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