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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (May 13, 2017)
THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM ❘ / SIUSLAWNEWS ❘ @ SIUSLAWNEWS SATURDAY EDITION FINAL AT BAT FOR VIKS Mother’s Day is Sunday, May 14 SPECIAL SECTION INSIDE SPORTS — B 127TH YEAR ❘ ISSUE NO. 38 POLICE County continues investigation into inmate’s death Hospital confirms 2 injured police officers released from care SERVING WESTERN LANE COUNTY SINCE 1890 2017 R HODODENDRON C OURT PREPARES FOR M AY 18 C ORONATION WITH A RETURN TO TRADITION S E N I O R C O U R T — P R I N C E S S E S Eyza Abbas Chehalis Stinger Claire Waggoner Abby Watkins Benjamin Cahoon Kyle Doran Michael Larson J U N I O R C O U R T — P R I N C E S S E S POLICE 9A Community invited to participate in ‘fun’ awareness event May 20 The Autism Society of Oregon is sponsoring the organizations first Florence Autism B Y M ARK B RENNAN Walk on Saturday, Siuslaw News May 20, at Miller Park. Sign ups for the walk start at 2 p.m. and the walk begins at 3 p.m. The walk is intended to be family ori- ented and fun, and it will take place on a fully accessible one mile loop at the park. There will be tables with face painting artists and arts and crafts, a bounce house, a sensory table and Autism aware- ness items. A free lunch will also be pro- vided for registered walkers. Walk coordinator Karen Holmes said on one level the initial Autism Walk is about increasing the public’s understand- ing about the syndrome, but there is a more immediate purpose for the walk. “Awareness is one of the factors, but more importantly, we are trying to bring resources to the coast and to build stronger community ties,” Holmes said. The State Capitol is holding a special series of forums over the spring and summer to explore issues pertaining to Autism Spectrum Disorder, which affects 1 in 68 children. Florence residents who traveled to Salem in March shared a plea for restor- ing services on the coast, which have been reduced in recent years. INSIDE Jewel Roby S E N I O R C O U R T — P R I N C E S Autism Walk goes for a stroll at Miller Park See FLORENCE, OREGON READY TO RHODY The Lane County Interagency Deadly Force Investigation Team continues to investigate an inci- B Y J ACK D AVIS dent that occurred Siuslaw News Monday, May 8, at the Florence Municipal Jail, which left one 40-year-old inmate dead and two Florence Police offi- cers seriously injured. According to Oregon State Police (OSP) Sergeant Andy Kenyon, the two injured officers were 24-year veteran Officer Ken Larson and one-year veteran Corrections Officer Stephanie Sansom. Both were hospitalized. The deadly force team includes repre- sentatives from Oregon State Police (OSP), Lane County Sheriff’s Office and Eugene, Springfield and Cottage Grove police departments. Florence Police Department is not rep- resented because it is a part of the ongo- ing investigation. The Lane County Deadly Physical Force Plan was one of the first of its kind in the state and was implemented in 2008. Lane County Chief Deputy District Attorney Eric Hasselman said, “The autopsy (on the deceased inmate) has been completed, but the toxicology report See ❘ MAY 13, 2017 ❘ $1.00 AWARENESS 9A Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Coastal Events . . . . . . . . . . . Community . . . . . . . . . . . . . Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B7 A8 A3 A4 1st-grade: Clover Holbrook 2nd-grade: Chloe Clark 3rd-grade: Madi Jerabek 4th-grade: AriAnna Williams 5th-grade: Ava Center PHOTOS COURTESY OF 2017 RHODY COURT COMMITTEE he members of this year’s Rhododendron Court Co- mmittee are showing they are “Always Ready to Rhody” by hearkening back to 110 years of the Rhododendron Festival. Led by the family team of Pat Sapp and Wendy Krause, along with Brynne Sapp, the Rhody Court Coronation will feature several fresh takes on tradition. T B Y C HANTELLE M EYER Siuslaw News King of the Coast will be at 7 p.m. on Thursday, May 18, at the Florence Events Center, 715 Quince St. Tickets are $10, and $6 for those 18 and under. Krause said, “We’ve all been involved on the court, and all of us were past royalty.” All three women have helped the Rhody Court Committee in various ways over the years, from leading the process, emceeing, judging, working backstage and choreographing dance numbers. “Because we already had experience, we want- ed to help out and put a fresh spin on it,” Krause said. The first of those spins was returning to some of the Rhododendron Court’s traditions. With 110 years of history, it was relatively easy to return to favorite moments from the past. “One of the things my mom wanted to do was bring back the older style buttons and incorporate incentives,” Krause said. “It brings back the tradi- tion when they used to give out free bowls of clam chowder.” Florence Area Chamber of Commerce is work- ing with local restaurants to offer $1 off a bowl of See The Coronation of Queen Rhododendra and CORONATION 7A Peace Harbor offers recruitment, nurse update PeaceHealth CEO said nurse contract negotiations are moving forward after May 8 meeting B Y J ACK D AVIS Siuslaw News During a PeaceHealth Peace Harbor Medical Center editorial board meeting, held at the hospital May 11, representatives from the medical center and PeaceHealth Medical Group updated the media on the hospital’s ongoing search for care providers and the results of the latest round of mediation between PeaceHealth and the Oregon Nurses Association (ONA) contract negoti- ations. Peace Harbor Operations Director Nena Harvey said, “Since June of 2016 and February, we have brought on seven primary care Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A2 Side Show . . . . . . . . . . . . . B6 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B Weather Data . . . . . . . . . . . A2 THIS WEEK ’ S providers. Two are physicians, and the rest are advanced practice clini- cians.” Harvey said the medical group has a half-time OB-GYN physician starting in September, a primary care provider starting in October and a second primary care provider starting in October 2018. “We had about 6,000 patients that were displaced when the primary care providers left in 2016. We have offered all but 1,200 of those patients a new primary care provider,” Harvey said. According to Harvey, the 1,200 patients that have not been offered a new primary care provider yet have not required medical treatment for more than two years. “They weren’t real active patients,” she said. “We went through the list when providers left and anyone who came in less than two years got top priority. Now we are going back through and seeing who is left.” Harvey said new residents to Florence are placed on the list based on visits to the walk-in clinic. “We have about 1,800 people on our new patient wait list. We are starting to work on that,” she said. “We have had people on that list since 2012, but we are up to the middle of 2015 right now. “Between the ones that are more than two years and the ones that TODAY SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY 53 43 56 44 54 44 54 44 WEATHER Full Forecast, A3 have not had a provider before, there are about 3,000 people.” According to Harvey, the medical group receives more than 100 calls per month from people new to Florence who are looking for a pri- mary care provider. One of the popular new features offered by the walk-in clinic is the real-time on-line posting of wait times for patients waiting to see doctors, Harvey said. “We are not having the huge del- uge of patients early in the morning. People are watching the wait time and coming in when the wait time isn’t as long,” she said. S IUSLAW N EWS 3 S ECTIONS ❘ 24 P AGES C OPYRIGHT 2017 See PEACEHEALTH 9A
