council has been working
toward. We have been able to
sit down with this individual
and work through some com-
plex issues regarding the land
use process and zoning. This
is the kind of business the
city wants to attract.”
Henry added, “These will
be the type of jobs we need in
Florence. My goal since the
get-go, and I’m a big support-
er of youth, is that our kids
can graduate from high
school here, get an education,
either here through LCC or
elsewhere, but come back
here, buy a home and raise a
family. There is really no
opportunity to do that today.”
This exposes the need for
the third element of the city’s
economic development plan,
affordable housing.
then auctioned off the sea
lions. The other 12 full-sized
sea lions had been bought
before the auction.
All 20 sea lions, hand-paint-
ed and created by area artists,
sold during the event.
Most will be available for
public
viewing.
Porter
Performs,
by
Colleen
Goodwin-Chronister,
and
Rhody the sea lion pup, by
Frances Rogers, will remain at
the FEC.
Siuslaw Public Library and
the Friends of the Library had
one triumph of the evening:
they were able to secure Eco
and the Ecosystems of Oregon,
by Benjamin Cahoon, to
remain at the library’s main
location in Florence.
Connor thanked the artists
and the original sponsors.
“We know that the beautiful
art that was done would not be
possible without you. Without
you, this project would not be
possible. It’s incredible the
work that you’ve done,” she
said.
Pavilion Catering provided
hors d’oeuvres, beverages and
cake for the event.
“This has been a wonderful
evening,” Reynolds said.
“Most of all, we wouldn’t be
here if we didn’t have this fab-
ulous facility. We’re very
grateful to have the opportuni-
ty to celebrate 20 years of the
FEC and look forward to many
more years in Florence.”
Connor said the event raised
$68,000 for Friends of the
FEC, the nonprofit group who
fundraises, volunteers for and
in many ways supports the
events center.
“We give tours all the time,
and people are just amazed at
what a nice facility we have
for a small town,” Rhodes
said. “They also think it’s
about four or five years old.
That we attribute to the
Friends of the FEC, who con-
tinue to support us.”
The Friends also help the
FEC pay for remodels and
“recent
enhancements,”
Rhodes said of the brand new
dance floor and new video pro-
jectors.
“We need to remain state of
the art. It not only is beneficial
for our clients, but it is benefi-
cial for our patrons. We ask
that you continue to support us
and buy tickets to our events.
We just thank you for coming
here tonight,” he said.
Connor is working on a map
of the finalized, public loca-
tions of the Dancing with Sea
Lions. When completed it will
be available at eventcenter.org
and dancingwithsealions.com.
“A month ago, there was
not a single rental available in
the city of Florence and pretty
much everything in multiple
listing under $350,000 is
under contract,” Henry said.
“We have a definite housing
shortage.”
Henry said the good news
is that the city has had discus-
sions with more developers
and contractors within the
past 60 days than it has had in
the past two years.
“We have had discussions
with developers on apartment
buildings, affordable housing,
condos and small houses all
the way up to upscale,” Henry
said. “If one-third of the peo-
ple we have talked to do what
they said they were going to
do, we will have a whole
bunch of houses. Some are
doing their due diligence as
we speak.
“I personally believe if we
had 50 houses for sale at
$250,000 they would sell
immediately; if for no other
reason than rentals, because
there are no rentals avail-
able.”
Henry said the city also has
been working to improve
relationships with Lane
Community College (LCC)
Florence Center and the
Siuslaw School District to
facilitate courses conducive to
higher paying jobs and col-
lege careers.
“LCC is now offering
courses that were discontin-
ued in the past, like culinary
arts,” he said.
The council also approved
the purchase of a one-acre
parcel adjacent to the north
end of the Florence Events
Center for $180,000. Henry
said the assessed value of the
property was more than
$300,000.
“Part of our rationale to
purchase is because the
Friends of the FEC has
offered to help raise funds to
do something with that prop-
erty,” Henry said. “The city
will also have to spend
money on it. My own specu-
lation is that we will pave that
and use it as additional park-
ing for the events center. We
will have some nice addition-
al parking that is not gravel
and weeds.”
Reynolds also said the new
city public works building is
expected to break ground at
the Pacific View Business
Park in January or February
2017.
“It is good to see some
activity in the business park,”
Reynolds said. “We haven’t
seen that for a while.”
MEDICARE OPEN ENROLLMENT IS
OCT. 15TH THRU DEC. 7TH EVERY YEAR
I offer FREE REVIEWS & FREE QUOTES with no obligation
and I represent MANY COMPANIES!
Get in touch with me, Jodi Newby soon to get answers
to any questions you may have.
Schedule appointments now to reserve an appointment spot.
%,-..$/,,-
0%,-..$$.$.
JODI NEWBY
541-997-3466 EXT. 404, 875 HWY 101, FLORENCE OR.
(& ) )&
-,1('
''0-2343).$,/.
()*
7 A
*+
Your one stop shopping for all of your
MEDICARE AND LIFE AND HEALTH INSURANCE needs!
CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK
Dive
PHOTOS BY MARK BRENNAN/SIUSLAW NEWS
SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2016
