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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 15, 2016)
12 A SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2016 Emotionally scarring your children for Halloween is the circle of life Though it’s been 15 years, I still remember my youngest son’s first Halloween cos- tume. Because he was too young to walk, the choices were limited to things that could be carried under one arm and then planted on the doorstep. Eventually, I narrowed the options down to the follow- ing: A pumpkin. A legless pirate. A meteor. When considering the mer- its of each costume option and which elements should be that allows them to bond with their child by making their Halloween-costume dream come true. For the rest of us, it means actually making something, and therefore put- ting our child’s emotional wellbeing at risk by creating a costume that could potentially scar them for life. After nearly 40 years, I still remember my mother careful- ly wrapping me in layer after layer of tissue in order to turn me into a frightening replica of The Mummy — and how it took less than five minutes for a light drizzle to turn me into the considerably LESS frightening Soggy Toilet Paper Man. Things weren’t much better the following year, when I dressed up as a pirate and Talented crew play, direct ‘Pirates’ Last Resort Players of Florence are bringing Gilbert and Sullivan’s classic comic opera “Pirates of Penzance” to the Florence Events Center the weekends of Nov. 4 to 6 and 11 to 13. By now you’ve met the cast — Sean Abplanalp as Frederic, Hilary Roach as Mabel, Sandy Vaccaro as the Pirate King, Jim Wellington as the major gener- al, Dana Rodet as the sergeant and Crystal Farnsworth as Ruth — but the all-star cast is led by a talented and versatile directorial team. Leah Goodwin takes the helm of “Pirates” as director. Often taking the role of stage manager, Goodwin was last seen on stage of Last Resort Player’s “25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” in 2015. She also directed “Les Misérables” in 2014. Goodwin’s assistant director and stage manager is the organized and efficient Mary Conley. Laura Merz is the “argh-tis- tic” (artistic) music director. after my cape caught on the neighbor’s fence. Granted, these situations weren’t entirely about design flaw. In fact, I’m willing to accept the small role my own flawed coordination skills might’ve played in all this. However, that only adds to the pressure of coming up with a costume that can be safe, functional and, if neces- sary, used as a stretcher. Fortunately, my son was still too young to remember when, a year later when, the cardboard robot costume I made him cut off the circula- tion to his arms, rendering them unresponsive for a full two minutes. This was discovered on our third stop of the night, when he tried to lift up his plastic jack-o-lantern for candy and, instead, fell headfirst through the screen door. Now that my kids are in their teens, I no longer have to worry about creating cos- tumes for them that could prove embarrassing or leave an emotional scar. Then again, my wife and I are now free to create our own costumes — which, for our teenagers, could be even more frightening. Ned is a syndicated columnist with News Media Corporation. His latest book, “Pearls of Writing Wisdom: From 16 years as a shucking columnist” is available online at Port Hole Books. YOU CAN EAT ll A EVERY THURSDAY Enjoy all the hand-battered, golden fried cod you can eat! Served with seasoned french fries, tangy coleslaw and delicious tartar sauce. COD FISH & CHIPS ONLY $12 COURTESY PHOTO Last Resort Players’ “Pirates of Penzance” has a hard- working directorial staff: Laura Merz, artistic music direc- tor; Mary Conley, assistant director and stage manager; Leah Goodwin, director and Jen Weier, music director and conductor. She is joined by Jen Weier as music director and conductor. Annie Schmidt, a founding member of Last Resort Players, and Sally Wantz are producing “Pirates.” Not only that — they both play pirates, too. Filled with boisterous songs, glib lines and an all-star cast, this production is not a show to be missed. Last Resort Players will play “Pirates of Penzance” at Florence Events Center, 715 Quince St., the weekends of Nov. 4 to 6 and 11 to 13, with 7 p.m. evening and 2 p.m. mati- nee performances. Tickets are $20 each and available at 541-997-1994 or, www.eventcenter.org. PAID POLITICAL ADVERTISEMENT ✔ missed out on all of the good candy after spending 45 min- utes with my plastic hook stuck in the car door. By the time I hit the streets all that was left were Sweet Tarts and half-opened rolls of Rolaids. However, as Count Dracula the following Halloween, I knew it was going to be MY year. Aside from maybe swallowing my own fangs, there wasn’t much that could go wrong. I remember leaping from the porch and sprinting into the night with my long cape flapping behind me; I remem- ber the sound of my polished shoes clattering across the pavement, and the eerie, greenish tinge of my glow-in- the-dark teeth — particularly as they flew out of my mouth VOTE YES ON MEASURE 20-266 Voting YES on 20-266 is a CONTINUATION of the current Western Lane Ambulance District Tax Levy for another 5-years and is NOT A NEW tax or higher tax rate. 1297 Bay Street Florence • 541-997-1133 www.bridgewaterfi shhouse.com SUBSCRIBE OR RENEW IN OCTOBER One r a winne week! rs Winne d nce annou ever y day! r u t a S Sign u your s p or Renew ubscr iption to the Siuslaw News an d be e n to win tered a free Rhod odend ron pl from ant the Si uslaw Chapt er Am erican Rhod odend ron Socie ty. Voting YES on 20-266 allows Western Lane Ambulance the ability to maintain its current level of service and keep up with the growing demands. Voting YES on 20-266 renews the current levy of $.45 per $1000 of assessed value per year and would cost the average home owner less than $7 a month. Western Lane Ambulance District provides Emergency 911 Response as well as critical care transports from Peace Harbor Hospital to Regional Medical Centers such as Riverbend. Since the passage of the 2012 Tax Levy the districts call volume has increased over 20% averaging over 3000 calls annually, and Medicare rates are on the decline, so the levy renewal is critical in order to maintain current levels of service. Siuslaw News 541-997-3441 148 Maple St. • PO Box 10 • Florence, OR • 97439 PAID FOR BY IAFF LOCAL 851 www.thesiuslawnews.com CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK Ned Hickson incorporated into them, par- ents really have only one consideration: “How do I get the most candy out of my child?” To me, the sympathy factor for the legless pirate made it a no-brainer. However, I could- n’t overlook the power of cuteness — a quality that was missing from the legless pirate and meteor concepts. I eventually settled on “The Pumpkin, which I’m sad to say, fell short of my candy- yield expectations for that year. To make matters worse, that was also the year my old- est daughter became an active member of Young Advocates for Keeping Kandy (YAKK). I realize for some parents, Halloween is an exciting time
