8 A
SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2017
C AUTION : A S
TEMPERATURES DROP , CARBON MONOXIDE DANGERS RISE
Invisible and odorless, carbon
monoxide poses a dangerous threat to
American families, with approximate-
ly 400 people killed and 21,000 sent to
emergency rooms each year due to
unintentional poisonings.
Infants and young children, as well
as the elderly, are at the greatest risk.
PeaceHealth Trauma Services is
partnering with Safe Kids West
Oregon to educate the community
about the dangers of CO and encour-
age families to be safe and prepared.
“There’s a reason carbon monoxide
is called the ‘invisible killer,’ and we
want to make sure parents understand
the risks,” said Jim Cole, EMS and
injury prevention coordinator for
PeaceHealth Oregon. “With the winter
months approaching, now’s the perfect
Dunes City
from 1A
avionics and instrumentation,
among other duties.
Snow also has experience in
the nonprofit industry, recently
working as the part time direc-
tor’s assistant for Annandale
Christian Community for
Action in Virginia.
“I reinvented their staff file
system, by putting all the staff
information in electronic for-
matn to ensure information
needed for accreditation were
easily accessible to inspectors,”
Snow wrote in her resume.
Her work led to the accredi-
tation of the program.
Snow could not be reached
for comment on her appoint-
ment.
Earlier, the council had whit-
tled down a long list of appli-
cants to Snow and local busi-
nessman and Port of Siuslaw
Commissioners Terry Duman,
who Councilor Tom Mallen
had supported. However,
Mallen recanted his support for
Duman in Tuesday’s meeting.
“I was voting for Terry
Duman,”
Mallen
said.
“However, because of the state-
ment (of support) I made at the
last meeting, my phone started
ringing off the hook. I was told
some things I couldn’t believe
so I ran it to the ground,
researched, verified with public
records and, sad to say, I need
to pull my vote from Terry
Duman to Susan Snow. Terry
would be conflicted under cer-
tain conditions to discuss cer-
tain things for Dunes City.”
Mallen expressed his admi-
ration of Duman, reiterating
that he felt Duman was a good
businessman and knows the
local culture, but that being on
the council “would not be good
for Terry, and it definitely
would not be good for the city
because of possible backlash or
lawsuits.”
When asked for further com-
ment after the meeting, Mallen
stated that he would not go into
further detail, but that he con-
sidered Duman a good person.
In other news from the meet-
ing, the council decided to
postpone a vote on an agree-
ment to issue South Coast
Water District a permit to use
water from Woahink Lake. The
council was split on the deci-
sion, with councilors Mallen
and Duke Well voting “yes” to
allow the permit, while coun-
cilors Sheldon Meyer, Alan
Montgomery and Robert Orr
voting to postpone.
At issue is 85 homes in the
city that currently receive water
from Siltcoos Lake. The major-
ity of Dunes City residents
receive their water from
Woahink Lake.
“(Siltcoos) is a big mud pud-
dle,” said South Coast Water
District owner Randall Reitz of
Siltcoos.
Retiz, who owns the water
right to Siltcoos and has been in
charge of providing clean water
from the lake for the 85 homes,
requested a permit from the city
to use Woahink water instead.
“It’s my responsibility to
make sure they have the best
quality of water that we can
provide them. I’ve owned the
system since 2001. It’s always
been a struggle getting water
out of Siltcoos Lake. The last
couple of years have been
exceptionally tough with new
owners of the lake, liquid levels
and algal blooms.”
Reitz had secured funding
from state agencies to make the
change to Woahink Lake, with
the city permit being the last
step in the process before
beginning the changeover. He
was not asking for full water
rights to Woahink, as South
Coast Water District holds to
Siltcoos, instead asking for a
permit; Dunes City owns, and
would continue to own,
Woahink’s water rights.
However, the project was
controversial to some Dunes
City residents. In the public
comments before the project
was discussed by the council,
one resident stated, “Woahink
is not a bottomless bowl of
water. It’s very finite, and in
this instance we’re talking
about the wholesale removal of
large quantities of water from
this watershed, never to be
replaced.”
The citizen stated that prob-
lems with Siltcoos water have
been known for years, but that
taking additional water from
the lake was not a viable nor
long term solution to the prob-
lems.
“I ask the council to appoint
a committee to gather all the
pertinent facts. It’s critical and
life changing for everyone who
is relying on Woahink as a life-
source. I want the public to
have a chance to take part in
this decision,” the person said.
In response to public con-
cerns on the project, Reitz said,
“We’re just trying to provide
your neighbors, people who are
living in Siltcoos heights, the
same quality of water that oth-
ers get out of Woahink. It’s
going to be much easier to treat
Woahink water. We’re not try-
ing to steal anybody’s water.
We're not a big corporation try-
ing to come in and run a mill.
We’re just trying to provide
people with good drinking
water.”
Wells found no reason to
postpone the process any fur-
ther.
time to make sure your alarms are all
working so you can sleep peacefully at
night.”
These are some simple tips and
tools to help:
• Make sure there's a working CO
alarm on every level of your house and
near every bedroom. Test them every
month to make sure they're working
correctly, and replace them according
“It’s just Dunes City giving
all of its citizens the good water
that I get to drink,” he said. “I
don’t personally see where the
problem is. There’s people who
think that Woahink Lake water
just belongs to the people that
live around the lake. That’s not
the case. It belongs to all of the
citizens of Dunes City, and all
of the citizens of Dunes City
should have access to that
water.”
City Administrator Jamie
Mills pointed to the city permit
for Woahink lake.
“The permit allows for deliv-
ery of Dunes City water rights,
a city owned asset, to every-
body who lives in Dunes City,
regardless if they live on
Siltcoos Lake,” she said.
“Cities are excluded from dis-
criminating against its residents
by not delivering water, an
asset, and not allowing it be
used by all of its people. This
was contemplated in 1968 as
the Dunes City municipal water
source.”
Mills also pointed out that
the residents have been using
less Woahink water than the
city’s right allows.
“According to the engineer-
ing that was done, they antici-
pated a huge growth rate,”
Mills said. “They figured we
would have 2,000 residents,
and right now we're at 1,325.
Their initial engineering at the
time of the application clearly
showed that the resources at
Woahink were clearly capable.”
While all councilors seemed
supportive of issuing the permit
to South Coast Water District,
some members felt that more
had to be learned about the
process and its effects.
to the manufacturer's instructions.
• If you need to turn on your vehicle
to warm it up, make sure to take it out
of the garage right away. Even if the
door is open, don’t leave it sitting in
the garage while the engine’s running.
• Check the vents for the dryer, fur-
nace, stove and fireplace outside your
home to make sure they're clear of any
snow or other debris.
“I don’t want to prolong
this,” Orr said. “Personally I’m
feeling like I don’t quite know
enough yet.”
Meyer tried to find a com-
promise to the issue.
“Woahink Lake sends water
into Siltcoos Lake probably by
the hundreds of gallons a day,”
Meyer said. “Why can’t you
take it after it’s left Woahink
Lake? It’s Woahink water that
just wouldn’t need to be filtered
as much as the water in Siltcoos
Lake. You’d be taking Woahink
water before it became Siltcoos
water. It seems like that would
solve some of the problems.”
Meyer hoped to take water
from the stream connecting
Woahink to Siltcoos, therefore
bypassing the need to take
water directly from Woahink.
Reitz countered the solution,
saying, “I’ve talked with the
Water Resources Department
about that outfall. That’s a
water right that I don’t believe
is available to anyone.”
Because of that, water can be
taken directly from either lake,
but not from the stream con-
necting the two.
In the end, the majority of
councilors felt that there were
still unanswered questions and
voted to postpone the vote.
“I’m not in favor of denying
people water, because that’s
absolutely essential to life,”
Meyer said. “I think I have
some questions still that I need
to mull over. Often times a
decision made in haste is incor-
rect. I’m not saying no to this,
I’m just saying I would like to
take some more time and have
some more discussions.
Finally, the purchasing of a
POW/MIA flag for Dunes City
• If the CO alarm sounds, leave the
house immediately.
Call 911 after you are in a location
with fresh air. Remain outside or by an
open window until emergency person-
nel arrive.
For more information visit www.
carbonmonoxideinfo.com.
Hall was discussed. Oregon
recently passed HB 2880,
which requires cities to display
the POW/MIA flag in front of
certain public buildings.
The cost of the flag was
$100.
The council approved the
purchase, with city council
members donating cash money
to the flag, along with Dunes
City resident Wes Caudle.
Countdown to Armageddon??
Th ere have been many people and even well known preachers that
have predicted the date for the end of the world. Many sincere
believers are troubled and even frightened, wondering if the end
is really near. Others are confused, not knowing what to believe.
Are the current events taking place in the world an indication for
the end times? Can we truly know when Jesus is coming back?
What are we really to believe? Let the Bible answer as we invite
you to come as we study this and other related topics such as:
-Premillenialism: True or False?
-Th e Rapture
-Th e Great Tribulation
-Are You Afraid of the Antichrist?
-What is the Th ousand Year Reign?
Th is 13 week class will be held at the
Florence church of Christ,
1833 Tamarack Street,
beginning Th ursday, December 7 at 6:30 PM.
You can contact us at 541-997-3133,
or go online to churchofchristfl orence.org
for more information.
Festival of Trees
"Walking Through a Winter Wonderland"
Saturday, 10am-4pm - FREE ADMISSION
Shop for grab-and-go trees & wreaths!
Come see Santa!
Sunday, 5pm - Dinner and Auction
Tickets available in advance
at the museum gift shop.
Over 100 festively decorated trees,
wreaths and stockings waiting for you!
TICKETS FOR DINNER & AUCTION ARE AVAILABLE
FOR PURCHASE AT THESE LOCATIONS:
Military Museum Gift Shop ~ Beach House Gifts ~ Cindy Wobbe Estates