SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2017
Now, you can view
road conditions in
real time
A new online tool will allow
the public to view road clo-
sures or restrictions due to
downed trees, debris, land-
slides or flooding in near real-
time on county-maintained
roads.
The tool, called Storm Road
Tracker, has been used by
Lane County staff to report
and track issues for the last
year. It was developed by Lane
County’s
Geographic
Information Services (GIS)
Department in partnership
with Road Maintenance staff.
“It has been a great tool for
our crews to use in the field,”
said Lane County Road
Maintenance Manager Orin
Schumacher. “It allows us to
be more efficient in how we
dispatch staff and creates a
record we can use to report on
damage.
“Our hope is that the public
can use the tracker to see
what’s going on around them,
as well as report issues if they
don’t see them on the map.”
The tracker allows users to
look for incidents on a
County-wide map, or to search
by address and road name.
The Storm Road Tracker is
available at www.lcmaps.lane
county.org/stormroadtracker.
It can also be accessed by
visiting www.lanecounty.org
and selecting “Know Your
Route” under the “Emergency
Preparedness” tab.
“We are still in the develop-
ment phase,” said Melissa
Crane, GIS program manager.
“We were scheduled to roll
this out later this year, but with
the new storm approaching we
wanted to provide residents
with as much information as
possible.
“It’s also a good opportuni-
ty to test the Storm Road
Tracker.”
Feedback is welcome at lc
gis@co.lane.or.us.
Information from the public
will be used to continue
improving the tool.
People using the tracker
should remember that it only
includes county-maintained
roads and issues that have
been reported.
If they know of an issue that
is not on the map, they should
report it to Public Works at
541-682-6900 during business
hours and to the Sheriff’s
Office non-emergency dis-
patch line at 541-682-4150
after hours.
www.TheSiuslawNews.com
Let me Showcase your property.
Desiree Clifton
Principal Broker
541 999-5223
88122 Riverview Ave – Recently remodeled,
riverfront 2 bdrm, 2.5 bath home built in 1910, has
a great mix of old charm and new updates. Large
fenced backyard with fruit trees, blueberry bushes
and a fenced garden area. Don’t miss out on this
one! $259,500. #2671-17232089
1749 Highway 101 • 541-997-1200
DISASTER PREP
B Y D AVE R OBINSON
Special to the Siuslaw News
L
ast week, I started a series on
my 10 Principles of Disaster
Preparedness. It is my sincere
belief that your efforts to prepare
should follow a plan. Being prepared
is more than a full pantry of Spam, rice
and beans. Preparedness begins with a
mindset that says, “No matter what
happens, we’re going to get through
any disaster thrown at us!”
Accumulating extra stores and plan-
ning ahead is all part of the overall pic-
ture, but there should be some guiding
principles behind how you prepare and
for what reasons. In case you missed
the first three principles, see last
week’s column or check it out on my
blog (www.disasterprepdave
.blogspot.com).
4. There is value in redundancy. An
old joke among government employees
is that somewhere deep in the bureau-
cracy swamp known as Washington,
there is an agency known as the
Department of Redundancy
Department. This principle sounds a
bit like No. 3, “Always Have A Plan
B,” but if you only have one way of
purifying water, then two ways is even
better. If you have one case of toilet
paper, two is better.
The more you have stored, the more
you have available for barter or charity.
Equally as important are the qualities
3 B
Preparedness tips: Part 2
of versatility and flexibility. Disasters
don’t follow a rigid design, so it’s best
if you design your plan with a certain
adaptability factor as well.
5. Don’t make preparations out of
fear. Several months ago, we held a
class at our church on Disaster
Preparedness. There were about 25
people in attendance. We discussed
some of the reasons for prepping
including the possibility of a mega-
earthquake. After the class one of the
attendees went home, gathered her chil-
dren and pitched a tent out in the mid-
dle of a field in fear of an earthquake
destroying her house.
That wasn’t exactly what we had in
mind. I carry a spare tire in my car, not
out of fear of a flat tire, but just in case.
I have Band-aids in my wallet, just
in case. The story is told of an 80 year
old woman confronted by police. It
was found she had two handguns in her
purse, one in her glovebox and a shot-
gun under the seat. The officer asked,
“Ma’am, just what is it you are afraid
of?”
Her reply, “Nothing!”
When you lay in extra stores, do so
with the posture of “just in case.” Not
because you’re afraid of what might
happen.
6. Beware of “Style Over
Substance!” Politicians are fond of
making laws, usually with great pomp
and volume, that are long on publicity
and short on actual effectiveness. We
all know of products that don’t live up
to their billing. Not everything labelled
“survival” will be of benefit when actu-
ally put to the test. I am convinced that
much so-called “survival” gear was
designed by the P.T. Barnum School of
Marketing. You’ll recall their motto,
I’m sure: “There’s a sucker born every
minute!”
When making a purchase for your
preparations, do your research and
think it through. First ask yourself if
you know how to use it. Then try to
determine the probability of necessity if
there is a disaster.
Make smart, well informed purchas-
es before you invest. It’s not only your
money at stake, your life may depend
on this thing.
Next week we’ll continue with more
of my Ten Principles.
______________________
Dave Robinson is the postmaster in
Bandon, Ore., and author of “Disaster
Prep for the Rest of Us.” He may be
contacted at
disasterprep.dave@gmail.com. Visit his
website for more disaster preparedness
tips,
www.disasterprepdave.blogspot.com.
Parents: learn how to recognize, end cyber-bullying
Bullies are nothing new, but
Internet accessibility has given
rise to another type of bully. It
has created cyber-bullies who
bully others via electronic
devices. Cyber-bullies use
email, instant messages, blogs,
chat rooms and social network-
ing sites as well as cell phone
text messages and photos to
harass their victims.
Cyber-bullies utilize the
Internet for the following:
• Send insulting messages
• Spread rumors
• Post embarrassing photos
• Pose as someone else and
send messages supposedly
from the victim
• Share someone’s secrets
online
• Threaten the victim and
make him or her live in fear
• Exclude their victim from
an online group
Who is most often affected
by cyber-bullying?
Middle- and high-school
aged students are the most like-
ly to be affected. Your child
may be a victim and not tell
you. Or, your child may be a
cyber-bully.
Why do kids cyber-bully?
Children become cyber-bul-
lies for the same reasons they
bully in person. It makes them
feel important. But unlike bul-
lies, cyber-bullies can hide
behind anonymity on the com-
puter and be just as mean or
meaner to others.
What are the dangers of
cyber-bullying?
Victims of cyber-bullying
can get so upset and/or
depressed that they attempt sui-
cide or hurt others. While bul-
lies my threaten children at
school, cyber-bullies “invade”
your home so that there’s no
escape from them.
Hurtful messages or pictures
can be emailed, posted online
or forwarded via cell phones,
making the bullying wide-
spread and long lasting.
What are some warning
signs a child is being cyber-
bullied?
Warning signs may include;
unexplained anxiety, anger,
sadness, or fear, especially
after using the computer of cell
phone. Falling grades, lack of
interest in friends, school or
other activities, trouble sleep-
ing, more or less interest in the
computer or cell phone.
What can parents and
guardians do about cyber-bul-
lies?
• Talk to your children. Tell
them to let you know if anyone
is being a cyber-bully. If some-
one is, have your child save all
communications from that per-
son, including emails, Internet
Messages (IMs), and text mes-
sages.
• Report incidents to the
Internet or cell phone provider,
your child’s school and/or
police if you fear your child is
in danger.
• Find out how to block the
cyber-bully’s email address or
phone number, or change your
child’s online information.
• Note that filtering software
cannot prevent cyber-bullying.
What can your children do?
• If one of your children
receives a hurtful message, he
or she needs to tell you about it,
but not send a message back.
Responding negatively to the
cyber-bully, or forwarding the
hurtful message on to others,
makes your child a cyber-bully
as well.
• Avoid websites where
cyber-bullying occurs.
• To keep others from being
hurt, your children should
report any instances of some-
one they know being cyber-
bullied.
PTA seeks participants for new multi-cultural event
541-999-5083
The Florence Community
PTA is putting the pieces in
place to hold a multi-cultural
celebration on Saturday, Feb.
25, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at
Siuslaw Middle School. The
event is a first of its kind for the
PTA and open to the public
with no admission charge.
The goal of the event, titled
“Around the World in a Day,”
is designed to bring students,
parents and community mem-
bers together to provide educa-
tion on cultures from around
the world, while building social
connections with the schools
and our community.
While a handful of partici-
pants have already signed up,
the PTA planning committee is
currently looking for additional
individuals and groups who
would like to showcase their
ethnicity through music, story-
telling, art, games, or other
activities.
Individuals, groups, and
local businesses are invited to
participate and can reach Diane
McCalmont at 541-999-9692
with questions, ideas, or to sign
up.
240
HOURS
Is your family prepared?
If an emergency happens in our community,
it may take emergency workers some time to reach you.
You should be prepared to take care of yourself and
your family for a minimum of 240 hours.
Get your emergency kit started with these essentials:
❑ Battery powered radio
❑ First aid kit an manual
❑ Sleeping bags and blankets (wool or thermal)
❑ Manual can opener
❑ Waterproof/windproof matches
❑ Water storage (1 gallon/person/day)
❑ Water purifi cation tablets
❑ Non-Perishable Food
❑ Utility knife
❑ Emergency candles
❑ Extra eyeglasses and contact lenses
❑ Essential medications
This message brought to you by the West Lane
Emergency Operations Group. www.wleog.org
IDENTIFY • PREPARE • SURVIVE
541•999•6078
OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK
FACEBOOK.COM/PETERSENAUTODETAIL
DENTURE SERVICES INC.
LOCALLY OWNED AND OPERATED
Open 4 days a week!
Here to serve your denture needs:
Dentures
Partial Dentures
Immediate Dentures
Implant Dentures
Relines & Repairs Same Day
Monday-Thursday
10am - 2 pm
524 Laurel St.
541-997-6054
William Foster LD
Sherry, Offi ce Manager
“As a denture wearer myself,
I can answer your
questions and address
your denture concerns.”
~ William Foster, LD
Financing: Citi Health Card
12 Month no Interest