THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM ❘ / SIUSLAWNEWS ❘ @ SIUSLAWNEWS WEDNESDAY EDITION T HANKSGIVING G REETINGS COUNTDOWN TO WHALE WATCHING SPORTS — B INSIDE — C 127TH YEAR ❘ ISSUE NO. 93 ❘ NOVEMBER 22, 2017 ❘ $1.00 SERVING WESTERN LANE COUNTY SINCE 1890 FLORENCE, OREGON 18th annual Pounding brings in record haul Hundreds of area residents help fill the pantry of Florence Food Share before the holidays EMERGENCY Florence man drowns in accident at Siltcoos Agencies respond to overturned boat B Y M ARK B RENNAN Siuslaw News PHOTOS BY JARED ANDERSON/SIUSLAW NEWS People flock to Grocery Outlet on Nov. 18 to participate in the 18th annual Pounding for Florence Food Share. Far left, Food Share Director Norma Barton works alongside volunteers to weigh items. Each pound of food donated was matched by up to $2. B Y J ARED A NDERSON Siuslaw News T he 18th Annual Pounding broke records this past Saturday as Siuslaw area resi- dents donated 13,088 pounds to be given to Florence Food Share. The event broke the all-time record by almost 2,000 pounds, set last year when 11,111 pounds were donated. “I couldn’t be happier,” said Florence Food Share Executive Director Norma Barton. “We are incredibly grateful to this amazing community.” The pounding is a yearly event held at Grocery Outlet, where com- munity members buy food and donate it to the food share. The groceries are weighed, and to $10,000, while then donors Top Hydraulics match those donated $1 for funds in cash every pound. donations, which On top of that, assist Florence individual donors Food Share with throughout the operational costs. day donated a This year, two total of $2,878. groups donated All told, the event matching funds: brought in an anonymous $25,966. donor and Top “It’s amazing,” Hydraulics, Barton said. “I located in thank the public Florence. so much.” The anony- Cindy Wobbe founded the However, mous donor, who Pounding after Sept. 11, 2001. Barton wanted to has been donating to the Pounding for remind the community that the need the past three years, matched funds up for donations is a year-round issue. “This isn’t a one-time need,” she said. “It’s ongoing.” The Pounding began in 2001, just after the terrorist attacks that brought down the World Trade Center. “In the weeks and months after Sept. 11, everybody responded in a big way by sending their donations to the Red Cross and other agencies that were helping those immediately impacted by 9/11,” said Cindy Wobbe, co-creator of the fundraiser. Because the donations were being funneled to the larger national cri- sis, local charities like Florence Food Share saw a dip in contribu- tions. See POUNDING 6A Siuslaw School Board turns attention to building needs Elementary, middle schools need upgrades while high school may need to be replaced B Y M ARK B RENNAN Siuslaw News S iuslaw School Board met on Nov. 15 to address the future needs of the district. The passage of the district’s local option levy earlier in November was a positive step in securing the funding needed to maintain the district’s cur- rent level of student services, but does not address many of the facilities’ long-term needs. These needs are most notably tied to building size, structural integrity and technological options currently available. The district has three buildings that will require upgrades, all of which will be extensive and costly. Siuslaw Superintendent Andy Grzeskowiak said, “In short, the big consideration is the time students would spend trying to learn in a construction zone. An incremental remodeling of the high school would take at least five years and still leave some of the deficiencies of the physical layout. “We can’t change some of the geometry and layout of the current building, no matter what is done dur- ing a remodel. Building a new facili- ty would save on time and allow all of the site deficiencies to be properly addressed, without subjecting stu- dents to the noise, smells and other distractions of construction around them.” The next challenge for the board is to decide what level of upgrades to undertake to provide safe and modern learning facilities for the student pop- ulation. An integral component in deter- mining the most effective process begins with the assessment and rec- ommendations made by Curt Wilson, principal architect at Pivot Architecture of Eugene. Wilson leads a team of designers and architects who have been engaged in an overall analysis of the district’s current structures and future requirements. See DISTRICT 6A On Saturday, Nov. 18, emer- gency response agencies received a call about a capsized boat on Siltcoos Lake, seven miles south of Florence. Florence resident Gordon Bradford was pronounced deceased at the scene. According to the incident report, at approximately 9:30 a.m. on Saturday morning, crews from Siuslaw Valley Fire and Rescue (SVFR) and Western Lane Ambulance District, (WLAD) were dispatched to an overturned boat at the Siltcoos Lake boat ramp. According to witnesses, the fish- ing boat accidentally flipped over when approaching the dock. The boat was occupied by Bradford, his wife Eileen Lundquist Bradford and their dog. When the boat overturned the cou- ple and the dog were trapped underneath the boat. On their arrival, SVFR first responders found the overturned boat and immediately began using rescue equipment to lift the front of the boat. After a few minutes, paramedics and firefighters were able to access Lundquist Bradford and the dog. During the search, the responders were unable to locate Bradford. Lundquist Bradford and the dog were treated for hypothermia and transported to PeaceHealth Peace Harbor Medical Center in stable condition. The rescuers were not able to locate Bradford, and requested assistance from Lane County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) Dive Team. See DROWNING 7A I S COASTAL LIVING IN JEOPARDY ? P ART II: S TATE OF H OUSING City of Florence details current struggles, future plans for housing and services B Y C HANTELLE M EYER Siuslaw News T INSIDE he City of Florence’s mission is, “To meet community expecta- tions for municipal services, provide a vision for civic improvements, main- tain a quality environment and posi- tion Florence to have an economically viable and sustainable future.” “Livability and Quality Life” is sec- ond on Florence City Council’s 2017 goals, an overarching objective that includes housing and much of what makes coastal living worth it. “Our goal is to sustain and improve,” said Florence Planning Director Wendy FarleyCampbell. She said that the city has been aware of the recent housing crisis, and gave some background information on how the city got here. Rental rates are rising, there are few Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Community . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kid Scoop . . . . . . . . . . . . . Library Tidings . . . . . . . . . . . B8 A3 B6 A5 vacancies and even median home ing to go with the option they can Still, in some ways, that woman prices make it hard for people to rent attain than the one they may wait to was one of the lucky ones — she was or buy homes in the Florence area. As hear back from for months. able to find a place to live. such, people live “There’s defi- out of the city or nitely a housing stay in unsuitable “Based on an up-to-date, accurate accounting of Florence s h o r t a g e , n o conditions. incomes and the price of homes and rental rates, the average d o u b t , ” “I see a lot of FarleyCampbell wage earner in town cannot afford to purchase a home at the affirmed. “That’s people moving median home price offered today and there are not enough why people are here, I really do,” dwellings having the amenities and acceptable level of condi- willing to live in FarleyCampbell said. “Just finding a an uninhabitable tion in the price range that he or she can afford.” place, period, is — City of Florence Housing Needs Assessment, 2008 place. I have a probably the great- place just up the est challenge. street from me that Assuming you find something, will it “I talked to someone the other day I’ve been watching for years. It took meet your needs, from a rooms and whose daughter had just moved into a a tree falling on the thing to actually amenities perspective?” place. Everything was exactly as it get the residents moved out of there. She said more often it is a quality was when it was built in 1979. Same Social services showed up to get the perspective people have to face with oven, same everything — which isn’t kids. It was horrible, and they lived the rentals available in their income necessarily a bad thing, if the mainte- in it with the tree crashed on it. For bracket, especially as long waitlists for nance is kept up, which it hasn’t months. Finally, it’s gone now, but, certain units make people more will- been,” she said. people will live in what they need to Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A4 Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A2 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B Thanksgiving Greetings . . . . . C THIS WEEK ’ S TODAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY 61 54 56 45 58 48 56 48 WEATHER Full Forecast, A3 do. They’ll live in anything. They need a house. They need something to live in. It’s spongy floors and leaky walls, but at least it’s not in a tent.” But there are those who live in a tent, or their vehicle, sometimes liv- ing on a neighbor’s property in an effort to have some semblance of services, such as running water or privacy. FarleyCampbell said, “Nobody really wants to live in a tent. … But your neighbor might have someone living in tents in their back yard — a family member or a friend that’s just down on their luck. ‘Hey, you got a spare boat?’ Well, it’s got a cabin space and they’ve got a boat stored in their backyard. So someone is living in a cabin in a boat.” S IUSLAW N EWS 3 S ECTIONS ❘ 26 P AGES C OPYRIGHT 2017 See HOUSING 7A