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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (April 1, 2017)
SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ SATURDAY, APRIL 1, 2017 Port from 1A administrated by one man, who has given himself all discre- tionary powers to all the port’s property and assets to do with as ‘He deems necessary for the day-to-day operations of port business…”’ In his March 29, 2017, email regarding recent Port Commissioner Leskin, Swinney raised similar con- cerns, saying he wanted an explanation as to why the com- mission continues to “allow the port manager to abuse his posi- tion and imaginary powers toward the people of this dis- trict.” In the 2014 letter, Swinney also asked, “Who is conduct- ing the ‘criminal investigation’ into the alleged theft of port funds?” then, in the 2017 email he said that Leskin “…con- dones and promotes port staff to criminal acts…” In addition, Swinney’s accu- sations of the Port Commission “…misrepresenting the Brothers from 1A The group began meeting informally at a local diner. As the word got around, more vets started showing up until even- tually they needed a larger place to meet. “We’ve grown from a few guys, I think there were six or eight of us that started out, until now when we have about 60 or 70 members,” Cavarno said. “But eventually there were so many of us that we moved over to the Elks Lodge. Now we have our meetings there on Monday and that’s how the whole thing got started, with just a few of us meeting for cof- fee. We were tossing around facts…” and committing “…ongoing attacks on my character in an attempt to dis- credit me…” in 2014 were mir- rored in the 2017 email alleg- ing “ongoing harassment, slan- der and discrimination we have been subjected to...” Commissioners also directed Leskin to offer Len Christensen a commercial moorage rate for his 38-foot Carver yacht. Leskin agreed to do that, once Christensen pro- vided the port with port- required documentation sup- porting his claim that he is a commercial fisherman. “Until that time we will con- tinue to charge him the recre- ational rate,” Leskin said. The ongoing moorage delin- quency saga of the 40-foot sail- ing vessel Tenacious contin- ued, despite owner Gordon Owen giving the port a check on Feb. 24 to cover more than $3,800 in past due moorage fees, late fees, attorney fees and a $300 impound fee to avoid foreclosure. Caputo said, “I’m hoping the port would be in a mood to help him. I would like to see a change of attitude in all the port staff from ‘no you can’t do this’ or ‘you can’t do that’ to ‘yes you can, and I can help you.’ “You don’t help someone by charging him the daily rate, the highest rate you can, and the guy is struggling,” Caputo said. Leskin said, “He is beyond help, I’m sorry. He has an out- standing balance of $442.” “We wrote him and said we would need proof of current insurance, proof of seaworthi- ness and current registration. He has not done any of that. We are beyond talking with him at this point.” Leskin added, “(Port) ordi- nance four allows us to bring criminal charges against him and that is what we are going to do on Monday.” Commissioner Terry Duman asked for a breakdown of the previous charges. Leskin said that commis- sioners were provided those figures at the last board meet- ing. He further stated that Owens was being charged the daily rate because he was out of compliance with port require- ments. Before closing the meeting, Caputo ask to meet with staff to discuss customer service. “I heard complaints about our customer service. Several people complained at our last meeting. I want the port man- ager to call a staff meeting and allow me to address the staff about providing good customer service.” Caputo also asked Leskin to search for a good customer service program to present to the staff. Leskin said, “We have an objective source of customer service, Hercules, our reserva- tion system. When people leave they are invited to com- ment on their stay. I pulled a year’s worth of grades from Hercules. Overall, we have an A- for overall grade. We have an A- for overall service. According to our reservation system, we are doing fine. This includes moorage and camp- ground.” Leskin agreed to set a date for Caputo to meet with the port staff. Caputo said because of sev- eral recent contract overruns, he wanted to appoint commis- sioners Buckwald and Duman to review all port work con- tracts. Caputo ended the meeting by tasking Leskin with writing a letter of apology to Swinney and Culwell, within a week and attending an anger man- agement course to be complet- ed within 30 days. Leskin said he was not going to take an anger management class and that he would not write the apology letter. “I will talk to our legal department and go from there,” said Caputo, who then adjurned the special meeting. ideas of how we could help.” The first projects the group worked on were community projects where the Brothers helped with financial contribu- tions and donations of food and clothing. John McBride, another key member of the group, explained the next step. “We have helped with other projects that needed some sup- port, like the Backpack Program and with FoodShare, but we realized that there were a lot of other areas where we could help,” he said. “We have a group of guys that are used to logistics, and to finishing what they start, so we used the expertise that we had to take it upon ourselves to get more involved.” The project that the group settled on was a suggestion of McBride’s. He had attended a West Lane Emergency Operations Group (WLEOG) presentation to the Siuslaw School District and realized that there were some gaps in the district’s emergency prepa- ration plans. “We thought we ready for an emergency and it turns out we were not,” McBride said. “Band of Brothers had been approached about helping the district, so we went through an inventory list of supplies. We realized the first step was to figure out a place to put the supplies that would be long term and safe.” The school district had begun the process of collecting emergency supplies, but the project had fallen by the way- side. The slack was picked up by the Brothers. The first step in the process was simple — they started dis- cussing the district’s needs with local business owners. “Copeland Lumber stepped up and sold us the lumber we needed for cost. And both Bi- Mart and Rite-Aid have donat- ed or sold us items at their cost, which has made this whole project possible,” McBride said. “The issue of long-term food storage has been taken care of and every- thing in storage will now have a 25-year shelf life. And we have a better stock of blankets and basics for a longer term emergency.” The Brothers have already decided one of the next proj- ects they will undertake is also school related. They will be building and installing a new flag pole on the district cam- pus. And while the new emer- gency storage bins are com- plete, they remain mostly empty. McBride is calling on com- munity members for help with filling the bins. “We are having a supply drive from April 4 through April 28, and we hope to get people to donate smaller items to fill the bins,” he said.“We will have a list of items that are needed at Copelands, Bi- Mart and Rite-Aid. We hope that folks will go to one of these locations and purchase some of the things we need and donate them.” For more information on the Florence Band of Brothers or to assist in their efforts, call Jim Swant at 541-968-9572 or John McBride at 541-590- 3539. Arrests van. At that point, a third vehicle, a black SUV with blacked out windows, pulled up. The two ICE agents handed their assault weapons to someone in the black SUV, climbed into the first SUV and all three vehicles drove off. Justiniano was not arrested. Lane County Commissioner Jay Bozievich said he was told the four people detained by ICE were transported to the Tacoma Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, Wash., along with the 80 others arrest- ed during the three-day sweep. Bozievich had no prior knowledge of the raid and con- tacted ICE only after a con- cerned resident informed him of the raid. According to the ICE web- site, the four arrested in Florence were the only Lane County arrests made during the three day operation. There are 114 detention cen- ters in the US. None are locat- ed in Oregon, and only one is in Washington. No further information on the four detainees was avail- able by this publication’s dead- line. Hines said, “Theft of Coast Guard property is a federal crime. It showed wanton vio- lence against the community.” According to U.S. Coast Guard Public Affairs Specialist Petty Officer Levi Read, each theft resulted in $675 in damage and lost prop- erty. “The theft and vandalism of Coast Guard property is one thing, but these actions could affect the lives of mariners in the area. If these aids are not lit properly, boats can easily get off course, causing acci- dents which may lead to loss of life or injury,” Read said. The Siuslaw aid targeted for theft helps mark one end of the river channel. Ships can align with the navigation aids to safely traverse shallow and dangerous spots. It took one day between the report and when ANT could attend the outage — a day without a necessary signal on the river. “We don’t have a monitor- ing system at each aid,” Hines said. “We get reports and get to things as fast as we can, but theft and vandalism make things difficult. Luckily, the crimes are both very low in our area.” ANT’s aim is to keep peo- ple safe. Hines urged people to stay off the aids to navigation and away from their areas. “It’s a safety matter, but you could also do damage to property,” he said. If people are trespassing or tampering with Coast Guard aids to navigation, Hines said the best thing to do would be to report it to local police of Station Siuslaw River. “Reporting to us can alert us to a discrepant aid before it happens,” he said. “This keeps our waterways safe for every- one.” Cel e 70 brati Yea ng rs! Hoberg’s Complete Auto Repair from 1A www.hobergsautorepair.com 345 Hwy. 101 • P.O. Box 357 Florence, OR 97439-0012 541-997-2413 Kevin McMullen 3rd Generation Owner hobergsautorepair@gmail.com Serving Your Auto Needs Since 1945 The agents took Rendon and one other individual, both in handcuffs, out of the white van and escorted them to Rendon’s residence. All four entered the home and came back out a few min- utes later with a third male detainee. The neighbor said the ICE agents patted the man down, handcuffed him and then placed all three individu- als back in the white van. The witness said she thought she saw a fourth detainee in the Battery from 1A Hines said the rewiring process likely took some time and showed an unusual amount of care. “The aid was in a remote area at the end of some rocks,” Hines said. “There is a fence with a chainlock, and razor wire across the top. It is pretty inaccessible, but that can only do so much.” The March theft mirrored the first. HABITAT FOR HUMANITY RESTORE Recycled Art Contest Earth Day, Saturday, April 22, 2017 Bring in your own artistic creation, using at least 80% Recycled materials. Must be less than 5' tall. Entries accepted between April 15-April 21 at Habitat for Humanity ReStore in Florence Prizes will include a $50 ReStore Credit and more. Let Paul show you a new car or truck. Stop by today! For more information call 541-997-5834. Hours: Open 9:00 to 5:00 Monday - Saturday Location: Florence Center, Corner 21st St. and HWY 101 2150 Hwy. 101 • Florence (541) 997-3475 • 1-800-348-3475 7 A Siuslaw News + www.shoppelocal.biz
