SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ YEAR IN REVIEW ❚
2016
SATURDAY, JANUARY 7, 2017
3
SNAPSHOTS
PHOTOS BY SIUSLAW NEWS STAFF
OCTOBER (cont.)
Celebrating 20 years
of the Florence
Events Center
Florence, OR CCB#195304
Dancing with Sea Lions
came to a close on Oct. 8 as the
Florence Events Center auc-
tioned off the last of the 7-1/2-
foot artist-created sea lions and
burned its mortgage, all as part
Hoberg’s
Complete Auto Repair
www.hobergsautorepair.com
345 Hwy. 101
541-997-2413
of its 20th anniversary celebra-
tion. Two Florence mayors and
other dignitaries spoke during
the event.
“We’re celebrating 20 years
because we survived 20 years.
We’re very proud of that,” said
Florence Events Center (FEC)
Director Kevin Rhodes. “It’s a
pleasure to be an employee of
the City of Florence and to
work for such a wonderful
facility.”
Florence Mayor Joe
Henry said, “I can’t tell you
how proud I am of the FEC —
not only Kevin Rhodes and the
staff for 20 years, but also
Jennifer Connor and the
Dancing with Sea Lions proj-
ect. We’re here celebrating both
of these events.”
Appreciation dinner
honors Coast Guard
In honor of its sustained
relationship with U.S. Coast
Guard Station Siuslaw River
for the past 99 years, the City
of Florence is soon to apply for
the prestigious Coast Guard
City designation.
The proposal was made ear-
lier this year, and at the time,
an appreciation dinner was one
of the ways suggested to honor
the Florence area’s only active-
duty military unit in town.
Florence Mayor Joe Henry
spearheaded the effort and the
Oregon Coast Military
Museum agreed to host
Florence’s first Coast Guard
Appreciation Dinner.
Over 250 guests attended.
FRAA celebrates first
anniversary in Old Town
Kevin McMullen
3rd Generation Owner
hobergsautorepair@gmail.com
Serving Your Auto Needs Since 1945
Had so much FUN picking the
football teams this year !!!
Florence Regional Arts
Alliance celebrated the one-
year anniversary of the opening
of its Old Town Arts Center on
Oct. 28.
FRAA Director Harlen
Springer said, “We currently
have 120 members and spon-
sors. We have exceeded expec-
tations on a number of levels,
including membership and
sponsorship.”
NOVEMBER
Chief Tipler retires
after 35 years
Siuslaw Valley Fire and
Congratulations to
all the other sponsors
A special publication of the
Siuslaw News
Rescue Operations Chief
Marvin Tipler hung up his hel-
met this week after 35 years
with the Florence-area fire
department. He officially
retired Aug. 1, but contracted
to remain until a replacement
operations chief was hired.
Jim Dickerson, of Netarts,
Ore., joined the fire station in
November.
Tipler, 53, said, “My goal is
to make the transition as
smooth as possible and do
whatever the district needs to
be successful in the future ...
I’m going to volunteer
throughout the community.”
He also plans to run for the
board in its next election.
Florence experiences
dramatic rise in
HIV, flu
Lane County Public Health
Services (LCPHS) discovered
five new cases of Human
Immunodeficiency Virus
(HIV) in Florence in October,
a dramatic rise over historic
averages. Officials worried
over high levels of 3 preventa-
ble diseases in Florence area.
LCPHS worked with
PeaceHealth Peace Harbor
Medical Center and the HIV
Alliance in Eugene to establish
local testing for HIV.
Flu and syphilis cases were
also on the rise.
Florence selects
new economic
development catalysts
The City in Motion contin-
ues its momentum with the
hiring of Jesse Dolin, of
Yachats, as the City of
Florence’s first economic
development catalyst to bring
talent and jobs to the area.
Regional Accelerator and
Innovation Network (RAIN)
also announced the hiring of
David Youngentob as the new
coastal venture catalyst for
western Lane County and
Lincoln County.
Boys and Girls Club
Drum Corps “The
Tsunami” performs
The Boys and Girls club of
Western Lane County celebrat-
ed the success of its fledgling
Drum Corps. The corps is a
recent addition to the club’s
E DITOR
N ED H ICKSON
G ENERAL M ANAGER
J ENNA B ARTLETT
programs — added to offer
alternatives from more tradi-
tional sports-oriented activi-
ties, according to Teen Center
Director Tracy Aaron.
The Corps’ first official per-
formance was this year’s
Florence Veteran’s Day
Parade, where the members
won best youth group.
DECEMBER
Community comes
together in wake
of student’s death
More than 150 people gath-
ered in the Mapleton High
School gym for a special
memorial service in memory
of Brandon Kimble, a
Mapleton freshman who tragi-
cally took his own life the
morning of Dec. 1.
Mapleton School District
Superintendent Jodi O’Mara
said, “We care about every one
of you. It’s what makes us
‘Mapleton strong.’”
Pearl Harbor vet
remembers day
Alan Tait was 18 years old
when, in the early morning
hours of Dec. 7, 1941, the day
he had been training for began
with the sound of Japanese
planes on the horizon near
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
Now living in Florence,
Tait, 93, recalled the moment
he realized that the noise he
was hearing was not a training
mission.
“All of a sudden I see the
smoke and all of those
planes,” he said. “After that, it
was pandemonium.”
Tait was stationed at a base
on the bay and not on a ship,
so his view of the battle was
unobstructed.
FEC comes full circle
Blues musician Curtis
Salgado returned to Florence
to play the final performance
of 2016 at the Florence Events
Center. The blues show
wrapped up a year-long cele-
bration of the event center’s
20th anniversary.
Salgado first played
Florence in 1996, during the
opening year of the events
center.
F EATURES E DITOR
C HANTELLE M EYER
P RODUCTION
R ON A NNIS
J ODY P ATTISON
DIRECTOR
A DVERTISING
S USAN
G UTIERREZ
J EANNA P ETERSEN
DIRECTOR
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