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SATURDAY EDITION
SPRING SPORTS
WIND UP
❘ MARCH 11, 2017 ❘ $1.00
Set clocks forward
at 2 a.m. Sunday
SPORTS — B
127TH YEAR ❘ ISSUE NO. 20
SERVING WESTERN LANE COUNTY SINCE 1890
FLORENCE, OREGON
Truck driver takes a wrong turn into river
There were no injuries in the accident; driver was not impaired
Siuslaw News
S
iuslaw Valley Fire and
Rescue responded to
an unusual situation
Thursday night at the boat
ramp on Harbor Street. A
driver for the Eugene compa-
ny Automatic Heat took a
wrong turn at the corner of
First and Harbor streets and
drove straight into the
Siuslaw River at the Port of
Siuslaw boat ramp.
A witness at the scene, Tom
Payne, called 911 to report the
accident around 7:30 p.m.
“I live on Bay Street and I
was out taking a walk with a
friend and looked out on the
Port ramp and saw lights in
the water,” Payne said. “I
couldn't quite figure out what
I was looking at, so I walked
down the ramp and saw that I
was looking at a full-sized
box truck that was submerged
and sinking.”
According to Payne, the
driver was not in sight and did
not appear to be in the vehi-
cle.
“I was able to see the phone
number on the truck and so I
called them to see if I could
reach someone,” Payne said.
“Then I called 911, and about
a minute and a half later there
were two officers here and
then every one else showed
up.”
First responders were ini-
tially unable to attach a cable
to the submerged vehicle.
See
TRUCK 11A
PHOTOS BY MARK BRENNAN/
SIUSLAW NEWS
First responders pull a submerged truck from
the Siuslaw River Thursday night after the driver
took a wrong a turn and drove into the water.
There were no injuries at the scene.
Dunes City
addresses land
use, copyright
issues
F LORENCE C OMMUNITY PTA T ALENT S HOW
Siuslaw Superstars
present two nights
of talent
Council considers copyright
infringement and the status of
the Siltcoos dock
D
unes City Council met for its monthly
meeting on Thursday, March 9, to dis-
cuss several topics with the potential to
be troublesome, but were resolved during the
meeting.
B Y M ARK B RENNAN
The first action
Siuslaw News
item considered by
the council was a
response to a letter from the Department of State
Lands, which warned the city that it would be
fined if it did not renew a public use permit for
the Siltcoos Dock.
The council had previously talked about issues
of the safety and maintenance requirements of
the dock, which is in need of repair.
After some discussion, council members
approved the $350 expenditure to bring the city
into compliance with the state for the next five
years.
The council asked city staff for further infor-
mation on the safety of the dock at the April city
PHOTOS BY CHANTELLE MEYER/SIUSLAW NEWS
S
iuslaw Elementary and Middle school students took the
stage at the Florence Events Center Wednesday and
Thursday nights during the Florence Community PTA
“Siuslaw Superstars” Talent Show. Students from kindergarten
through eighth-grade performed gymnastics routines, dance
numbers, songs and more for cheering audiences made up of
parents, families, friends and community members. Elementary
Principal Mike Harklerode emceed the event. “So much of what
we do would not be possible without the support of our PTA,”
he said. PTA members and event center volunteers ran the two-
night event. The next PTA meeting is
Tuesday, March 21, at 4 p.m. at the
Siuslaw Elementary School Library.
See
School board
discusses rec.
immunity,
cameras on buses
ReVision Florence to require additional funding
FURA, Florence City Council discuss, move forward with $7.36 million project
B Y J ACK D AVIS
Siuslaw News
INSIDE
During the March 6 Florence
City Council meeting, Mayor Joe
Henry expressed concern and frus-
tration over increases in the cost
estimates of the now more than $7
million Florence Urban Renewal
Agency
(FURA)
two-year
ReVision Florence project.
FURA Chairman and City
Councilor Joshua Greene said
most of the cost increases might be
recouped
from
Oregon
Department of Transportation
(ODOT) and Lane County increas-
es in project contributions.
The current estimated FURA
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Community . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
B7
A3
A4
A2
and city obligation, without addi-
tional outside funding, is approxi-
mately $3.5 million. The total esti-
mated cost of the ReVision
Florence project, including contin-
gencies, is $7.36 million.
Greene said more than $2 mil-
lion of that was unexpected
because of changes ODOT made
and miscalculations that Portland
engineering firm Murray, Smith
and Associates (MSA) made.
“ODOT miscalculated what
their cost going into this was. Then
they realized that they didn’t have
the team, the money or the ability
to see this through,” he said.
According to Greene, if ODOT
did the project without city input
Religion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A6
Side Show . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B6
Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B
Weather Data . . . . . . . . . . . A2
and planning, the project would
have consisted of a few Americans
with Disabilities Act (ADA)
ramps, disconnected sections of
sidewalk, paving and stripping.
“ODOT would have left total
pieces of Highway 101 incom-
plete. They would leave it as it
stands. Think about what that
would do to Highway 101,”
Greene said.
Both Greene and city staff said
they are confident that ODOT
would repay the city for engineer-
ing and other expenses associated
with the project that ODOT should
have paid for.
Greene said he had been in con-
tact with state Sen. Arnie Roblan
THIS WEEK ’ S
and state Rep. Caddie McKeown
and felt they would be able to help
with the ODOT money.
City Project Manager Megan
Messmer said she had been in dis-
cussions with ODOT and that they
were willing to increase the initial
commitment of $1.05 million.
Henry asked if the city had that
in writing, but the staff said “not
yet.”
Discussion at the meeting then
turned to how to cut back on
expenses.
According to City Manager Erin
Reynolds, the two gateway
entrances to Old Town could be
See
SUNDAY
MONDAY
TUESDAY
54 48
58 46
59 50
61 50
WEATHER
Full Forecast, A3
T
he Siuslaw School District Board of
Directors met on Wednesday with a
full agenda to consider, including recre-
ational immunity, video surveillance and grade
analysis.
The meeting began with four student athletes
—Ricky Huff, Celie Mans, Kaeli Ramos and
Destinie Tatum —
B Y M ARK B RENNAN
leading the pledge of
Siuslaw News
allegiance. All four
students were part of
teams who won state championships.
Business Manager Kari Blake presented a res-
olution to deal with the issue of recreational
immunity.
In 1995, the Oregon Legislature declared it was
the policy of the State of Oregon to encourage
landowners to make their land available to the
public for recreational use by limiting the liabili-
ty that landowners could incur.
REVISION 7A
TODAY
DUNES CITY 11A
S IUSLAW N EWS
2 S ECTIONS ❘ 22 P AGES
C OPYRIGHT 2017
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SIUSLAW 7A
CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK
B Y M ARK B RENNAN