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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 7, 2016)
THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM ❘ / SIUSLAWNEWS ❘ @ SIUSLAWNEWS WEDNESDAY EDITION VIKS LOSE CLOSE ONE Empty Bowls dishes up INSIDE — A10 SPORTS — B SERVING WESTERN LANE COUNTY SINCE 1890 FLORENCE, OREGON CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK 126TH YEAR ❘ ISSUE NO. 97 ❘ DECEMBER 7, 2016 ❘ $1.00 PEARL HARBOR REMEMBRANCE DAY 2016 PHOTO COURTESY U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE This image of the sinking of the USS Arizona taken 75 years today during the attack on Pearl Harbor remains one of American history’s most iconic moments. Military museum honors the past Pearl Harbor vet remembers day B Y M ARK B RENNAN Siuslaw News lan Tait was 18 years old when, in the early morn- ing hours of Dec. 7, 1941, the day he had been train- ing for began with the sound of Japanses planes on the horizon near Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Within minutes, the once quiet Naval harbor was trans- formed into one with thick smoke, fire and chaos as the unexpected attack played out before Tait’s eyes. Little did he know the events of that fateful morning would be the single most important factor in launch- ing America into World War II. Now living in Florence, Tait, 93, recalled the moment he real- ized that the noise he was hear- ing was not a training mission. A “We were getting ready to go down for breakfast and that’s when we saw the first airplanes,” he said. “They came diving down and straffing our planes in the water. At first we thought it was the Army Air Corps practicing — then all of a sudden I see the smoke and all of those planes. MARK BRENNAN/SIUSLAW NEWS “After that, it was Alan Tait was stationed at Naval Air pandemonium.” Station Kaneohe Bay, across the bay Tait was sta- from Pearl Harbor, on Dec. 7, 1941. tioned at a base on the bay and not on a ship, so moving about, increasing the his view of the battle was number of targets and possible unobstructed. The timing of casualties. the attack occurred when there See REMEMBERING 11A were two teams of seamen B Y C HANTELLE M EYER Siuslaw News “D ec. 7, 1941 — a date which will live in infamy,” or so President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) declared 75 years ago after the devastating attacks on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, when Japanese planes targeted American naval forces, killing 2,403 and wounding 1,178 Americans and launching the United States into World War II. Today, on its 75th anniver- sary, people across the country are gathering in honor of Pearl Harbor Remembance Day. One of those places is the Oregon Coast Military Museum (OCMM), 2145 Kingwood St. in Florence. The museum is a time capsule E MERGENCY C OLD W EATHER S HELTER of Oregon coast history, a time- line representing each of the U.S.’s significant military engagements from the 20th cen- tury onwards and the men and women who served. Numerous personal effects, artifacts and stories went into the museum’s displays and dioramas. Artist Judy Murphy designed and created OCMM’s stunning exhibits. “Basically World War I was easy because it was a trench,” she said. “But World War II was harder. I was thinking, ‘Holy cow, it’s all over the place. How in the world do I put all of this together?’ I started looking at maps, and that’s what I did. I used maps for the Pacific theater and Europe, and even the home front. That’s how I weaved them together.” OPENS Cold, wet weather sparks season’s first opening at shelter’s new location JACK DAVIS/SIUSLAW NEWS INSIDE One of five Emergency Cold Weather Shelter flags flies in front of Fred Meyer Monday, to announce that the shelter is open and that Fred Meyer is a pick up location. The shelter was open Monday and Tuesday nights due to cold, wet weather. Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Library Tidings . . . . . . . . . . . Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Police . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B8 A5 A4 A2 Freezing temperatures and inclement weather heralded the opening of the Florence area Emergency Cold Weather Shelter (ECWS) Monday B Y J ACK D AVIS and Tuesday Siuslaw News evenings at the Presbyterian Church of the Siuslaw, 3996 Highway 101. On Monday, more than a dozen guests took advantage of the shelter’s services. It was not known at press time how many guests used the facility Tuesday evening. For the past two years, the ECWS has operated out of the Masonic Lodge, south of town. The Rev. Greg Wood of the Presbyterian Church of the Siuslaw and president of Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A2 Scoreboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . B3 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B Weather Data . . . . . . . . . . . A2 THIS WEEK ’ S ECWS said, “Our church has been very involved with the ECWS, but this is the first year we will house guests. Technically we are the backup site.” Wood said the Florence United Methodist Church, which is the primary location this year, is currently very involved with Helping Hands. “It helps to have two sites available,” Wood said. “We would be happy if there were other churches in town that would be willing to host as well.” Weather determines when the shelter opens. “Unfortunately, this is just for emergency weather conditions. Our criteria for opening See THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY 42 38 53 45 49 43 48 42 WEATHER Full Forecast, A3 See MUSEUM 7A Mudslide victim’s family files wrongful death lawsuit It will have been a year ago next week since the tragic death of 70-year-old Delores Miller, who was B Y N ED H ICKSON killed Dec. 18, Siuslaw News when a massive mud slide swept into her home on Mercer Lake Road. Several days of heavy rains had saturated the hillside behind Miller’s home, where she lived with her husband, Gary, and their two dogs. When Siuslaw Valley Fire and Rescue crews arrived around 3:15 a.m., they found that the landslide behind Miller’s home had pushed dirt, trees and other debris into her SHELTER 7A TODAY A broad map stretches between the three segments of the World War II exhibit, weav- ing together the naval and aerial battles fought between the Allied Forces and Japan on the islands and coastlines of the Pacific Ocean with the war against Axis forces in Europe. OCMM patrons will notice that the Pacific Theater doesn’t feature Pearl Harbor prominent- ly; a series of numbers pinpoint battle sites throughout thou- sands of square miles. A corre- sponding book at the front of the display gives details and shows photos. Murphy researched books, the internet and other sources extensively before finishing the display. S IUSLAW N EWS 2 S ECTIONS ❘ 22 P AGES C OPYRIGHT 2016 See LAWSUIT 11A
