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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