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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 4, 2017)
THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM ❘ ❘ / SIUSLAWNEWS @ SIUSLAWNEWS WEDNESDAY EDITION The impact of local newspapers HOMECOMING WIN FOR SAILORS OPINION — A4 & A5 127TH YEAR ❘ ISSUE NO. 79 ❘ OCTOBER 4, 2017 ❘ $1.00 SPORTS — B SERVING WESTERN LANE COUNTY SINCE 1890 FLORENCE, OREGON M ILLENNIALS IN S IUSLAW — P ART II Millennials struggle, triumph in a post-recession world B Y J ARED A NDERSON Siuslaw News PHOTOS BY JARED ANDERSON/SIUSLAW NEWS lmost 500 people showed up to the seventh-annual Florence Festival of Books last Friday and Saturday as poets, novelists, self-publishers, publicists and the public flooded the Florence Events Center. “The festival went fabulously,” said Judy Fleagle, fes- tival co-founder and co-chair. “There were about 76 people present- ing, nine of which were publishers and the rest authors.” Enthusiastic readers got to meet, greet and question regional authors about their books, history and how they got started in the business. “It’s a great place to network with other authors and con- nect a book idea with publishers,” Fleagle said. “The first year that we had it, one person talked to my publisher and told him her idea. The next year, she had her book published and was sharing a table with me.” Some of the Friday highlights included keynote speaker and acclaimed author John Daniel, an Oregon writer who wrote “Rogue River Journal” and “The Far Corner,” and a panel discussion with local authors, publishers and editors speaking about their craft. “I was just totally thrilled by the whole weekend,” Fleagle said. “It was a big success.” A MARK BRENNAN/ SIUSLAW NEWS Western Lane Ambulance honors Stonelake’s 20 years IGA gets new ‘as-needed’ subcommittee as WLAD makes plans for year B Y M ARK B RENNAN Siuslaw News Western Lane Ambulance District held its monthly meeting for its board of directors on Sept. 28. The agenda included a review of monthly reports from Chief Director Jim Langborg and Operations Manager Matt House, a discussion of new administra- tive software, a seismic grant update and planning for future strategic planning. The first order of business for the board, however, was the recognition of former board member Laura Anne Stonelake. Stonelake had served on the WLAD Board for 20 years before her she lost her position to Larry Farnsworth in last November’s election. Stonelake received a plaque and Paramedic and Public Information Officer Albert Kreitz read a testimonial from the district’s members. “Your involvement as a board member extended far beyond the board room and the district head- quarters and well into the com- munity, which you represented with concern, dignity and passion,” Kreitz read to Stonelake. “You truly understood the medical needs and concerns of the people of Western Lane County.” The letter to Stonelake thanked her for inspiring, con- tributing to and supporting the See (Editor’s Note: This is part two of a series looking at trends surrounding millennials and their needs as they decide to stay in, come to or leave the Siuslaw region.) Geraldine Lucio wants to be lazy. The 30-year-old, who owns and operates the Old Town Barber Shop, thought her life would slow down from the hustle and bustle of Austin, Texas, when she moved to Florence three years ago. At least, that was the plan. “I like to be lazy, but in reality, I do too much,” she said. “I’m all over the place. The first year I moved here I didn’t have a day off.” Her business began to take off right from the get go. “People started coming in before I had signs up,” she said. “I came from a pretty trendy city, so I was different. I was a different barber than the person who’s been here for 30 years. So that was desirable for people, I guess.” But it wasn’t just barbering that kept Lucio busy. Looking to get to know people and help the community, she began volunteering in town, joining as an active member of the Elks, becom- ing a volleyball coach for the middle school and donating her shop to local musicians and actors looking for an intimate space to perform. Every time somebody asked her to do something, she was there. “I don’t think I’ve ever volunteered so much,” she said. “It just seems like everybody here is willing to give to somebody else. And they need volunteers to do that.” This was on top of getting her pilot’s license, honing her fishing skills and swapping haircuts for golf lessons. Its only now that she’s beginning to say no to people, not because she hates volunteering, but out of sheer exhaustion. Lucio’s work ethic flies in the face of the pop- ular theory that millennials are lazy. UK newspa- per The Daily Mail recently published an article titled, “Millennials Are Entitled, Narcissistic and Lazy.” The article doesn’t blame the cohort, instead pointing the finger at an “every child wins a prize” culture their parents reportedly raised them in. WLAD 8A See MILLENNIALS 6A CANCER PATIENTS GET A NEW RIDE TO THE VALLEY Friends of Florence volunteers, members raise $70,000 to purchase transportation vehicle he Friends of Florence puts a lot of miles on its vehicles. According to Tom Grove, one of the group’s founding members, those miles represent B Y M ARK B RENNAN thousands of Siuslaw News trips as volun- teer drivers assist members of the community dur- ing what can be one of the most diffi- cult times in an individual’s life. “The Friends of Florence started pro- viding free transportation to and from the Eugene/Springfield area in 1985, five days a week, 52 weeks of the year since that time,” Grove said. “We pro- vide free transportation to and from Eugene/Springfield for anyone in the Florence area that is suffering from cancer and needs radiation treatment INSIDE T Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Community . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kid Scoop . . . . . . . . . . . . . Library Tidings . . . . . . . . . . . B8 A3 B7 A5 that is not available in Florence. “To date, we have provided over one and one half million miles of free trans- portation for cancer patients.” This high level of use takes a toll on vehicles and the Friends of Florence found it needed a new van to continue to operate safely. “We took delivery of a new bus last week at a cost of $70,000. All of the funds … came from donations from private individuals, local organizations and businesses,” Grove said. “One of the buses we use was approaching 200,000 miles and needed to be replaced. We keep two buses, so that there is no interruption in service, because of mechanical issues or period- ic oil changes or tire replacement.” The Friends of Florence, sometimes Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A4 Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A2 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B Wine & Chowder Trail . . . . . . C MARK BRENNAN/SIUSLAW NEWS Members of the Friends of Florence gather on Oct. 1 at Cleawox Lake to celebrate the delivery of the organization’s new van to drive Florence-area cancer patients to treatment in the Willamette Valley. called Van Fans, and the effort to drive the unwell to treatments is entirely operated by local volunteers. THIS WEEK ’ S “Everyone involved with the friends is a volunteer. We have not paid a single dollar in salary to anyone for TODAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY 70 47 70 49 68 48 63 45 WEATHER Full Forecast, A3 the 32 years of our existence,” Grove said. See VAN 7A S IUSLAW N EWS 3 S ECTIONS ❘ 26 P AGES C OPYRIGHT 2017
