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127TH YEAR ❘ ISSUE NO. 75
❘ SEPTEMBER 20, 2017 ❘ $1.00
SPORTS — B
SERVING WESTERN LANE COUNTY SINCE 1890
FRAUD ALERT
Data breach
could impact
half of all
Americans
FLORENCE, OREGON
‘ ON T H E F R O N T L I N E ’
Equifax shares steps to take to
secure financial information
E
quifax Incorporated, one of the largest and
most successful credit reporting and tech-
nology service companies in the world, has
released new details surrounding a massive data
breach the company
B Y M ARK B RENNAN
experienced earlier
Siuslaw News
this year.
According to the
company’s website, which proudly shares its
motto, “Powering the world with Knowledge,”
the personal and financial information from
approximately 143 million Americans was
stolen from secured Equifax data bases between
May and June 2017.
Last week, the Federal Trade Commission
(FTC) announced an investigation into the
Equifax data breach on the agency’s website.
This is an unusual step for the commission,
according to a statement released by the
agency.
“The FTC typically does not comment on
ongoing investigations,” Peter Kaplan, the FTC’s
acting director of public affairs, said in a state-
ment. “However, in light of the intense public
interest and the potential impact of this matter, I
can confirm that FTC staff is investigating the
Equifax data breach.”
A spokesperson for Equifax said the company
is “actively engaging with and being responsive
to regulators, federal agencies and legislators
and expects to continue to do so in the future.”
The FTC also posted links on the website to
assist consumers in freezing their credit reports
and initiating monitoring programs to identify
unauthorized use of personal and financial infor-
mation.
“This is clearly a disappointing event for our
company and one that strikes at the heart of
who we are and what we do. I apologize to
consumers and our business customers for the
concern and frustration this causes,” Equifax
Chairman and CEO Richard F. Smith said in a
news release. “We pride ourselves on being a
leader in managing and protecting data, and we
are conducting a thorough review of our overall
security operations.”
Smith added that Equifax is also focusing on
consumer protection and has developed a com-
prehensive portfolio of services to support all
U.S. consumers, regardless of whether they
were impacted by this incident.
See
BREACH 7A
COURTESY PHOTOS
On Sept. 6, the Florence Police Chief’s Star Award was given to Ali Gharib, Ronnie Pearson, Rob Chance, Dave Rossie and Matt
House (not pictured) for their outstanding performance during an incident that occurred at the Florence Justice center, during
which two police officers and an inmate were injured. The group, all members of Western Lane Ambulance District, were rec-
ognized for their selfless bravery in a dangerous situation in order to help fellow first responders without regard to their per-
sonal safety. Also on hand for the award presentation were Florence Mayor Joe Henry and Police Chief Tom Turner.
City of Florence, Police Department hold evening of recognition for responders
O
n Wednesday, Sept. 6, Florence
Police Chief Tom Turner presented
a variety of awards honoring mem-
bers of the Florence Police Department and its
partner agency personnel at a special recogni-
tion reception held at the Florence Event
Center.
Recipients, family members and representa-
tives from the Florence Police Department,
Siuslaw Valley Fire and Rescue (SVFR),
Western Lane Ambulance District (WLAD)
and the City of Florence gathered for a cere-
monial evening where individuals were recog-
nized for their valor and actions during two
serious incidents that occurred in May and
June of this year.
Turner intensely recounted details of the
events in which the recipients were each
involved: the May incident at the Florence
Municipal Jail and the high-speed car chase
that ended just east of the Florence city limits
in June. These two events were significant for
local police officers and public safety part-
ners.
“To have two events of this significance in
such a short period of time, or any time period
for that matter, is unusual,” Turner said in his
opening remarks. “And not just because we
are Florence, but anywhere. To deal with them
as a city, a department and a community is
very difficult and sometimes disturbing.
See
RECOGNITION 7A
Looking to the past to build the future
Outgoing Siuslaw Pioneer Museum President Del Phelps reflects on history
B Y J ARED A NDERSON
Siuslaw News
R
esting in the Siuslaw Pioneer
Museum, 278 Maple St.,
underneath three black and white
photographs of an era long since
passed, is a piece of metal that
means a lot to Florence resident
Del Phelps.
Phelps, who is retiring as presi-
dent from the museum’s board
after 13 years, views that metal
object and its corresponding pho-
tos as tangible connections to his
past. It’s also a reminder of why
he believes the museum is so
important to the Siuslaw region,
both to those who live here, and
future generations to come.
The first photograph, which is
JARED ANDERSON/SIUSLAW NEWS
Del Phelps stands next to photos of his family in the Siuslaw
Pioneer Museum.
of Phelps’ grandfather, begins the
story.
engine that was used to pull logs
from the forest.
“My grandfather started the
logging up in Indian Creek,”
Phelps said. “He would log the
property and put the logs in the
creek, and when the floods came,
they would force the logs down to
the sawmill in Florence.”
The second picture shows the
steam donkey, along with its oper-
ator — Phelps’ father. He ran the
donkey for a number of years,
until it was dismantled when his
grandfather’s industry expanded
down to Mapleton.
When building the new facility,
a piece of metal from the steam
donkey was used to build the new
The metal comes from a boiler-
plate on a steam donkey, a logging
See
HISTORY 8A
S IUSLAW N EWS SAYS ‘ SO LONG ’ TO SUMMER INTERN
Siuslaw graduate, former Rhody Queen Hanna Anderson wraps up writing internship
B Y C HANTELLE M EYER
Siuslaw News
eaders of Siuslaw News might
have noticed a new byline on
stories several times this summer —
“Hanna Anderson, Siuslaw News
Intern.”
To prepare for a future career in
journalism, Anderson, 18, who grad-
uated from Siuslaw High School in
June, approached Siuslaw News
Publisher Jenna Bartlett and Editor
Ned Hickson about a six-week
internship before she left for her first
semester at Portland State University.
INSIDE
R
Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Community . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Kid Scoop . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Library Tidings . . . . . . . . . . .
B6
A3
B5
A5
“I really loved working at a news-
paper this summer,” Anderson said.
“As I get older, I would definitely
love to work at a newspaper or in TV
or radio.”
While in the newsroom, Anderson
worked on stories about Siuslaw
High School’s graduation rate and
the all-senior bowling team, as well
as surveying area youth for and
cowritng Part II of “Are the Kids Still
Alright?” Her final story, on the
ASPIRE mentorship program at
Siuslaw High School, will come out
in the Saturday edition of Siuslaw
News.
Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A4
Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A2
Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B
Weather Data . . . . . . . . . . . A2
“I definitely learned things I have
to work on. The No. 1 thing is phone
calls, since they’re scary. I also
learned about deadlines, and how
they work,” she said. “I really loved
it, I just didn’t know what would hap-
pen while I was at Siuslaw News.”
Anderson also learned about
Associated Press (AP) style while
formatting press releases.
“Writing has a lot of opportunities.
More people these days are turning to
website journalism … and I could see
myself working for a news maga-
zine,” Anderson said.
She added that Portland State has
THIS WEEK ’ S
several options for writing students to
get participate in media: a magazine,
a newspaper, radio and TV.
“I really want to get involved with
all of them,” she said.
Anderson has lived in the Florence
area all her life. Like many youth in a
small town, she struggled with iden-
tity and finding where she fit.
“When other people don’t care
about you, then that just means you
have to care about yourself more,”
she said. “I feel like a lot of people
PHOTO BY CAROL JOLLEY
See
TODAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
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WEATHER
Full Forecast, A3
INTERN 7A
Hanna Anderson
S IUSLAW N EWS
2 S ECTIONS ❘ 18 P AGES
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