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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 6, 2017)
THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM ❘ / SIUSLAWNEWS ❘ @ SIUSLAWNEWS WEDNESDAY EDITION ❘ DECEMBER 6, 2017 ❘ $1.00 VIKINGS LAND FALCONS SPORTS — B 127TH YEAR ❘ ISSUE NO. 97 22 ND SERVING WESTERN LANE COUNTY SINCE 1890 E MPTY B OWLS ANNUAL 2017 fundraiser a success FLORENCE, OREGON Siuslaw School District hopes to fill gaps with Wish List B Y R OLLIN O LSON Special to Siuslaw News When people don’t get what they need, they sometimes wish for it. When they need more, they might make a list. That is what local schoolteachers are doing. The Siuslaw School District Wish List began about three years ago when the district could not afford certain materials teachers needed to give their students a fair chance — both in class and in the working world. “Either there aren’t funds available,” says Siuslaw Elementary Principal Mike Harklerode, or some requested materials would affect “so few students that it’s not the most efficient use of our funds. The Wish List helps us to satisfy specific needs for staff and kids.” The current Wish List ranges from white boards to “AA” batteries for computer keyboards to video production equipment to fifth-grade teachers wish- ing for skilled workers to install classroom projec- tors in ceilings. Such requests were cut from the district’s budget to enable it to retain a full teaching staff. “We chose to cut our materials and supplies across the district in order to balance the budget, preserving all staffing,” says Business Manager Kari Blake. She emphasizes that while “funding is up in total for Oregon schools, the per-pupil amount has not been increased. There are more students entering schools in Oregon, which leaves fewer dollars to spread around.” S TORIES AND PHOTOS BY B Y M ARK B RENNAN Siuslaw News Volunteers contribute time, pottery and crafts to the annual Empty Bowls fundraiser held by Florence Food Share. Money raised will allow the organization to maintain operations. lorence Food Share held its 22nd annual Empty Bowl fundraiser last weekend at the Florence Events Center. More than 30 artisans contributed work to the silent auction and bowl sale. Food Share Executive Director Norma Barton said the fundraiser was quite successful and the group will use the money raised for the ongoing expenses associated with running the organization. “The money raised will go toward F operating expenses,” Barton said. She listed gas and insurance for the food share truck; insurance for the building and employees; office supplies; maintenance of refrigera- tors and freezers; staff payroll; jani- torial costs; and garden maintenance and supplies for food share’s 15,000-square-foot garden. In addition, she said operation costs include stamps and envelopes needed to send thank you cards and See FUNDRAISER 11A City annexes Harbor Vista Park, acquires Oceanwoods T IME I S INSIDE See PARTNERSHIP 11A Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kid Scoop . . . . . . . . . . . . . Library Tidings . . . . . . . . . . . Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B6 B5 A5 A4 WISH 10A TO STEP UP COASTAL LIVING IN JEOPARDY ? P ART IV ‘People need jobs; jobs need people. And people need a place to live’ Controversial property accepted as part of Lane County payment At the Dec. 4 meeting of the Florence City Council, city councilors voted 4 to 1 to join an inter- governmental agreement (IGA) with Lane County for the annexation of B Y C HANTELLE M EYER Harbor Vista Siuslaw News Campground, with pay- ment terms that include the purchase of the Oceanwoods Parcel. Florence City Manager Erin Reynolds introduced the item. “What brought us all here for this decision point is an IGA for the development and annexation of the Lane County Harbor Vista Park,” she said. Harbor Vista Park, located at 87658 Harbor Vista Road off Rhododendron Drive, consists of approxi- mately 12.06 acres of campground and day-use area. In a September public meeting held at Siuslaw Public Library, Lane County Parks and Animal Services Manager Mike Russell said Lane County received a grant from Oregon State Parks to bring city sewer services to the Harbor Vista Campground. The county’s goal was for the City of Florence to annex the site so the campground can get access to city services, mainly the sewage system. Florence will hook up 27 of the campground’s 44 sites, as well as a dump station, the caretaker house and the bathrooms and showers. In addition to providing sanitary sewer service to the campground, the gravity collection system will be designed to allow future expansion to serve addi- tional residential areas to the east, within the city’s urban growth boundary. See B Y C HANTELLE M EYER Siuslaw News I n recent years, the City of Florence has taken on the motto of “A City in Motion.” One area that has seen renewed interest is economic develop- ment, and with that, housing. “You cannot talk about one without the other,” said Florence City Manager Erin Reynolds. “People need jobs; jobs need people. And people need a place to live. It’s always been founda- tional in economic development materials and in the academia world.” She said traditional models for predicting population changes are not working for the new norm of American culture. “Your traditional economic development theory has always been the mindset that people fol- low jobs — so jobs come first, then comes housing. It has played out that way for years. … That mindset and professional stance are changing, as our cul- ture and lifestyles are changing,” Reynolds said. Now, people are choosing quality of life as a main factor Pet Pageant . . . . . . . . . . . . A8 Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A2 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B Weather Data . . . . . . . . . . . A2 THIS WEEK ’ S for where they want to live. “They are looking for whatev- er they want: clean air, clean water, recreation, trails, rivers, oceans, mountains — you name it. They go there, and then they find their job,” she said. Or people bring their jobs, especially those who work remotely or online. “Where they want to live is so important that they’re just going to make it work once they get there,” Reynolds said. “That’s happening across all economic strata. That’s a very different way of living than before.” Under the older model, devel- opers built affordable housing in communities that were experi- encing a boom in their popula- tion. They avoided areas that didn’t reflect healthy and sus- tained growth. Florence is finally recovering from the economic recession 10 years ago, but the developers aren’t coming yet. “One way I look at is, the easy individual and market answer has not been happening for quite some time,” Reynolds said. “If that’s not meeting the true need or demand of the community, we have to look at the next steps. That might be doing some- thing different than what has been done before.” According to Florence Mayor Joe Henry, Florence is “coming out of hibernation.” During a November city coun- cil meeting, he said, “Take a look back and see how much exactly was going on three years ago. We’re playing catch up in many areas, and I’m just extremely proud of our city government and what we are doing to provide services to our community, much of it above and beyond the call of our responsibility provided for in our charter. I am thankful for our team as a council, for our staff and for the ‘City in Motion’ because we have many, many things going on.” Last week, Lane County Commissioner Jay Bozievich held a “telephone town hall” with constituents. During the call, which included up to 1,000 county residents, housing was a big topic. “It has risen to every govern- TODAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY 57 38 58 40 57 39 56 40 WEATHER Full Forecast, A3 ment level. Everybody is talking about it,” Bozievich said. “Housing and economic devel- opment are intertwined. There has been difficulty in the eco- nomic development side since it’s hard to generate new busi- ness or revitalize established businesses when the county lacks workforce housing.” And it isn’t just a local prob- lem, but one dealt with in many areas of the state. According to the governor’s office, “Gov. Kate Brown heard time and again, from companies and communities alike, that the lack of workforce housing pres- ents a clear threat to continued growth and prosperity. … State agencies are looking at their cur- rent programs and tools to find opportunities to partner with communities, the business sector and private housing developers to address the workforce housing shortage in Oregon.” S IUSLAW N EWS 2 S ECTIONS ❘ 20 P AGES C OPYRIGHT 2017 See HOUSING 7A
