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SPORTS — B
127TH YEAR ❘ ISSUE NO. 92
❘ NOVEMBER 18, 2017 ❘ $1.00
INSIDE — C
SERVING WESTERN LANE COUNTY SINCE 1890
FLORENCE, OREGON
Port of Siuslaw
will include more
public input
starting Nov. 29
An investment in the Florence community
Banner Bank completes remodel, donates to local care programs
Commissioners believe meeting
will begin an open discussion
on the future of the port
PHOTOS BY CHANTELLE MEYER/SIUSLAW NEWS
Banner Bank Branch Manager Dee Osborne and Senior Vice President Mike Murphy present checks totalling $7,263 to Florence
Food Share and the PeaceHealth Peace Harbor Medical Center Foundation during an open house on Nov. 14.
B Y C HANTELLE M EYER
Siuslaw News
T
he Florence branch of
Banner Bank, 777 High-
way 101, held an open house on
Tuesday to celebrate its comple-
tion of several remodel projects.
Banner Bank employees inter-
acted with the community dur-
ing the reception.
Senior Vice President and
Retail Division Manager Mike
Murphy welcomed people to the
event.
“Tonight is an opportunity for
us to thank you. For those of you
who haven’t seen the newly
remodeled branch, we’ve put a
lot of time and energy into this.
We’re really excited about the
outcome. As you know, we’ve
had a long history in Florence,
and it wouldn’t be possible with-
out all of you, including all of
our top-notch employees,” he
said.
Murphy said the remodel was
“a pretty big deal,” and named
several Banner Bank officials
F IREFIGHTERS
who journeyed from Idaho,
Washington, Coos Bay and
Eugene to celebrate with the
Florence branch.
“I’m just proud to work for a
company that’s been around for
127 years. We’re growing
strong,” Murphy said. “We’re
really proud of both the heritage
that we’ve brought in and how
we’re moving through current
times as well. A consistent
theme for us is that we really
want to do the right thing,
whether that’s for the communi-
ASSIST WITH
ty, for our clients or, of course,
for ourselves. It’s our commit-
ment to all of that that led to this
investment, which is a pretty
significant investment in the
Florence community. I’m really
proud of that, and I hope that
you appreciate that as well.”
The remodel included updat-
ing the building from the 1960s
to the 21st century, including
adding ADA-accessible entries
and creating a community room.
See
REMODEL 8A
C ALIFORNIA
FIRES
SVFR sends historic ‘Strikeforce 1’ to help battle huge blaze, swears in new recruits
B Y M ARK B RENNAN
Siuslaw News
Siuslaw Valley Fire and Rescue
(SVFR) Board of Directors met
Wednesday. During the meeting,
four new firefighters were sworn
in and others made a report from a
field deployment to the California
wildfires.
Chief Director Jim Langborg
introduced Ivan Castronum, Ross
Cox, Teresa Hudson and Logan
Baltazore as new recruits while
smiling friends and family looked
on.
Langborg administered the oath
of service and emphasized the
critical nature of the commitment
the firefighters were taking. The
four recruits, after individually
acknowledging the gravity of their
new positions, were sworn in.
Afterwards, firefighters Tony
Miller and Kyle Orozco presented
a short video and report to the
members of the board.
The two men, along with fire-
fighter Blair Campbell, were part
of the first-ever SVFR deploy-
ments to California.
The group from Florence, Ore.,
Strikeforce 1, was part of a con-
tingent of firefighters and equip-
ment sent from around the state to
assist with suppression efforts in
northern California.
SVFR
Recruitment
and
Retention Coordinator Pete
Warren described the deployment
in a written report to the board.
“Engine Boss Orozco and his
crew departed just after midnight,
checked in at the designated ren-
MARK BRENNAN/SIUSLAW NEWS
SVFR Recruitment Officer Pete Warren (far right) assists with
the swearing in of (from left) firefighters Ivan Castronum, Ross
Cox, Teresa Hudson and Logan Baltazore.
dezvous in Goshen, Ore., and
commenced the 12-hour drive to
See
FIREFIGHTERS 8A
INSIDE
The Oregon Coast Humane
Society held its November board
meeting last Thursday, a week
earlier than usual due to the
Thanksgiving holiday. The meet-
ing was conducted with a small
but vocal group of interested
community members in atten-
dance.
The meeting was short but fol-
lowed what has been a trend of
contentiousness over the past
several months between the
Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B7
Community . . . . . . . . . . . . . A3
Hometown Progress . . . . . . . C
Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A4
board and some of its members.
Board President Robert Bare
presided over the meeting but
did not ask for a roll call of board
members in attendance, or for-
mally introduce any of the four
individuals — Diane Raven,
Robert Bare, Ed Gervais and an
unidentified woman — seated at
the board member table as repre-
senting the organization.
One of the main concerns
expressed by OCHS members
over the last few board meetings
has been the absence of Shelter
Manager Tanya Garrett and
Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A2
Sideshow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B6
Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B
This Week on the Coast . . . . A7
Public Outreach Coordinator
Danielle Dickson at board meet-
ings.
Members, often out of order,
voiced their feelings that the two
should be directed to attend
meetings in order to answer
questions and concerns about
shelter operations.
Though the OCHS meeting
agenda continues to list both
women as presenting monthly
updates from their areas of
responsibilities, Bare has contin-
ued to provide the shelter report
for Garrett, with no report pro-
THIS WEEK ’ S
vided for Dickson.
Gervais gave a brief report on
the progress of facility upgrades,
including the ongoing installation
of cameras at the shelter and thrift
store, along with plans to improve
the parking at the shelter.
As it has in past meetings, the
appearance of Gervais’ lack of
interest in the overall proceed-
ings was vocalized by audience
members Thursday night, with
Gervais ignoring those observa-
tions.
See
OCHS 7A
TODAY
SUNDAY
MONDAY
TUESDAY
53 42
54 47
54 48
59 55
WEATHER
Full Forecast, A3
PORT 8A
EARLY DEADLINES FOR
THANKSGIVING WEEK
Board members Gervais and Bare refuse to respond to members’ concerns
Siuslaw News
See
NOTICE
OCHS meeting again raises leadership questions
B Y M ARK B RENNAN
The Port of Siuslaw Board of Commissioners
made an open call to the community during
B Y J ARED A NDERSON Wednesday’s meeting, re-
questing input on the future of
Siuslaw News
the port.
The upcoming public com-
ment meeting, which will be held Wednesday, Nov.
29, at 5 p.m. at the port conference room, will be
what Acting Port Manager Dina McClure described
as a “free-for-all” of suggestions.
McClure encouraged members to bring any and
all suggestions to the meeting in an effort to broad-
en the port’s scope of ideas, and help find solutions
for existing projects.
The genesis for the meeting came from the board
in October, when commissioners looked at the
future list of upcoming projects, which range from
massive technical projects to classes and artistic
endeavors. They made the decision that solutions
should come from the public, instead of solely the
five-person commission and small port staff.
“I believe there are a lot of people in the com-
munity, within this district, that have good ideas
that we can listen to,” Port Commissioner Mike
Buckwald said.
Aside from the planned projects, the commis-
sioners felt that the public could provide input on
plans that the commission may not have even
thought of.
The public comment section will be the first part
of a two-step process.
“I see this as an initial phase running the first
couple of months,” Commissioner Bill Meyer said.
“Then let’s get an advisory group and get some
eyes on it, besides the commissioners’ eyes, and
determine the path we’re going to take.
“We have to make some skillful decisions on
what improvements we make to the port, how we
fund them, what the return on investment is, what
kind of infrastructure is needed and what it’s going
to cost us.”
Of particular interest to the port are four areas
commissioners and staff feel must be immediately
addressed, including improvements to the marina
and camping sites.
The port also needs suggestions on the upcoming
Estuary Trail, in particular where the trail where be
placed on the site, and how it stands in relation to
the ongoing erosion repair project the port has been
facing.
Finally, the commission wishes to broaden its
educational and artistic opportunities, using the
public’s knowledge of topics like fishing, clam-
ming and various aquatic activities.
“We need to broaden our input to the entire dis-
trict,” McClure said.
Siuslaw News is joining other area businesses
by being closed Thanksgiving Day, Thursday,
Nov. 23.
Advertisements and news items should be sub-
mitted as soon as possible next week to accom-
modate early deadlines.
All news articles and press releases must be
submitted by Monday, Nov. 20, at noon, for both
the Wednesday, Nov. 22, and Saturday, Nov. 25,
issues.
The deadline for display advertising in the Nov.
25 paper is Tuesday, Nov. 21, at noon. Line classi-
fieds and legal notices for Saturday are due by
Wednesday, Nov. 22, at noon.
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