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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 12, 2016)
THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM ❘ / SIUSLAWNEWS ❘ @ SIUSLAWNEWS SATURDAY EDITION MOST VALUABLE ❘ NOVEMBER 12, 2016 ❘ $1.00 SHS student plans blood drive INSIDE — A10 SPORTS — B 126TH YEAR ❘ ISSUE NO. 90 SERVING WESTERN LANE COUNTY SINCE 1890 FLORENCE, OREGON M B Y J ACK D AVIS Siuslaw News ECONOMY Florence approves $9.8 million bank loan Dick Anderson by fewer than 300 votes out of more than 62,000 cast. Voters soundly defeated Measure 94, to amend the constitution to eliminate mandatory retirement ages for state judges, and Measure 97, to increase corporate minimum taxes on sales of more than $25 million to fund education, health care and senior services. At a cost of $45 million, the Measure 97 fight was the most expensive ballot meas- ure fight in Oregon history. Measure 95, to amend the ore than 75 percent of Oregonians cast ballots in the 2016 general election Tuesday, far above the estimated 55 percent national average. Voters approved five of seven ballot measures and returned all five incumbent U.S. Representatives, includ- ing Dist. 4 Rep. Peter DeFazio, to Washington D.C. U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden was also re-elected for another six-year term. State Sen. Arnie Roblan narrowly beat out challenger state constitution to allow investments in equities by public universities to reduce financial risk and increase investments to benefit stu- dents, passed by more than 70 percent. Measure 96, to amend the constitution to dedicate 1.5 percent of state lottery net proceeds to fund support services for Oregon veterans, passed by an overwhelming 83 percent approval vote. Both education-related measures 98 and 99 passed with a two-thirds yes vote. Measure 98 requires state funding for dropout-preven- tion, career and college readiness programs in Oregon high schools. the measure is estimated to cost $147 million annually and requires the legislature to determine how the program expansions will be funded. Measure 99 creates an Outdoor School Education Fund, that will be continu- ously funded through the state lottery, to provide out- door school programs statewide. See ELECTION 11A RED, W H I TE AND TRUE City Council receives update on grant to partially fund School Resource Officer During the Nov. 7 city council meeting, coun- cilors amended and approved a resolution author- izing Mayor Joe Henry and City Manager Erin Reynolds to execute B Y J ACK D AVIS agreements to close a Siuslaw News financing agreement proposal by Banner Bank to finance $9.8 million of city debt at a tax- exempt bank-qualified interest rate of 2.92 per- cent. The interest rate is guaranteed for 10 years. The term of the loan is broken down to 20 years for $8.5 million and 10 years for the $1.3 million street improvement portion of the loan. The $8.5 million will be used as follows: • $3.7 million to the Florence Urban Renewal Agency • $3.3 million to cover the cost of a new city public works facility • $1.5 million for water improvements Henry said, “A large portion of the debt with Banner Bank is refinancing of the existing credit line to a lower rate. “The Banner Bank agreement was very favor- able to the city and I want to thank both Banner Bank and the city staff for providing financing for our ‘City in Motion’ at historically low rates that will bode well for us in the future.” Henry also read a proclamation declaring November Military Family Appreciation Month. The city hosted a military family reception prior to the meeting. In other business, the board received an update on a $125,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice to help fund a four-year Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) School Resource officer. The grant will fund part of the first three years, with the city completely respon- sible for the fourth year. The grant must be approved by the city coun- cil and the Siuslaw School District Board of Directors before the grant funds can be accepted. The COPS Resource Officer, slated to start in the 2017-18 school year, will work at all three Siuslaw district schools to help reduce absen- teeism and improve graduation rates. City Project Manager Megan Messmer gave a progress report on the new public works facility to be located on 27th Street. According to Messmer, a bid decision is to be made by Dec. 19. INSIDE See Ambulance . . . . . . . . . . . . . Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Police . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A2 B7 A4 A2 CITY 11A PHOTOS BY MARK BRENNAN AND JACK DAVIS/SIUSLAW NEWS T he Florence community honored area veterans and “saluted the U.S. Coast Guard,” the parade’s grand marshal, at the annual Florence Veteran’s Day Parade on Friday. Hundreds of youth, veterans, families and community members attended the parade to watch area veteran groups, the Oregon Coast Military Museum, Boys and Girls Club of Western Lane County’s new marching band The Tsunamis, bagpipers, community organizations and more as they traveled from Florence Events Center to Historic Old Town. Siuslaw High School Band played under the Siuslaw River Bridge as the parade ended at Veteran’s Memorial Park. Inspired by their stories... High school holds assembly to honor area veterans B Y M ARK B RENNAN Siuslaw News iuslaw High School Leadership Council recognized local veterans for their serv- ice to America in an assembly on Wednesday, Nov. 9. The event was held in the gymnasium at Siuslaw High School and was attended by all grade levels at the school. The student organizer for the event, Student Body President Claire Waggoner, was motivated by a lack of recognition for veterans at the school. “Last year I was really disappointed that we didn’t have anything when it came to Veterans Day, so I wanted to make that change when it came to Veterans Day this year,” she said. In addition to the motivation of initiating an event at her high school, Waggoner was inspired by a trip to the nation’s capital. S Religion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A5 Side Show . . . . . . . . . . . . . B6 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B Weather Data . . . . . . . . . . . A2 THIS WEEK ’ S PHOTOS BY MARK BRENNAN/SIUSLAW NEWS Siuslaw Senior Claire Waggoner, right, speaks with Florence veteran Steve Olienyk during a veteran recognition Wednesday at Siuslaw High School. “This summer I was in Washington, D.C., and I was at a World War II memorial when there was an honor flight there,” she said. “I got to visit with a lot of veterans and I was really inspired after hearing their stories.” Waggoner was determined to share her experiences in Washington and to work more diligently towards creating a special event for veterans in Florence. She was pleased and surprised with the response of her teachers and fellow students. TODAY SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY 60 51 59 54 58 51 56 47 WEATHER Full Forecast, A3 “A lot of the teachers reached out to me, telling me about their family members in the military, that I didn’t even know had family in S IUSLAW N EWS 2 S ECTIONS ❘ 22 P AGES C OPYRIGHT 2016 See ASSEMBLY 11A CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK Election recap 2016: Few new faces emerge as winners in local, state races