SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 2, 2017
Search
from 1A
no sign of Lewoczko.
Search efforts continued
through the morning and follow-
ing day along the lake’s northern
arm, with additional assistance
from Josephine County Sheriff’s
Office Divers.
The search continued on
Sunday, July 30, with assistance
from Klamath County Sheriff’s
Office Divers and Lane County
Sheriff’s Office Divers.
Lewoczko’s body was discov-
ered just after noon Sunday,
about 50 yards from the lake’s
edge across from the park’s pic-
nic area.
“Information gathered at the
scene indicated that he wasn’t
wearing a life jacket,” said Sgt.
Carrie Carver of the Lane
County Sheriff’s Office.
Though no foul play was sus-
pected, the official cause and
manner of death was still being
determined by the Lane County
Medical Examiner’s Office as
of Tuesday.
“Wearing a life jacket can
prevent many water-related
deaths from occurring,” said
Carver. “We are saddened by
the loss of Mr. Lewoczko, and
our thoughts are with his friends
and family members.”
Lewoczko had been visiting
his brother, who lives in
Portland, for the past week and
had just extended his visit for an
additional week to spend more
time camping in the park.
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Fundraiser for Boy’s and Girl’s Club.
FREE LUNCH
50’s Party Car Show, Elvis & BBQ
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All the cars are locally owned.
Menu: Octoberfest Brats, Beef Burgers, BBQ Chicken
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from 1A
They met when she was a vol-
leyball player; he would follow
her around, heckling her as she
played.
Of course they fell in love.
He often took her on motorcy-
cle rides to the beach.
“She was a riding hot mama,”
Connie said.
But then World War II hit.
Dwight served on a ship, but it
was torpedoed. On leave, he came
back to Swisshome and Leona
never left his side. Marriage was
inevitable, then they went down to
San Diego where they had their
first child.
It’s there she became a Rosie
the Riveter.
Leona worked putting rivets on
B-24’s. She was a bucker, holding
metal to the planes as her partner
riveted the metal to the aircraft’s
fuselage.
“That gun on the other side, it
just shook me. I had to hold it tight
to make sure it didn’t slip,” she
said.
The vibrations of the gun were
jarring, leaving her body vibrating
for hours afterwards.
“But it kept everything work-
ing,” she said.
After the war, Leona came back
Public Art
from 1A
“This project came about
because the committee discussed
the ways we can make an impact
quickly, and how we can beautify
what’s already there,” Weese said.
“It’s a way to make things that are
utilitarian more beautiful.”
The project experienced some
pushback by Old Town residents,
but Springer said it was a chance to
open a dialogue.
“Some people were surprised to
see the project,” he said. “It’s
change, and it’s different. And
until now we haven’t done a very
good job of telling people what
we’re doing.”
The next aspect of this project
will be to refurbish some of the
city’s bus shelters, and eventually
add artist-created decals. The ten-
tative timeline is to begin the call
to artists in the fall.
PAC’s second project will be a
mural on the Central Lincoln PUD
building at the corner of Highways
101 and 126. The mural could fill
the entire eastern wall, all 125 feet
by 17 feet.
The mural is set to be complet-
ed next spring and summer.
The third project is to update the
steps connecting Highway 101 and
Old Town. The artists who answer
the call for entry will get to decide
to place tiles on the risers of the
steps, or use a different medium,
such as paint.
“We are trying to suggest that
artists have a community engage-
ment part to their proposal so the
that community members and
school kids can come out and put
JARED ANDERSON/SIUSLAW NEWS
Greg Walton gives his mother Leona May Walton flowers in honor of her graduation.
to Mapleton and looked into fin-
ishing school.
“I went to the school and I
talked to the superintendent,” she
recalled. “He said you have to go
every day and take a whole year’s
course. I only had half a credit left,
and I despised history. So I said
no.”
It wasn’t just the history that
made Leona hesitant. She was
already a mother at that point, an
adult who helped the war effort.
“I didn’t want to go to school
with those kids. I would have been
embarrassed, they would have
been embarrassed, so that’s the
way I felt,” she said.
Instead, she worked as a veteri-
nary technician for 25 years, a job
she thoroughly enjoyed.
“We had really gone to the
dogs,” she joked.
Leona doesn’t think much
about her role in history. She
spends most of her time with her
cat and shooting off guns in her
backyard.
It’s to scare off the pigeons, she
says, but she wouldn’t mind hit-
ting one for dinner.
She’s still not a fan of history
very much.
“You get tired of all the non-
sense going on,” she said.
When asked what she would
do for her graduation night, Leona
said, “I’m going to stay home with
my cat.”
some of the final touches on it, or
have an actual hands-on experi-
ence with it,” said Tive.
Beaudreau said, “The stairway
will really be a pedestrian gateway
between Old Town and Highway
101. It will make Florence more
accessible on foot than it has been
in the past. It’s also pretty timely
with the ReVision Florence project
the city is doing to revamp things.”
PAC’s fourth project is Art
Exposed, a continual project that
will place five public art pieces
along Bay Street, from Siuslaw
River Coffee Roasters to Maple
Street, for two years, or until the
pieces sell. The committee will
then add new pieces in rotation.
Committee Member Jayne
Smoley said, “The artwork in Art
Exposed will have the most impact
on the community by blending into
the Old Town landscape, but at the
same time being very well
exposed.”
Springer said Art Exposed will
keep the work “fresh” until the city
decides on permanent pieces for
the five locations: near the coffee
shop, in the rain garden at Siuslaw
River Bridge Interpretive Center,
near Waterfront Depot, towards the
front of Gazebo Park and at Maple
Street Park, at the junction of Bay
and Maple streets.
The fifth project is also already
in motion. Since 2015, several
people have inquired about donat-
ing artwork to the city. PAC then
had to create a process to accept
donated pieces.
The first piece, “Totem Pole,” a
winged cedar sculpture featuring
scenes of the Siuslaw River
Bridge, was made by Steve
Benson and donated to the city by
Gerald Curran. It is now residing
in Gallagher Park near the
“Welcome to Florence” sign.
A second piece, “Cascade” by
David Miller and donated by
Harold and Elizabeth Ann Anson,
is a red metal sculpture that used to
reside at Laurel and First streets in
Old Town. It will also be placed in
Gallagher Park.
Now that PAC’s art projects
have been set and budgeted, the
committee will hold a forum on
Monday, Aug. 14, to add public
input to the committee’s two-year
process.
“These are our definitive proj-
ects that are being worked on,”
Springer said. “Now it’s time to
engage the public into that dia-
logue.”
In planning its projects, PAC
has
worked
with
Oregon
Department of Transportation,
Central Lincoln, City of Florence,
Florence Public Works, the city
attorney and private business and
landowners.
“We haven’t talked to the public
about our projects much yet
because we have been working on
the paperwork aspect,” Beaudreau
said. “Everything has been in
process. Now, we’re going to be
able to blossom.”
Besides the forum, community
involvement is being sought in
other ways, starting primarily with
calls to artists.
PAC decided to use CaFÉ
(CallForEntry.org) to host the calls
for artists. This free website allows
any artist, anywhere in the world,
to create a free profile and sub-
scribe to calls based on their area
of expertise. In return, more than
500 agencies globally submit calls
to artists.
Beaudreau said, “This is bring-
ing art to the next level. Artists
should not be uncomfortable about
submitting a profile on CaFÉ,
since this is going to help find
other calls for art as well, not only
here in this area, but regionally and
internationally.”
Each of PAC’s projects will
have separate calls to artists, which
will also be published more local-
ly, and will be open to any artist.
“We’re very excited to use this
resource, since we think we’re
going to get a really high level of
art from a wide variety of people,”
Springer said.
Community members will also
have the chance to serve on the
selection committees for the proj-
ects.
“We don’t want to do this in a
vacuum,” Weese said. “We want to
get input from the public and
stakeholders, people who have
businesses or homes nearby, for
each of these projects.”
PAC will also work with people
willing to write grants, help with
landscaping or donate expertise or
funds.
“These things we’re doing will
allow people to engage with the
community,” Beaudreau said.
The five projects’ one to two-
year processes will allow for a
comparatively quick completion.
“We love that these are projects
we can do now,” Weese said.
“Urban Renewal is excited about
that as well, since so much of what
it does is on a huge scale, like
ReVision Florence. We can show
progress for all our projects with
relatively short timelines.”
Quick projects, such as the Bay
Street receptacles, also shows that
PAC is making a consistent effort.
“It’s important that what we do
initially is seen by the people who
live here,” Hildenbrand said. “The
public has to get behind the public
art projects, and the dream of this
committee. If we don’t get the
community behind it, it’s not going
to fly.”
PAC’s “Bringing Art to the
Streets” Public Forum will be held
at City Lights Cinemas on
Monday, Aug. 14, at 6:30 p.m.
For more information on PAC,
visit ci.florence.or.us/bc-pac or
contact Weese at 541-997-3437.
FRAA ART CENTER
120 Maple Street
Phone: 541-997-4435
Hours Open: Wed-Fri noon-5pm,
Sat 10am-5pm, Sun. noon-5pm
Tuesday 7/25
Shirley McGrew
Pattie Panther
Swisshome
Florence
Grocery Outlet
Ron’s Paint & Supply
Wednesday 7/26
Kurt Medlock
Sharil Anderson
Florence
Florence
Safeway/Florence
Oceanside Veterinary Hospital
Thursday 7/27
Cheryl Jordan
Cheryl Jordan
Florence
Florence
Bella’s Salon
Bella’s Salon
Friday 7/28
Bear McDaniel
Dixie Condley
Westlake
Florence
Three Rivers Casino Resort
Oceanside Veterinary Hospital
Saturday 7/29
Linda McPhedran
Shirley McGrew
Florence
Swisshome
Firehouse Restaurant
Grocery Outlet/Florence
Sunday 7/30
Dan Wilhemi
Mary Brown
Florence
Florence
Safeway/Florence
Firehouse Restaurant
Monday 7/31
Keith Kersey
James Larsen
Florence
Florence
Three Rivers Casino Resort
Safeway/Florence
7 A
Classes and Workshops
NEW! Basic Crochet
Workshop & Crochet-A-Long
Learn the basics of crocheting & have fun.
Sunday, September 9, 1-4 pm
Materials needed to complete one project
will be provided; students may being own
$15 FRAA members, $20 non-FRAA
members.
Pre-registration required at FRAA. Stop in
or call 541-997-4435
NEW! Writers on the River
Literary Salon w/ Catherine
Rourke
Saturday, September 9, 6-8 pm
Featured Author: Ned Hickson
Writers Open Mic and Door Prizes
Free public event, $5 suggested donation
Questions: contact 541-708-2120 or
CJReditor@gmail.com
Open Studio @ FRAA, Thursdays
Whimsical Hand Building
Ceramics w/ Alissa Clark
Wednesdays, 3-5 pm and
Thursdays, 6-8 pm
Open Lab Ceramics on Saturdays
Drop in, work at own pace. Sat 12-5 pm
All ceramics classes held at Alissa’s
Studio. 180 Laurel Street. Call Alissa with
questions: 503-857-5222
No registration required. Drop-in, bring
your materials, and create. All artistic
mediums welcome.
Every Thursday, 1-4 pm
Painting with John Leasure
Saturdays 9 am - 12 pm
August 5, 12, 19, 26, Sept 2, 9,16, 23,30
Contact: jnleasure@hotmail.com or
541-991-2754 for details and fees.
Oil Painting with Michael Wood
Wednesdays 1:30 pm - 4:30 pm
Contact: fmwood@msn.com for fees and
more information.
