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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (March 18, 2017)
THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM ❘ / SIUSLAWNEWS ❘ @ SIUSLAWNEWS SATURDAY EDITION ❘ MARCH 18, 2017 ❘ $1.00 NOAA PREDICTS FEWER CHINOOK Spring 2017 Class Schedule Florence Center 3149 Oak Street Enhance Your Skills, Prepare for a New Career, Pursue Your Inspiration Registration begins March 14 Classes start April 3 SPORTS — B Job Fair Register NOW for Spring Classes INSIDE — C www.lanecc.edu/ce SERVING WESTERN LANE COUNTY SINCE 1890 FLORENCE, OREGON Port struggles Li g h t h o u se le n s to define ce l e b r a te s ‘commercial’ 1 2 3 r d bi r t h da y vessel M ar c h 3 0 Port manager, several commissioners at loggerheads over authority issues D uring the March 15 Port of Siuslaw Board of Commissioners meeting, sev- eral heated exchanges erupted between Port Manager Steven Leskin and Port commis- sioners Mike Buckwald and Terry Duman. The tension in the meeting began shortly after Board President B Y J ACK D AVIS Ron Caputo gaveled Siuslaw News the meeting open. Three moorage ten- ants voiced concerns and complaints about treatment over moorage fees, document dis- crepancies and payments. One of the three, Len Christensen, asked why he had been denied a commercial rate for his 38-foot yacht, moored in the marina. According to Christensen, he has his $50 tuna license, proper insurance and has acquired approximately $700 in what he described as “commercial fishing gear.” Christensen said, “My intent is not to get special treatment, but to go out and commer- cial fish, like anybody else, if I see fit, weath- er permitting, when the tuna are running.” Initially, Christensen requested the com- mercial rate to operate a security business from his boat. After that was denied, he reap- plied for the commercial rate as a commercial tuna boat. The annual commercial rate for a 38-foot ves- sel is $997. The annual recreational rate is $1,680. According to Leskin, four of the 11 vessels currently receiving the commercial moorage rate have not left the dock in the past year. The port has been wrestling with how to determine if a vessel should be given the 40 percent commercial discount. Leskin offered a list of six criteria that a vessel must meet in order to be considered a commercial vessel, including the U.S. Coast Guard definition of a commercial vessel: See MOORAGE 9A Florence offers free self-serve sandbags INSIDE With rain predicted to continue for four out of the next five days, and local rainfall already at record highs, standing water and runoff accumulation has closed streets and area roads, as well as created flooding in neighborhoods. To help alleviate some of that flooding, a self-serve sandbag station has been set up by Florence Public Works for residents wishing to block potential flooding around homes and access ways. The sandbag site is located at the north end of the Florence Public Works build- ing, 989 Spruce St., off of Highway 126. Public Works is currently utilizing a large six-inch pump to drain water in various trou- ble spots, including 18th Street where a sea- sonal wetland has become a small lake due to saturation by record rainfall since October. The city also has two other, smaller pumps and is looking into renting additional pumps until area flooding subsides. The self-serve sandbag station includes a brown metal locker that contains empty bags that residents can fill. The city advises to bring shovels and to remember that filled sandbags can weigh as much as 40 pounds. For more information or to report flooding, call Florence Public Works at 541-997-4106. Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B9 Community . . . . . . . . . . . . . A3 Community Job Fair . . . . . . . . C Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A4 LCC Health Clinic reports data breach Heceta Head Lightstation will host free community party B Y M ARK B RENNAN Siuslaw News MARK BRENNAN/SIUSLAW NEWS Heceta Head Lightstation will celebrate the 123rd anniversary since the arrival of the lighthouse’s custom Fresnel lens. O ne of Florence’s most famous des- tination locations is inviting the community to a birthday party — and the guest of honor is 123 years old. On Thursday, March 30, Heceta Head Lightstation is celebrating the most important component of the Heceta Head Lighthouse — its lens — which arrived in March 1893. It was an arrival that changed the course of history for Florence and the state of Oregon. The Lighthouse Birthday Party, which will take place between 4 and 7 p.m., is the brain- child of Misty Anderson, manager and event coordinator for the Heceta Head Lightstation Bed and Breakfast. The party is intended as a celebration, an opportunity to learn some local history and to get a start on the spring season. Anderson is hoping to share the history and beauty of the lighthouse while cel- ebrating its present. “I found out that the light was originally lit and everything started here on March 30,” Anderson said. “And the lighthouse is this amazing beacon. It draws hundreds of thou- sands of visitors to our area every year, so I decided we should have a birthday party cel- ebrating its arrival.” The Fresnel lens that focuses and emanates the light that ships and tourists see from miles away, is still in operation, attracting visitors and warning sailors for more than a century. While the party is “focused” around the lens, Anderson hopes the party will also be a networking opportunity for local businesses and residents. “We have some great local partners involved with the party. Travel Lane County See LENS 9A Lane Community College is notifying patients of its health clinic in Eugene by letter to inform them of a breach of the clinic’s elec- tronic medical records, the steps that are being taken to secure information and what patients can do. “We take all aspects of health care seriously at the clinic,” said Brian Kelly, vice president of college services, “including the privacy of our records. We are focused on helping patients who have concerns, and what we can do to bet- ter protect our systems in the future.” During routine computer maintenance on Feb. 3, a virus was discovered on a single clinic computer. The virus could have relayed patient information including name, date of birth, address, phone number, social security number, diagnosis and other identifying information to a third party between March 2016 and Feb. 3, 2017. This computer was not connected to any other computer in the clinic and there is no evi- dence that any patient information was trans- mitted. Lane said it is taking all possible steps to ensure that patient information is secure. On the day the virus was discovered, all other computers in the clinic were scanned immediately and found to be virus free. In addi- tion, the infected computer was taken out of service until the virus could be removed. The college has undertaken a thorough review of electronic security throughout the clinic paying particular attention to vulnerability to computer viruses. Electronic security has been upgraded to bet- ter protect patient information moving forward. Patients are advised to report the breach to their credit bureaus, banks and credit card com- panies, including the identifying information that might have been disclosed. Patients can request a free credit report from any of the three major credit reporting compa- nies at www.annualcreditreport.com or by call- ing 1-877-322-8228. Patients should also place a fraud alert at one of the following three major credit bureaus: • Equifax: 1-800-525-6285, equifax.com • Experian: 1-888-397-3742, experian.com • Trans Union: 1-800-680-7289, www.trans union.com Patients who notice any suspicious or unusu- al activity in their accounts may want to contact local authorities and file a police report. Governor’s forum covers gamut of issues Gov. Kate Brown responds to community’s concerns during economic development visit B Y C HANTELLE M EYER Siuslaw News PHOTOS BY MARK BRENNAN/SIUSLAW NEWS Oregon Gov. Kate Brown answers questions from area residents during a public forum held Tuesday at Siuslaw Valley Fire and Rescue. Approximately 200 people attended the town hall meeting. Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A2 Scoreboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . B2 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B Weather Data . . . . . . . . . . . A2 THIS WEEK ’ S Oregon Gov. Kate Brown visited Florence Tuesday to discuss local economic devel- opment initiatives and part- nerships. The latter half of her visit included a one-hour pub- lic forum, where area resi- dents talked about anything but economic development. Brown said, “We are envi- sioning these town hall forums as listening sessions. I’d like to think of them as bringing the state capital to you. We want to hear from you on concerns and issues you have. We’ll take your concerns back to the cabinet and see what we can do to tackle them.” Two hundred people from Florence, Dunes City, Mapleton and the surrounding areas attended the event, and TODAY SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY 50 37 57 41 59 47 55 46 WEATHER Full Forecast, A3 R & R King Logging’s Jennifer Waggoner, center with microphone, asks about the corporate tax level and other issues relevant to the logging industry in Oregon. even though only a handful got the chance to ask ques- tions, the rest of the audience showed their agreement or disapproval with chants, applause and other reactions. Florence Mayor Joe Henry and the governor’s policy advisor on jobs and economy, Jason Lewis-Berry, joined Brown at the front of the meeting room at Siuslaw Valley Fire and Rescue. S IUSLAW N EWS 2 S ECTIONS ❘ 28 P AGES C OPYRIGHT 2017 Jackie Mikalonis, the gover- nor’s regional solutions coor- dinator for the South Valley Region, moderated the forum. During the meeting, people raised concerns and asked questions about mental health care, housing, higher edu- cation, veteran services, the state’s budget, school fund- ing, corporate concerns, the See FORUM 9A CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK 127TH YEAR ❘ ISSUE NO. 22
