SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 23, 2017
Drinking
from 1A
drink guys under the table. Here I
am, five foot nothing, who could
out-drink a freshman in college. It
wasn’t as cool as I thought it was,
but that was my claim to fame.
“I was never going to be the
head cheerleader,” she continued.
“I was never going to be involved
in sports. I never had parents that
were actively involved with my
school. Just barely making it was
all I could look for.”
Nicole, like her mother, father,
eventual husband and, for a brief
time she feared, her sister, all
became alcoholics.
She lives in Florence now with
her family and her son. She fears
that he’ll begin drinking one day as
well. He’s in elementary school
right now, showing no interest in
alcohol.
But that’s today.
As Oregon’s sudden boon in the
brewery business has put drinking
front and center as a way of eco-
nomic recovery, what will her
son’s attitudes be when he grows
older?
To prevent her son from follow-
ing in her footsteps, Nicole, like
many others in the community, are
taking part in the Healthy
Directions initiative — an area pre-
vention and health promotion
coalition that was formed through
Lane County Public Health.
The goal of Healthy Directions
is to bring about awareness of, and
attempt to lower, teen alcohol use
in the Siuslaw region.
Lane County Community
Health Analyst Emily Buff Bear,
who is spearheading the initiative,
explained.
“We have a grant that allowed
us to look for communities in Lane
County that needed assistance
working with under-age drinking
prevention, in particular communi-
ties that had higher rates of alcohol
use — especially by youth. We
decided to work in Florence
because there was interest and the
will.”
That will came from a variety of
factors, one of them being an April
2017 Florence case that left a 14-
year old student with a potentially
fatal blood alcohol content of .354
— more than four times the
Oregon legal limit of .08 for adults.
In that incident, the teen had met
up with another friend who
brought two fifths of Black Velvet
whisky to drink. The teen con-
sumed one fifth over a short period
of time, which eventually led him
to pass out. A passerby saw him
unresponsive and foaming at the
mouth. The teen survived, but the
concerns remained.
While incidents like that have
raised public awareness, it’s the
unreported and more subtle nor-
malization of alcohol and teens
that brought Healthy Directions to
Florence.
A 2015 study conducted by the
Center for Disease Control found
that 33 percent of youth drank
alcohol.
According to Buff Bear,
Siuslaw area statistics are higher.
While she was unable to provide
actual numbers due to privacy con-
cerns, she stated “I can tell you that
Siuslaw School District has a high-
er rate than the county. Both the
county and the school district have
a higher rate than the state aver-
age.”
While the recent legalization of
marijuana and the national atten-
tion on opioid addiction has caused
many organizations to focus solely
on those issues, Buff Bear points
out that those issues are relatively
minor when compared to liquor.
“Alcohol is the drug of choice
for any youth in Oregon,” she said.
“That’s statewide. Not so much
tobacco, or even marijuana and
prescription drugs. When it comes
to age of initiation and use of drugs
it’s usually alcohol that they start
with.”
Florence Police Commander
John Pitcher agreed, saying,
“Other drugs play a factor in our
day-to-day lives as police officers,
but alcohol is by far the number
one issue we are dealing with in
our community.”
While underage drinking is an
issue that needs to be addressed,
Buff Bear points out that it’s not
endemic to all teens in Florence.
And while it’s easy to focus on the
33 percent statistic, 66 percent of
youth aren’t drinking — a number
that’s dangerously overlooked.
If you ask youth how much
they’re personally drinking, you
get the 33 percentage,” she
explained. “If you ask them how
much they think others are drink-
ing, they say 80 percent.” Youth
who don’t drink think everyone
else their age is.
From that perspective, it’s not
the oft cited “peer pressure” that
gets youth to drink, but a resigna-
tion to its perceived normalcy.
“That’s a dangerous misconcep-
tion,” Buff Bear said. “If adults and
youth think that all the kids are
using these substances anyway, it
does make our youth more likely to
use.”
“If we recognize the 66 percent
who are just going about their lives
without using drugs or alcohol,
they’re less likely to drink,” she
continued.
As to why that 33 percent does
drink, Buff Bear believes it has to
do with the prevalent normaliza-
tion of alcohol.
“I’d say our culture has really
glorified it,” she said. “It feels like
everybody is drinking.”
In Oregon, normalization is a
driving force in economic health.
A 2014 meeting of the
Commissioners of the Oregon
Liquor Control Commission spoke
with alcohol industry experts
regarding the financial impact of
alcohol production in the state.
The Oregon Wine Board report-
ed that the wine economy has a
$2.7 billion statewide impact. The
Oregon Brewers Guild estimated
they have a $1.6 billion impact.
Large cities like Portland and
Eugene are not the main areas to
reap the benefits of alcohol pro-
duction, either. Rural employment
was noted as having the most sig-
nificant impact from craft beer,
wine, spirits and cider. They
reported that 44 out of 74 Oregon
breweries are in rural areas.
Producing alcohol represents
more than 2 percent of employ-
ment along the North coast.
Alcohol tourism is also a signif-
icant employer. From vineyards to
brewery
tastings,
94,000
Oregonians in hospitality and
tourism directly benefit from alco-
Market
your market application fee and
your first day of booth space. After
that it is only $25 a day to set up
and sell your stuff.”
For more information on the
Florence Boardwalk Market,
check out the groups Facebook
page.
from 1A
Fillman also wants to remind
people there are still a number of
weekends left in this season if they
are interested in selling at market.
“If someone wants to vend,
come down an a Saturday or
Sunday and see me. I will hook
them up with everything they
need. You need to have a City
Business License, which we have
the paperwork for, and all they
have to do is fill out the applica-
tion. The cost is $65 for the first
day you set up and that includes
your Florence Business License,
Eclipse
Visit the Siuslaw News online at
WWW.THESIUSLAWNEWS.COM
from 1A
It’s almost more about people than
it is about the planets.”
April Platt, a teenager from
Coos Bay who came up to see the
eclipse with friends, looked at the
eclipse as history.
“It’s a really amazing link to
history because so many things
have happened since the eclipse.
But the eclipse is the same,” she
hol production.
Florence is no exception.
City officials have made
attempts to bring a major brewery
to town in an effort to boost
employment, but have thus far
been unsuccessful.
However, the selling of alcohol
is prevalent.
Florence has one of the highest
density of alcohol distribution in
Lane County. A recent census
looked at the number of alcohol
outlets — liquor stores, bars, con-
venience stores, etc. — and com-
pared them to population size.
It found there is one alcohol out-
let for every 100 people. That fig-
ure is four times the Lane County
average. Only five other areas in
the county have a higher density,
which are located in downtown
Eugene and Cottage Grove.
Of particular concern is how
these outlets are dealing with teen
alcohol use. In 2012, the Oregon
Liquor Control Commission
(OLCC) performed a minor sales
check in Florence, surveying how
many businesses checked IDs.
Only 62 percent of businesses
complied, “significantly below the
2011 statewide average of 76 per-
cent,” the OLCC report said.
The businesses were Rite Aid,
Griff’s Cleawox Market, Abhi’s
One Stop Market, Twin Lakes
Store, Florence Liquor Store,
Abby’s Pizza, Buy 2 @ Florence,
Chen’s Family Dish, Kozy Kitchen
and Pizza Hut.
But that was in 2012 and these
businesses may have changed their
practices. Buff Bear praises Abby’s
Pizza in particular for its enforce-
ment of ID checks.
7 A
But no other OLCC studies have
been released since 2012 to defini-
tively prove which businesses have
gotten better and those that have
fallen to the wayside of the rules.
“The fact that there haven’t been
any others just highlights for me
how the OLCC does not appear to
be funded for some of its most
basic functions as a regulatory
body,” Buff Bear said.
“We’re not disparaging retail-
ers,” Buff Bear pointed out. “We
think they’re very strong partners
in preventing youth drinking.” But
the advertisements these establish-
ments have can create issues, she
explained;
“How much money do alcohol
and tobacco outlets spend on
advertising? If a teen sees a lot of
advertising and many adults drink-
ing in bars, it normalizes a lot of
that behavior for our youth. They
like to think that they’re adults, and
if they see things that they think is
normal adult behavior, then they’re
going to do that.”
But that doesn’t mean that
adults should stop drinking alto-
gether, Buff Bear points out; “We
can partner with adults and make
sure they’re using alcohol in mod-
eration.”
But what are the responsibilities
of adults and businesses then? Are
they just as culpable in teen drink-
ing, or even more so, than the teens
themselves?
In Saturday’s edition, find out
how parents and adults can be the
major contributors to teen drink-
ing, how Nicole’s parents alco-
holism allowed her to drink, and
what Florence area teens think
about the issue.
Business has been very good
this season according to
Market Manager Linda
Fillman. There are new ven-
dors, food booths and music
this season that has been
attracting more visitors to the
area than previous seasons.
MARK BRENNAN/SIUSLAW NEWS
said. “It just shows the world
keeps turning on its axis regardless
of what we do and how we grow as
a civilization. It’s really amazing
to think what people in 100 years
are going to be doing when they’re
watching the eclipse.”
Platt’s friend Jessica Bainbridge
also saw the moment as a genera-
tional link.
“It’s special because we’ll be
able to tell our grandchildren about
it. It’ll be neat to say we were at
the event and we got to see it. The
last time it happened was 1918,
and I think it’s pretty cool.”
That moment to tell the grand-
children finally arrived at around
10:12 a.m. The air began to chill.
The boats on the docks hid in a
glowing shadow.
Eyes darted upward as the
eclipse began to reach its totality.
Generations sat side by side,
elbow to elbow with strangers.
They forgot the troubles in their
lives momentarily as they gazed at
the skies, sharing a ritual that has
Get Results...List With Ed.
Ed Kopilec
Principal Broker
541 991-8630
Price Reduced
221 Munsel Cr Lp – Florentine
Estates. Fully landscaped, 3
bdrm 2 bath log-style home
within the quiet setting of this
gated senior community. Great
room features vaulted ceiling,
propane fireplace, butcher-
block island and enclosed front
porch. $199,000. #2704-
17180449
occurred for billions of years.
They were on a journey of dis-
covery that has been going on
since the beginning of time.
The typography of our land-
scapes change at glacial speed,
languages and cultures fade and
begin anew and even the stars in
the solar system vanish with time.
But the eclipse has remained con-
stant; an event shared throughout
the aeon.
What the people discovered
around the Florence pier on Aug.
21 was the exact same thing their
ancestors discovered, and their
ancestors before them; An
ephemeral message etched in the
writing of the cosmos and passed
down the genetic line of humanity,
linking everything to everyone.
That’s how Avie and Janice
Welsh saw it, grandmother and
granddaughter; Avie in her small
fold out chair, notebook in hand,
and Janice pointing at the heavens.
When Avie was asked what she
thought about the eclipse, she said
“I loved it. We got our observa-
tions done.
“And we’ve finished some pret-
ty serious discovery,” she said,
then closed her book until the next
eclipse.
1749 Highway 101 • 541-997-1200
Tuesday 8/15
Ron Carruthers
Sharon Rowbury
Florence
Florence
Safeway/Florence
Safeway/Florence
Wednesday 8/16
Roger Witherite
Maureen Moore
Florence
Florence
Laurel Bay Gardens
La Bu La Chinese Resturant
Thursday 8/17
Dan Wilhelmi
Terry Woodward
Florence
Florence
Safeway/Florence
Los Compadres / Florence
Friday 8/18
Mary Kay Phillips
Jim Jordan
Florence
Florence
Fresh Harvest Café& Bakery
Three Rivers Casino Resort
Saturday 8/19
Robin Siewell
Ray Bray
Florence
Florence
Safeway/Florence
Safeway/Florence
Sunday 8/20
Judy Caputo
Jolie Charles
Florence
Corvallis
Grocery Outlet
One Stop Market
Monday 8/21
Keith Kersey
Kristal Gilbert
Florence
Reedsport
Three Rivers Casino Resort
Safeway/Florence
Spruce Point Assisted Living and Memory Care is a 65-apartment Assisted Living facility as well as a
25-room secured memory care facility. Living at Spruce Point has many benefi ts such as
restaurant-style dining, housekeeping services, a full and thriving activities program as well as medical
management from an on-site nurse. Staff is available 24-hours a day using the latest technology in the
iAlert system. Spruce Point Assisted Living and Memory Care is proudly managed by Prestige Care, Inc.
Transportation
Resident Parking Available
Medical Transportation
Transportation at cost
Property Convenient to Bus line
Additional Amenities
Activities Onsite
Activities Off site
Devotional Services Onsite
Outdoor Common Areas
Indoor Game Room and
Common Areas
Beautician and nail-tech onsite
Other Services
Wheelchair Accessible Showers
Outside services management
(hospice, home health)
Respite Rooms
Aging in place
Just a “Stone’s Th row” Away!
3 375
7 5 9th St, Florence, OR 97439 • (541) 997-6111