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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 13, 2017)
THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM ❘ / SIUSLAWNEWS ❘ @ SIUSLAWNEWS WEDNESDAY EDITION Community Voices ❘ DECEMBER 13, 2017 ❘ $1.00 SHS BOWLERS ON A GOOD ROLL SPORTS — B INSIDE — B3 127TH YEAR ❘ ISSUE NO. 99 T HE I S SERVING WESTERN LANE COUNTY SINCE 1890 FLORENCE, OREGON ECONOMICS OF VOLUNTEERISM COASTAL LIVING IN JEOPARDY ? Volunteers discuss the ins, outs, pros and challenges of philanthropy in Siuslaw B Y J ARED A NDERSON Siuslaw News There are a number of things that catch a person’s eye when walking into the Florence Food Share garden. There are the 50 raised garden beds that dot the landscape, each at 4 by 20 feet. Those are dwarfed by the two 40-foot wide greenhouses next to them. There’s also the three huge rainwater tubs that store 12,500 gallons of water for irriga- tion. While the beds are bare for the winter, the spring and fall months bring a pletho- ra of vegetables from green beans, carrots, spinach, tomatoes and squashes. All told, the garden normally generates 10,000 pounds of food every year. This is what volunteerism can create. Philanthropy, in relation to the housing and employment crisis the region is cur- rently facing, is an important factor in alleviating many of those concerns. Volunteerism, as much as any employer or industry in the region, makes Siuslaw run. According to the Florence Area Community Coalition, 1,400 volunteers donated their time in 2016 for 20 organi- zations within the area, working a total of 109,000 hours in the community, equal to more than $1.5 million in donated hours. And that’s just for the 20 organizations they tracked. Between 2012 and 2015, 58 nonprofit organizations in Florence filed a tax return, according to ProPublica. That’s not including the scores of churches, clubs and other organizations that give up their time to the community, nor does it include those organizations outside Florence city limits. These numbers don’t include the mil- lions of dollars that are funneled through these organizations through grants, endowments and individual donations on a yearly basis. P ART V While the sheer volume of community involvement is overwhelming, there are problems when it comes to nonprofits. Organizations rarely communicate with each other. Finding new, diverse board members can be a challenge. Fundraising is always difficult, and at times, the work these organizations do and how they oper- ate can be misconstrued. For the past 11 years, Bart Mealer has been volunteering at the food share gar- den, an instrumental voice in building it from meager beginnings to the grand operation it is today. “Years ago, they told me I was the gar- den coordinator,” Mealer said. The title really isn’t important to him — he’s basi- cally just a guy that keeps showing up to grow stuff. Mealer has had a whole host of titles S TORY AND PHOTO B Y C HANTELLE M EYER Siuslaw News The new Public Works Facility pro- vides more efficient work space. INSIDE PUBLIC 8A Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . General News . . . . . . . . . . . Kid Scoop . . . . . . . . . . . . . Library Tidings . . . . . . . . . . . B8 A3 B6 A6 COAST 7A Those wishing to receive health coverage through the ACA must register by Dec. 15 City of Florence looks at long-range plan of current, former sites See See Healthcare.gov enrollment ends Friday Crews complete move-in to new Public Works Facility By Christmas, Florence Public Works will be entirely moved in to its new Public Works Operations Facility at 2675 Kingwood St. The 2.75-acre lot now houses a 5,942 square-foot office building and a 7,754 square-foot main- tenance building. “It’s been a long process,” said Florence Public Works Director Mike Miller. “The light at the end of the tunnel is showing up. It’s nice to be in a modern facility.” Public Works office staff and crew mem- bers all have workspace in the new office building, with room to spare. Amenities include a reception area, cus- tomer service counter, training room, confer- ence room, enclosed offices, open work- spaces, storage and even a fully equipped kitchen. Miller said that the facility was planned with the latest in energy efficient ratings in mind, from the appliances in the kitchen to the LED lighting throughout both buildings. “With all the LEDs, our solar panels should supply most of the power for this building,” he said. “There’s no battery or anything. It meets the demand, and whatever is excess will go back to Central Lincoln PUD.” Design elements include the use of pol- ished and sealed cement floors, high ceil- ings and exposed materials, including a white vapor barrier covered in sustainable in Florence. He’s the current vice presi- dent for Siuslaw Outreach Services (SOS), the current driver supervisor for the Friends of Florence Van Fansand former board member for Food Share. He volunteers at the Florence Area Chamber of Commerce from time to MARK BRENNAN/SIUSLAW NEWS Families in the Florence area received toys distributed by U.S. Marines, along with local firefighters and members of the U.S. Coast Guard Siuslaw Station. Toys for Tots comes to Florence for first time New partnership with Siuslaw Valley Fire and Rescue means there will be another opportunity for kids B Y M ARK B RENNAN Siuslaw News T he first annual Florence Toys for Tots holiday giveaway took place at Siuslaw Valley Fire and Rescue (SVFR) Station No. 1 on Tuesday, Dec. 12. The event was a joint effort of the Marine Corps and SVFR. The distribution took place from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. and gave toys to approximately 300 fam- ilies. SVFR Captain Pete Warren, who feels Florence is the perfect location to allow the Marine Corps to extend the reach of this nationwide program to the Oregon coast, coordinated the inaugural give- Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A4 Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A2 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B Community Voices . . . . . . . B3 THIS WEEK ’ S away in Florence. “The Firefighters Association got together and said yes, we think this would be a good thing to do. So this year we got other parties involved, like the Soroptimists, who have been doing a toy distribution for a long time in town, and we wanted to work together to make sure all the kids in our community that needed toys received them,” Warren said. “They are doing their thing on Saturday and we are going to be helping them, and they had some folks here today helping us, so it has worked out great.” The Marine Toys for Tots program collected and See TODAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY 55 36 56 40 52 40 54 41 WEATHER Full Forecast, A3 TOYS 10A Friday, Dec. 15, is the last day to get 2018 health insurance during open enroll- ment. Oregonians who do not get coverage through their job or another program should go to HealthCare.gov and choose a plan before time runs out. HealthCare.gov is the only place to get help paying for coverage. “People who need coverage and haven’t enrolled at HealthCare.gov could be leaving money on the table,” said Chiqui Flowers, administrator of the Oregon Health Insurance Marketplace. “They should go to HealthCare.gov by Friday and see if they qualify for financial assistance.” In 2017, more than 70 percent of Oregonians using HealthCare.gov qualified for financial assistance, and they received an average of $346 per month to help pay for coverage. This year, individuals making less than about $48,000 annually or families of four making less than about $98,000 annually may qualify. A recent analysis estimated that many Oregonians who were eligible to use HealthCare.gov and receive financial assis- tance did not enroll last year, including more than 78,000 men and more than 33,000 people ages 25 to 34. “Enrollment this year has been strong so far, but as the deadline approaches, it’s essential to take action if you need coverage or, if you’ve already signed up, remind your friends and family that it’s time to enroll and see if they can get help paying for cov- erage,” Flowers said. To shop for plans, visit HealthCare.gov or call 1-800-318-2596 (toll-free) (TTY: 1- 855-889-4325). After the Dec. 15 deadline, people will be able to get 2018 coverage only in special circumstances, like when they move or lose job-related coverage. The Department of Consumer and Business Services is Oregon’s largest business regu- latory and consumer protection agency. DCBS houses both the Oregon Health Insurance Marketplace and the Division of Financial Regulation, among other divi- sions. For more information, go to dcbs.ore gon.gov. S IUSLAW N EWS 2 S ECTIONS ❘ 22 P AGES C OPYRIGHT 2017
