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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 26, 2016)
THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM ❘ / SIUSLAWNEWS ❘ @ SIUSLAWNEWS SATURDAY EDITION ❘ NOVEMBER 26, 2016 ❘ $1.00 An American DUNGENESS tradition SEASON DELAYED INSIDE — S CHOOL NEWS SPORTS — B 126TH YEAR ❘ ISSUE NO. 94 SERVING WESTERN LANE COUNTY SINCE 1890 FLORENCE, OREGON Grateful community gathers together Volunteers from local Kiwanis and Elks Clubs served meals to hundreds of community members during a free Thanksgiving Day feast Thursday. JACK DAVIS/SIUSLAW NEWS Helping Hands volunteers cooked and served an early Thanksgiving dinner, including homemade pies, to approximately 60 guests Wednesday at the Florence United Methodist Church kitchen and dining room. MARK BRENNAN/SIUSLAW NEWS H e l p i ng t h e be a t g o o n CITY New Boys and Girls Club Drum Corps “The Tsunami” seeks uniforms T he Boys and Girls club of Western Lane County celebrated the success of its fledgling Drum Corps at an award banquet on Wednesday, Nov. 22. Drum Corps is a recent addi- tion to the club’s programs — added to offer B Y M ARK alternatives from B RENNAN more traditional Siuslaw News sports-oriented activities, accord- ing to Teen Center Director Tracy Aaron. “The Boys and Girls Club has always been known for a strong sports program, but there hasn’t been much for kids outside of that — for kids that might want to try something different,” she said. The Corps’ first official per- formance was this year’s Florence Veteran’s Day Parade. “They won best youth group in the Veteran’s Day parade,” Aaron said. “That was kind of a dress rehearsal for them, getting them out in front of a crowd and used to performing in front of people.” John Aaron, Tracy’s husband, is the director of the Drum Corps, MARK BRENNAN/SIUSLAW NEWS Members of The Tsunami, Boys and Girls Club’s new Drum Corps, perform during the annual club awards banquet on Nov. 22. and his love of music was one of And the response has exceeded the primary reasons for the initia- their expectations. “The kids love it. They are tion of the program. “John is a professional musi- having a blast,” she said. “They cian, a drummer, and has always came into it not really knowing wanted to get back into it with the what to expect except they want- kids, and give something back,” ed to play the drums or they Tracy said. “So we thought, wanted to be a rock star. I think ‘Let’s start a marching drum it was a little harder than they line.’” thought it would be at first, but those that stuck with it have not only learned to play drums, but also to read music.” Aaron said that not only the young people, but also their par- ents, have taken to the program. “Parents have been very sup- portive. Some of these kids don’t have experience with team activities and they have seen their children blossom before their eyes. They are learning to work with a group and are enjoying it,” she said. One of the initial obstacles the new group had to overcome was obtaining the instruments that members needed to learn and eventually perform with. “The drums that were pur- chased were all used. When we started this program in May, we had a couple of donors just come in out of the blue and say, ‘We would like to make a donation to the Boys and Girls Club,’ and our director and our board made the call to let us use that dona- tion for gear,” Aaron said. See DRUMS 10A Florence joins Amazon Sunday deliveries U.S. Post Office in Florence now delivers Amazon packages on Sundays n agreement between Amazon.com, Inc. and the U.S. Postal Service means Florence area residents may now receive Sunday Amazon package deliveries. The service, which began Nov. 6, will run through Jan. 9, 2017. Amazon started the Sunday delivery pro- gram with the postal service in metropolitan areas across the country in 2013. The expan- sion into smaller towns, like Florence, has been on a case-by-case basis. Florence Postmaster Lisa Herbert said, “Amazon just opened up a new facility in Hillsboro. Since that went live, we started getting Amazon shipments directly from INSIDE A Ambulance . . . . . . . . . . . . . A2 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B7 Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A4 School Zone . . . . . . . . . . Inside B Y J ACK D AVIS Siuslaw News Amazon every day. Now we receive them on Sundays as well, for which we are making special trips.” In addition to receiving daily shipments from United Postal Service (UPS) and Federal Express (FedEx), Herbert said the Florence Post Office is now receiving three Amazon drop shipments per day. According to Herbert, Amazon and Post Office headquarters choose which towns will receive the Sunday delivery contracts, based on demand. Religion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A5 Side Show . . . . . . . . . . . . . B6 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B Weather Data . . . . . . . . . . . A2 THIS WEEK ’ S “I think this is a great service,” Herbert said. “Customers like getting their parcels on Sunday. It also gives us a little bit of a break on Mondays because all the Sunday parcels we deliver would normally be delivered on Monday.” The Sunday delivery service is only for Amazon orders and does not apply to regular mail service letters, parcels, UPS or FedEx orders. There is no additional shipping charge for Sunday delivery on any Amazon order, and it is included as part of the free shipping for See Council proceeds with building project; city financially strong F lorence City Council approved more than $125,000 in expenditures during the Nov. 21 meeting. The council approved an $87,422 contract proposal from RH2 Engineering Inc., with Oregon offices in Portland B Y J ACK D AVIS and Medford, to do engineer- Siuslaw News ing and design services for water and wastewater improvements along recently annexed city property along Highway 126. Ray Wells, Inc., was awarded a $39,050 contract to complete the clearing of the new Public Works Facility lot located on the southwest corner of Kingwood and 27th streets. According to City Project Manager Megan Messmer, a bid decision will be made by Dec. 19, with construction of the approximately $3.3 million project to begin early January. The completion deadline is June 30, 2017. Public Works Director Mike Miller said, “Ray Wells, Inc., is uniquely qualified to do this project. It has the heavy equipment, and more important, it has the horizontal grinder to grind the vegetation into mulch that is suitable for our FloGro operation. It is a two-for-one for the city.” The council also approved a liquor license for the American Market that will be going into the vacant building located at 2876 Highway 101. Interim Finance Director Andy Parks reported that the city’s general fund balance for the most recent quarter ending Sept. 30, closed with $63,000 more than estimated. “The fund balances for all the funds were at or above the minimums established with the fiscal policy update,” Parks said. He added, “Revenue during the quarter and projected for the rest of the fiscal year appears adequate to meet the adopted spend- ing, with the exception of one project, DELIVERY 10A TODAY SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY 50 42 50 46 52 44 51 42 WEATHER Full Forecast, A3 Florence moves forward into second half of fiscal year See S IUSLAW N EWS 2 S ECTIONS ❘ 22 P AGES C OPYRIGHT 2016 CITY 10A CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK Local organizations gather to provide food and fellowship to hundreds of community members over the Thanksgiving holiday
