8 A
SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 17, 2018
Region
from 7A
the Vision’s six focus areas:
Working People, Happy People,
Educated People, Connected
People, Creative People and
Active People.
People from all over the
region have signed up for proj-
ects, including creating a
Siuslaw region parks and recre-
ation district, supporting local
workforce development, estab-
lishing safe and affordable hous-
ing options and promoting pub-
lic art. Every member becomes
a Vision Keeper and is encour-
aged to follow their own pas-
sions within the Vision.
“What I love about the Vision
is that it gives you that nudge,
that little bit of organizational
support, that little bit of, ‘Hey,
yeah, we think you can do this,’
that makes it actually possible
for people to tackle huge, crazy
things,” Spencer said. “I think
that a big piece of what the
Vision does is giving people
permission to go out and get
stuff done.”
The Vision Keepers have
“way more goals” for 2018,
according to Lacer, and the
community will see results in
childcare, the parks district,
partnership with the city and
even a new community farmer’s
market.
Spencer said, “I’ve come to
think of us as a catalyst. All we
are is the tiny bit of yeast at the
very beginning that sort of starts
that process. I think the things
that are happening are happen-
ing because there’s so much
other than the Vision involved.
It’s passion, community spirit
and a little bit of money from
donors. All of that adds up.”
And the Vision fulfills its goals.
The “Working People” category
looks at bringing living-wage jobs
to the region. The Vision hopes to
contract three paid positions for
three years, thanks to a $280,000
grant from The Ford Family
Foundation.
“The people we hire are going
to really step in and make that
framework more solid,” Spencer
said. “I think bringing in grant
funds to the area to support these
contractors hopefully does a cou-
ple things: helping our Vision
move forward, and helping us hit
more of those marks.”
In addition to working on the
Siuslaw Vision, both Spencer and
Lacer are involved with the
Siuslaw Public Library District
— Spencer as the library director
and Lacer as the president for the
board of directors. The library
serves as the fiscal sponsor for
the Vision.
While the Siuslaw Vision is
only in its third year, the Siuslaw
Public Library has served the
region for 103 years.
Lacer said, “One of the reasons
we picked the region that we did
for the Vision was one, it matched
the library district boundaries and
two, it matched the Mapleton and
Siuslaw school district bound-
aries. I don’t think that’s coinci-
dence. I think it’s bringing togeth-
er everybody, of all ages, from the
whole area.”
According to Spencer, the two
branches of the library serve an
average of 500 people each day.
“We bring together that many
people — it’s like three percent of
our region’s population every sin-
gle day. They’re getting together,
mixing it all up and hopefully tak-
ing stuff out the door, hearing a
program or whatever. It is a place
where people of all ages, all back-
grounds, all political persuasions
literally walk through the door
every day,” she said. “To me, that
is the thing that helps create com-
munity conversation and creates a
‘town square.’”
According to Siuslaw Public
Library statistics, 95 percent of
library patrons still visit the
library to check out physical
books, but the library provides
multiple other resources, includ-
ing free internet, newspapers and
magazines, genealogical research
material, language learning les-
sons, Spanish language books, a
play area and reading time for
young kids and activities for older
kids, as well as space for meet-
ings, movie nights, craft times, tax
prep and music jam sessions.
“What I want to do is just
increase what people can walk
through the door for,” Spencer
said. “That is an exciting chal-
lenge for sure.”
One goal of the Vision is to cre-
ate more community centers,
whether that is through a future
parks district or a dedicated build-
ing. In the meantime, the Siuslaw
Public Library continues to take
steps into that role.
“In the modern world, books
and collection items are so funda-
mental, but creating community
dialogue is also fundamental to
what a library is meant to be and
do,” Spencer said. “It makes per-
fect sense that we’re serving as
the fiscal sponsor of the Vision.
What has come out of the Vision
has really fed into the library, and
hopefully vice versa.”
Lacer said that community cen-
ters are things that multiple
groups have expressed interest in,
from the library to the schools,
and from Lane Community
College to area service groups.
“Community centers are one of
those things that address all six
elements of the Vision,” she said.
In 2017, Siuslaw Public
Library was named a Catalytic
Community
Building
Organization by The Ford Family
Foundation. Twenty agencies
across the state were recognized,
including several cities, a cham-
ber of commerce, the Oregon
Shakespeare Festival and social
services — but only one library.
Lacer said, “It was kind of a
different cohort for a public
library to get involved with, but I
think it speaks to the strength of
our library, its uniqueness and the
role that it plays.”
Spencer agreed.
“I think that has so much to do
with the staff, and so much to do
with our patrons. I have worked
with some fantastic libraries, but
I’ve never worked for one that is
supported the way this one is,”
she said.
That support will continue as
Spencer and the library follow
through on goals set in a recent
strategic plan. One of those goals
is the formation of a library foun-
dation.
According to Spencer, “The
plan is to get that started by this
summer, with the idea of doing
some fundraising around the
exciting things that people want to
see. If we were to have a space
that was a community center, we
could triple our meeting space,
and have it booked all the time.
I’d love to have enough space to
bring in really big exhibits, and I
think the foundation will help
make more of those things possi-
ble.”
And the library does not just
focus on Florence. Just as the
Vision looks at the entire region
— Glenada, Dunes City,
Florence, Deadwood, Mapleton
and Swisshome — the Siuslaw
Public Library has a thriving pres-
ence in Mapleton to serve the
Upriver community.
“We are seeing crazy growth
out there,” Spencer said. “That
has a lot to do with staff who are
really working to bring the school
to the library, book groups, high
school interns — and we’re going
to start showing movies there. A
lot of that is our staff members …
but it’s just everything, and that’s
awesome.”
She added, “Nowhere else
Upriver do you have free internet
access, or a place where you can
come five days a week and see
your neighbors. It’s pretty cool.”
Spencer and Lacer are joined
by area artist and business owner
Jo Beaudreau as the Vision’s sec-
ond co-chair. Together, the
women bring excitement and
energy for the new year.
“I think the fact that we share
the river and share the library
helps tie us all together,” Spencer
said.
Lacer agreed, saying, “It’s a
pretty cool time to live in the
Siuslaw region.”
Tied Together
The City of Florence has spent
much of the last three years look-
ing at ways to increase economic
stability in western Lane County.
One of those efforts was through
the Housing and Economic
Opportunities Project (HEOP), a
group looking into necessary
changes to Florence City Code to
allow for accessory dwelling units
and infill of residential zones, as
well as looking at key areas to
market to outside development.
Jesse Dolin is the city’s eco-
nomic development catalyst. He
works with area businesses,
encourages startups and attends
many meetings a month with
Florence’s partners in economic
development.
“Part of my learning is just
making sense of all the organiza-
tions, understanding what they do
and how we can best work togeth-
er,” Dolin said. “We need to all
come together and understand
what everyone is doing so we’re
not replicating our efforts and so
we’re sharing the best practices
that are out there.”
Dolin serves on several boards
across the region, but, more
importantly to him, he makes con-
nections with people.
“It’s really all about relation-
ships and connecting with all our
regional partners and beyond,” he
said, describing the various
groups as puzzle pieces that work
together within Lane County, the
South
Coast
Development
District, the Coastal Caucus and
the State of Oregon. “In general,
there is a great synergy among our
partners, with the tribes and with
the port. There’s a renewed spirit,
like a renaissance of Florence.
We’re really optimistic for 2018
to bring more opportunities.”
New economic opportunities
are coming because of the amount
of work put in by city and county
staff, but also from a community
hungry to invite the world to
“Come See What We See” — one
of the taglines for Florence Area
Chamber of Commerce.
Area residents know the joys of
living on the Oregon coast, with
its temperate climate, positive
quality of life, numerous recre-
ation activities and friendly, giv-
ing people. As certain demo-
graphics struggle with finding
housing or jobs, the focus moves
to community organizations that
can help provide services, such as
Siuslaw Outreach Services, food
shares in Florence and Mapleton
and the Friends of Florence can-
cer bus. People also volunteer,
taking their time, resources and
money and plugging them direct-
ly back into the community. They
get involved with the Florence
Master Recyclers, work a shift at
the Oregon Coast Humane
Society Thrift Store, join a group
such as PEO Chapter FQ,
Kiwanis Club of Florence,
Soroptimist International and
Florence Oregon Rotary, serve on
a board of directors or city com-
mittee, support youth and find
countless ways to support their
neighbors.
For Campbell, she continues to
make the choice to stay in
Florence; where her husband and
children have a home; where West
Lane Plumbing takes in business;
and where she can work doing a
job she loves.
“It’s a small town so everyone
you know, knows someone else.
Friends are pretty easy to make
right away,” she said. “When I
moved here, it was a comfort zone
because it wasn’t overwhelming.
It was a small town and it was
pretty close knit. And it still seems
that way today.”
In the past 20 years, Campbell
did go on to college, at Lane
Community College Florence
Center. She made her own oppor-
tunities, both with the business
she shares with Vanduch and by
staying for 10 years at Waterfront
Depot.
“I love people. At work, I feel
like I’m on a stage — I’m there to
please. It’s my job,” she said. “I
love the service industry and the
whole combination of working
with the kitchen and having con-
nections with them and making
customers happy on the floor. It’s
really kind of an orchestra to
make sure everything is effective.
I love it. I can’t say the same for
everyone I’ve ever worked with.
In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever met
another waitress that loves it as
much as me. But whether you like
it or not, it’s a great job to either
sustain your life or get you from
one place to another.”
She said that working families
such as hers or people in her eco-
nomic bracket “keep this town
afloat,” but that people at higher
incomes might not see it that way.
“There’s definitely two sides of
Florence. If you don’t know the
other one, whether it’s the low
income or the high income, you
might not experience it because
you have no reason to,” she said.
“I honestly feel like I’m better off
than some of the people I went to
school with. Yeah, I’m a waitress
and it took me years to accept that
this is my career, but I like it.”
She has faced her frustration
with feeling like there aren’t
options for her children by volun-
teering with the Siuslaw Youth
Soccer Association to provide
more recreation activities for area
students and has enrolled her chil-
dren in Children’s Repertory of
Oregon Workshops (CROW).
See
REGION 9A
541•999•6078
OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK
FACEB OO K.C O M/PETERSENAUT O DETAIL
County Transfer & Recycling
See Jim for your auto sales needs!
2150 Hwy. 101 • Florence
(541) 997-3475 • 1-800-348-3475
Commercial • Residential
• Drop Box Service
• Portable Storage Rentals
• Recycling Specialist
• Recyling Services &
Containers available at
no cost to customers.
5078 Coastwood Lane
Florence, OR 97439
Fax: 541-997-7345
USLAW
SI
Burns’s Riverside Chapel
S igns 3
S
Florence Funeral Home
& G R A
Your Community Friend-
Compassionate Care
Florence, OR CCB#195304
2765 Kingwood St.
Florence, OR
24 Hours
541-997-3416
DENTURE SERVICES INC.
LOCALLY OWNED AND OPERATED
Open 4 days a week!
Here to serve your denture needs:
Ed Kopilec
Principal Broker
541 991-8630
1520 W 20th St – Beautiful 3 bdrm, 2 bath home
in town, easy walk to schools and park. Permit-
ted addition in 2009. This home features bamboo
fl oors, gas fi replace, family room, covered patio
with Trex decking and much more. $289,000.
#2789-17078819
1749 Highway 101 • 541-997-1200
C
INDOOR / OUTDOOR
•
•
•
•
•
•
SIGNS & BANNERS
VEHICLE GRAPHICS
VINYL LETTERING
STICKERS & CLINGS
WINDOW GRAPHICS
YARD SIGNS
997-8148
LOCATED AT: 7KH6KLSSLQ·6KDFN
2QWKHFRUQHURI th 6WUHHW +LJKZD\
burnsriversidechapel.com
Let me Showcase your property.
I
P H
'ų
8
for you and your loved ones.
Phone: 541-997-8233
Dentures
Partial Dentures
Immediate Dentures
Implant Dentures
Relines & Repairs Same Day
Monday-Thursday
10am - 2 pm
524 Laurel St.
541-997-6054
William Foster LD
Sherry, Offi ce Manager
Stocks.
Bonds. CDs.
IRAs. Mutual
funds.
Andy Baber, AAMS®
Financial Advisor
.
“As a denture wearer myself,
I can answer your
questions and address
your denture concerns.”
~ William Foster, LD
1010 Highway 101
Florence, OR 97439
541-997-8755
www.edwardjones.com
Financing: Citi Health Card
12 Month no Interest
Member SIPC
