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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 6, 2018)
THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM ❘ / SIUSLAWNEWS ❘ @ SIUSLAWNEWS SATURDAY EDITION New seasonal feature Sailors ground eagles SPORTS — B 128TH YEAR ❘ ISSUE NO. 9 ❘ JANUARY 6, 2018 ❘ $1.00 INSIDE SERVING WESTERN LANE COUNTY SINCE 1890 W ESTERN O REGON T RIBAL F AIRNESS A CT Legislation would transfer control of 32,000 acres of federal land to tribes B Y M ARK B RENNAN Siuslaw News In a rare example of bipartisan law making, House Resolution (HR) 1306, The Western Oregon Tribal Fairness Act, will convey more than 32,000 acres of land, currently under federal control, to three tribal enti- ties in western and southern Oregon. The bill was passed by the House of Representatives in the summer of 2017 and the Senate approved the bill by voice vote for delivery to the President on Dec. 27, 2017. HR 1306 provides for conveyance of land to three of Oregon’s nine FLORENCE, OREGON SET TO BECOME Coquille Indian Tribes’ forestlands in the same way as other tribal forestlands. President Donald Trump has 10 legislative days from the time the bill is presented for his signature, to veto the legislation or to sign it into ly because of the strong support the bill has received in both houses of legislative branch. If there is no veto of the bill, it federally recognized tribes. will take effect on Tuesday, Jan. 8. The Western Oregon Tribal HR 1306 was introduced in Fairness Act would place 17,519 March by District 4 Rep. Peter acres of federal Defazio and the land, currently man- legislation is aged by the Bureau “We are excited to once again be in control of a small cosponsored by of Land Manage- piece of our homeland.” District 2 Rep. ment, (BLM) into Greg Walden. — Brenda Meade, Coquille Indian Tribal Chairwoman trust for the Cow Senators Ron Creek Band of Wyden and Jeff Umpqua Tribe of Indians and 14,742 law. Merkley were sponsors of the bill in acres of federal land into trust for the If no action is taken by the presi- the Senate. Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower dent during this time period, the bill Coquille Tribal Chairwoman Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians. automatically becomes law. Brenda Meade is pleased with the It would also amend the Coquille The president is not expected to change in the law and the shift in the Restoration Act to require the veto the legislation, according to position of the federal government. Interior Department to manage the multiple sources on the hill, primari- “We are tremendously relieved Siuslaw Bridge upgrade is ahead of schedule US LAW and grateful to have the Senate address the disparity that has bur- dened our forest for so long. We have managed these forests since time began,” Meade said. “We are excited to once again be in control of a small piece of our homeland.” The intent of the legislation has several components. One element is the restoration of ancestral lands to indigenous people that were victim- ized by government officials and civilians intent on cashing in on the gold fever of the 1850s. Additionally, the bills’ sponsors said they see the need to expand the control native peoples have over the resources they own, such as timber and minerals. See FAIRNESS 6A ‘You have already won’ ODOT expects all phases of bridge protection project to be finished in fall of 2018 Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) released the 2017 Bridge Condition Report this week. ODOT currently manages B Y M ARK B RENNAN 2,742 bridges. The report stated Siuslaw News that 13.7 percent of Oregon bridges are in good condition, 84.2 percent are in fair condition and 2.1 percent are in poor condition. The information provided in this year’s report also includes updates on upgrades being conducted across the state. This includes information on the progress of the improvements underway at the Siuslaw River Bridge in Florence. According to ODOT Region 2 Public Information Officer Angela Beers Seydel, the overall status of the Siuslaw Bridge Protection Project is good. “The northern half of the bridge is complete and the crews are currently working on the southern half of the bridge. The rail replacement is about three quarters done and crews are currently working on the arches and the northeast section of the bridge,” Beers Seydel said. The Siuslaw River Bridge project does present some unique challenges, as it is an historical land- mark which also serves as an entrance to a function- ing port and marina, as well as serving as part of Highway 101. ODOT also seeks to protect the bridge from the corrosive effects of sea air and river tidal movement. The name for this aspect of the upgrade is cathodic protection. The muti-phase process is partly complet- ed at this point. ODOT State Bridge Engineer Bruce Johnson believes cathodic protection is essential to maintain- ing the Siuslaw River Bridge for the foreseeable future, and, coupled with the other improvements being undertaken, will significantly lengthen the usable life of the structure. “We are very happy with the work on the Siuslaw Bridge Protection project. All of our projects don’t go as well as this one,” Johnson said. “Our contractor is organized and the major areas of repair work are all progressing quite well. We have fabricated a new rail that resembles the classic design of the previous rail. We are also applying a cathodic protection layer of zinc, which will corrode before the steel of the bridge, helping to protect the structure from the harsh coastal environment.” Unfortunately, the danger of a catastrophic natural event will still pose an ongoing threat to the residents of Florence. This is mainly because the seismic improvements that are being installed will not totally protect the bridge from a major earthquake. INSIDE See Business Quarterly . . . . . . . . . C Chamber Business Beat . . . . C4 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B6 Community . . . . . . . . . . . . . A3 ‘Small Business Revolution – Main Street’ comes to Florence to find big support PHOTOS BY JARED ANDERSON AND CHANTELLE MEYER/SIUSLAW NEWS Deluxe Corporation and Small Business Revolution leader Amanda Brinkman addresses a crowd of more than 500 at the Florence Events Center at a reception featuring 10 restaurants, small business owners, singers and community members. B Y J ARED A NDERSON Siuslaw News T Above, ten restaurants provide samples of their cuisine at the reception. Below, Brinkman visits with community members during site visits and meetings on Thursday. BRIDGE 6A Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A4 Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A2 Sideshow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B4 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B THIS WEEK ’ S he Florence Events Center (FEC) was packed on Wednesday night as pro- ducers and hosts from the Hulu television show “Small Business Revolution – Main Street” came to Florence. The event was spearheaded by the Downtown Revitalization Team (DRT), a committee of the Florence Area Chamber of Commerce, and was led by DRT Chairwoman Ellen Huntingdon. The reception itself was hosted by the City of Florence. Small business owners and community members flooded the main floor of the FEC as they dined on refreshments provided by 10 area restaurants. “I really hate it when you schedule an event and nobody shows up,” Mayor Joe Henry joked as he spoke to the crowd. “There are at least 500 people here. It’s really amazing on short notice what’s been put together here, and that everybody turned out like this. It shows what small TODAY SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY 50 40 51 44 52 45 51 43 WEATHER Full Forecast, A3 town America is all about, and what being the ‘premiere coastal city’ in Oregon is all about.” Chamber Executive Direction Bettina Hannigan said, “The Small Business Revolution team was blown away by the turnout. They said that they had never had a turnout like that ever, in the last two years. Our community just blew their socks off.” The keynote speaker of the evening was Amanda Brinkman, cohost of the show. “This is the first stop on our 10- city tour, and you guys have set the bar,” Brinkman said to a round of applause. “There were thou- sands of nominations for season three (of the show). Of those thou- sands of nominations, you made it into the top 20, which is a big deal in of itself. Now you’re in the top 10. These are the 10 towns we get to visit and get to know better. “We want to meet the small businesses and the community residents and find out what your needs are, your challenges, your successes, and what makes this place special.” S IUSLAW N EWS 3 S ECTIONS ❘ 20 P AGES C OPYRIGHT 2018 See REVOLUTION 7A
