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SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ SATURDAY, MAY 13, 2017
DISASTER PREP
B Y D AVE R OBINSON
Special to the Siuslaw News
E
very few days we make a trip to
the local grocery store. Under
normal circumstances we make
our purchases and fill our shopping
lists with nary a thought about how all
those items came to be so plentifully
available for our needs.
We want them and there they are!
Simple as that. Unbeknownst to most
of us, our grocer’s shelves are filled
using a technology known as “Just In
Time” inventory management.
Commonly referred to in the business
as, “J.I.T.”
Excess inventory is a waste of com-
pany resources, (translated: costs go
up), while too little inventory is dam-
aging to customer confidence. “They
NEVER have what I want!”
To maintain that delicate balance of
inventory, J.I.T. is maintained with a
set of precise and delicate shipping
schedules from a variety of vendors to
keep our stores stocked so we con-
sumers always get what we want. At
the same time, the razor-thin profit
margin is protected by this oh-so-frag-
ile system we have taken for granted.
So let’s pretend for a moment there
is a glitch in the system. A major cata-
clysmic event notwithstanding, say an
ice storm in a major city which serves
our area.
Highways are closed, trucks can’t
BIRTHS
J.I.T.
get to the distribution points and our
stores don’t get their inventory. Most
retailers know if their J.I.T. schedule is
interrupted, their shelves would empty
in 3 to 5 days.
Just pretend you go to the store and
notice some bare shelves. Your curios-
ity kicks in and you ask an employee
what’s going on.
“Oh our trucks can’t get here out of
Portland due to the ice storm and we
don’t know when we’ll get more sup-
plies! It may be two weeks or more.”
You, being a rational person decide
stocking up right now would be a very
good idea. That is if there’s anything
left to stock up on. As soon as word
gets around, panic buying would soon
follow!
Past experiences show during immi-
nent hurricanes, or major snowstorms,
the stores clear out within 3 to 4 hours.
Now factor in an earthquake in your
region and let your imagination run.
In case you were wondering, there
are no local, government warehouses
stocked with emergency supplies set
aside for our use during such an event.
Even the food banks are dependent on
donations from various sources, both
public and private, but they are not
equipped to provide for the needs of
the general populace in an emergency.
The only sure source of feeding
your family is what you have on hand.
If the J.I.T. infrastructure failed, how
long before you are in deep trouble?
The best thing you can do is begin
now by setting aside some of the items
your family uses anyway. Watch the
sales. “Buy one get one” or BOGO
sales are great for setting aside extra
groceries.
One “coupon” person emailed me
several months ago and let me know
she had saved over $8,000 on their
grocery bill over a year’s time by
“coupon-ing,” and a by-product of that
was she had accumulated a significant
amount of groceries to be used in an
emergency.
Whichever method you choose to
build your food supply, just do it.
Before long you will have enough
extra that if there indeed is an interrup-
tion in the supply chain, it will have
minimal effect on you and your family.
As always send your questions and
comments to disasterprep.dave@gmail.
com.
___________________________
Dave Robinson is the postmaster in
Bandon, Ore., and author of “Disaster
Prep for the Rest of Us.” He may be
contacted at disasterprep.dave@
gmail.com. Visit his website for more
disaster preparedness tips, www.disas-
terprepdave.blogspot.com.
WLCF continuing education scholarships being offered
Western Lane Community
Foundation (WLCF) has
announced its third-annual
Continuing
Education
Scholarships program for 2017.
These scholarships are
awarded annually and are
designed for students who use
permanent home addresses
within the Florence, Dunes
City, Mapleton and Deadwood
areas and have already graduat-
ed from high school, have their
diploma, GED or were home
schooled and are eligible to
enter higher education or a
trade school or graduate pro-
gram.
This includes non-traditional
students returning to a program
after a career or family change
or job loss.
Scholarships are available
for traditional four year univer-
sities, colleges, community
colleges and accredited trade
schools. While academic
achievement is one criteria
used in determining recipients,
other qualifying characteristics
include financial need, outside
activities, work history and
volunteerism to name a few.
The application lists criteria
specific to each scholarship.
Applications can be obtained
at Lane Community College or
on the WLCF website at www.
wlcfonline.org.
Applications packets may be
submitted online, or by mail at
P.O. Box 1589, Florence, Ore.,
97439.
BRIGGS-STEMMER-
MAN—BraeLynn RoseMarie
Briggs-Stemmerman, a girl
weighing 8 lbs., 6.5 ozs., was
born to Trinity Micah Briggs
and Dillon Cole Stemmerman
of Reedsport on May 8, 2017,
at 11:05 a.m., at PeaceHealth
Peace Harbor Medical Center.
PRECHT—James Alan
Precht, a boy weighing 7 lbs.,
10.5 ozs., was born to
Annmarie Lee Precht of
Florence on May 8, 2017, at
11:05 a.m., at PeaceHealth
Peace Harbor Medical Center.
WEATHER DATA
Visit us on
D ATE
May
May
May
May
May
May
May
H IGH
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3
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5
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60
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55
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63
Rainfall
Month: 0.83”
L OW R AIN
50
52
51
42
38
33
36
0.06
0.00
0.10
0.61
0.03
0.00
0.00
the web
T HE S IUSLAW N EWS . COM
Week: 0.80”
Year: 62.83”
S IUSLAW N EWS
Courtesy of Roger Cunningham
In loving memory of
Jean Marlene Saubert
1 May 1942—14 May 2007
75 years ago Planet Earth was presented an
exceptional gift when Jean Marlene Saubert
was born to Jack and Lila Mae “Bobbie”
Saubert in Roseburg, Oregon.
Jean graduated from Lakeview OR high
school in 1960 and Oregon State University in 1967, aft er
presenting the U.S. with two Olympic medals for skiing
slalom and giant slalom in Innsbruck, Austria in 1964. Her
30-year teaching career started as Vale, CO’s fi rst elementary
school teacher, followed by 10 years in Salt Lake City and
BYU, Utah, before positively infl uencing middle school
children and parents in Hillsboro, OR for 20 years. Aft er
retirement, she carried the Olympic torch to open the 2002
Olympic Games in Utah before moving to Bigfork, MT
where she passed from breast cancer in 2007 and is buried
in Florence, OR with her parents,
grandparents and great grandparents.
Anyone Jean touched during her too-
short life on Earth received positive
support and energy; and she has been
missed dearly these past ten years. Rest
in Peace in God’s Arms
THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES,
Terry and Joan Cummings, Rio Verde AZ & Bigfork MT
OR CCB #1663
Happy Mother’s Day
May 14 th
REMODELING 101 WORKSHOP
SATURDAY, MAY 20TH
Cascade Title Company
713 US Highway 101, Florence, OR 97439
Learn how you can improve the functionality of your home
with smart design and elegant details. Enjoy refreshments,
meet national award-winning Neil Kelly designer, Matt White
and embark on a photo tour of recently completed Neil Kelly
remodeling projects.
10:00AM.....Welcome & Refreshments
11:30AM.......Remodeling 101 Workshop: Reinventing Your Home
RSVP neilkelly.com/events
or call 341.683.6083
OR CCB#1663 | WA L&I #NEILKCI 18702
Dad, need a little help with last minute planning?
PeaceHealth.org/mothers-day has you covered, with cards
for the kids to color, a recipe for a great wake up smoothie
and more.