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WEDNESDAY EDITION
Senior park pass
rate increases
‘Savannah Sipping Society’
& ‘Love Letters’
❘ JULY 26, 2017 ❘ $1.00
Reviews
B Y B URNEY G ARELICK
INSIDE — A3
SPORTS — B
127TH YEAR ❘ ISSUE NO. 9
SERVING WESTERN LANE COUNTY SINCE 1890
Relay for Life paints the town purple
2017 reinvigorates
annual fundraiser
B Y M ARK B RENNAN
Siuslaw News
T
he 2017 American Cancer
Society Relay for Life
fundraiser was held July 22 at the
Florence Events Center (FEC).
The location was new, but the
goal of the effort remains the
same as it has for years: to raise
awareness and money for the
ongoing battle against cancer.
The move from outdoors to
indoors was the main change for
Relay, but other modifications
included a noon to midnight
timeline and a shorter, easier
walking track.
Another notable change was
the addition of a gathering area
for participants and community
members to sit, share stories of
recovery or loss, listen to music
or grab a bite to eat and relax
between laps.
Amy Bickleman, community
manager of the Great Western
Division of the American Cancer
MARK BRENNAN/SIUSLAW NEWS
Participants in this years’ Relay For Life Survivor Walk receive flowers, ribbons and medal-
lions in recognition of their struggle and successful fight against cancer.
Association, introduced the
Relay Team Captains and offi-
cially began the 2017 Florence
Relay for Life.
Relay organizers hoped one of
the benefits of holding the event
at the FEC was the option to
move indoors during inclement
weather.
Although the weather cooper-
PHOTO BY MELISSA KEEL
A large tree crushes the bed of John and
Erica Sanchez after it falls onto their home
Sunday night.
ated on Saturday, the ability to
come inside and take a break was
appreciated by the crowd.
“I found it refreshing and
inspiring to see how attendees
used the venue for the event,”
Bickleman said. “People were
always walking, and folks were
also enjoying the comfortable
seats at the table rounds, air con-
ditioning, indoor shopping and
fundraising and live entertain-
ment. I noticed many people
would walk a few laps and then
enjoy the indoor activities, then
walk a few more laps. It was a
really fun way to enjoy the event
and the venue.”
See
RELAY 6A
On Sunday night, Siuslaw Valley Fire and
Rescue (SVFR) and Western Lane
Ambulance District (WLAD) responded to a
911 call in the 88000 block of Highway 101.
The
call
B Y M ARK B RENNAN
brought
them
to
a
Siuslaw News
small
cabin,
tucked back in the
woods, that was occupied by John and Erica
Sanchez and their dog Trudy.
According to Erica, they had just settled
in to watch some television when they were
interrupted by a very loud crash.
“We were watching ‘Game of Thrones,’
and then there was this sound, it was like a
bomb. It was so loud you wouldn’t believe
it. Then the lights went out immediately and
my husband John couldn’t get up,” she said.
“He was stuck on the bed by a beam that
crashed through the roof and it was holding
him down.”
Erica described the night as being pitch
black, with glass everywhere as she went
down the hallway to call 911.
“The (responders) came so fast, it was
amazing. They came right in, in the dark,
and they got him out,” she said.
Fire Marshal Sean Barrett said 911 dis-
patch alerted both SVFR and WLAD to the
reported tree on a house with one victim
trapped inside.
“Upon arrival, a non-injured man was
trapped inside his bedroom by the fallen
tree. Firefighters extricated him and medics
evaluated him,” Barrett said. “He was found
to be in good health.”
Medics looked over both Erica and John,
and Trudy the dog was extricated from
the home without
complication.
See TREE 6A
EMAC seeks input on use of foam take-out containers
The
City
of
Florence
Environmental
Management
Advisory Committee (EMAC) is
conducting an online survey on
the issue of take-out containers.
EMAC also held a public
forum July 17.
Florence City Planner Wendy
FarleyCampbell is overseeing this
effort to attempt a reduction in
carcinogens in the local environ-
ment.
“EMAC is looking for a
diverse and thorough community
dialogue on the benefits and
impacts to regulating food-grade
foam,” she said.
A panel at the July 17 forum
shared information on the prob-
lems presented by the use of
Expanded Poly-Styrene foam
(EPS), commonly referred to as
Styrofoam, in to-go containers.
David Lloyd, acting chair of
the committee, said, “We’re look-
ing into ways to reduce or elimi-
nate some of the negative impacts
of polystyrene foam. These
impacts include litter; harm to
wildlife and the environment; and
increased cost of processing recy-
cling due to foam contamination,
since foam is not recyclable.”
FarleyCampbell presented a
slide show that highlighted the
See
C O O L P L A C ES
C & M Stables
TO VISIT THIS SUMMER
90241 Highway 101, Florence ❘ 541-997-7450
A T A GLANCE : Horseback rid-
ing on the coast is at its best with
C&M Stables. This family-friend-
ly activity is open to beginning,
intermediate and advanced riders,
including youth.
C&M Stables offers a variety
of timed rides. Saddle up before
hitting the trail to the beach and
dune trails, or stay in for a corral
ride at the stables.
Reservations are recommend-
ed, but drop-ins are welcome.
INSIDE
S PECIAL F EATURE :
This summer we are
highlighting unique
spots that make the
central Oregon coast
one of the coolest
places to live and play.
New locations will be
featured each month.
Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Community . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Kid Scoop . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Library Tidings . . . . . . . . . . .
B6
A3
B5
A5
Cougar, bear
sightings increase
around Florence
T
Siuslaw Valley, Western Lane respond to call
Siuslaw News
WILDLIFE SIGHTINGS
Agencies advise extra safety
precautions for residents, pets
Tree crushes cabin, traps man
B Y M ARK B RENNAN
FLORENCE, OREGON
Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A4
Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A2
Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B
Weather Data . . . . . . . . . . . A2
Approximately 60
horses are available
daily. Horses range in
ages, from young and
spunky to older and
reliable, so people in a
riding party can each
be matched to their
ideal horse.
Wranglers at C&M Stables
want every visitor to have the ride
of a lifetime. From taking people
to cool forest paths or riding on
THIS WEEK ’ S
SURVEY 6A
See
COURTESY PHOTO
the beach at sunset, C&M Stables
provides the venue, equipment
and expertise to fit all coastal
horseback riding needs.
TODAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
70 54
69 52
67 53
69 54
WEATHER
Full Forecast, A3
he woman woke up, got out of bed, looked out-
side her window and was greeted with pure hor-
ror: her cat hung from the teeth of a cougar.
As she ran outside with
B Y J ARED A NDERSON
her dog to scare it off,
Siuslaw News
another cougar jumped off
the roof.
And then it grabbed the dog.
This is one of many stories Karen Crowder has
heard about cougars and bears in the Sutton Lake area.
She works at the Twin Lakes Store, a small market
near Sutton Lake, a few miles north of Florence.
Residents from the wooded suburbs come down to
the store to buy a snack, catch up on local news and
recount the stories of a seemingly endless stream of
bear and cougar sightings.
“We’re overpopulated with them,” Crowder said.
“We’re seeing way too many. They’re in broad day-
light, walking down the streets, looking in houses.
That’s crazy!”
Their fears can be visceral.
While the bear sightings can be comical at times,
some can be dangerous — a bear and her cub sitting on
the front porch when a homeowner tried to get the kids
off to school, for example.
And then there are the cougars.
In Crowder’s story — which neither she nor the
newspaper could verify — the dog reportedly survived
after extensive medical bills. The woman who told
Crowder the account chased the cougars off with a
broom.
For Twin Lakes, these stories used to be rare. Now,
they get around two a week.
Hung up on a bookshelf near the front counter, pic-
tures of these animals taken by local residents can be
seen, the locations of their sightings clearly marked.
Also posted, a hunter for hire.
The same pictures fill Facebook and social media
posts, peppered with comments of people aghast or
delighted, depending on the animal and situation.
Florence Police Commander John Pitcher said he
has noticed an uptick in bear sightings in the area.
“We were sitting in my office the other day and we
saw a bear and its cub across the street,” he said.
Wildlife biologist Jason Kirchner from the Oregon
Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) has also
noticed the increase.
“Florence typically has a lot of bears as it is, but
overall we’re seeing more bear activity and com-
plaints,” he said.
Kirchner believes the increase may be due to the
failure of the berry crop this season.
“The salmonberries were really late this year,” he
said. “The thimbleberries haven’t been seen, nor the
elderberries, and the blackberries are still pretty
green.”
The cause, he hypothesized, was the longer winter
and heavy rains, which suppressed the berry yield.
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C OPYRIGHT 2017
WILDLIFE 6A