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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 9, 2017)
THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM ❘ / SIUSLAWNEWS ❘ SATURDAY @ SIUSLAWNEWS EDITION LADY VIKS BATTLE BILLIES Peace Harbor gains new artwork SPORTS — B INSIDE — A6 127TH YEAR ❘ ISSUE NO. 72 10 TH ❘ SEPTEMBER 9, 2017 ❘ $1.00 SERVING WESTERN LANE COUNTY SINCE 1890 ANNUAL FLORENCE, OREGON Preserving the future of Ocean Woods R ODS ‘ N ’ R HODIES JARED ANDERSON/SIUSLAW NEWS Lane County, City of Florence consider annexation, transfer of two properties B Y C HANTELLE M EYER Siuslaw News On ly t h e c la s s i c s O ver a dozen vehicles lined the Three Rivers Casino Resort parking lot Friday as their owners registered for Florence’s 10th annu- al Rods ‘n’ Rhodies Invitational Car Show, which will be revving into town all weekend. The event, organized by the Florence Area Chamber of Commerce, showcases dozens of high-end hot rods with a classic cruise, vendor fair, poker walk, costume contests, a screening of “American Graffiti” at City Lights Cinemas and the fifth annual Community-wide Garage Sale. The festival runs through Sunday, Sept. 10. For more information, visit FlorenceChamber.com. EMAC recommends banning foam containers Environmental committee wants all Florence businesses to switch to biodegradable City of Florence’s Environmental Management Advisory Committee (EMAC) met Tuesday at Florence City Hall to discuss findings from a recent survey regarding the use of prod- ucts containing B Y M ARK B RENNAN Polystyrene Foam Siuslaw News (PSF). PSFs are com- posed primarily of benzene based polymers, which the Center for Disease Control and the EPA have identified as a carcinogen to humans. PSF is the primary material used in many of the take-out containers used in local restaurants. It is also a material used in the production of inexpen- sive coolers, ice chests, buoys and waterboards. Unfortunately, because of the nature of PSF, it breaks down easily and contaminates the area where it is deposited. Foam can then enter the food chain of fish, birds and wildlife — possibly ending up on through the chain and on your din- ner table. An extensive online effort to elicit public opin- ions on the use and potential replacement of PSFs was put in place on the city’s website earlier this year. The total number of respondents to the survey was 397, of which 73.8 percent identified them- selves as residents, 10.1 percent as business own- ers and 16.1 percent as “other.” The main question posed in the survey was, “Should Florence prohibit foam take-out contain- ers in favor of biodegradable or recyclable alter- natives?” In their responses, 86.6 percent of people said “yes” and 13.4 percent said “no” to this proposed shift in policy. The survey also asked respondents if they would be willing to pay slightly more for non-PSF containers. The response was similar, with 83.8 percent of people saying they would be willing to do so, and 16.2 percent saying they would not. During the meeting, members of EMAC dis- cussed the possibility of a major change in local regulations. See S IUSLAW S CHOOL D ISTRICT FOAM 8A MARK BRENNAN/SIUSLAW NEWS These plastic and white foam take out con- tainers were spotted at low tide on the north bank of the Siuslaw River on this week. These products could be banned from use if the City Council enacts the rec- ommendations from EMAC. Lane County Parks Department and Public Works staff are working with City of Florence Public Works staff on a mutually beneficial proposal regard- ing Harbor Vista Campground and Ocean Woods Park, both county prop- erties. The proposal outlines Lane County’s interest in transferring Ocean Woods Park to the City of Florence, with a deed restriction requiring the property remain a public park. The transfer would be in exchange for a reduced cost to extend sewer service to Harbor Vista Campground. In a public meeting at Siuslaw Public Library on Thursday night, Lane County officials outlined the potential plan with the caveat that approval is still needed from both the Lane County Board of Commissioners and the Florence City Council. Lane County Parks and Animal Services Manager Mike Russell said Lane County received a grant from Oregon State Parks to bring city sewer services to the Harbor Vista Campground. However, the cost for the project will total $550,000, and the county’s cash contribution had previously been set at only $200,000. “It was brought up in preliminary discussions with city staff about an ‘in lieu of payment’ jurisdictional transfer of Ocean Woods. The city was amenable to talk about that,” Russell said. According to Russell, Ocean Woods Park, a 40-acre undeveloped county park within the City of Florence’s urban growth boundary, has a property value of $200,000 to $240,000. In addition, the jurisdictional trans- fer would include a deed restriction to keep the property as a public park. “We are trying to make sure, in whatever capacity we can, to keep Ocean Woods a public park in perpe- tuity,” Russell said. See PROVIDES UPDATED INFO ABOUT PARKS 7A ‘T WILIGHT ’ The after-school academic support programs will be cut dramatically for 2018, but will continue for all grade levels B Y M ARK B RENNAN Siuslaw News INSIDE In a follow-up to an article that appeared last week (Sept. 2), the Siuslaw School District released additional information regarding the “Twilight” programs being offered this semester by the school district. The information clarifies changes made to the program following a dramatic 13.5 percent — or $10 bil- lion — reduction in the 2017 Department of Education budget. As Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Community . . . . . . . . . . . . . Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B7 A3 A4 A2 a result of the cuts, federal funding that was once available through 21st Century Community Learning Centers (CCLC) grants for after- school support programs, such as the local “Twilight” program, have been eliminated. To keep the program available to local students, it will no longer be held at the middle and high schools. Instead, the district is offering a reduced schedule of academic sup- port for middle and high school stu- dents by consolidating those services Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B Spotlight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B2 Sideshow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B6 This Week on the Coast . . . A8 into the elementary school. According to Siuslaw School District, the reduction in overall grant funding for the after-school program has dropped from $298,000 for 2016-17 to $197,500 for the 2017-18 academic year. This reduction of more than $100,000 is the primary reason for the program scalebacks and consoli- dation put into place for the upcom- ing school year. Another reason for that decision came from attendance figures for THIS WEEK ’ S 2016, provided by the school dis- trict, which showed average daily Twilight attendance for Siuslaw Middle School was 20 students, with only nine students attending at Siuslaw High School. By comparison, Siuslaw Elementary tallied daily attendance at 85 students for the program. The current level of funding will allow the district to offer 12 hours of instructional programming for 36 weeks during the regular school year, and 16 hours each week during TODAY SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY 67 53 71 52 78 52 69 53 WEATHER Full Forecast, A3 the month-long summer school ses- sion. This means that Siuslaw School District will be able to offer 496 hours of programming outside of the regular school day for the students in the district through the school year. For students participating in Indian Education, the program is in the process of being rebuilt. School district administrators have said they will share the final- ized plan for this program when it becomes available. S IUSLAW N EWS 2 S ECTIONS ❘ 20 P AGES C OPYRIGHT 2017
