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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (March 15, 2017)
THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM ❘ / SIUSLAWNEWS ❘ @ SIUSLAWNEWS WEDNESDAY EDITION CROWN HOLDERS New School Resource Officer SPORTS — B INSIDE — A3 127TH YEAR ❘ ISSUE NO. 21 Relay for Life changes date, format for 2017 ❘ MARCH 15, 2017 ❘ $1.00 SERVING WESTERN LANE COUNTY SINCE 1890 FLORENCE, OREGON Moving Florence forward The 2017 12-hour American Cancer Society (ACS) Relay for Life of Florence fundraiser will be July 22 at the Florence Events Center. Until last year, the 16-year-old Florence event was a 24-hour campout B Y J ACK D AVIS held at Miller Park dur- Siuslaw News ing the first part of August. Another change, according to Relay for Life Community Manager Amy Bickleman, was the resignation of the three Florence Relay chairper- sons, Bobby Harris, Rae Henry and Harold Kinney. According to Bickleman, all three announced at the Feb. 20 monthly meeting that they would be resigning because of “personal reasons.” “I can only tell you what they told us, which was it was just all too much for them. That could mean they have other things going on in their per- sonal life. I don’t know and I’m not going to assume specifics,” Bickleman said. She added, “This wasn’t the right fit for them. A couple of them have told me they are still very interested in being involved in charities within the community. They are wonderful community minded people, but if it’s not the right fit, it’s not the right fit. “We have a strong committee of folks who have been around for quite a while,” Bickleman said. “There are certain pieces that are really solid in place. I can help fill in gaps in places that aren’t.” Bickleman has managed Relay For Life events See RELAY 7A Saturday’s annual Powwow abruptly cancelled No explanation given for cancellation of decades-old Native American celebration. INSIDE On Tuesday, the Siuslaw School District con- firmed the cancellation of the 24th annual Siuslaw Indian Education B Y M ARK B RENNAN Program Powwow, original- ly scheduled for this Siuslaw News Saturday, March 18. The Powwow, which last year had more than 500 attendees representing 350 federally-recognized Indian Nations, had been slated to take place at Siuslaw Middle School as late as Monday. Lynn Anderson, Director of the Indian Education Program for the school district, made a brief statement regarding the cancellation. “Due to circumstances beyond Indian Education Parent Committee control, the upcom- ing Powwow has been cancelled,” she said. Reasons for the cancellation of one of the largest Powwows on the West Coast remains unclear. Lisa Utz, Special Programs Director for the Siuslaw School District, could only say that, “At this time we do not have adequate information from the Parents Organizing Committee on what is happening.” Requests by Siuslaw News for additional infor- mation from the organizations involved with the Powwow regarding the decision to cancel the long-standing event remained unanswered as of press time. Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Community . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kid Scoop . . . . . . . . . . . . . Library Tidings . . . . . . . . . . . B8 A3 B7 A5 CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK Annual event to have new location, new month, new agenda and new leadership PHOTOS BY CHANTELLE MEYER/SIUSLAW NEWS Florence Mayor Joe Henry (left) greets Oregon Governor Kate Brown (center) during a visit to Florence Tuesday to meet with area representatives and community partners (below) and discuss economic vitality in Florence and the state. Gov. Brown visits Historic Old Town, new businesses in economic development tour gainst the backdrop of the Siuslaw River Bridge, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown received a warm — though rainy — welcome B Y C HANTELLE M EYER from western Lane Siuslaw News County representa- tives during her visit to Florence yesterday. More than 35 people joined Brown to hear about the area’s economic vitality and recent efforts to increase development, create part- nerships with regional organizations, improve infrastructure and more. “I’m certainly committed to moving Oregon forward,” Brown said. “We’ve made incredible progress over the past couple years, A and I want to make sure we continue that for- ward march. Oregon is a place where every- one can thrive.” The City of Florence, Oregon Department of Transportation, Port of Siuslaw and Oregon Regional Accelerator and Innovation Network See BROWN 7A Boys and Girls Club ‘gets game’ Youth teams network with pro, college teams under the guidance of Teen Center and Athletics Director Tracy Aaron T he Boys and Girls Club of Western Lane County has announced that Tracy Aaron has accepted the position of Teen Center and Athletic Director on a permanent basis. Aaron has been involved at the club for the past few years, originally as a vol- unteer, and then as a part time staff person. Aaron said that her new respon- sibilities with the club are varied, but the focus of her work is sim- ple. “First and foremost is child safe- ty at all times when participating in club events,” she said. “I will also be responsible for the development and implementation of procedures and rules for each sport. And I will be developing and implementing relationships with sponsors, col- Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A4 Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A2 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B Weather Data . . . . . . . . . . . A2 THIS WEEK ’ S B Y M ARK B RENNAN Siuslaw News COURTESY PHOTO leges and other leagues.” Recently, Aaron has been focused on activities for the young people that participate in the club’s after school program. She has also become the point person for the club’s athletic outreach and net- working efforts. “I hope to build the relationships between the middle and high school level athletic and music programs, so that when the younger kids that are involved in our programs reach the more com- petitive levels, they are ready,” she said. One of Aaron’s recent attempts at reaching out produced unexpect- ed results, with an invitation for Members of the Boys and Girls Club of Western Lane County attend a softball game at the University of Oregon last Saturday as part of the club’s efforts to partner with area teams. club members to attend a women’s softball game at the University of Oregon (U of O). Aaron first approached the soft- ball team inquiring about opportu- nities to network, and she was pleasantly surprised by the response. “A few weeks ago, I emailed a contact at U of O softball and asked if they had any special pro- grams or anything else they could do for the team,” Aaron said. The university responded by inviting Aaron and the club’s soft- TODAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY 54 40 54 41 57 49 51 41 WEATHER ball team to campus to attend a softball game free of charge and to meet the team. “We took a group of 26 of our softball girls and some of their families to the U of O softball game versus Idaho. It was a great game and the Ducks won it in the fifth inning with a two-run home run,” Aaron said. “After the game, we took the kids down to the field to meet the team and take some pictures. One of our club kids even S IUSLAW N EWS 2 S ECTIONS ❘ 20 P AGES C OPYRIGHT 2017 See NETWORK 7A
