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127TH YEAR ❘ ISSUE NO. 58
SERVING WESTERN LANE COUNTY SINCE 1890
FLORENCE, OREGON
Fiber comes to Florence, finally
B Y C HANTELLE M EYER
Siuslaw News
n a new pilot project
announced this week,
Siuslaw Broadband, doing
business as Hyak, will install
fiber optics to Florence’s
Pacific View Business Park and
certain nearby residential and
business areas.
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❘ JULY 22, 2017 ❘ $1.00
“Siuslaw Broadband has
been trying to get fiber off the
ground for a while,” owner
Robbie Wright said. “We have
been in Florence for six years,
so we are in touch with the
technology needs that people
have.”
The Internet service merged
with Full Spectrum Computers
in April, just one of several
tech-based
announcements
Siuslaw Broadband wanted to
announce for 2017. The other is
the formation of Hyak as a new
brand, specifically for fiber
optic services.
Hyak will partner with
Florence Contractor Ray Wells,
Inc., to install fiber in pilot
areas including Pacific View
Business Park, the Park Village
neighborhood and the Boys and
Girls Club of Western Lane
County.
“Long-term, we’re interested
in keeping construction in
house, but we couldn’t have a
better partner as we get started.
The city knows and trusts
Norm (Wells), and we do, too,”
Wright said.
He said the pilot project will
Siuslaw Broadband, Hyak bring fiber
optics to businesses, neighborhoods
begin a six- to eight-week con-
struction in August, “after the
eclipse.”
“We chose the business park
since it is centrally located.
From there, we can grow this to
someday take fiber all over the
city,” Wright said.
Hyak will install fiber under-
ground. Since the area near
Pacific View Drive has similar-
ly built homes, this allows for
easier construction of the
underground fiber line.
According to Wright, fiber is
a superior technology in many
ways, including its ability to be
updated with future technologi-
cal advances.
See
FIBER 7A
Siuslaw Valley D EADWOOD C EMETERY COMES ALIVE
Trustees revitalize State Historic Cemetery through grants, research, volunteers
seats new board
members and
gets to work I
B Y J ARED A NDERSON
Siuslaw News
New chaplain position,
board leadership named
S
iuslaw Valley Fire and Rescue welcomed two
new board members on July. Directors Ron
Green and Ned Hickson took the oath of office as
the first action item
B Y M ARK B RENNAN
undertaken at the
Siuslaw News
district’s scheduled
monthly meeting.
Chief Director Jim Langborg administered the
oath individually to Green and Hickson and the new
board was convened.
The board’s first order of business was the nomi-
nation of and voting on new officers for the board.
Green and sitting board member John Carnahan
both received nominations for board president, with
Green then voted in as president and Carnahan as
vice president.
Current board member Woody Woodbury was
nominated for and accepted the position of secretary
treasurer.
The board’s next order of business was the intro-
duction and swearing in of Chaplain Lori Severance.
Langborg presented Severance’s resume and
qualifications, and spoke highly of her experience.
“It’s a privilege to welcome her to our ranks,”
Langborg said. “We feel fortunate to be able to add
someone who brings 20 years of experience as a
professional crisis intervention worker … with a
master’s degree in social work and in psychology.”
Langborg then asked the board to approve the job
description that had been included in the meeting
packet that had been prepared for the members.
Carnahan initiated a brief discussion, questioning
the need for and the wisdom of creating a new paid
position, as the district currently has four volunteer
See
BOARD 6A
t’s the breathtaking, giant sequoias that
people notice first when they enter the
main grounds of the Deadwood
Cemetery.
Hidden on a hill overlooking a river and sur-
rounded by the majestic trees, the cemetery
exists in another world only found in fantasy
novels.
Just beyond the sequoias are the graves.
In the morning, the rising sun passes
through the trees, casting beams of light on
headstones creating a haunting yet peaceful
aura.
On June 22, Deadwood Pioneer Cemetery
Board of Trustees was awarded $5,860 grant
from the Oregon Parks and Recreation
Department’s Historic Cemeteries. The grant
will pay for new headstones to replace 35
decayed markers.
The project is only a component of a larger
push to restore the cemetery.
The cemetery is a small gravesite, its origins
dating back to the turn of the 19th century. A
church and a school used rest next to the site
but were lost to time.
The park is impeccably kept, important for a
State Historic Cemetery designated area. A
massive, 7-ton entry rock displays that
moniker as you enter its windy entrance road.
A new water irrigation system has been put
into place. The grass is trimmed perfectly. It’s
a beautiful monument to the rich history of the
area.
It didn’t used to be this way.
The cemetery, which has around 300 graves,
fell into a state of disrepair over the years. This
was of particular concern because it was still
hosting new burials.
However, its decay was not for a lack of try-
ing.
For a time, the Deadwood Pioneer Cemetery
Board of Trustees consisted of only three peo-
ple: Don Wilbur, his daughter Sally and Gary
PHOTOS BY JARED ANDERSON/SIUSLAW NEWS
A tranquil sight meets visitors at the
historic Deadwood Cemetery, where
standing headstones and faded grave
markers show more than two centuries
of history. The cemetery’s board of
trustees plans to replace 35 decayed or
lost markers with grant money.
Burnett.
Wilbur’s family had taken care of the ceme-
tery for decades.
The three-person board, made up of volun-
teers, worked diligently to care for the
grounds.
It was hard labor, though, and expensive.
They had to dig the graves, manicure the
grounds, care for the road leading to the site
and various other clerical and physical respon-
sibilities.
When Sally passed away four years ago, the
task became overwhelming. The trustees need-
ed help to revitalize the historic site.
Around six months after Sally passed,
Past SHS principal killed in motorcycle accident
B Y N ED H ICKSON
Siuslaw News
INSIDE
Past Siuslaw High School teacher,
vice-principal and principal John
Weeks, 65, was killed in a highway acci-
dent early Wednesday morning, July 19,
at approximately 10:30 a.m.
Weeks was traveling eastbound on his
black 2015 BMW motorcycle on
Highway 20, about seven miles east of
Sweet Home, Ore., when he struck the
side of a green 2016 Kenworth log truck
heading westbound.
Weeks was pronounced dead at the
scene and Highway 20 was closed for
about three hours while Oregon State
Police interviewed witnesses and con-
ducted their investigation.
According to LaGrand Patrol
Sergeant and Public Information Officer
Kyle Hove, it was determined that
Weeks unintentionally veered into
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John Weeks
oncoming traffic, clipping the front cor-
ner of the log truck driven by Kenneth
Keil Reynolds.
Reynolds was not injured, according
to Oregon State Police.
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THIS WEEK ’ S
A witness told officials that they
believed Weeks may have been looking
over his shoulder while negotiating a
curve when he veered into traffic.
Sweet Home Fire and Ambulance
District,
along
with
Oregon
Department of Transportation, assisted
Oregon State Police at the scene.
Weeks attended Southern Oregon
University, where he earned his bache-
lor’s degree, then received his masters at
Western Oregon University.
While at Siuslaw High School, he
taught English and Media before
becoming the school’s vice-principal in
1987, working with long-time principal
Richard Whitmore.
Weeks continued his education,
attending the University of Oregon and
earning his degree in school administra-
tion before eventually taking over as
principal when Whitmore retired in 1993.
See
WEEKS 6A
See
CEMETERY 7A
7-year-old boy dies
after ATV accident
Upriver agencies respond to death
B Y J ARED A NDERSON
Siuslaw News
The Upriver community is
reeling from the sudden death
of 7-year-old Joe Motichka,
of Mapleton, on Tuesday, July
18.
Members of the Western Lane
Ambulance
District
and
Deadwood Creek Fire District
responded to the incident where
Motichka succumbed to injuries
related to an ATV accident near
Highway 36.
Motichka was riding the ATV
when it tipped over, killing him
instantly. He was wearing protec-
tive gear at the time.
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Megan Gerber was hired to work for Wilbur’s
company, Don Wilbur Ltd.
Gerber was asked to be the secretary for the
board meetings, which began to catalog the
issues with the site.
In time, the trustees introduced new rules
and guidelines.
In lieu of flowers, a memorial
fund has been set up through
Banner Bank to help with the
funeral costs, with a stated goal
of $5,000. Family friend Mary
Stands help set up the fund.
Donations can be made to any
Banner Bank. People are asked to
make checks payable to “The Joe
Motichka Memorial Fund.”
A go-fund-me is also set up on
Facebook by Stands, where she
wrote, “The family wants to say
thank you for all the outpouring
prayers, love and support in this
tragic time.”
A private celebration of
Motichka’s life will be held
today.
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