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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 4, 2017)
THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM ❘ / SIUSLAWNEWS ❘ @ SIUSLAWNEWS SATURDAY EDITION ❘ NOVEMBER 4, 2017 ❘ $1.00 VIKS RUN AT STATE TODAY SPORTS — B 127TH YEAR ❘ ISSUE NO. 88 SERVING WESTERN LANE COUNTY SINCE 1890 FLORENCE, OREGON FL O R EN C E F O OD S HA R E IN CR I SI S Local food share faces uphill battle as it heads into holiday season with low cash donations, delayed programs B Y J ARED A NDERSON Siuslaw News “We are strapped for cash,” Florence Food Share Executive Director Norma Barton said in refer- ence to the current fiscal health of the 37-year-old program. The reasons for the financial con- cerns come from a variety of prob- lems, from unexpected changes and reduction in corporate donations of food, to a sizeable decline in general cash donations from the public this year. Florence Food Share program sud- denly finds itself faced with an uphill battle, trying to figure out how it can provide Thanksgiving dinners to the public, keep the lights on, pay its employees and continue to provide full pantries for the coming years. “I don’t know if the public percep- tion is that food share is rolling in money because of some of the remod- eling that’s going on, but we really are not,” Barton said. “We’re very short in operating funds and are not receiv- ing donations like we have in the past.” That expansion was needed, according to Barton, because of a mandated increase in the population the program had to serve. One of the major issues facing Florence Food Share is how to keep its operating funds full. These funds are used for various purposes, includ- ing maintaining insurance, paying utility bills and providing gas for its truck. Along with these costs, the program had to take out its full line of credit. For years, Florence Food Share has maintained a line of credit of $20,000, but last year it only needed to access $100 of that due to robust donations. However, because of the current dra- matic decline in donations, this year it had to take out the full $20,000 to cover costs. All of its operation costs are financed through donations. These are different from restricted funds, which provides money for the food and other programs food share offers. These restricted funds cannot be transferred. “We have a lot of restricted funds for different things,” Barton said. “We are extremely short on unrestricted funds to keep the lights on and the refrigerator going. We received grants totaling approximately $6,000 to maintain the garden this year. That’s great, but it is restricted to the gar- den.” The organization’s operating funds are in danger right now. At this time last year, Florence Food Share had almost two months of operational funds. As of this writing, it has less than a week’s worth. “We have to pay interest on the line of credit every month,” Barton said. “And then, when we have enough unrestricted cash, we can pay it back.” But to get that unrestricted cash, the organization needs more donations. “Our donations have slowed way down,” Barton said. “Typically, at this time of the year, we are receiving quite a bit more from the community.” Last year, FOOD for Lane County, which is the supervising agency for Florence Food Share, regulated that the rural food shares create a second program to serve more people. Before the rule, the food share’s pantry was open to individuals living at or below 185 percent of the Federal Poverty Level. Those individuals were allowed to come in 18 times per year to stock up three to five days’ worth of food. The purpose of the food share is not to provide daily meals to those it serves, but to serve as a stopgap in times of dire need. But last year, FOOD for Lane Country required an expansion of the people that the rural food shares had to serve. See FOOD SHARE 8A Shorewood Senior Living helps Florence Food Share LTD coastal bus S route delayed horewood Senior Living kicked off its November fundrais- er Wednesday, working to fill the pantry of Florence Food Share. With two large bins and a smiling face, Shorewood Senior Living Community Relations Director Niki Hill (far right) asked Safeway customers for any food donations they could spare for the local pantry. “The two bins were full and overflowing,” Hill said. “Roby’s furniture brought us a shop- ping basket full of food.” To help Shorewood out, Safeway donated $600 worth of $10 coupons that day to entice dona- tions, which Hill ran out of. “So many people signed their card back over to the food share,” Hill said. “We also had cash donations.” In addition, KCST Coast Radio Host Wayne Sharp sent out a call to action to support the drive. Once the day was over, Shorewood delivered the entire haul directly to Florence Food Share. “We’re just wanting to be a part of the community,” Hill said. “We feel so blessed here that we want to share that.” The fundraiser lasts through Nov. 20. Donations can be dropped off at Shorewood Senior Living, 1451 Spruce St., or Safeway, 700 Highway 101. Florence to Yachats service will begin when procurement process is complete PHOTOS BY JARED ANDERSON/SIUSLAW NEWS Lane Transit District (LTD) officials are unable at this time to estimate precisely when the pro- posed and approved bus B Y M ARK B RENNAN route between Florence Siuslaw News and Yachats will begin service. Originally scheduled to begin transporting rid- ers last summer, the new start date for the coastal run is still unclear, but funding has been obtained for the first year of the project. LTD Public Information Officer Therese Lang said she thinks the route will be popular once it begins along the scenic corridor of Highway 101. “LTD is eager to begin our pilot project for service between the Florence and Yachats com- munities, and knows there is also significant interest in getting the service started as soon as possible.” she said. The delay is due, in large part, to the process involved in the purchase of the vehicle that will be used on the route. “The procurement process is indeed the reason for the delay, but it’s not just for the vendor/ provider of the service,” Lang said. See TRANSIT 9A Siuslaw Valley, Western Lane boards make plans for future Strategic Planning session examines need for new ambulance facility, increased cooperation in next year of the IGA B Y M ARK B RENNAN Siuslaw News INSIDE On Oct. 27, the boards of directors of Siuslaw Valley Fire and Rescue (SVFR) and Western Lane Ambulance District (WLAD) held a joint meeting at the main fire station for the purpose of preparing a 2017 Strategic Plan and updating an implementation plan for their intergovernmental agreement (IGA). “The workshop lasted just under four hours, was extremely productive and provided our management team with a lot of important feedback,” said Chief Director Jim Langborg. “The division chiefs and myself will take the comments from the meeting and use them to create a set of updated goals for the next year.” During the meeting, directors received reports from WLAD Chamber Business Beat . . . . . Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Community . . . . . . . . . . . . . Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A7 B5 A3 A4 Operations Chief Matt House, SVFR ed concerns, problems encountered 17 students currently enrolled in an Operations Chief Jim Dickerson, and positive changes observed in the EMT-Basic Class,” House said. Administrative Chief Julie Brown and past year under the IGA. “Earlier this year, Chief Dickerson Langborg. taught an EMR class in These reports Mapleton and we are detailed the accom- “It is my opinion that the IGA is successful. Both planning on more of plishments of the Siuslaw Valley Fire and Rescue and Western Lane these important training respective organiza- opportunities in 2018.” tions over the past year. Ambulance District have made tremendous gains An EMR class trains Suggested improve- this past year and service levels are improving.” personnel to deliver ments and areas of con- — Chief Director Jim Langborg basic first aid and care. cern were also includ- Dickerson’s SVFR ed. update included infor- Langborg provided a summary of Highlights from House’s presenta- mation on upgrades to the depart- the IGA process and a series of recom- tion included updates on ambulance ment’s security systems, purchases of mendations to address what he consid- district staffing, district promotions, new bunker gear and changes to the ers to be the most pressing concerns software upgrades and facility intake process for volunteers and from his perspective as administrative improvements. employees. leader of both organizations. He said one significant develop- Dickerson also reported on a grant Information at the meeting included ment is the recent EMT training class received by the SVFR. feedback from SVFR and WLAD coordinated by the district, a class that “We were awarded an Assistance to employees, volunteers, management hasn’t been taught since 1994. Firefighters grant for the purchase of and administrative teams. It highlight- “With the help of SVFR, we have over 40,000 feet of fire hose that will Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A2 Sideshow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B4 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B This Week on the Coast . . . A9 THIS WEEK ’ S TODAY SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY 51 45 50 38 53 37 55 46 WEATHER Full Forecast, A3 be shared with Mapleton RFD and Swisshome and Deadwood RFD. SVFR will also be purchasing large- diameter supply hose which has been the industry standard for years,” Dickerson said. Comments from the employees of both districts were part of the day’s presentation and included recommen- dations and observations for board members to consider. Most notably, firefighters said they want to increase the district’s focus on wildland hazards and the training needed to become more proficient in the field. The firefighters also requested more training exercises with mutual aid partners, additional training in pump operations and an increase in emer- gency medical service (EMS) training. S IUSLAW N EWS 2 S ECTIONS ❘ 18 P AGES C OPYRIGHT 2017 See PLANNING 9A