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SATURDAY EDITION
❘ DECEMBER 24, 2016 ❘ $1.00
L ETTERS
TO S ANTA
SPECIAL SECTION — C
December 25
December 24 — January 1
SERVING WESTERN LANE COUNTY SINCE 1890
L e t y o u r h e ar t
b e
l ig h t
A
t the Port of Siuslaw, The Pacific
Surveyor is decked out with a
beautiful light display for the port’s
Holiday Light Contest. The winner was
chosen after press deadlines on Friday
by U.S. Coast Guard Station Siuslaw
River Chief Petty Officer Ben Snider.
FLORENCE, OREGON
Old stuff,
new art
Repurposed Art Competition
draws student interest and
donates to local charities
T
MARK BRENNAN/SIUSLAW NEWS
H a pp y ho li d ay s fr o m a l l of u s a t S i us l a w Ne w s
B&G Club
helps with
holiday
needs, treats
Stuff the Bus collections
fill the holiday stockings
of local families
amara Pohlman hates to throw things
away. She really hates it. She believes
that there are many uses for items and
materials that are routinely discarded. Some of
these uses are practical and some are, if you will,
more whimsical.
Pohlman feels that people can reduce and reuse
so much more than they realize, that she started a
business based on this
B Y M ARK B RENNAN
belief.
Siuslaw News
Pohlman dedicates her
time and energy to find-
ing like-minded individuals, with a strong creative
streak, and providing them with a space to share
their work with the people of Florence.
The Resto-Arts Gallery in Historic Old Town on
Bay Street is the manifestation of those ideals. It
displays work from local artisans that have reused
discarded materials and turned them into practical
or beautiful pieces that are entirely different then
the original manufacturer intended.
This holiday season, Pohlman decided that she
wanted to expand her efforts and worked out a
way to involve Siuslaw High School students with
SHS art instructor, Kim Pickell.
They came up with an idea they hoped would
inspire students to look at their trash in a new
light.
Pohlman says Pickell was enthusiastic about the
idea from the beginning and the two fleshed out
the concept rather quickly.
“Restorative art is my passion,” Pohlman said.
“And we have so many great artists here in
Florence, I thought, what about nurturing this cre-
ativity in high school so that the students can grow
into this, and maybe they will rethink what they
throw away and maybe think outside the box artis-
tically.”
See
ARTS 10A
B Y M ARK B RENNAN
Siuslaw News
he recent Stuff the Bus donation cam-
paign organized locally by the Boys and
Girls Club of Western Lane County was
undoubtedly a success, according to Teen
Program Director Tracy Aaron.
The club collected food, toys and clothing at
local retail locations during December in addi-
tion to accepting donations at the Clubhouse.
The club distributed assorted items to over
100 families.
The effort was coordinated by Aaron, who
said she was pleased with the community
response
“The Stuff the Bus events at Grocery Outlet
and Fred Meyer were great, but the donations
T
MARK BRENNAN/SIUSLAW NEWS
Tracy Aaron, Teen Program director at the Boys and Girls Club of
Western Lane County, prepares to distribute the donations collected
by the club during the month of December.
from others allowed us to help more people
than we had planned,” she said.
Aaron said she hopes to make stuffing the
bus an annual affair and looks forward to help-
ing more families in the future.
For more information on club activities and
volunteer opportunities, contact the Boys and
Girls Club at 541-902-0304.
Port of Siuslaw receives auditor’s report on FY 2016
Board of Commissioners also finalizes insurance agency at latest meeting
uring the Dec. 21 meeting
of the Port of Siuslaw
Board of Commission-
ers, Constance J. Huntsman, CPA
reviewed the independent audi-
tor’s report for fiscal year ending
June 2016.
According to the report, the port
had a $65,868
B Y J ACK D AVIS
increase of
Siuslaw News
operating rev-
enues and a $19,378 decrease in
operating expenses for 2015-16.
The report said the port’s net
position improved by $67,427
INSIDE
D
Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B7
Holiday Features . . . . . . . . . A5
Letters to Santa . . . . . . . . . . . C
Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A4
compared to the previous year, but
the port’s expenses remained high-
er than revenues, causing the port
to still recognize an $189,420 loss
in net position for the year.
Huntsman said, “Basically, the
cash that the port received from
customers did not cover supplies
and employee costs. It was short
by $127,000. But the port also gets
cash from property taxes and state
forest sales and non-operating rev-
enues of $314,288. That is what
was used to cover the shortfall in
operating activities.”
Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A2
Religion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A7
Sideshow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B6
Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B
She added, “Overall, the port
stayed within its budget parame-
ters.”
Port Manager steven Leskin
said, “The Port is in good financial
condition. We came in under
budget in 2015-16, and revenue
was up.”
In other business, commission-
ers revisited the resolution to
appoint Coast Insurance Services,
Inc., the port’s agent of record,
over the recommendation of Port
Manager Steven Leskin to appoint
Abel Insurance.
THIS WEEK ’ S
Before the vote, president Ron
Caputo said, “Before we vote, I’m
going to ask each commissioner if
they have any conflicts of inter-
est.”
Commissioner Mike Buckwald
said, “It appears I do have a con-
flict (of interest) that I did not rec-
ognize at last month’s meeting. It
didn’t occur to me that that was a
conflict.”
Buckwald excused himself
from the discussion and vote.
See
B REAKING
TODAY
SUNDAY
MONDAY
TUESDAY
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NEWS
Due to early holiday deadlines,
Siuslaw News received breaking news
about two water-related emergency
incidents after press time Friday. For
up-to-date information on U.S. Coast
Guard Station Siuslaw River’s search
for a missing person on the Siuslaw
River and the report of a drowning
at Thor’s Well, check with
www.FaceBook.com/SiuslawNews.
REPORT 10A
WEATHER
Full Forecast, A3
MARK BRENNAN/SIUSLAW NEWS
Resto-Arts owner Tamara Pohlman displays the
top three finishers in the first annual
Repurposed Art Competition. Siuslaw High
School students were awarded cash prizes and
will donate all proceeds from the sale of their
pieces to local charities of their choosing.
S IUSLAW N EWS
3 S ECTIONS ❘ 32 P AGES
C OPYRIGHT 2016
CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK
126TH YEAR ❘ ISSUE NO. 102