8 A
SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ SATURDAY, MAY 6, 2017
Forum
from 7A
afterward, where community
members spoke for and against
Langborg’s eventual reinstate-
ment.
“There are things the chief has
done that I think are good things.
Somehow it’s been painted as me
being ‘anti chief,’ and I think
some of that comes from the
meeting,” Hickson said.
At the time, he was president
of the Siuslaw Valley Firefighter
Association.
“On behalf of the volunteers, I
said, ‘We need to come together
as a department and for the bene-
fit of the community and the peo-
ple. We need to put aside our dif-
ferences and we need to come
together for the department and
the community,’” he said.
Farnsworth was also a mem-
ber of the firefighter association
at the time, and read a letter in
support of Langborg.
“I do have confidence in Chief
Langborg. I have also met with
him in preparing to run for this
position. ... He answered a num-
ber of our questions and I think
he has an open door policy and is
willing to answer any questions
he is asked. I think he is also
willing to accept critique and try
to go forward that way,” she said.
Green said he did not attend
the contentious meeting.
“Now, I should say I’m not a
chief sympathizer,” he said. “I
like Jim Langborg, I think he’s
doing a good job, but if I was
elected I’m not going to pass on
him. ... The board will hold him
accountable. As well they will
for the operation of the IGA. I
Faces
from 1A
of our immigrant and interna-
tional student community at
LCC, and we certainly want to
support all of our students who
feel particularly vulnerable this
season,” Pierson said. “We also
recognize our role as an educa-
tional institution in Florence and
western Lane County, and one of
the best ways to educate our-
selves,maybe especially on diffi-
cult and complicated issues, is to
listen to one another’s stories.”
The State of Oregon and the
City of Florence already have in
place policies and guidelines for
dealing with the situation of
undocumented students in the
think he’s doing a good job, but
that doesn’t mean we’re not
going to keep our eye on him.”
He also said that as as some-
one who holds a similar role —
that of chief administrative offi-
cer — he knows the role of the
board to direct the position.
Tipler said, “The board sets
policy, procedure, a budget and
guidelines. This IGA is some-
thing that I’m really confused
about.”
Like the candidates in Western
Lane, he had a hard time tracking
the numbers that refer to the
amount of money the IGA will
save.
“I still to this day feel he is not
a good fit for this community,”
Tipler said of the fire chief.
“He’s leading us in the wrong
direction.”
The candidates talked about
the “family-hood” felt by mem-
bers of the fire department and
additional budget topics before
wrapping up.
P ORT OF S IUSLAW
The sixth and final board
Sneddon invited was the Port of
Siuslaw.
“If we’ve had contested races
in this community the last few
years, it’s been the Port of
Siuslaw,” Sneddon said.
For Commissioner Position 1,
incumbent Terry Duman is run-
ning against Shayne Burnem.
Both candidates are business
owners in the area.
For Commissioner Position 3,
incumbent Mike Buckwald is
running against Frank Eisele.
Buckwald, who is a certified
public accountant, was absent.
For Commissioner Position 5,
former
commissioner
Bill
Fleenor, Bill Meyer and David
Swinney are running for the posi-
tion currently held by Ron
Caputo.
Sneddon asked the three can-
didates for Position 5 to begin.
Swinney, who is retired, said,
“I chose to run because of my
past experience of 35 years living
on boats in one harbor or anoth-
er, San Francisco Bay and up and
down the coast. That gives me a
very unique perspective of
what’s going on at the port. … I
think the port should remain an
open space and have public
access ... where my grandkids
can go down and dip their toes in
the water.”
Meyer said, “There are towns
that are mill towns, there are
towns that are textile towns, but
Florence is a quality of life town.
People move here, stay here, live
here because of quality of life. …
Florence makes up an important
part of this region. … I have an
emotional and financial invest-
ment in Florence and I want to
see the port thrive.”
He has a background in con-
sulting and systems design and
advocated taking a deeper look at
the port’s assets to determine
next steps.
Fleenor said he has served on
the boards of Central Lincoln
PUD,
on
Lane
County
Commission and the Port of
Siuslaw.
“Each time I believe I deliv-
ered transparency, accountability
and results. This election is no
different. I believe that it’s time
that the port engages in some
soul searching. We need to figure
out what we’re doing, why we
are here, and whom we are serv-
ing. I think it’s time that we ask
those questions and demand
some answers. I don’t have all
the solutions, but I believe I have
the education, experience, wis-
dom and knowledge to see the
port through this transition,” he
said.
He handed out a form on the
port’s financials and focused
most of his discussion on restor-
ing the port’s economic base.
Eisele, who is a local barber,
said the real problem the port has
is with communication. He said
that he knew of a number of peo-
ple who were “trespassed” off
port property, even if they were
within their public or sacred
rights to be there.
He said his reason for running
“is all river — protecting aborig-
inal rights to the river.”
Duman was elected four years
ago.
“I’m a sport and commercial
fisherman. I use the port. I’ve
lived on the Siuslaw my entire
life. I was born on the Siuslaw
River. ... I never had any desire to
leave. I’ve been accused by my
opponents of supporting the fish-
ing industry — and I’m guilty of
it. I support the fishing industry,
whether it be sport, recreational
or commercial aspects,” he said.
Burnem said he ran against
Duman four years ago.
“I really like to push the eco-
nomic development side, but all
the reasons (stated) here are my
reasons for running. … I love
this port and I love our commu-
nity. I want to give back. I want it
to be a strong port,” he said. “It’s
an economic resource and a tool
that can be used. ... We need to
get it cleaned out and running
well.”
Sneddon brought the conver-
sation around to current Port
local district.
The event at LCC seeks to
help residents understand the life
story of immigrant students liv-
ing in Florence, according to
Pierson.
“We are excited to introduce
the community to this vibrant
population of international and
immigrant students who are a
wonderful part of our life togeth-
er, who are working hard,” he
said. “In some cases to learn
English, to take citizenship class-
es or to brush up on their educa-
tional skills in order to become
credit students working toward
their Associate of Arts degree.”
According to information pro-
vided by LCC, there are current-
ly about 22 immigrant students
currently enrolled in English
Language
Learner
and
Citizenship programs on the
Florence campus. These students
are from Mexico, China and the
Phillipines. There are also four
or five immigrant students study-
ing that are originally from
Russia and Mexico.
Pierson wants the community
to have the opportunity to meet
the foreign students and believes
they will appreciate the lengths
to which his students have gone
to study and work here.
“They are all working to bet-
ter their English language skills
in order to improve their oppor-
tunities. Some are studying to
become U.S. citizens and some
are upgrading their skills to take
placement tests to enter the col-
lege program at LCC,” said
Pierson, who points out that
there have been a number of stu-
dents who have received GED’s
here and gone on to college.
Nearly all of the students
work at various jobs in town,
with the exception of a couple
who are retired people and stay-
at-home moms.
For more information on the
Faces of Florence event call 541-
997-8444.
Manager Steven Leskin and the
board’s role in working with the
manager and with the public.
Most of the candidates agreed
that the Port of Siuslaw Board of
Commission’s power needs to be
redefined using Oregon Revised
Statute 777. This would give
greater clarity on the order of
authority and clear up some of
the contention at recent Port
meetings.
The candidates also discussed
finances, port assets and possibil-
ities to fill moorage and campsite
vacancies before concluding.
“The port certainly needs to
move forward,” Fleenor said. “I
believe that under 777, our pri-
mary direction is economic
development, job creation. The
port can’t be all things to all peo-
ple, so we must re-vision and re-
determine what the port should
be doing. … My point is that the
Port of Siuslaw is greater than
the sum of its assets. It’s a port
authority, and that’s what we
need to take advantage of.”
At the close of the forum,
Sneddon thanked all the candi-
dates and the listeners, as well as
his Coast Radio producer
Michael Simmons.
Siuslaw News will have the
full video version of the Special
Election Candidate Forum Our
Town on its website, thesius-
lawnews.com.
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I N HONOR OF THE
100 TH A NNIVERSARY OF R OTARY F OUNDATION
Florence Rotary Club’s
100 Acts of Good
74. The Florence Rotary Club’s record-breaking annual auction
Dancing for the Stars of Tomorrow raises $109,131.89 for local
scholarships and community projects
75. Rotarian Guy Veach distributed spring fl owers as an Act of Good
for Rotarians to pass on and spread cheer in the community
76. Florence Rotary donates $500 to the District Rotary Governor’s
event to thank donors and benefi t the Foundation
77. Florence Rotary commits to the City of Florence to support
improvements to Miller Park with a letter of support for the
improvement grant
78. Rotary Club of Florence honors James Sangrey with an
Honorary Membership in recognition for his service to the club
and community
79. Florence Rotary awards $1000 to local students participating
in the 4-Way Speech Contest.
For more information Call President, Pat Riley: 541-991-6371
www.thefl orencerotary.org
theshedd.org/JazzKings
My Lucky Star
Saturday , May 20, 2 pm matinee
Saturday,
Florence Events Center 541.997.1994
Free Jazz tickets for Students program
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