THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM
❘
/ SIUSLAWNEWS
❘
@ SIUSLAWNEWS
FRIDAY EDITION
V ETERANS D AY
S ATURDAY ,
N OV . 11, 2017
127TH YEAR ❘ ISSUE NO. 90
❘ NOVEMBER 10, 2017 ❘ $1.00
READY TO
WRESTLE
SPORTS — B
SERVING WESTERN LANE COUNTY SINCE 1890
FLORENCE, OREGON
T WO BROTHERS , TWO WARS — A SHARED EXPERIENCE
Local brothers, John, 96, and Bill Weiser, 84, served in World War II and the Korean War
WEISER
BY BILL
HOTOS
P
IC
R
HISTO
During th
e Korea
n War, B
these ph
ill Weise
otograp
h
r too
s
of his sh
Guadalu
ip, the U k
pe, and
his crew
.S.S.
“liberty”
m
and time ates during
at sea.
MARK BRENNAN/SIUSLAW NEWS
From left, brothers John and Bill Weiser of Glenada
mericans will recognize the
service of all veterans on
Saturday, Nov. 11, in honor of
the Armistice that ended
World War I (WWI) on Nov. 11, 1918.
President Woodrow Wilson created
Armistice Day in 1919 on the one-year
anniversary of the end of WWI, and the
holiday was renamed Veterans Day years
later in 1954.
The connection to WWI may seem
A
B Y M ARK B RENNAN
Siuslaw News
simply a matter of history to most of
us, but to 96-year-old Florence-area
resident John Weiser, it is a matter of
personal history.
John was born in 1922 and the dis-
tant memories associated with the time
immediately following WWI were the
experiences of his youth.
See
BROTHERS 6A
Voters pass local Community rallies around Florence Food Share
New corporate programs and a slew of donations help the local program
option levy by
wide margin
Renewal will allow Siuslaw
A
B Y J ARED A NDERSON
Siuslaw News
School District to continue to
offer classes, enhance learning
F
INSIDE
lorence voters had only one ballot measure to
consider in Tuesday’s special election — the
renewal of a local option levy for the Siuslaw
School District, Measure 20-281.
A total of 5,606 votes
B Y M ARK B RENNAN
were
cast in the district’s
Siuslaw News
three precincts, with 3,511
(62.63 percent) voting to
continue the levy and 2,095 (37.37 percent) vot-
ing against.
Siuslaw School District Superintendent Andy
Grzeskowiak was hopeful the measure would
pass and was pleased with the strong support the
renewal received once the ballots were counted.
“The general comments people have shared
with me over the past few weeks have been very
positive with regards to the renewal of the oper-
ating levy,” he said. “I was fairly confident the
levy would pass, and when I downloaded the first
results Wednesday night I was surprised that the
margin of victory was so significant. With the
‘yes’ votes coming in over 62 percent, that really
shows that our community cares about education
and kids.”
The funds generated by the passage of 20-281
will provide the money needed to fill in the fiscal
gaps in a number of district programs.
In the last year, the federal administration has
significantly cut the funding for the Department
of Education and has scaled back or completely
eliminated the funding for many after school pro-
grams, the teachers for those programs and need-
ed technology upgrades.
According to Grzeskowiak, the renewal of the
levy option will bridge these funding gaps.
“The school district is very appreciative of the
support the community has shown for education
here locally as demonstrated by the election
results,” he said.
See LEVY 9A
Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Community . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
B5
A3
A4
A2
fter Florence Food Share’s
financial difficulties were
brought to light last week follow-
ing a dearth of cash donations and
changing corporate sponsorships,
the nonprofit has seen a rash of
donations and support from local
corporations.
“Since then, the community has
stepped up and the donations have
been pouring in all week,”
Florence Food Share Executive
Director Norma Barton said.
“Thank you, Florence communi-
ty.”
In addition, two major compa-
nies in town have promised major
donations within the coming
months.
Florence manufacturer Top
Hydraulics Inc. will be a second
sponsor of Cindy Wobbe’s 18th
annual Pounding for Florence
Food Share, which will be held
next Saturday, Nov. 18, from 10
a.m. to 3 p.m. at Grocery Outlet.
“For every pound of food
donated on that day, Top
Hydraulics will donate $1,”
Barton said. “That means, for this
year only, along with our original
anonymous donor, we will have a
two-for-one match. For every
pound of food donated at the
Pounding fundraiser, Florence
Food Share will receive $2.”
Three Rivers Casino Resort,
which had put its philanthropic
endeavors on hold while going
through a corporate reorganiza-
tion, announced this week that it
will be using its Tuesday night
Progressive Jackpot Bingo pro-
motion to raise food donations for
food share.
Beginning on Tuesday, Nov. 14,
individuals will be able to bring
three cans of food for one extra
bingo card, once from noon to 3
p.m. and again from 6 to 9 p.m.
“The promotion is set up with-
out an end date,” Three Rivers
Director of Consumer Marketing
Richard Colton said.
While it’s possible the promo-
tion itself may end if it doesn’t
bring interest, Colton said giving
to the food share will always be a
priority of the casino.
“It will be really easy to move it
to another promotion that is work-
ing well for us, so we can contin-
ue to support Florence Food
Share,” he said.
Three Rivers will also continue
its Toy and Food Drive through
Thursday, Dec. 14, which will
allow Players Club members to
bring in unwrapped toys or three
cans of food to receive $5 in free
play.
See
DONATIONS 9A
Dunes City marijuana grow operation may be denied
Oregon Liquor Control Commission application may be at risk due to improper approval
B Y J ARED A NDERSON
Siuslaw News
O
ne of the proposed marijuana
grow operations that has been
in the middle of a hotly contested
debate in Dunes City during the past
few months may have its applica-
tion pulled by Oregon Liquor
Control Commission (OLCC),
according to information released at
the Dunes City Council meeting on
Nov. 8.
The application that may be
denied was submitted by Valerie
Caine-Mathis.
According to Dunes City
Administrator Jamie Mills, Caine-
Mathis first came into the office in
February to apply for a Land Use
Compatibility Statement (LUCS) to
create a marijuana grow on her
property.
Religion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A5
Sideshow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B4
Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B
This Week on the Coast . . . A9
THIS WEEK ’ S
Oregon
Liquor
Control
Commission (OLCC) requires
potential commercial growers to
submit a LUCS to city officials,
who then must verify that the pro-
posals meet city ordinances.
The Caine-Mathis LUCS states,
“I will have three green houses,
each measuring 30 feet wide and 60
feet deep.”
However, there was no mention
of a residential structure. The green
houses would be considered acces-
sory structures, which are only
allowed in combination with resi-
dential property.
At the time, Mills was at a con-
ference in Eugene and the LUCS
was approved by former Permit
Technician Renee Green. When
Mills came back from her confer-
ence, she reviewed the LUCS and
stated that the LUCS could not be
approved as is. A residential proper-
ty had to be built on the premises,
and, to do that, a residential permit
had to be purchased.
Dunes City staff contacted
Caine-Mathis.
“I wasn’t privy to that conversa-
tion,” Mills said. “But I do recall
them telling her, ‘You have to have
something different. You have to
have the residence.’ She said, ‘OK,
we’ll bring in a site plan for the res-
idence.”
But, according to Mills, the new
plans were never submitted and a
new permit was never purchased.
The old LUCS, which Mills
states should have been denied, was
submitted to OLCC.
Therefore, the existing LUCS
OLCC has does not meet city code,
according to Mills.
As to why this occurred, Mills
TODAY
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
MONDAY
54 45
56 46
55 46
51 46
WEATHER
Full Forecast, A3
stated the issue is still under investi-
gation.
On Oct. 31, Mills drafted a letter
to OLCC informing them that the
existing LUCS does not comply
with the city’s land use regulations.
However, Mills stopped short of
stating that the city requested the
withdrawal of the LUCS. She
instead requested that OLCC deter-
mine whether the LUCS needed to
be simply amended, or pulled all
together.
In that case, the decision of
rescinding the LUCS would fall
squarely on OLCC, not Dunes City.
OLCC Media Representative
Mike Pettinger stated that OLCC
is evaluating the situation, review-
ing the chronology of events and
examining the LUCS itself.
S IUSLAW N EWS
2 S ECTIONS ❘ 18 P AGES
C OPYRIGHT 2017
See
APPLICATION 8A