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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 14, 2016)
THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM ❘ / SIUSLAWNEWS BIG BOWLING WEEKEND ❘ @ SIUSLAWNEWS WEDNESDAY EDITION ❘ DECEMBER 14, 2016 ❘ $1.00 20 YEARS OF TRADITION INSIDE — COAST LIFE SPORTS — C 126TH YEAR ❘ ISSUE NO. 99 SERVING WESTERN LANE COUNTY SINCE 1890 FLORENCE, OREGON Florence hosts Oregon Tsunami Conference Sh i n i ng b r ig ht PHOTOS BY MARK BRENNAN/SIUSLAW NEWS H eceta Lightstation truly lives up to its name at this time of the year. The Old Light Keepers house now operates prima- rily as a Bed and Breakfast, but transforms into a major holi- day attraction in December, when it hosts the annual Victorian Christmas Open House. The lightstation will be decorated with thou- sands of lights, many of which are new LEDs, that add significantly to the beauty and ambience. The crash of the ocean on the cliffs below combines with the iconic beauty of the lighthouse and the lights from the lightstation to make for a truly unique holiday outing. The 21st annual free Open House continues from 4 to 7 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 17, and Sunday, Dec. 18. Parking is available at the Heceta Head Lighthouse State scenic viewpoint and costs $5 per vehicle, or is free with a State Park Oregon Coast Passport. A free shuttle, provided by NW Adventures, is available. For more information or to volunteer at the Lightstation, call 866-547-3696. (See more photos on page 3B.) JACK DAVIS/SIUSLAW NEWS More than 140 attendees gathered at the Florence Events Center last week to hear 26 experts speak at the two-day Oregon Tsunami Conference, organized by the Oregon Office of Emergency Management. S peakers from as far away as Hawaii, Alaska and the east coast were in Florence last week to participate in the first Oregon Tsunami Conference held at the Florence Events Center on Dec. 7 and 8. More than 140 B Y J ACK D AVIS emergency man- Siuslaw News agers, first respon- ders, city planners and mayors from around the state attended the two-day conference, sponsored by the Oregon Office of Emergency Management (OEM). OEM Geologic Hazards Program Coordinator Althea Rizzo said, “This is our first tsunami con- ference here in Oregon and we are excited to get some really smart people in a room to talk about a really big problem. “Wednesday was about the science of the problem. On Thursday we had emergency man- agers, first responders, city planners and mayors discussed how to do response and land-use plan- ning,” she added. Rizzo said the goal was to coordinate state, county and local government agencies that would be the first to respond in the aftermath of an earthquake along the Cascadia Subduction Zone off the Oregon Coast. Siuslaw Valley Fire and Rescue Fire Chief Jim Langborg and Chief of Operations Jim Dickerson See CONFERENCE 6A WEATHER Winter storm watch prompts opening of emergency shelter INSIDE With Tuesday morning’s announcement by the National Weather Service of a Winter Storm Watch in effect through Wednesday evening, the Emergency Cold Weather Shelter (ECWS) opened its doors Tuesday night. “We will most likely be offering a warm place to stay tonight as well, for those in need of shelter dur- ing this cold weather spell,” said the Rev. Greg Wood of the Presbyterian Church of the Siuslaw. “We will also be evaluating the need to open the shelter later in the week if needed.” The ECWS is at New Life Lutheran Church, 21st and Spruce streets. Registration for guests begins at 5 p.m. For more information, to volunteer or make a donation, call 541-991-8208 or email Wood at revgwood@ yahoo.com. Coast Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C6 Library Tidings . . . . . . . . . . . A5 Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A4 C ITY L IGHTS C INEMAS BROKEN INTO Thieves shatter front door of movie theater over the weekend to steal hard cider B Y J ACK D AVIS Siuslaw News Florence Police responded to a 7:58 a.m. call Saturday reporting one of the glass front doors to City Lights Cinemas, 1930 Highway 101, had been shat- tered. Florence resident Trisha Wymore made the call to the police. “We got up early to go out to breakfast and then went by the theater to see what was playing. My husband and I saw the door was broken and called the police,” Wymore said. City Lights Cinemas co-owner Michael Falter received a call from the police at 8 a.m. inform- ing him of the break-in. Falter said, “It is sad when you show up and see your business like this. It is kind of like having your home broken into. It is unsettling.” According to Falter, the thieves used a piece of wooden PHOTOS BY MICHAEL FALTER Thieves shattered the front entrance to City Light Cinemas with a landscape piling (above). Police are offering a reward of $250 for information leading to a con- viction. piling from the theater’s land- scaping to break the door. “I was impressed,” he said. “There was glass way over against the other side of the room, across the lobby.” According to Falter, the thieves were mostly interested in $8 bottles of hard cider. See CINEMAS 6A Saturday fire damages Grand Avenue home Two adults, two children escape uninjured in kitchen fire B Y J ACK D AVIS Siuslaw News No injuries were reported from a kitchen fire that serious- ly damaged a trailer on Grand Avenue on Saturday, Dec. 10. Siuslaw Valley Fire and Police . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A2 Scoreboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . C2 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C Weather Data . . . . . . . . . . . A2 THIS WEEK ’ S Rescue (SVFR) dispatched three engines and 18 firefighters to the 5100 block of Grand Avenue at 10:17 p.m. According to SVFR Fire Marshall Sean Barrett, the fire was extinguished in about 15 minutes. Barrett said, “The fire started when burnt food was disposed of in a trashcan and subsequent- ly caught the trash on fire. There was significant damage to the kitchen and smoke damage throughout the home.” He added, “The fire had been TODAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY 39 36 45 35 46 32 45 33 WEATHER Full Forecast, A3 somewhat suppressed by the occupant, slowing the spread of the fire.” Barrett estimated the loss at $5,000 to $10,000. American Red Cross Cascades S IUSLAW N EWS 3 S ECTIONS ❘ 28 P AGES C OPYRIGHT 2016 See FIRE 6A CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK Experts from around the country address statewide attendees
