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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 25, 2017)
4 A ❘ SATURDAY EDITION ❘ FEBRUARY 25, 2017 Siuslaw News P.O. Box 10 Florence, OR 97439 NED HICKSON , EDITOR ❘ 541-902-3520 ❘ EDITOR @ THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM Opinion E XTRAORDINARY P EOPLE Michael Falter C ATHERINE J. R OURKE For the Siuslaw News _____________ F orget Netflix, Hulu and VUDU. Film curator and educator Michael Falter envisioned a grander picture when he took a leap of faith and opened City Lights Cinemas three years ago. In fact, his story unfolds much like one of the movies on his big screens. But it takes more than faith to launch a theater in an era when folks can stream flicks on their phones. It also requires cinematic resources and innovation. Perhaps that explains why City Lights just received the 2016 Stu Johnston Business of the Year award from the Florence Area Chamber of Commerce. “I’m excited to bring the best in commercial, independent and per- forming arts in HD to this commu- nity,” Falter said. “I was moved to tears by the award.” More than just another commer- cial multiplex theater, City Lights represents an “art house” cinema, providing education as well as entertainment through specialized films and Performing Arts features. Falter understood that serious film fans crave massive screens and real popcorn that shuns the microwave. They demand innova- tive screenings while also enjoying the nostalgia of the traditional the- ater experience. Comedies seem funnier when we hear others laughing and thrillers become more exciting when our hearts pound together. Moviegoing is all about marquees with dramatic posters, expansive lobbies and settling into your seat with a giant box of Skittles. themed educational genres in Cinema gives people permis- partnership with Lane sion to escape for two hours Community College. Theater without having to check 4 is available for meetings, Facebook or answer the special events and one-act phone. plays. Falter took that desire for “Coming from the nonprofit drama and nostalgia one step theater world gave us a per- further with cultural pro- spective to apply to City gramming, a lobby framed Lights with a slightly different with original Marilyn point of view than commercial Monroe photos from The cinema,” he said. “We saw Archives and refreshments Florence as an experiment that like handmade chocolates, took advantage of the shifts in Oregon-crafted wines and technology. Our background quality meals from Box helped us to create a business Lunch in addition to the combining nonprofit and for- classic snacks. Even the pop- profit models that can drive corn comes with a “deluxe content viable for Florence.” flavor station.” The membership program “Designed as a hybrid the- enables the theater to operate ater from the onset, City as a nonprofit. Last year it PHOTO BY CATHERINE ROURKE Lights combines commercial donated 1,941 tickets and free Michael Falter, recipient of the 2016 Stu and art house programming,” student screenings. Tive and Johnston “Business of the Year” award for Falter said. “It’s the best of Falter still rely on their day City Lights Cinemas from the Florence Area both worlds.” jobs to pull it all off. Tive Chamber of Commerce But City Lights isn’t a works as director of philan- one-man show. Falter part- thropy for the Salt Lake Film nered with his wife Susan Society and Falter serves as “It’s been an epic journey,” Tive, a writer specializing in program director for the Pickford Falter said, explaining how it grants, to make it happen. While Film Center, while four employees included pitching a tent in the vacationing in Florence in 2013, help keep the show going. lobby during renovations until they the couple from Washington Falter is no stranger to theater. found a home. The doors opened noticed the local cinema had Born in Olympia, Wash., the for- in just six weeks in August 2014. closed. mer educator traces his fascination Today, four theaters project “We saw Florence as a town on with film to early roots. Watching everything from blockbusters to the cusp of cultural expansion,” “Citizen Kane” in high school trig- documentaries, foreign and inde- Falter said. “It was an inviting gered his passion and the movie pendent films. The Performing place that could sustain an art remains his all-time favorite. Arts showcases opera, ballet and house theater. It was a huge risk Falter received a master’s in lit- Shakespeare while the Master but we felt ready to take on the erature from the University of Painter series transports viewers to challenges.” Washington and taught English at exhibitions around the globe. The couple faced a bevy of them Utah State University. It was love “It’s amazing to live here and after purchasing the defunct theater at first sight for Tive and Falter, enjoy such culture,” Falter said. in June 2014. For starters, they and the couple lived in Santa Fe “We’ve been completely embraced needed to remodel the entire facili- where, as a film school teacher, he by the community and we’re ty and replace outdated equipment realized the importance of educa- always doing something new.” with $200,000 in new digital pro- tion through theater. Falter plans to bring more film jection gear. “I love bringing fabulous works classics and discussions, as well as of art to communities through film,” he said. “It’s important to expand this to people beyond the classroom.” Falter combined art films and community education during his 10 years as executive director for the Pickford Film Center, a non- profit art house cinema in Bellingham. Tive joined him there as a grant writer and the couple worked together for five years on developing Art House Convergence, a national art house theater association. Falter’s mission to resuscitate community cinemas by turning them into art houses deserves an Oscar. The Pickford Film Center and Doctober Film Festival he launched in Bellingham continue to thrive today. “I wanted to prove that there was a viable audience for inde- pendent and art films,” he said. “We pinch ourselves every day that we live so close to so much beauty. We feel so at home here. We see Florence on the cusp of change and enjoy being part of its attractiveness.” Tomorrow, City Lights will host its annual “And the Winner Is...” Oscar event with all the glitz of the Red Carpet projected on-screen and a portion of the proceeds bene- fitting Siuslaw Outreach Services. Throw on some finery or just come as you are and enjoy the party. Popcorn, anyone? Catherine J. Rourke is an award-winning journalist, author and book editor who teaches creative writing at the Florence Regional Arts Alliance. Email CJReditor@gmail.com. LETTERS L ETTERS TO THE E DITOR P OLICY The Siuslaw News welcomes letters to the editor concerning issues affect- ing the Florence area and Lane County. Emailed letters are preferred. Handwritten or typed letters must be signed. All letters should be limited to about 300 words and must include the writer’s full name, address and phone number for verification. Letters are subject to editing for length, grammar and clarity. Publication of any letter is not guar- anteed and depends on space avail- able and the volume of letters received. Libelous and anonymous letters or poetry will not be published. All submissions become the prop- erty of Siuslaw News and will not be returned. Write to: Editor@TheSiuslawNews.com USPS# 497-660 P UZZLING REMARK Newly-appointed U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos made a puzzling remark after a visit to a public middle school in Washington, D.C. She said that the teachers were in a “receive mode… waiting to be told what they have to do….” This is exactly the kind of misguided state- ment that fails to recognize the professionality of educators, while disregarding the underlying issues such as shortage of funds and over- crowded classes that prevent many children from reaching their full potential. In 40 years as an educator, I have rarely met a teacher who was waiting to be told what to do. The many teachers in public and private schools with whom I have had the privilege to work have been professionally trained, dedicated, intelligent, hard-working and creative individu- als with lots of ideas and the desire to imple- ment them. Within a variety of constraints including budget, class size and regulations, most teachers do a remarkable job of imagining, innovating, crafting and creating educational opportunities for children. If Sec. DeVos truly understood educational processes, she would know that teachers are not waiting for anything… except perhaps for the support and encouragement they need to be Trump’s daughter. The laws of our nation, which President Trump vowed to uphold as part of his swearing in process, state (in part) that illegal immigrants are to be deported. Our President did not insti- tute this law; he is merely upholding it. Regarding those who are affected by the law and people opposed to the law, they should use their energies to repeal or change the law rather than weep for those who are essentially law breakers. In my opinion, demeaning our President by calling him a “boisterous television personali- ty,” as well as demeaning his family, serves no useful purpose. The President is simply doing what he is required to do if he is to keep the vows that he made to the American people. Ron Duzy Florence K EEPING HIS VOWS The First Amendment Judith Preisler’s Letter To the Editor (Feb. 22) expresses her anger and troubled feelings about the deportation of undocumented (illegal) immigrants. She goes on to relate a story about an illegal immigrant family while, at the same time, not miss the opportunity to marginalize President C ongress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. Copyright 2017 © Siuslaw News Publisher, ext. 327 General Manager, ext. 318 Editor, ext. 313 Marketing Director, ext. 326 Office Supervisor, ext. 312 Production Supervisor Press Manager DEADLINES: Saturday Issue—General news, Monday noon; Budgets, four days prior to publication; Regular classified ads, Monday 1 p.m.; Display ads, Monday noon; Boxed and display classified ads, Friday 5 p.m. Saturday Issue—General news, Thursday noon; Budgets, two days prior to publication; Regular classified ads, Thursday 1 p.m.; Display ads, Thursday noon; Boxed and display classified ads, Saturday 5 p.m. Soundings, Tuesday 5 p.m. NEWSPAPER SUBSCRIPTION RATES: In Lane County — 1-year subscription, $71; 10-weeks subscription, $18; Out of Lane County — 1-year subscription, $94; 10-weeks subscription, $24; Out of State — 1-year subscription, $120; Out of United States — 1-year subscription, $200; E-Edition Online Only (Anywhere) — 1-year subscription, $65. Mail subscription includes E-Edition. Website and E-Edition: www.TheSiuslawNews.com WHERE TO WRITE Published every Saturday and Saturday at 148 Maple St. in Florence, Lane County, Oregon. A member of the National Newspaper Association and Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association. Periodicals postage paid at Florence, Ore. Postmaster, send address changes to: Siuslaw News, P.O. Box 10, Florence, OR 97439; phone 541-997-3441; fax 541-997-7979. All press releases may be sent to PressReleases@TheSiuslawNews.com. John Bartlett Jenna Bartlett Ned Hickson Susan Gutierrez Cathy Dietz Ron Annis Jeremy Gentry even more effective in their roles. A great step forward for the teachers and chil- dren of Florence and Dunes City would have been the approval of last year’s bond measure to build a new Siuslaw High School. For many good reasons, some of which I have seen first-hand as a substitute teacher and ASPIRE volunteer at our Florence schools, a new high school facility is badly needed. I sin- cerely hope that the school board plans to resur- rect the bond measure at an upcoming election, and I strongly urge all residents to become familiar with the myriad reasons that this proj- ect is of great importance to our local children and the entire community. I willingly pledge my time and energy to help ensure that this time, it receives sufficient sup- port for passage. I hope others will do the same. Robert Orr Dunes City Pres. Donald Trump The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW Washington, D.C. 20500 Comments: 202-456-1111 Switchboard: 202-456-1414 FAX: 202-456-2461 TTY/TDD Comments: 202-456-6213 www.whitehouse.gov 202-224-5244 541-431-0229 www.wyden.senate.gov U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley 313 Hart Senate Office Bldg Washington, DC 20510 202-224-3753/FAX: 202-228-3997 541-465-6750 www.merkley.senate.gov Gov. Kate Brown 160 State Capitol 900 Court St. Salem, OR 97301-4047 Governor’s Citizens’ Rep. Message Line 503-378-4582 www.oregon.gov/gov U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio (4th Dist.) 2134 Rayburn HOB Washington, DC 20515 202-225-6416 541-269-2609/ 541-465-6732 www.defazio.house.gov U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden 221 Dirksen Senate Office Bldg Washington, DC 20510 State Sen. Arnie Roblan (Dist. 5) 900 Court St. NE - S-417 Salem, OR 97301 503-986-1705 FAX: 503-986-1080 Email: Sen.ArnieRoblan@state.or.us State Rep. Caddy McKeown (Dist. 9) 900 Court St. NE Salem, OR 97301 503-986-1409 Email: rep.caddymckeown@state.or.us West Lane County Commissioner Jay Bozievich 125 E. Eighth St. Eugene, OR 97401 541-682-4203 FAX: 541-682-4616 Email: Jay.Bozievich@co.lane.or.us
