10 A SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ SATURDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2017
application was issued in accor-
Dunes City from 1A inal
dance to Dunes City regulations.
“I think they’re concerned that
it’s residential,” he said. “State law
prohibits certain license types in res-
idential zones, but it does not pro-
hibit grows.”
OLCC does not deal with zoning
issues, Sweet said. It checks for cer-
tain markers, like a grow being with-
in 1,000 feet of a school, but they
leave the zoning decisions to the
city.
Of the phone call with the citizen,
Sweet stated, “They were very
adamant that this was issued in error.
Essentially like, ‘wrong box
checked.’ What I told her was, if it
was issued in error, we would accept
an amended LUCS from the city, but
that would come from the city.”
But, as far as Sweet could tell,
there were no errors in the current
LUCS.
“It looks pretty standard to me. I
think the main concern was that this
type of commercial operation
shouldn’t be allowed in R1 zoning.
But, that’s not a determination made
by the agency,” he said.
Sweet stated that Hibpshman
from the OLCC is also aware of the
issue, but the two have not been
actively working on the Dunes City
situation. Hibpshman is out of the
office for the week and was unable
to be contacted.
At the city council meeting, a cit-
izen stated that they were in contact
with Oregon Department of Justice
Attorney Shannon O’Fallon about
the issue. O’Fallon did not return
calls for comment, but Sweet said he
did know O’Fallon personally.
“I know that some citizen did
contact Shannon via email,” Sweet
said. “But we haven’t really worked
with her on anything. We just made
each other aware of the communica-
tions. I work with Shannon on an
almost daily basis on a range of
issues, but we’re not actively work-
ing on anything from this issue.”
If any further action is to be taken
on the LUCS and the current mari-
juana grows, it will have to be done
by the city council, which will have
to determine whether or not the orig-
While the state law allows grow
operations in residential areas, the
city could review their ordinances to
determine whether or not current
laws prohibit them.
One such law, brought up by a
Dunes City resident in the meeting,
regarded the city’s Comprehensive
Plan.
It states, “Agricultural activity is
secondary in nature and is usually
restricted to small animals, horses
and family gardens.”
But, according a letter to the edi-
tor sent to the Siuslaw News on Aug.
19, the city’s hands may be tied.
The letter, submitted by Dunes
City Administrator Jamie Mills, was
also a point of contention in
Wednesday’s meeting.
A member of the public com-
plained for two reasons. First, they
said that it was inaccurate, and sec-
ond, that it was sent to the Siuslaw
News inappropriately.
Regarding the letter’s validity,
Mills stated, “The letter to the editor
was written with the city’s attorney. I
wrote it and sent it to the attorney.
The attorney made some changes so
it was both of us.”
Mills stands by the accuracy of
the statement.
Regarding how it was sent to the
Siuslaw News, Dunes City
Ordinance 235 states that all written
correspondence and media state-
ments must be approved by the city
council for approval prior to distri-
bution.
Mills regretted the error, stating,
“It was approved by the city attor-
ney, but not by the city council.”
About Mills, Mayor Robert
Forsythe wrote, “If there were a per-
sonnel issue underway I wouldn’t be
able to comment. However as there
is no personnel action, I can tell you
that there is nothing planned at this
time.”
Complaints were also made
against the city for not allowing
community involvement in making
decisions.
One city resident stated, “I want
to point out to you that this council
passed a resolution disbanding all of
the committees and commissions in
the city except for Planning
Commission. So, the city didn’t
want any citizen involvement.
Therefore, right after that, the citi-
zens didn’t show up anymore. I
think the fact the council did that
created a whole lot of the problems
you have today because the citizens
are no longer involved.”
The meeting the citizen referred
to took place in April 2016, with the
passage of Ordinance 235.
During that meeting, Councilor
Maurice Sanders stated the ordi-
nance was appropriate because the
city had a lack of volunteers to fully
staff several committees, most
notably the Road Commission,
where a quorum frequently had not
been present to allow the commis-
sion to function properly over the
past several months.
Rebecca Ruede, who was mayor
at the time, noted that the lack of vol-
unteers had been a problem for other
committees as well.
Video minutes of the meeting
showed only one public comment
was made regarding the ordinance,
requesting clarification on its mean-
ing.
It was explained that all issues
that weren’t covered by the remain-
ing committees, the council could
review the matter and decide if an
additional committee would need to
be formed to resolve the issue.
No other public comments were
made, either for or against the ordi-
nance, which was passed by the
council unanimously.
In other news from the
Wednesday meeting, the appoint-
ment of a new city councilor was
placed on hold. This new councilor
would fill the position vacated by
Forsythe, who was appointed mayor
after Ruede passed away in August.
While multiple applications for
the position were received,
Councilor Duke Wells said that there
were too many good applicants to
rush into a decision on that date.
Dunes City Councilors will inter-
view the applicants to make a more
informed determination at a later
date.
LGBTQ
from 1A
and they get the role,” Wood said.
“I get a lot of gratification from
their success.”
Rugburn came about in 2015
after Wood played the role of
Mama Morton, a tough as nails and
sarcastic matron of the women’s
prison in Last Resort Player’s pro-
duction of “Chicago the Musical”
“I didn’t have to check my atti-
tude. I could give as much as I
wanted, and it was really liberat-
ing,” Wood said.
He wanted to keep that libera-
tion alive, so he thought it would be
fun to do a drag show.
As a musical performer, he also
thought that Rugburn would afford
him the opportunity to sing songs
he couldn’t usually perform.
“I can sing all of these songs that
were written for women, finally,”
he said. “I can do an entire show
singing ‘I Enjoy Being a Girl’ and
‘Don’t Cry For Me Argentina.’ I
can’t sing all those songs as Jason
Wood, it wouldn’t make any
sense.”
Plus, he does like attention.
“I’m like Tinkerbell, applause
saves me,” he said.
Rugburn’s first live performance
was held at Old Town Barber Shop
in Historic Old Town Florence.
“That was the best night ever,”
Wood said. “I had never performed
as my own fleshed-out drag charac-
ter. I was nervous like you never
believe, but I just used that energy.”
The house was packed and
Wood felt there was a deep connec-
tion with the audience. He thought
it was magical.
Wood’s drag character has got-
ten some pushback from the local
community, but not as much as one
would think. A few people com-
plained about posters featuring
Rugburn on Facebook, and Wood
believes that some people may
have dropped their vocal lessons
because of the character.
“It was hurtful to me because it
was an act of prejudice. Not just for
me, but for my community as a
whole. I’ve watched my communi-
THIS WEEK
ON
THE
ty fight very hard for equal rights,”
he said.
But it’s those equal rights that
still need to be fought for, Wood
believes. As the Supreme Court rul-
ing in 2015 allowing gay marriage
came down, many long-time
activists breathed a sigh of relief.
The fight was over.
“We shouldn’t have said that,”
Wood said. “We were just inviting
it, and now look. We have plenty to
fight for.”
And that fight is what gives
Rugburn importance.
“I think she creates a presence,
whether people like it or not,”
Wood said. “Right now, we live in
a time where presence is especially
important. In that last year, people
have come out of the woodwork
with ‘hate’ tattooed across their
forehead. The worst thing a queer
community could do is to take a
step back.”
This is not to say Wood believes
Rugburn gives any semblance of
what it’s really like being gay in
Florence. He saves those moments
for his own personal show “Jason
Wood Untucked,” where he ditches
the costume and talks about his
own life. That, he believes, is a true
representation of LGBTQ people in
Florence.
“I’m not trying to save the world
by performing as Fanny Rugburn,
but if anyone thinks that Florence is
this community free of anything
uncomfortable, you’re wrong.
Queer people are everywhere, and
it’s important that everybody
understands that,” Wood said.
Regarding Rugburn’s children
shows, Wood said, “I hate to use
the word ‘normal,’ because I’m
anything but. But If you normalize
queerness from the get go, later on
in life, you’re less likely to bash
one of us.”
But doing the youth shows, and
all of Rugburn’s shows, isn’t really
about LGBTQ acceptance for
Wood. It is about acceptance as a
whole.
He pointed out a picture he took
after one of the youth performanc-
es. A young girl, no more than 8,
is giving Rugburn a warm
embrace.
“That’s what I get,” Wood said.
“Maybe Fanny can help other peo-
ple understand, not just drag
queens, but if you’re different, you
don’t have to be afraid of it.
Different isn’t scary, it isn’t wrong.
It’s just different. I think that’s the
most important thing Fanny
Rugburn is providing.”
We’re all different, Wood
believes. And if that young girl can
accept the differences of others,
then perhaps she can accept her
own differences, too.
See
LGBTQ 11A
541-997-2422
COAST
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S UBMIT ALL E VENTS I NFORMATION VIA E MAIL TO P RESS R ELEASES @T HE S IUSLAW N EWS . COM
Oct. 14
10th anniversary Dive for a Cure
Sponsored by Eugene Skin Divers
Supply
9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Honeyman Memorial State Park
diveforacure.org/register.html
DEMarts
10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Open to public
Siuslaw Public Library
Oktoberfest
11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Tickets required
Florence Events Center
Wiener Dog Races
3 p.m.
Registration required
Florence Events Center
541-999-6077
2nd Saturday Gallery Tour
3 to 5 p.m.
Various locations in Florence
2ndSaturdayGalleryTour.com
Wandering Reel Traveling Film
Festival
2:30 to 4:30 p.m.
Tickets required
City Lights Cinemas
www.wanderingreel.org
Oct. 17
Us TOO Florence
Prostate Cancer Support Group
Noon to 1:00 p.m.
Open to public
Ichiban Restaurant
541-999-4239
Siuslaw Diabetes/Pre-diabetes
Support Group
2 p.m.
Open to public
Siuslaw Public Library
541-902-6059
Rhody Society Meeting
6:30 p.m.
Open to public
Presbyterian Church of The Siuslaw
541-997-3082, www.siuslawars.org
Oct. 18
Oct. 15
Siuslaw Public Library District
Melody Ann
Beaudro
P RINCIPAL B ROKER
RAIN’s Open Mentoring Hours for
Entrepreneurs
5:30 p.m.
Open to public
LCC Florence Room 158
www.meetup.com/Startup-Florence-
Oregon-Coast/
Oct. 19
Good Life 2017 Boomer & Senior
Expo
10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Open to public
Florence Events Center
PeaceHealth Volunteers Meeting
11:30 a.m.
Lunch is $5 for volunteers and $10
for guests
Florence Events Center
RSVP at 541-902-9780
Florence Senior Center Business
After Hours
5 to 7 p.m.
DONATE NOW!
We buy, sell and consign quality
estate/heirloom jewelry & furniture.
Gold, silver, platinum jewelry with
precious & semi precious stones.
1749 Hwy. 101
Cell: 541-991-2151
CUSTOM ENGRAVING
& CUTTING
Siuslaw News DACA Forum
7 p.m.
Open to public
City Lights Cinemas
thesiuslawnews.com
Oct. 20
PNW Hula Fridays on the Central
Oregon Coast
2 to 3 p.m.
Registration required
3149 Oak St.
www.facebook.com/PNWHula/
Yachats Ladies Club Scholarship
Fund Dinner
5 to 7 p.m.
$15 for homemade pork loin dinner
Yachats Ladies Club
286 W. Third St. in Yachats
Boys & Girls Club Senior-Senior
Homecoming Gala
6 to 9 p.m.
Tickets required
Three Rivers Casino Resort
541-902-0304
ESTATE JEWELRY AND
ANTIQUE FURNITURE!!!
Maximize your donation by donating
to Cars for a Cause by Dec. 31st.
We accept cars, trucks, RVs, boats
& motorcycles CALL NOW!
Licensed in the state of Oregon
Melody@trhunter.com
www.trhunter.com
Open to public
Florence Senior Center
Board of Directors Meeting
1 p.m.
Open to public
Siuslaw Public Library
Call 541-997-8104,
Florence Antiques
St. Vincent de Paul
2315 Hwy. 101 • Florence • 541-997-8460
CCB# 55030
541-997-5691
541-361-9080
jmirvis@charter.net
Florence, Oregon
Glass For Every
Purpose
1780 Kingwood St.
541-997-8526
Oct. 21
Yard Debris Disposal Day
9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Disposal fee required
Kingwood and 27th streets
2nd annual Bras for a Cause
Soroptimist International of Florence
6 p.m.
Tickets required; bra sponsors avail-
able
Florence Events Center
“Greater Tuna”
7 p.m.
Tickets required
Class Act Theatre
catproductions.org
Oct. 22
“Greater Tuna”
2 p.m.
Tickets required
Class Act Theatre, catproductions.org
County Transfer & Recycling
Auto, Home, Life, Business
Flood, Antique Auto, RV’s
Medicare Advantage Plans
Medicare Supplements
Health Insurance
Phone (541) 997-9497
1234 Rhododendron Dr / Florence
FLORENCE
Awards • Plaques • Name Badges
Gifts • Signage • Glassware
“Greater Tuna”
7 p.m.
Tickets required
Class Act Theatre
catproductions.org
Great prices on all
top national brands!
685-A Hwy 101,
Florence, OR.
541-997-3273
Commerical • Residential
Weekly, Bi-Weekly, Monthly,
One Time Pick-Up.
Easy curb side recycling program-
No additional costs to our customers.
5078 Coastwood Lane
Call us at 541-997-8233
Village Grooming
4981 Highway 101,
across Munsel Lake Rd
541-305-5411
Call for appointment
