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127TH YEAR ❘ ISSUE NO. 83
❘ OCTOBER 18, 2017 ❘ $1.00
SPECIAL PUBLICATION INSIDE
SERVING WESTERN LANE COUNTY SINCE 1890
FLORENCE, OREGON
Humane society inspection shows no abuse or neglect
U.S. Department of Justice prompts site visit to Oregon Coast Humane Society, inquires into board selection process
B Y M ARK B RENNAN
Siuslaw News
T
he ongoing controversy
surrounding the Oregon
Coast
Humane
Society
(OCHS) has advanced signifi-
cantly, with two important
new developments happening
this month.
An on-site inspection con-
ducted by Florence Code
Enforcement Officer Dan
Frazier on Oct. 6 found no
signs of animal abuse or neg-
lect at the Oregon Coast
Humane Society.
The inspection was prompt-
ed by a U.S. Department of
Justice (DOJ) inquiry generat-
WOMAN
DIES WHILE
IN POLICE
CUSTODY
INSIDE
See
Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Community . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Kid Scoop . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Library Tidings . . . . . . . . . . .
DEATH 10A
B6
A3
B5
A8
The department has received
numerous complaints from res-
idents of Florence regarding the
operation of the Florence-area
shelter and the legitimacy of
recent board of director
appointments. The DOJ also
was forwarded articles pub-
lished in the Siuslaw News that
revealed volunteer and member
concerns about the operational
practices of the OCHS.
These complaints, and hun-
dreds of additional emails ref-
erencing the issues at OCHS
that inundated the Portland and
Salem DOJ offices, were the
genesis of the investigation.
The DOJ assessed the com-
plaints and referred the con-
cerns of area residents regard-
ing animal welfare to the
Florence Police Department.
Florence police then notified
Dan Frazier, who has oversight
responsibilities for animal wel-
fare in the municipality, and he
began an investigation.
See
OCHS 10A
F LO RE N CE
Oktoberfest
Melissa Gallauher died
Friday at Peace Harbor —
sheriff’s office says there is
no indication of wrongdoing
Melissa Gallauher, 47, was pronounced
dead at the PeaceHealth Peace Harbor
Medical Center on Friday, Oct. 13, after
being detained by Florence police at the
B Y J ARED A NDERSON medical center
when she refused to
Siuslaw News
leave the premises.
“Investigators
with the Lane County Sheriff’s Office
and the Oregon State Medical Examiner’s
Office have interviewed all of the known
witnesses to this event, and have
reviewed other evidence while conduct-
ing this investigation,” said Lane County
Detective Sergeant Carl Wilkerson in a
statement released late Tuesday. “There
is no evidence the involved officers used
deadly or excessive force, and all evi-
dence indicates the involved officers
were extremely patient and only used
enough force to detain Gallauher, who
was being uncooperative and was refus-
ing to leave the location.”
Sgt. Carrie Carver of the Lane County
Sheriff’s Office said there is no indica-
tion of wrongdoing at this time on part of
the hospital staff.
At approximately 7:15 p.m., the
Florence Police Department was contacted
by Peace Harbor, which stated the
Gallauher, after being asked to leave by
hospital staff and security, became disrup-
tive and refused to vacate the premises.
A pervious news release stated
Gallauher had been discharged “earlier
in the day,” though it is unclear if she
left the hospital and came back, or
refused to leave directly after being dis-
charged.
Police arrived and attempted to con-
vince her to leave, but she still refused to
go. The officers detained her at that
point, but before they were able to take
her off-site, they became concerned
about Gallauher’s health. They asked
medical personnel for additional evalua-
tion.
Gallauher’s health began to deteriorate
at that point, and though medical staff
attempted lifesaving efforts, she was pro-
nounced deceased at 8:43 p.m.
An autopsy has been conducted by the
Oregon State Medical Examiner’s
Office. While her cause of death remains
unknown, there is no indication that the
death of Gallauher was a result of her
contact with police department employ-
ees.
ed at the Portland office of the
DOJ.
Department officials were
unable to comment on the
record for this report, as the
inquiry is still in progress, but
officials were able to confirm
a few basic facts about the sit-
uation on conditions of
anonymity.
C OM M UN I T Y
C E L E B RA TI ON
PHOTOS BY FLOYD LARSON AND JARED ANDERSON & CHANTELLE MEYER/SIUSLAW NEWS
ore than 550 people attended Oktoberfest last
Saturday at the Florence Events Center.
Traditional music and dancers welcomed commu-
nity guests to lift their heels as they sampled
beer, cider, wine and food provided by local ven-
dors and nonprofit organizations. This included bratwurst with
sauerkraut, potato soup in a bread bowl, pretzels, popcorn and
apple strudel. The community celebration event was presented
by the Friends of the Florence Events Center and sponsored by
Oregon Sen. Arnie Roblan, Darlings RV Resort & Marina, KCST
Coast Radio and Siuslaw News. Outside, the Wiener Dog Races
brought additional spectators to watch Dachshunds in their
annual race (see page A11).
M
‘A Part to Play’
B Y J ARED A NDERSON
Siuslaw News
After more than three years of
data collection and research, the
90by30 program is about to begin
implementing strategies to reduce
child abuse and neglect in Lane
County by 90 percent by the year
2030.
West Lane Region 90by30 Co-
Chair Suzanne Mann-Heintz, who
attended the group’s yearly confer-
ence this past weekend, spoke
about some of the progress the
Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A4
Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A2
Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B
Weather Data . . . . . . . . . . . A2
THIS WEEK ’ S
group made with the program since munity support — but there are
its inception.
ways to help alleviate those fac-
Mann-Heintz said there are tors.
numerous factors that can lead to
“Research has demonstrated that
c h i l d
there
abuse,
cer-
“People have resources. They just are
includ-
t a i n
ing lack need to know where to go to get help. p r o t e c -
of edu- Nobody wants to hurt their kids.”
tive fac-
cation
— Suzanne Mann-Heintz t o r s
on how
against
West Lane Region 90by30 Co-Chair c h i l d
to raise a
child,
abuse,
financial difficulties, a lack of and if these factors are part of a
empathy and isolation from com- community, it will decrease the
TODAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
59 52
56 47
54 46
58 46
WEATHER
Full Forecast, A3
90by30 works toward reducing child
abuse and neglect by 90 percent by 2030
likelihood for people to abuse or
neglect children,” she said. “These
protective factors were what we
looked at in terms of availability
and resources.”
To help discover what resources
already existed in the Siuslaw
region, and what people’s attitudes
were toward the issue, 90by30 per-
formed more than 200 adult sur-
veys and an 18-month survey on
what community assets already
existed over the past three years.
S IUSLAW N EWS
2 S ECTIONS ❘ 20 P AGES
C OPYRIGHT 2017
See
90BY30 10A