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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 11, 2017)
THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM ❘ / SIUSLAWNEWS ❘ @ SIUSLAWNEWS WEDNESDAY EDITION HOMECOMING FOR VIKS Domestic Violence Awareness Month INSIDE — A3 SPORTS — B 127TH YEAR ❘ ISSUE NO. 81 O CTOBER ❘ OCTOBER 11, 2017 ❘ $1.00 SERVING WESTERN LANE COUNTY SINCE 1890 MOMENTUM CONTINUES WITH FLORENCE, OREGON RAIN, DEVELOPMENT Florence-area economic development picks up with partner programs, property sales in Pacific View Business Park B Y C HANTELLE M EYER Siuslaw News F lorence continues with its “City in Motion” theme this October, with increased programs from Regional Accelerator and Innovation Network (RAIN), continued success with economic development partner- ships and even the sale of two com- mercial lots of land in the Pacific Beyond labels — Part I View Business Park. “The City of Florence is thrilled that our town has become a place of year-round entrepreneurial activity and enthusiasm,” said Florence City Manager Erin Reynolds. “Our rural coastal region is now connected with resources more com- monly found in metro areas that are essential to any startup business. As we begin our third year as partners with RAIN, we can’t wait to see how this startup community will continue to grow and flourish.” At Monday night’s Florence City Council meeting, Venture Catalyst Caroline Cummings high- lighted some of RAIN’s victories since it partnered with Florence in October 2015, including the recent “graduation” of six Florence- based startups from a course designed to activate and grow fledg- ling businesses. “The six companies ranged from software and tech-based to fishing products, art, over-the count- er healthcare and at home design products,” said David Youngentob, who led the Pre-Accelerator Course. Youngentob was hired as RAIN’s coastal venture catalyst in November F LORENCE W INE & C HOWDER T RAIL 2016. Since then, he has worked with Lane and Lincoln counties to promote entrepreneurs on the coast. “You have some really cool innovators in this community,” Cummings said. “We catalyze these individuals to help them create jobs and bring wealth into Florence.” See DEVELOPMENT 8A Camp teaches youth to surf Fe st iv e s pi r i ts An in-depth look into the area’s LGBTQ community and its many facets B Y JA RED A NDERSON Siuslaw News (Editor’s note: This is the first in a two-part series examining the LGBTQ community in the Siuslaw region.) Jane Hudson, along with others in the Siuslaw region, are trying to keep the Parents, Family and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) group alive. But Florence PFLAG, along with other chapters across the region, has been seeing dwindling numbers in recent years. The goal of PFLAG is to help par- ents and family members understand what their loved ones who identify as lesbian, bisexual, gay, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) are going through, and in the process helping those who are LGBTQ live better lives. One way PFLAG looks to help is through an event held today — a public meeting at Gazebo Park in Old Town Florence at 5 p.m. in cele- bration of National Coming Out Day. “I’m thinking of having several people show up,” Hudson, a trans- gender woman who lives in Mapleton and is president of PFLAG Florence, said. “We’ll just kind of rotate and have people tell stories. We’re going to have PFLAG brochures on the table so if anybody comes by, we can explain and edu- cate, whatever they need. I think that’s what Florence needs.” There are other PFLAG chapters in the area. Coos Bay recently opened one, and the Newport chapter is thriving, according to Hudson. Others haven’t been so lucky. “Eugene PFLAG called up and said, ‘We’re closing,’ about a year and a half ago,” Hudson said. “Couldn’t get anyone to get any offi- cers. Everyone figures the battle (for LGBTQ) is over, problem taken care of, so we can all go home.” Florence has seen its numbers shrink as well. In its heyday, PFLAG had dozens of people coming to meetings. “Now it’s to the point where there’s the board and several other people that show up,” Hudson said. “We’ve had a pretty big drop over the past couple of years.” INSIDE See LGBTQ 7A Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Community . . . . . . . . . . . . . Community Voices . . . . . . . Kid Scoop . . . . . . . . . . . . . B6 A3 B4 B7 MARK BRENNAN/SIUSLAW NEWS Young surfers learn about the ocean and how to surf at Warm Current Surf Camp on Oct. 7. O PHOTOS BY JARED ANDERSON/SIUSLAW NEWS istoric Old Town Florence was filled to the brim with wine and chowder this week- end for the seventh annual Wine and Chowder Trail. Ten wineries came into town to tempt tasters for Saturday’s Wine Walk, while 10 local businesses brought their chowder chops to Sunday’s Chowder Trail. Voters bestowed “Best Chowder” to Novelli’s Crab and Seafood, located on the dock at the Port of Siuslaw. And at the end of festivities Sunday, crowds gathered around Gazebo Park in Old Town as glass floats and other prizes were raffled away. “We gave away 30 beautifully blown glass floats,” said Florence Area Chamber of Commerce Assistant Executive Director Terry Abeyta. “The crowds were up substantially from last year, and many of the participants were from out of town and told us they came back specifically for this event. The spirit was very festive.” H n Oct. 7, Warm Current, a nonprofit organiza- tion focused on introducing young people to the wonders of the ocean, held a surf camp at the South Jetty of the Siuslaw B Y M ARK B RENNAN River. Siuslaw News Local Warm Current coordinator Chris Chapman describes the program as a way to encourage area youth to become more aware of the benefits of the sport of surfing. “Our surf camp program is designed to provide a fun and healthy experience that will attract and engage youth to the health benefits of outdoor recreation and provide a long-term platform that focuses on a healthy and active lifestyle, environ- mental education and community service,” Chapman said. The surfing portion of the camps included an introduction to the ocean environment, stretching exercises, on-land practice drills and in the water training. See SURF 9A Time passes but the Otter remains the same Marina’s classic vessel passes the century mark as owner reaches 88 alt Fossek is 88 years young, and his boat, the Otter, is 104 years old. Both wear their B Y M ARK B RENNAN age well. Siuslaw News Fossek is active, mentally sharp and a great sto- ryteller and the Otter draws daily interest from tourists who wander around the mari- na, wondering at the elegant lines and excellent condition of the old wooden boat. If these visitors are lucky, Fossek will be on board and in a story mood, sharing tales from his 50 years as the owner and operator of the well-main- tained antique vessel. Fossek celebrated his birth- day last month by doing one of his favorite things in life — W Library Tidings . . . . . . . . . . . A5 Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A4 Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A2 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B working on his boat. “I always like to talk about boats, especially wooden boats. There is quite a revival in the area of wooden boats and a lot of people are really interested in Otter, because over time this has become a historical vessel, and now it is over 100 years old. Originally, I thought of it as an income producing, but now it is more of a piece of history,” he said. Fossek is an angler and a farmer and has been living in Florence since World War II. He has seen the area change significantly in the intervening years, moving steadily away from an agriculturally based economy. THIS WEEK ’ S See OTTER 9A MARK BRENNAN/SIUSLAW NEWS Walt Fossek spends many of his days on board the Otter, currently docked at the Port of Siuslaw, where he tends to the 104-year old vessel with continual mainte- nance and care. TODAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY 57 42 55 44 56 40 69 44 WEATHER Full Forecast, A3 S IUSLAW N EWS 2 S ECTIONS ❘ 22 P AGES C OPYRIGHT 2017
