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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