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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 10, 2018)
THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM ❘ / SIUSLAWNEWS ❘ @ SIUSLAWNEWS PROGRAM WEDNESDAY EDITION ❘ JANUARY 10, 2018 ❘ $1.00 REDUCED HOURS AT HONEYMAN INSIDE! Sea Lion Caves presents Winter Music Festival - Florence, Oregon SPORTS — B 16th A nnual January 12, 13, 14, 2018 12 Groups - 3 Days of Music, Food & Fun! 128TH YEAR ❘ ISSUE NO. 3 SERVING WESTERN LANE COUNTY SINCE 1890 Weekend’s Winter Music Festival set to ‘exceed expectations’ Local woman struck, killed near Glenada Road Al Stewart, Laurie Lewis headline event with eye towards music diversity B Y N ED H ICKSON Siuslaw News Traffic was stopped in both directions across the Siuslaw River Bridge Monday evening as emer- gency crews responded to the scene of a tragic motor vehicle accident that claimed the life of a young Florence woman. At about 5:15 p.m., 28- year-old Heather Marie Sanford was reportedly walking in the southbound lane of Highway 101, just south of the bridge at mile- post 191, when she was struck by a 2017 GMC Sierra truck driven by Arthur Brown, 70, of Florence. Moments later, Tony Foglio was heading north just past Glenada Road when he looked to the left and saw Brown’s truck quickly pull off to the side of the road. “There were papers flying down everywhere from the air, so I thought someone had lost a load of trash or something,” said Foglio, who then noticed a figure laying in the road and wear- ing a backpack, not far from his driver’s side door. “I realized the papers had prob- ably come from the back- pack.” T MARK BRENNAN/SIUSLAW NEWS Seeing that another car had pulled up and that some- one was presumably calling 9-1-1, Foglio positioned his truck to protect Sanford by blocking traffic. “I felt for a pulse and did- n’t find one,” he said. Florence Police, along with members of Siuslaw Valley Fire and Rescue and Western Lane Ambulance District, arrived shortly afterward, and were joined by Oregon State Police (OSP) Troopers from the Springfield Area Command and Florence Worksite. “Our preliminary investi- Richard Whitmore served in numerous capacities for more than three decades Siuslaw News INSIDE Yesterday, Siuslaw High School (SHS) unveiled a per- manent tribute intended to honor a past principal who pos- itively affected generations of graduates. The district dedicated the SHS “mall and commons area” to Richard Whitmore, a SHS biology instructor, school administrator and vice princi- pal who ultimately served as principal for 19 years. Overall, he was a member of the Siuslaw staff for more than 30 years, serving in the district from 1961 to 1992. He was the type of person who cared about his students in a way that carried on after graduation. His legacy was always one of unconditional support for students of the dis- trict, according to Siuslaw School Superintendent Andy Grzeskowiak. “Mr. Whitmore was a long- time educator here in the Siuslaw School District. He served as both a teacher and an administrator. After his retire- ment, as a measure of the respect he held amongst both Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Community . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kid Scoop . . . . . . . . . . . . . Library Tidings . . . . . . . . . . . B4 A3 B3 A5 he 2018 Florence Winter Music Festival (WMF) begins this weekend at the Florence Events Center, 715 Quince St., and the musicians participating B Y M ARK B RENNAN in this year’s concert Siuslaw News series represent a broader range of styles and gen- res than in previous seasons. The appearance of Saturday’s high profile headliner Al Stewart, a staple of FM radio in the late 1970s, is the most noteworthy attempt by the Friends of the Florence Events Center to broaden the appeal of the festival, now in it’s 16th season. Festival coordinator Howard Cusack said the change was needed, if the WMF was to contin- ue. “From a financial perspective, the previous folk music model was not generating the ticket sales needed to sustain the event. We needed more diversity to attract a wider audience. Clearly, this has worked, because we are exceed- ing our own expectations. As of this week, we will have sold over 1,000 tickets to this year’s event,” Cusack said. Another internationally recognized star that should draw a large crowd is Friday’s headliner, Laurie Lewis. Lewis is one of the most respected and prolif- ic bluegrass performers and educators in the country. She is a Grammy winner and has twice been named “Female Vocalist of the Year” by the International Bluegrass Music Association. Lewis is backed by a band of musical all- stars, beginning with her sidekick of more than 30 years, mandolin master Tom Rozum. The two longtime friends collaborated on the Grammy nominated CD, “The Oak and the Laurel.” Paramedics and first responders stop traffic on the Siuslaw River Bridge Jan. 8 after a truck fatally struck local resident Heather Marie Stanford. Past high school principal honored with dedication B Y M ARK B RENNAN FLORENCE, OREGON students and staff, the end of the year the awards for out- standing senior students were renamed in his honor,” Grzeskowiak said. One of Whitmore’s former students, Gina Castro-Brandt, is currently an instructor at SHS. She has been involved in the process of obtaining the permission and the funding to complete the dedication proj- ect. “This has been a Booster Club project that we have been working on for quite a while,” she said. District policy made it diffi- cult to rename part of the facil- ity, and then it took time to pur- chase plaques. “I was vice president of the Booster Club at the inception of the project, and we received overwhelming community and alumni support through social media and written letters for the presentation,” Castro- Brandt said. Whitmore’s wife, Barbara, was on hand for the unveiling of the plaque honoring her late husband. Whitmore passed away in 2012 at age 76. See PRINCIPAL 7A Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A4 Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A2 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B Weather Data . . . . . . . . . . . A2 gation has determined that Sanford was walking in the travel portion of the south- bound lane of Highway 101 when she was struck,” said Sgt. Erik Fisher of the OSP’s Springfield command office, who oversaw the investiga- tion. “Sanford suffered fatal injuries and was declared deceased at the scene by medical personnel.” Sanford was wearing dark clothing at the time and had been reported by other passing motorists as a hazard immedi- ately prior to the accident. See FATALITY 7A T HE V OLATILE N ATURE I S “I’m lucky to have wonderful musicians to share the stage with. People can expect to hear stellar fiddling from Kentucky native Brandon Godman, beautiful singing and mandolin from Tom Rozum, sparkling banjo and harmony vocals from Patrick Sauber, and irrepressible, groovy bass playing from Sam Grisman,” Lewis said. “The songs will draw from my deep cata- log of originals and also from the repertoires of many of the bluegrass greats.” The latest CD by Lewis and her band is the 2016 release, “The Hazel and Alice Sessions,” which was nominated for a Grammy award for Best Bluegrass Album. Jeff Scroggins and the band Colorado will precede Lewis on stage Friday evening, playing at 7 p.m. Scroggins is a masterful banjo player who brings amazing technical prowess to his rendi- tions of classic and original bluegrass and Cajun blues. Winter Music Festival’s Saturday shows begin at 10:30 a.m. and continue through out the day, with six performances before the highly anticipated set by Al Stewart at 8:30 p.m. On Monday, FEC Director Kevin Rhodes said Stewart’s concert is “five tickets short of a sell out.” Stewart is comfortable with his place in rock and roll history. While the crowd may come to hear the hits they grew up with, there are other See OF FESTIVAL 7A E DUCATION COASTAL LIVING IN JEOPARDY ? P ART VIII Local education systems struggle with the ups and downs of funding while trying to build the future B Y J ARED A NDERSON & D AMIEN S HERWOOD Siuslaw News Jesse Motichka fiddles with his iPad during his fifth-grade math class. His eyes are transfixed on the screen and his headphones drown out the world around him. In most cases, this would earn him an earful from his teacher and a time-out, but in Mapleton Elementary School, kids are encouraged to play with their technol- ogy. Jesse is playing a game — on his teacher’s orders. As he fidgets with dials that scroll through numbers, a digital win- dow correspondingly shoots through space, whizzing by celestial bodies until he narrows in on his target number. A correct matching of numeric place values deposits more coins into his online profile. His classmates at either side are engrossed in their own math-based games, each work- ing busily to earn more points. Activities like this have become part of the curriculum in Mapleton’s elementary math classes, instituting a unique digital approach to learning. “The kids just soak it up and they’re not afraid to jump in and start pushing but- tons,” said Sarah Timpe, who teaches third- and fourth-grade. “It’s more like a video game, so it’s more engaging to them. But instead of typical video games, they’re figuring out answers.” A Smart Board at the front of each class THIS WEEK ’ S invites students to write, erase and drag objects on a digital screen for a more inter- active experience. For reading classes, children can find sound patterns and drag words into matching columns. It’s a tech- nology the students are enthusiastic to engage with and one the teachers are find- ing helpful. “The Smart Board was a little tricky, but I figured it out,” said fifth- and sixth-grade teacher Clara Smith. “I can pull up a PowerPoint with our lesson on it and I can write on it. … We have a document cam- era, too, which is part of the new-age over- head.” Mapleton Elementary School’s advance- ments are preparing a generation for an age that increasingly relies on new technology for commerce, work and education. As these tech-savvy children grow up, it remains to be seen if their skills will remain in the community or entice them to find work elsewhere. Mapleton School District Superintendent Jodi O’Mara believes future workers may have more opportuni- ties to work with technology. “When they graduate, a lot of the jobs out there are going to be technology-based or even home-based,” she said. “I think it could potentially keep more graduates in the community.” While the degree to which technology will play a role in each child’s life depends on the paths they choose, Mapleton teach- TODAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY 52 48 53 44 55 40 57 42 WEATHER Full Forecast, A3 ing staff agree technology encourages problem-solving skills in a way unique to their generation. “I think it’s good because they’re seeing a different kind of technology than they would use at home,” said Smith. Timpe said, “I can say from personal experience I’m somewhat challenged with learning new technology. Having access to it now is an advantage because technology is always changing.” Jesse and fellow fifth-grader Alex Burnett both plan to follow family foot- steps. “I wanna do what my dad does,” said Alex. “He does logging.” “I’ll probably do the same thing,” said Jesse. Neither boy thinks all this new technol- ogy will influence their jobs as adults. S IUSLAW N EWS 2 S ECTIONS ❘ 18 P AGES C OPYRIGHT 2018 See EDUCATION 9A
