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127TH YEAR ❘ ISSUE NO. 9
❘ FEBRUARY 11, 2017 ❘ $1.00
INSIDE — A3
SERVING WESTERN LANE COUNTY SINCE 1890
FLORENCE, OREGON
L ANE C OMMUNITY C OLLEGE SELECTS NEW PRESIDENT
B Y J ACK D AVIS
Siuslaw News
A
t its Feb. 8 meeting, Lane
Community College (LCC)
Board of Education unani-
mously approved Dr. Margaret
Hamilton as Lane’s seventh president,
after an 11-month national search.
“Dr. Hamilton is the right person for
Lane going forward,” said Board
Chairwoman Sharon Stiles, a Florence-
area resident.
Stiles said the board was thorough
and deliberative in reviewing informa-
tion, meeting with the finalists, weigh-
ing feedback from open forums and
considering how well each finalist was
suited to address the challenges and
opportunities awaiting LCC.
According to an LCC press release,
Hamilton currently is vice president for
academic affairs, institutional effective-
ness and planning at Camden County
College, N.J. She has 28 years of expe-
rience in the community college system.
Dowser
brings class
to Florence
LCC Florence class explores
science, methods of dowsing
S
cience has always relied on proof to make
determinations about the physical world.
However, there are some practices that predate
even well-established
B Y M ARK B RENNAN
scientific traditions.
Siuslaw News
Many of these prac-
tices have to do with
an individual establishing a closer than usual
connection with the natural world.
There are also individuals who seek to
understand the science behind the tradition or
in this case, what lies beneath the surface.
Christian Landau is one of those individu-
als. He is what is commonly referred to as a
“dowser.” He is also a scientist — more
specifically, he is a geologist. The incongruity
that exists between the two aspects of his work
is not lost on the avuncular scientist from
South Africa.
“Most people associate water dowsing with
‘water witching’ or ‘doodle bugging’ or other
names that have been given to it,” Landau
said. “A lot of people think that they are locat-
ing water. That is incorrect.”
Landau moved to Florence last year and
See
When contacted at her New Jersey
residence, Hamilton, an East Coast
native, said, “Oregon was one of the
few states I was looking to apply to. I
have a brother that is a professor at
Oregon State University. We visit each
other back and forth. When my hus-
band and I left Oregon after our very
first visit, we said ‘Oh my goodness,
this is on the list.’ Oregon is such a
beautiful state.”
She said her focus would be to main-
tain and expand the work and partner-
ships LCC currently has.
“For example, I have great experi-
ence with partnerships with business
and industry. I think that is something I
can bring to the table,” she said. “If you
think of partnerships with community
colleges, the mission is either transfer
or employment. With transfers, those
partnerships need to be very strong and
vibrant with the four-year colleges and
universities.”
See
PRESIDENT 10A
Dr. Margaret Hamilton
2016 SIUSLAW AWARDS
A ROYAL AFFAIR
9th annual Florence Area Chamber of Commerce
event honors Florence-area citizens, businesses
NEWS
S/SIUSLAW
JACK DAVI
PHOTOS BY
(Left) Florence Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Bettina Hannigan opens the ninth annual
Siuslaw Awards. (Right) First Citizen Ron Caputo declares himself the new “king of Florence,” but instead
offers a bow to those in attendance and in the community who serve.
DOWSER 10A
Nasty weather
behind us?
Future First
Citizen
Claire
Waggoner
Week of heavy rain, wind
cause no serious problems
or anyone who hadn’t noticed, this week
has been wet — very wet. According to the
National Weather Service (NWS), along with
strong winds, Florence
B Y J ACK D AVIS
received 4.69 inches of
Siuslaw News
rain on Sunday, Feb. 5,
alone — more than any
other city in Oregon.
According to Florence Public Works
Director Mike Miller, heavy rain and high
winds this past week caused minimal damage.
“We had several trees go down and we had
to close 46th Street, south of Fred Meyer, for a
few hours due to flooding,” Miller said.
The city’s stormwater system was able to
handle the extra water by Monday in most
cases.
Miller also said he was not aware of any
power outages within the Florence city limits.
Highway 126 was closed because of flood-
ing on Thursday when high tides and rain
caused the Siuslaw River to overflow its banks
in Cushman. The highway was reopened to
traffic after the tide ebbed.
F
INSIDE
See
WEATHER 10A
Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Community . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Weekly Calendar . . . . . . . . .
Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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A3
A3
A4
City Lights C
inemas — “St
u Johnston”
Business Aw
ard
estern Lane d
ls Club of W
Boys and Gir profit Achievement Awar
on
County — N
A
full house of 245 people gathered at
the Florence Events Center
Wednesday evening to celebrate the
best of Florence during the ninth annual
Florence Area Chamber of Commerce Siuslaw
Awards banquet celebration.
More than 30 businesses, nonprofit organiza-
tions and individuals were nominated for nine cat-
egories. A panel of seven unidentified judges from
in and outside the Florence area selected the win-
ning applicant in each category. All winners were
kept secret until the awards presentation.
Florence Area Chamber of Commerce
Executive Director Bettina Hannigan said, “I
Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A2
Religion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A12
Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B
Weather Data . . . . . . . . . . . A2
THIS WEEK ’ S
B Y J ACK D AVIS
Siuslaw News
really wanted this event to reflect the level of
integrity, honor and service that these people
have dedicated to our community.”
Ron Caputo was selected as the 2016
Florence First Citizen.
During his acceptance comments, Caputo
jokingly drew a lighthearted analogy to
Florence as a kingdom, with himself as king,
but then turned the tables on the role of king by
saying, “I bow down to you, the citizens of
Florence. You are my mentors. You make me
TODAY
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WEATHER
Full Forecast, A3
what I am. You are the examples that I follow. I
love Florence and I will give you this pledge. I
will do everything I can to make Florence the
best kingdom in the world and may each and
every one of you live happily ever after.”
He added, “I am very humbled to join such a
great group of men and women who are already
first citizens. I will do my best to keep on doing
what I do.”
College-bound Siuslaw High School senior
Claire Waggoner was chosen from among a
field of five high school students to become
S IUSLAW N EWS
2 S ECTIONS ❘ 20 P AGES
C OPYRIGHT 2017
See
AWARDS 7A
CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK
Dr. Margaret Hamilton replaces Dr. Mary Spilde as community college’s next president