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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (April 29, 2017)
THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM ❘ / SIUSLAWNEWS ❘ @ SIUSLAWNEWS SATURDAY EDITION RAISING THE BAR Royals prep for Rhody Days SPORTS — B SCHOOL NEWS — INSIDE 127TH YEAR ❘ ISSUE NO. 34 TRANSPORTATION SERVING WESTERN LANE COUNTY SINCE 1890 F lorence and Yachats will begin a one- year trial transit service starting July 1, because of a $290,110 pilot project grant received by Lane Transit District (LTD) from Oregon B Y J ACK D AVIS Department of Siuslaw News Transportation. According to LTD Accessible Service Specialist John Ahlen, the grant will fund connecting the last stretch of Highway 101 not currently served by transit service. Ahlen met with about 12 local and region- al transit personnel and area citizens during a stakeholder meeting at Florence City Hall Thursday to receive input on a proposed rider survey scheduled to be posted on the LTD website in next week. The survey is designed to receive potential rider input in several categories, such as pre- ferred days of the week and hours the service would run; the primary reason for using the service, such as shopping, medical recre- ational or employment; and rider location and demographics. See TRANSIT 6A Lane County Parks holds public forum Master Plan will include significant public input L ane County Parks Department held a public meeting April 26 at the Mapleton High School Library to solicit citizen input on the county’s Parks and B Y M ARK B RENNAN Open Space Master Siuslaw News Plan, which is current- ly being developed. The presentation was made by Parks and Animal Services Manager Mike Russell, and was less a presentation than an inquiry into what community members want to do and see in their parks. County representatives began the evening with an overview of the current planning process. See PARKS 7A FLORENCE, OREGON S t u de n ts a id i n e f f or t to r e s t o r e d un es Yachats- Florence bus service to S start in July Transit service will connect the last un-served portion of Highway 101 ❘ APRIL 29, 2017 ❘ $1.00 Siuslaw Middle School students remove invasive Scotch broom during field trip B Y M ARK B RENNAN Siuslaw News prays of bright yellow are mixed in with the varied shades of brown that make up the mountains of sand around the area called dunes. While these plants are visually appealing, they are not as harmless as they look. Scotch Broom is an aggressive, invasive species that has taken hold in many areas around Florence. The yellow plant is choking out other life on the sands and poses an ongoing threat to wildlife and native plants. That is why Siuslaw Middle School students went on a field trip Friday to help remove the offend- ing plants from the dunes off Heceta Beach Road. Middle School Principal Andy Marohl coordinates the school’s “Stream Team” and believes the threat of invasive species is one that needs to be discussed with stu- dents and addressed. “Invasive species are an impor- tant topic for students to learn about. They are the number one cause of biodiversity loss — next to habitat destruction — and we live in a very special ecosystem that has been greatly impacted by invasive species,” said Marohl. The tenacity of Scotch broom makes it a particularly difficult MARK BRENNAN/SIUSLAW NEWS Above, Kyle Terry (right), Program Manager for the Siuslaw Watershed Council, assists students in the removal of a large clump of invasive Scotch broom. Students spent Friday morning clearing the plant from the dunes near Heceta Beach Road. plant to remove. The middle school’s field trip focused on the plant, for good reason. See DUNES 7A Western Lane board upholds termination decision Board of Directors swears Yecny in as interim commissioner to replace retiring Sneddon B Y J ACK D AVIS Siuslaw News D uring the April 27 Western Lane Ambulance District (WLAD) Board of Directors meet- ing, more than 30 people crowded into the small conference room and hallways to hear arguments and rebuttals regarding the decision to terminate WLAD employee Cindy Haberman. Haberman was placed on paid administrative leave on March 13 while an investigation into charges of “insubordination and unwilling- ness to follow the directions of your supervisor,” were conducted, according to a termination letter dated April 4 and sent to Haberman from Siuslaw Valley Fire and Rescue (SVFR) Chief and WLAD Director Jim Langborg. WLAD Board President Mike PHOTOS BY JACK DAVIS/SIUSLAW NEWS Terminated Western Lane Ambulance District employee Cindy Haberman (inset left) reads a prepared statement to the WLAD board, (above) during a 90-minute appeal of her firing during the April 27 board meeting. Webb moderated the tense, but mostly civil, discourse, allowing Langborg and Haberman to present their respective positions. Webb had to repeatedly inform audience members that they would have a chance to speak, but must wait for the proper time. Langborg said, “After continued efforts, over a period of time it was found that the situation with this employee (Haberman) was not going to work out.” According to Langborg, the deci- sion to terminate Haberman was made after revelations from a March 8 LifeMed meeting came to light. LifeMed is a subscription mem- bership available to local residents to help them offset the expense of an ambulance bill. See DISTRICT 6A ‘Spy Plane’ pilot gives a history lesson Col. Jay Murphy speaks about Cold War during military museum Heritage Days B Y M ARK B RENNAN Siuslaw News ension between North Korea and the U.S. has been in the news recently, and Florence residents had an opportunity to hear from an individual with unique insight into that dynamic last Saturday at T Col. Jay Murphy, U.S. Air Force retired, speaks of his Cold War exploits to a rapt crowd April 22 at the Florence Municipal Airport. INSIDE MARK BRENNAN/SIUSLAW NEWS Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Community . . . . . . . . . . . . . Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B7 A3 A4 A2 Religion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A10 School News . . . . . . . . . Inside Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B Weather Data . . . . . . . . . . . A3 THIS WEEK ’ S Florence Municipal Airport. On April 22, Oregon Coast Military Museum (OCMM) sponsored a Heritage Day presentation by Col. Jay Murphy, a retired U.S. Air Force pilot who flew the SR-71 Fighter Jet on classified spy mis- sions in the 1970s and 1980s. OCMM Director Cal Applebee believes that the plane was one of the most important technological develop- ments of that era. “When one thinks of Cold War ele- ments like cloak and dagger or ‘Spy vs. Spy,’ we often think in terms of people. TODAY SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY 61 48 55 40 60 45 64 48 WEATHER Full Forecast, A3 However, there have been numerous tech- nological developments over the years that figure prominently in the Cold War, and one of those is the SR-71,” Applebee said. A crowd of approximately 75 heard about Murphy’s exploits in the famous stealth fighter. They seemed enthralled by the colonel’s tales of danger and heroism. In the 1960s, Lockheed developed the SR-71 under CIA auspices. It was the first aircraft designed to incorporate stealth S IUSLAW N EWS 2 S ECTIONS ❘ 22 P AGES C OPYRIGHT 2017 See HISTORY 6A
