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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 8, 2017)
THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM ❘ / SIUSLAWNEWS ❘ @ SIUSLAWNEWS WEDNESDAY EDITION Community Voices VIKS 5TH, 7TH AT STATE 127TH YEAR ❘ ISSUE NO. 89 Veterans Day special INSIDE — A10 SPORTS — B ❘ NOVEMBER 8, 2017 ❘ $1.00 INSIDE SERVING WESTERN LANE COUNTY SINCE 1890 FLORENCE, OREGON Remembering a gentle ‘Neighbor’ GUEST VIEWPOINT B Y R OBERT S ERRA P AST EDITOR OF S IUSLAW N EWS L EAVING L ast month on a plane heading east I read the opening lines of the novel “Mink River” by Brian Doyle: A LEGACY A town not big not small. In the hills in Oregon on the coast. Bounded by four waters; one muscular river, two shy little creeks, one ocean. End of May — the first salmonberries are just ripe. TO BE PROUD OF MARK BRENNAN/SIUSLAW NEWS The varied waters of the Siuslaw River watershed were often featured in Wesley Voth’s writings about the Upriver community and the greater world. Local writer, environmentalist and community leader impacted all he touched B Y M ARK B RENNAN Siuslaw News I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. — Henry David Thoreau There are some people in the world that just seem to “get it.” They are better able to filter out the nonsense we are con- fronted with on a daily basis. These gifted people seem to have the unusual ability to sort through the bluster, clutter and crazy cacophony of modern society — and see clearly to the heart of the matter. Wesley Voth, a colleague of the Siuslaw News, was one of these individuals. These rare people can see what is truly important and lasting. They are able to see the beauty in the small things and recognize the importance of the quiet animals that only come out at night, and the beauty and fragility of the flowers and insects that live all around us. These folks have an inner compass, an internal guidance system, that senses what is truly important in life. They gently, but firmly, turn our col- lective attentions in that direc- tion. These individuals see the world we live in as a treasure that deserves to be appreciated I immediately thought of Wesley Voth, long-time cor- respondent/columnist for Siuslaw News. Wesley, in a number of his spring columns, described in sen- sual detail the pleasure of finding and eating the first salmonberry of the season. Wesley died suddenly last week and left a perma- nent void in the fields and woods and alongside the beautiful river that served as the church and classroom for a son of the natural world. I met Wesley and his and protected — A world that needs to be protected from the human inclination to exploit and overuse, quite often to the future detriment of society’s children and grandchildren. These individuals’ observa- tions and interpretations of the world cause others to take notice of the beauty, fragility and, ultimately, the intercon- nectedness of life. Voth was one of those peo- ple. One of the organizations that See LEGACY 7A wife, Susan, shortly after the turn of the century. As editor of the Siuslaw News, I was forming a small group of correspondents to write a weekly feature called “Neighbors.” Wesley and Susan volun- teered to represent the Mapleton/Swisshome area. In later years, Wesley took over for the pair, and after the death of revered histori- an/storyteller Bob Jackson a couple years ago, Wesley became the final Neighbor still writing for the paper. Wesley’s columns on the one hand chronicled life along the Upriver commu- nities where people are hard working, honest and kind. Mostly. He would let us know what events were planned or took place that defined See NEIGHBOR 7A Meals on Wheels makes School Resource Officer Program builds rapport holiday adjustments Florence Police Senior food delivery will continue but dates of service may change B Y M ARK B RENNAN Siuslaw News The holiday season is a busy time for many residents of Florence, especially as the hol- idays cause office and service closures during the workweek. Representatives of the local Meals on Wheels food pro- gram said that seniors depend- ent on the program might require flexibility. The Meals on Wheels pro- gram is funded by the Senior & Disabled Services Division of Lane Council of Governments. Senior Meals Program Assistant Manager Heather Demsky wants to notify sen- iors of upcoming seasonal changes to the food program. “We provide freezer meals for Meals on Wheels clients on days when we are closed for a furlough day or a holiday,” Demsky said. “In November, we will be closed and sending out freezer meals in advance to cover closures.” Meals on Wheels’ closure dates include Friday, Nov. 10, in observance of Veterans Day; Friday, Nov. 17, for a fur- lough day; and Thursday and Friday, Nov. 23 and 24, for the Thanksgiving holiday. The holiday season also presents other challenges to the program, as Meals on Wheels has additional staffing and delivery concerns that impact the service in areas like Florence. “The Senior Meals Program provides Meals on Wheels in eight Lane County communi- ties,” Demsky said. “Hot noontime meals are delivered two, three or five days a week depending on location. This allows us to spread the servic- es to as many eligible Lane See MEALS 8A Department works with Siuslaw School District in new city program B Y C HANTELLE M EYER Siuslaw News Florence City Council heard a report from the newly initiated School Resource Officer (SRO) program at Siuslaw School District during Monday’s city council meeting. City Manager Erin Reynolds introduced Florence Police Sgt. Brandon Ott and Officer Brandon Bailey to the city council. “They are both operating our SRO pro- gram, a new program for the city,” Reynolds said. “Any time we spend money on new things, we like to make sure that you’re in the know about what’s going on in a very significant aspect of our commu- nity.” According to the adopted City of Florence Biennial Budget for 2017-2019, the SRO position is fully offset by fund- ing from the Siuslaw School District and a federal grant totaling $107,000. The SRO program works with Siuslaw School District, primarily the elementary and middle school, to develop a law enforcement presence on campus. Looking for election results? INSIDE Readers looking for results from the Nov. 7 Special Election will have to wait until Saturday’s issue of the Siuslaw News to see them in print. The results were made public last night beginning at 8 p.m., after the Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B6 Community . . . . . . . . . . . . . A3 Community Voices . . . . . . A10 Kid Scoop . . . . . . . . . . . . . B5 paper’s print deadline, but an updated tally can be found online at www.TheSiuslawNews.com. Lane County Elections will continue to provide updates on the results until all bal- lots are processed. Library Tidings . . . . . . . . . . . A5 Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A4 Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A2 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B THIS WEEK ’ S Florence Police Sgt. Brandon Ott is the current School Resource Officer at Siuslaw School District, where he helps with education, counseling and law enforcement for students. Ott said, “Towards the end of the sum- mer, Commander Pitcher and myself decided that I would be trained up to tem- porarily staff this position. It has actually turned out to be a fun and awesome assignment, and has been really enjoy- able.” Florence Police Department put three officers through the National Association See Early deadlines for Veterans Day Full Forecast, A3 OFFICER 8A Due to the U.S. Postal Service’s Veterans Day schedule, the Saturday edition of the Siuslaw News will instead be delivered on Friday, Nov. 10. Deadlines for this week’s second issue will be advanced. All display advertising, legal publication and by-the-word classi- fied deadlines move to 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 8. Deadline for news articles and press releases is 5 p.m. Wednesday. TODAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY 54 47 53 45 54 43 55 45 WEATHER PHOTOS COURTESY OF FLORENCE POLICE DEPARTMENT S IUSLAW N EWS 2 S ECTIONS ❘ 20 P AGES C OPYRIGHT 2017
