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❘ MARCH 18, 2017 ❘ $1.00
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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
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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
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57 41
59 47
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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