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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 30, 2017)
THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM ❘ / SIUSLAWNEWS ❘ @ SIUSLAWNEWS SATURDAY EDITION ❘ SEPTEMBER 30, 2017 ❘ $1.00 OCTOBER RALLY TIME COAST CENTRAL A&E — INSIDE SPORTS — B 127TH YEAR ❘ ISSUE NO. 78 Millennials in Siuslaw — Part 1 SERVING WESTERN LANE COUNTY SINCE 1890 FLORENCE, OREGON ON THE RIGHT TRACK P HOTOS AND STORY BY J ARED A NDERSON & N ED H ICKSON Siuslaw News Age cohort from 18 to 35 is already in the region, and the numbers could grow B Y J ARED A NDERSON Siuslaw News (Editor’s Note: This is part one of a series looking at trends surrounding millennials, and their needs as they decide to stay in, come to or leave the Siuslaw region.) Dan Lokic is new to town. At six weeks in, the 25-year-old is still trying to catch his first salmon, even though he’s been at it 10 times. “I think it’s going to happen pretty soon,” he said optimistically. A recent graduate from the University of Oregon with a master’s degree in Regional Planning, Lokic is the new Management Analyst for the City of Florence. He lives alone in a studio apart- ment in Historic Old Town and is just get- ting to know the Siuslaw region. Brynne Sapp was born and raised in Florence. The 27-year-old works part time at Coastal Fitness as a gymnastics teacher for children. She loves working with the kids, along with a whole host of other activities. See MILLENNIALS 8A Medicare open enrollment begins Oct. 15 B Y M ARK B RENNAN Siuslaw News It’s that time of year again for seniors interested in changing their Medicare coverage. New enrollees can sign up for the program, and those already enrolled can change participation parameters from Oct. 15 to Dec. 7, 2017. Enrolled individuals can switch from original Medicare to Medicare Advantage or vice versa. Participants can also switch from Medicare Advantage or from Medicare Part D to another plan. Once a new plan is select- ed, people will be disenrolled from their current plan. See C ITY MEDICARE 6A Coos Bay Rail Link honors Mapleton Schools with custom train E arly Thursday afternoon, students and faculty from all three Mapleton schools gathered with representatives from the Coos Bay Rail (CBR) for a special dedication that only a handful of people knew about. Students arrived at 1:30 p.m. to find a full-sized train engine parked next to the recently painted CBR utility shed that now welcomes visitors to Mapleton and proudly proclaims the town as “Home of the Sailors.” But Thursday, that message was taken a step fur- ther when CBR representatives revealed the latest addition to Mapleton's proclamation of Sailor pride — an engine adorned with the Sailors’ logo, which will run between Coquille and Eugene after a Local Scout works to preserve lives Isaac Griffes, Troop 777 install new life jacket lending station at Lake Cleawox B Y M ARK B RENNAN Siuslaw News T he Boy Scouts of America (BSA) is one of the largest youth organizations in the U.S. More than 2.4 million members are involved nationally in activities organized by the BSA. Florence has two active Boy Scout chapters. An indi- vidual from one of those, Troop 777, recently complet- ed an important project with the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. Isaac Griffes, a senior member of Troop 777, is working towards the highest achievement attainable for a BSA member, the rank of Eagle Scout. All Eagle Scout candidates must attain 21 badges from a wide selection of options available to candi- dates for the rank. According to scouting.org, BSA’s goal is to “train youth in responsible citizenship, character devel- opment and self reliance through participation in out- door activities and educa- tional programs.” In order to fulfill the pub- lic service aspect of the Eagle Badge requirements, Isaac began working earlier this year with Jessie M. Honeyman State Park Ranger Ryan Warren. Warren approached Troop 777 with an idea to raise money to buy new life pre- servers for the swimming area at Lake Cleawox, locat- ed within the Honeyman grounds. WORKS TO BRING Florence Planning Director details current housing status, next steps for development B Y C HANTELLE M EYER Siuslaw News F INSIDE rom August to mid-September, the City of Florence and its new Housing and Economic Opportunities Project (HEOP) ran a survey asking residents for input on housing needs in the community. Questions ranged from home owner- ship costs, rental rates and develop- Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Community . . . . . . . . . . . . . Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B7 A3 A4 A2 week-long “layover” in Mapleton to allow the pub- lic to see the newly painted engine up close. “Our Beyond Me program coordinator, Terri Johnston, contacted the Coos Bay Rail Link last April to see if we could get permission to do a Mapleton beautification project on the cor- ner on their property,” Mapleton School District Superintendent Jodi O’Mara said. “That led to permission to paint the shed, which led to CBR calling us with this great idea for the train.” The dedication of an engine to a high school has never been done by the CBR before, and is something that has been under wraps since its inception. “We’re really thankful that the Coos Bay Rail Link took the time and energy to support our rural community,” O’Mara said. “The railroad is a big part of that. It goes through all of our commu- nities, and it’s an important part of our culture and our history.” ment expenses — all tied in with cur- rent city code regarding the permit- ting process and building codes. Results of the survey will be avail- able during an open house and round table discussion on Tuesday, Oct. 10, from 5 to 7 p.m. at Florence Events Center. On Sept. 14, Planning Director Wendy FarleyCampbell presented on “Hope for Housing” at the Florence Sideshow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B6 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B This Week on the Coast . . . . A6 Weather Data . . . . . . . . . . . A2 See ABOVE PHOTO BY MARK BRENNAN/SIUSLAW NEWS LEFT PHOTO BY ROB GRIFFES Boy Scout Isaac Griffes (far left) worked with Honeyman Park Ranger Ryan Warren to install the new Life Jacket Lending Station at Cleawox Lake. SCOUT 7A ‘H OPE FOR H OUSING ’ Area Chamber of Commerce Noon Forum at Three Rivers Casino Resort. “Show of hands — who here knows of someone living in an RV, in a shed out back, sleeping on some- one’s couch, living in Reedsport, Newport, Waldport who works or volunteers here, living in someone’s garage they shouldn’t be living in?” FarleyCampbell opened by asking. “Probably all of us know or know of someone that is in this situation. It is prevalent. At the city we hear it over and over and over in our depart- THIS WEEK ’ S ment.” She said rising rental rates, few vacancies and even median home prices make it hard for people to rent or buy homes in the area. As such, people live out of the area or stay in unsuitable conditions. “Rent is too high, and home pay- ments are too high,” she said. “When people cannot afford to live where they work, the entire community suf- fers.” Commuters are unlikely to stay after work for socializing with their coworkers or to attend community TODAY SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY 63 48 61 45 62 44 68 48 WEATHER Full Forecast, A3 TO F LORENCE events in the evening. “You won’t come back on a Sunday for an Easter Egg Hunt. You’re not connected with your com- munity,” she said. According to FarleyCampbell, local governments are taking steps to address the rural housing crisis because “the problem isn’t fixing itself.” Florence City Council updated its yearly work plan to address afford- able housing for people to live in, S IUSLAW N EWS 2 S ECTIONS ❘ 20 P AGES C OPYRIGHT 2017 See HOUSING 7A
