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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 15, 2017)
THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM ❘ / SIUSLAWNEWS ❘ @ SIUSLAWNEWS WEDNESDAY EDITION LI'L TOADS GROW IN LEAPS Pounding returns for 18th year INSIDE — A3 SPORTS — B 127TH YEAR ❘ ISSUE NO. 91 ❘ NOVEMBER 15, 2017 ❘ $1.00 SERVING WESTERN LANE COUNTY SINCE 1890 Boys and Girls Club rebrands for teens FLORENCE, OREGON V ETERANS D AY 2017 HONORING ALL WHO SERVED New Teen Director Crystell Wise looks to bring high school age kids to the program B Y J ARED A NDERSON Siuslaw News T he Boys and Girls Club of Western Lane County is going through a rebranding for teens, thanks to its new Teen Center Director Crystell Wise. “We’re going to make the after-school program cool,” Wise said. Wise has held the posi- tion for only a week, so she has yet to make a master plan, “But I have a lot of ideas,” JARED ANDERSON/SIUSLAW NEWS she said. She has a tall Boys and Girls Club Teen order. Director Crystell Wise Boys and Girls Club Director Jack Davis said, “Let’s just say, with regards to the high schoolers, we don’t have a brand.” “We’re not on their radar,” Wise said. This isn’t just an issue facing the Florence- based program, Wise and Davis explained. Across the country, Boys and Girls Clubs’ biggest challenge is getting older teens, espe- cially high school students, into the program. High school students are generally mobile, with after school responsibilities like jobs and extracurricular programs. Above all, teenagers, unlike elementary stu- dents, have a say in how they spend their free time. Getting teenagers into the program is vital, Wise believes, because they will be shaping the direction of the world sooner than most adults think. Before she was hired at the club, Wise, who holds a degree in political science from the University of Tulsa in Oklahoma, was a social worker in Eugene. “I was dealing with the no-chance/last- chance type of clientele,” she said. “The home- less and the mentally ill.” See I S PHOTOS BY JARED ANDERSON AND MARK BRENNAN/SIUSLAW NEWS ROB GRIFFES FOR THE SIUSLAW NEWS O n Nov. 11, Florence recognized those who served in the U.S. military with multiple events in celebration of Veterans Day. Members of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3232 and the “Band of Brothers” group started the day by holding a sunrise ceremony at the Pacific Sunset Memorial Park Cemetery. Later in the morning, Florence Elks Lodge 1858 and the Ladies of the Elks held an early morning craft and bazaar fundraiser to support the programs they organize and contribute towards throughout the year. The high point of the day was the annual Florence Veterans Day Parade, which started at the Florence Events Center and made its way down Quince Street and through Historic Old Town. Multi-generational crowds lined Bay Street and stayed despite the rain. Patriotic organizations are welcome to join the parade each year, such as the Siuslaw High School Band, VFW, Daughters of the American Revolution, American Legion Post 59, Boy and Girl Scouts and others who marched, drove, rode and played — all to thank area veterans and those who served. For more photos, see 10A TEENS 9A COASTAL LIVING IN JEOPARDY ? P ART I: SOS Siuslaw Outreach Services shows how the housing, employment crisis in the Siuslaw Region has reached a tipping point B Y J ARED A NDERSON Siuslaw News E INSIDE ach night, people living in the Siuslaw region who work 60 hours a week are forced to live in their cars. While Social Security is supposed to help sustain shelter and basic necessities for the elderly, peo- ple in several age demographics are finding themselves driven to sell donated items of clothing or panhan- dle just to pay the utility bills. These are just two examples of the symptoms that many, including city officials, private business owners and nonprofit organizations in the Siuslaw region, are calling a housing and employment crisis; it crosses all ages and socioeconomic barriers and impacts residents of the region in dif- ferent ways. “The whole area, in relation to housing and employment, is devastat- ing to me,” said Dianne Huenergardt, Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Community . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kid Scoop . . . . . . . . . . . . . Library Tidings . . . . . . . . . . . B6 A3 B4 A5 director of Housing Assistance for steady rise in mental health problems jobs,” SOS Executive Director Bob Siuslaw Outreach Services (SOS) in and domestic abuse as individuals Teter said. “People come here not real- Florence. and families deal with the stress — izing that things start to shut down at SOS has provided a wide variety of with some victims feeling forced to the end of October and people start services to the community, including remain in dangerous situations getting laid off. In the summer, they emergency vouchers, think, ‘Oh, I have a full- housing assistance and time job right now, I’m self-sufficiency class- “A lot of times you’ll see these cars that are parked set.’ And then es, since 1986. November comes and at [grocery stores] late at night. The people have It served 2,959 jobs, but they just don’t have a home to go to.” the work scales back. It clients in 2016 — picks up for the holi- — SOS Executive Director Bob Teter days and then goes back equivalent to more than 30 percent of the City down.” of Florence’s population. because they are unable to find a Even when workers do have steady The physical health of Siuslaw res- place to live. employment, the wages are miniscule. idents is also being adversely affect- The crisis SOS and other local According to Teter, the average ed, with families choosing to live in organizations are seeing stems from a wage for the people SOS serves is $10 mold-infested homes because a short- combination of extremely low wages an hour. Often, when people do work, age of available housing options sim- from part-time work, coupled with a they aren’t given full-time hours. ply leaves them no choice. In many dearth of affordable housing. “One of the things that I noticed cases, these living conditions can On the employment side, the dra- that created a barrier for people was lead to respiratory problems for chil- matic decline of the logging and fish- the whole issue of employers being dren or the elderly. ing industries have created a reliance required to provide benefits,” Teter Running parallel to the issues of on tourism jobs. said. “So, we see a lot of employers low wages and a lack of housing is a “They are low wage, seasonal now trying to work around that by Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A4 Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A2 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B Weather Data . . . . . . . . . . . A2 THIS WEEK ’ S TODAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY 50 45 50 43 53 41 55 47 WEATHER Full Forecast, A3 keeping people’s hours below 30. So as soon as they start getting close to 30, they scale them back — and peo- ple can’t live on that.” Teter stated that under these condi- tions, it is normal for individuals to work two or three jobs at any given time. “We had a single mom a while back who was working 15 hours a week at Fred Meyer and 25 hours a week at Safeway, and she also worked late at night at the casino about 20 hours a week,” Teter said. “And she relied on family members to take care of two lit- tle ones that she had.” Despite all of the hours and family assistance, she was not able to make ends meet on her own and ended up at SOS asking for help, relying on the program’s emergency vouchers for help with utilities, clothing, food and paying for prescriptions. S IUSLAW N EWS 2 S ECTIONS ❘ 20 P AGES C OPYRIGHT 2017 See LIVING 7A
