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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (April 5, 2017)
❘ / SIUSLAWNEWS ❘ @ SIUSLAWNEWS WEDNESDAY EDITION BUSY BATTERS I NAUGURAL INSIDE — A9 127TH YEAR ❘ ISSUE NO. 27 Unclear 501c3 status reason for the one-year postponement B Y M ARK B RENNAN Siuslaw News The abrupt and unexplained cancella- tion of last month’s Siuslaw School District’s annual Indian Education Powwow was addressed during Monday night’s meeting of the Native American Parent Committee. In a statement issued by committee members, the committee explained that due to an unknown loss of its 501c3 status under the prior volunteer treasur- er, “...the recent discovery of this by the current volunteer treasurer of the Parent Committee, and the written threat of criminal prosecution, led to the extremely difficult decision to can- cel the 24th Annual Indian Education Powwow in order to protect all parties involved with the powwow. “This was not a decision that the Parent Committee took lightly, nor was the threat of criminal prosecution taken lightly,” committee members expressed in the statement. “It was a heart wrenching decision that we were forced to make out of necessity.” The Native American Parent Committee then thanked the communi- ty for its support. Following a unanimous vote, the Powwow has been rescheduled for Saturday, March 17, 2018. JAZZ EVENT DRAWS HUNDREDS SPORTS — B Parent Committee clarifies Powwow cancellation ❘ APRIL 5, 2017 ❘ $1.00 SERVING WESTERN LANE COUNTY SINCE 1890 S IUSLAW V ALLEY F IRE & R ESCUE FLORENCE, OREGON TRAINING ACADEMY SVFR conducts important ‘Hot Box’ training Firefighter trainees go through a series of drills designed to simulate real life situations M ost people are familiar with the old adage, “practice makes perfect.” Siuslaw Valley Fire and Rescue Training and Volunteer Coordinator Captain Jeff Larson feels that while perfection may be difficult to achieve, practice is indeed essential to his mis- sion. “It’s all about decision making. We train for real-world incidents in a high-paced, safe man- ner, whether it be a structure fire, a motor vehi- cle accident or a medical call,” Larson said. “This way, when the alarm sounds and the community needs our help, we can jump out of bed at 3 a.m. and make the right decisions to keep ourselves, other fire fighters and the com- munity we are protecting alive.” This past weekend, Larson oversaw a series of practice exercises for a group of firefighter recruits at Fire Station No. 4 on Sutton Lake Road. These exercises were conducted at the “Hot Box” — a structure that looks like a small house — situated behind the fire station. The Hot Box serves as a real-life opportuni- ty for trainees to learn the techniques and prop- er methods for entering a burning building and extracting occupants or victims. Larson ran his charges through a series of drills that took place while the Hot Box was billowing smoke from its door and windows. The trainees followed Larson’s lead as they approached the structure, crouching down and lightly running their hands over the exterior of the building’s door to ascertain the temperature inside. Then, Larson instructed the group on the proper use of equipment that draws out the smoke in the box, allowing firefighters to enter and extract any unconscious occupants. B Y M ARK B RENNAN Siuslaw News CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM MARK BRENNAN/SIUSLAW NEWS Above, Siuslaw Valley Captain Jeff Larson (second from left) instructs firefighter trainees on the dangers and proper tech- niques of entering a structure on fire. Right, firefighters practice using fire extin- guishers. The training simulates condi- tions firefighters might encounter in actu- al emergency situations. A second, smaller staging area to the side of the box was set up with a large barrel filled with trash and debris and set ablaze. This step in the training was designed to allow the trainees the opportunity to use fire extinguishers to suppress the fire. These are just some of the drills that the trainees will take part in before they are ready to participate in actual emergencies. Both of these drills have real-incident applications to situations they are likely to encounter in the course of their work as first responders. See TRAINING 7A Florence residents debate ‘sanctuary city’ status People speak out on state, federal laws even though topic not on city council agenda Body discovered in forest near Mapleton Sheriffs seek public’s assistance in investigation B Y C HANTELLE M EYER Siuslaw News INSIDE Lane County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) is working to identify a body discovered in the Siuslaw National Forest last Friday. On March 31, a hiker discovered the deceased subject in the forest. “It is still early in the investigation,” said Sgt. Carrie Carver, LCSO public information officer. “There is not a lot of information we can give out at this time.” LCSO is investigating the death with the Lane County Medical Examiner’s Office, and is working to determine the identity of the victim. Currently, the sheriff’s office is considering this death suspicious in nature; however, cause and manner of death have not yet been deter- mined. “We are putting this out there in the hopes of eliciting a response from the public,” Carver said. “If you live in the area, any information you have could be important.” Anyone with information related to this case should contact the LCSO Public Information Office at 541-686-4179. Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Community . . . . . . . . . . . . . Library Tidings . . . . . . . . . . . Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B6 A3 A5 A4 uring the April 3 Florence City Council meet- ing, the council chamber at City Hall was filled to capacity with pro and con advocates for Florence being designated B Y J ACK D AVIS a “sanctuary city.” Siuslaw News The mostly respectful audience listened as sever- al speakers for each side addressed the councilors during the public comments part of the session. Loud applause accompanied each speaker’s address. Before the sanctuary city comments were heard, one speaker proposed that because Oregon has been designated a sanctuary state for years, the council should read a proclamation and put up D JACK DAVIS/SIUSLAW NEWS Florence resident Mike Danowitz (front) shares his views on sanctuary cities with the Florence City Council and audience members during the April 3 meeting. signs stating, “Florence is a hate-free communi- ty.” Mayor Joe Henry, in an attempt to give equal opportunity to each side, queried the list of people who were signed up regarding their position on the issue. He then selected several representatives from each side to address the council. Resident Mike Danowitz said the issue was not about being hate free, but about crime and home- lessness. He shared his experience from living in Southern California. “They were flying the illegals in and the crime rate went up. You saw more vagrants on the street. See DEBATE 7A Bozievich, Trapp address town hall attendees on county issues B Y J ACK D AVIS Siuslaw News est Lane County Commissioner Jay Bozievich and Lane County Sheriff Byron Trapp held a town hall meeting at the Florence Events Center Wednesday, March 29. Commissioner Pat Farr also attended. Topics discussed included the future of the 82,000-acre Elliott State Forest land south of Florence, a new federal land management bill, renewal of a Lane County jail levy on the May 16 ballot and a proposal to build a new county court- house. W Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A2 Scoreboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . B2 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B Weather Data . . . . . . . . . . . A2 “The 59-year-old other mile, one-mile court facility is com- square swath of land pletely inadequate that ran the entire for a county our size length of a proposed and for today’s mod- north-south rail line ern standards for through Oregon and how courts are run,” Northern California Bozievich said. “The in the 1800s. The facilities are com- land grant was pletely inadequate.” offered to entice the Bozievich also Oregon and Calif- gave an update on ornia Railroad to federal funds that build tracks along may become avail- the route. JACK DAVIS/SIUSLAW NEWS able to Lane County “It was really a Lane County Commissioner Jay if a new land man- land grab by the rail- Bozievich answers question from agement bill passes road company that constituents during a town hall congress. was ultimately taken meeting he shared with Lane County “We are starting to over by the federal Sheriff Byron Trapp Wednesday. see some movement government,” in the Oregon and California Bozievich explained that Bozievich said. (O and C) land,” he said. “We may get the O and C O and C land was an every THIS WEEK ’ S TODAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY 58 48 56 47 56 44 49 40 WEATHER Full Forecast, A3 S IUSLAW N EWS 2 S ECTIONS ❘ 20 P AGES C OPYRIGHT 2017 and Bureau of Land Management lands up to a reasonable level of harvest that still protects the envi- ronment,” he added. According to the commis- sioner, the agreement could allow up to 500 million board feet of annual lumber harvest. The state currently receives revenue on approx- imately 100 million board feet from the O and C land. “That will generate a sig- nificant amount of revenue for schools and counties. Those receipts get split 50- 50 between state school funds and the county gener- al fund,” Bozievich said. See TOWN HALL 7A
