Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (April 26, 2017)
THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM ❘ / SIUSLAWNEWS ❘ @ SIUSLAWNEWS WEDNESDAY EDITION SETTING PACE FOR DISTRICT ❘ APRIL 26, 2017 ❘ $1.00 May 16 Special Election Voter’s Guide INSIDE SPORTS — B 127TH YEAR ❘ ISSUE NO. 33 SERVING WESTERN LANE COUNTY SINCE 1890 FLORENCE, OREGON NW naturalist feels good about environment L EWIS & C LARK E XPEDITION RETURNS New field guide suggests people can help climate change by simply going for a walk F JACK DAVIS/SIUSLAW NEWS Dressed as U.S. President Thomas Jefferson, one of Gina Halpin’s fourth- grade students explains the Lewis and Clark Expedition to second-graders. WLCF Grant helps Siuslaw class expand on Lewis & Clark project of 2 years ago ina Halpin's Siuslaw elementary fourth- grade class again took on the four-month in- depth project of studying Meriwether Lewis and William Clark’s famous expedition. Halpin first launched B Y J ACK D AVIS the study program two Siuslaw News years ago. This year, with the help of a grant from Western Lane Community Foundation, the class was able to gain further insight into the scientific, topographical and nav- igational challenges facing the expedition over the more than two-year overland journey to the Pacific Ocean. “The kids were able to take their compasses and protractors and get some type of reference point as to how angles worked, how directions work and how Lewis made the more than 140 maps to take back to U.S. President Thomas Jefferson,” Halpin said. “This year’s extension focused on the global aspect of the journey, including the compass rose and all the mathe- matical tools that we use today that Lewis had when he traveled west.” In addition to compasses, protractors, rulers and yardsticks, the grant paid for world globes so students could visualize the magnitude of the journey. Halpin said, “I think it is more powerful for the students to be able to hold the globe, look at the longitude and latitude and all the topography they had to go over, especially the Rocky Mountains.” To further emphasize the challenge of crossing the Rocky Mountains, Halpin showed the class YouTube videos of mountain climbers scaling the Rockies. Each student was tasked with creating a tri- fold display featuring one aspect or person G See STUDY 7A PHOTOS BY MARK BRENNAN/SIUSLAW NEWS R HODODENDRON ROYALTY Early Rhody Show selects this year’s winners his weekend’s Early Rhody Show filled Florence Events Center with the fresh spring- time aroma of rhododendrons and azaleas. (Above) Chris Trautmann received the coveted title of Best in Show for the cutting of his rhody, Red Rubicon. (Right) Mike Bones, spokesperson for the Siuslaw Chapter of the American Rhododendron Society, received the Grand Sweepstakes Award for his submission. Community and Rhododendron Society members exhibited 450 entries during the competition and flower sale. T lorence is situated in the middle of one of the most verdant and diverse ecosystems in the world. The variety of flora, fauna and water species in this corner of B Y M ARK B RENNAN the U.S. is extensive Siuslaw News and, in many cases, unique. Naturalist Robert Steelquist, based in Washington State, has recently published a new field guide for this area entitled “The Northwest Coastal Explorer.” Steelquist hopes his offering will provide not only up-to-date scientific and photographic information on the area, but will also inspire people to go out and explore the nat- ural abundance that surrounds the community. Steelquist spoke in support of the book last week to a group of 50 people at Siuslaw Public Library. He shared with attendees many of the observations in his book, which are derived from more than 20 years of work in the field. “I really tried to choose common organisms, plants, animals and places that are familiar to us and to tell engaging stories about those,” he said. During his years of study, Steelquist has seen significant degradation in habitat and water quality. He said he feels that the scale of the problems we face in this area can be somewhat daunting. “I’ve given this a lot of thought over the last 30 years as some of the threats that we face in the environment have become more complex and more serious. As the news has not been good in some areas, I think its really a danger we run into when we gather a roomful of people See NATURALIST 7A Coast Radio’s Thompson named Broadcaster of the Year Florence station’s unique market allows for focus on local issues, news and events on Thompson, general manager of local radio stations Coast Radio — KCST and KCFM, has been named the Oregon Association of Broadcasters (OAB) “Broadcaster of the Year.” OAB gives the B Y M ARK B RENNAN award each year to an Siuslaw News individual who has not only been a good exec- utive and manager, but who has also contributed in a larger way to the listening area that he or she serves. OAB President Keith Shipman said Thompson had been nominated before, but this year the vote was overwhelmingly in his favor. “I think that’s largely due to the fact that his peers recognized the great work he’s done in Florence for the past 30 years,” Shipman said. “He’s been a great broadcaster who runs great radio stations, but he’s also been intimately J involved in the community.” Thompson is an unpretentious man and redi- rected the positive attention he is currently receiving to his staff. “I had no idea we had been nominated for the award,” he said. “I say ‘we’ because this award is a reflection of what this station and its out- standing staff have done over the past three decades. We’ve taken great pride in being a true community radio station, and I think one of the See BROADCASTER 7A Broadcaster of the Year Jon Thompson says the community focus of his stations, Coast Radio — KCST and KCFM, is one of the primary reasons he received the prestigious designation from the Oregon Association of Broadcasters. MARK BRENNAN/SIUSLAW NEWS Woman reports teen son’s near-death alcohol incident at Miller Park Florence Police Department, local initiatives look to reduce teen alcohol abuse at popular city park W INSIDE hat started out as a fun, fami- ly day at Miller Park ended in near-death at the Peace Harbor Medical Center’s Intensive Care Unit for a local 14-year-old student. According to the report, the teen had a potentially fatal blood alcohol level of .354 — more than four times the Oregon legal limit of .08 for adults. Blood alcohol limits of between .32 and .4 are considered potentially lethal for a 140-pound individual. Brenna Castle chose to share her Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Community . . . . . . . . . . . . . Library Tidings . . . . . . . . . . . May Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . B8 A3 A5 A8 son’s story in hopes of helping others avoid a similar fate. “My son was at Miller Park when he received a text message from another underage student. They met up in another park the kids call ‘Magical Logs,’ at the end of 18th Street. The other minor brought two fifths of Black Velvet,” she said. According to Castle, her son admitted consuming one fifth of whisky over a short period of time and fortunately avoided peer pres- Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A4 Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A2 Scoreboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . B3 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B B Y J ACK D AVIS Siuslaw News sure to consume more. He then returned to Miller Park, where he passed out. A passerby saw him unresponsive in the bushes and contacted Castle, who was attending a sporting event in a different part of the park. “He was totally unresponsive,” Castle said. “He was foaming at the mouth. We took him to the emer- THIS WEEK ’ S gency department. It was a horri- ble scene for a parent to see their child in that state. If he had not been found, he would have aspi- rated on his own vomit.” Florence police are aware of the alcohol and drug concerns surround- ing Miller Park, even though this time the acquisition and consump- tion of alcohol did not occur at the park. Florence Police Chief Tom Turner said, “For many years we have had complaints on Miller Park. One of TODAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY 53 45 52 43 56 41 62 46 WEATHER Full Forecast, A3 the difficulties is that Miller Park has multiple entrances and exits which makes it very difficult to police. “Another regular pattern is people just don’t call, or they call once they get home, an hour after the event. Our time delay is already there, even if you call when it is happening. An officer has to be dispatched and get to the location. That is anywhere from three to five minutes, on a good day,” Turner added. S IUSLAW N EWS 2 S ECTIONS ❘ 22 P AGES C OPYRIGHT 2017 See MILLER PARK 7A