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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 17, 2018)
THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM ❘ / SIUSLAWNEWS ❘ @ SIUSLAWNEWS SATURDAY EDITION VIKS LAND UPSET Valentines for volunteers INSIDE — A3 SPORTS — B 128TH YEAR ❘ ISSUE NO. 14 ❘ FEBRUARY 17, 2018 ❘ $1.00 SERVING WESTERN LANE COUNTY SINCE 1890 FLORENCE, OREGON Siuslaw sets November date for possible bond Florence man testifies on HB 4135 Advance Directive law to be discussed and then possibly modified and updated PHOTOS BY MARK BRENNAN/SIUSLAW NEWS Community members and Siuslaw School District staff, board members and steering committee members review Pivot Architecture’s plans for the remodel of Siuslaw High School during the first of two meetings held this week. Siuslaw School Board to increase community engagement, input through fall 2018 B Y M ARK B RENNAN Siuslaw News W e d n e s d a y n i g h t ’s Siuslaw School District Board of Directors meet- ing to discuss the plans for future renovations took place a mere few hours after an active school shoot- ing situation occurred in Florida. The news of the violence direct- ed at students and staff was clearly weighing heavily on the minds of the educators and board members in attendance. The incident, which took the lives of 17 people, was the subject of opening remarks offered by Board Chairman John Barnett. Barnett asked for a moment of silence in memory of the students and teachers lost earlier that day and pointed out the challenge fac- ing all schools to properly protect their students. There was an extended moment of silence in the room, giving way to the regular agenda after a few emotional moments had passed. This was the second Siuslaw School District meeting of the week to which community mem- I NTERIM Architect Curt Wilson discusses the options available for upgrades and replacement of three Siuslaw school buildings at a public forum held on Monday. bers were invited, seeking contin- ued input on proposed upgrades to the district’s school buildings The first meeting was held on Monday evening, in the library at the high school, with approximate- ly 50 people in attendance. Siuslaw Superintendent Andy Grzeskowiak welcomed attendees and gave a brief overview of the evaluation process that led the dis- trict to reach this point. MANAGER “We are looking for input and ideas as we run through some of the basic schemes that we have for the improvements in the elemen- tary, middle and high schools. This is also the first time we have been able to schedule a meeting that stu- dents could easily attend, after practices and other after-school activities have ended,” he said. The district and Pivot Architecture had a number of easels in place that presented archi- tectural plans showing the various options being considered by dis- trict staff and steering committee. Curt Wilson, Pivot’s lead archi- tect for the project, made a short presentation summarizing the eval- uation process. Input from those in attendance touched on the need for improve- ments in the environmental ele- ments of the schools, most notably the lack of heat in the high school. These concerns were to address- both future plans for the remodel as well as ways to address fixing the heating system now. One of the few students in atten- dance made this point directly to the staff. “The new school won’t be hap- pening for a couple of years and we will have already graduated,” the student, who did not identify her- self, said. “But until then, are there any plans to do something about the heating system now, because it doesn’t work very well at all? It was freezing in the computer labs this morning.” See D INA M C C LURE Florence resident Bruce Yelle testified in Salem last week during a public hearing and work session held B Y M ARK B RENNAN before an Oregon Siuslaw News House Committee in support of House Bill (HB) 4135, which proposes a change to the procedures governing the establishment of an advance directive for an individual’s end of life action authority. On Friday, the third reading of the bill was conducted and brought to the Oregon House soon thereafter for a vote. State Rep. Mitch Greenlick supports the proposed changes to the current procedures in an attempt to improve the advance directive process. “This is simply an attempt to clarify and enact the patient’s wishes by adding specific notifications to the directive that would more accurately reflect the intent of the patient,” Greenlick said. Yelle made the trip to Salem in support of the changes, primarily because he is afflicted with a number of neuro-degenerative diseases that will eventually lead to dementia and con- sequently an inability to access Oregon’s Death with Dignity medications and treat- ments. “I am very interested in end of life issues, so I went to the capital last Wednesday and had a meeting with our State Rep. Caddie McKeown. She was very supportive of what we are going to be asking for in HB 4135,” Yelle said. “But she said that she had also heard from many of her constituents that were opposed to the idea of changing the law. She encouraged me to testify before the commit- tee, because there were only a few of us that supported the changes and many that did not.” Greenlick said there is a great deal of con- fusion surrounding HB 4135. He believes the bill is less intrusive than many think and is simply a means by which an afflicted and dying individual can be assured of having their end of life wishes carried out. “HB 4135 has nothing to do with Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act. This is a misconcep- tion and it is wrong. This bill updates, on an interim basis, the advance directive law which clarifies a form,” he said. SCHOOL 6A LEAVING P ORT See OF DIRECTIVE 7A S IUSLAW The eight-year administrative assistant and interim port manager will move on to Siuslaw Valley, Western Lane districts B Y J ARED A NDERSON Siuslaw News INSIDE After more than eight years at the Port of Siuslaw, Interim Port Manager Dina McClure will be leaving the port in March to become the new office manager for Siuslaw Valley Fire and Rescue (SFVR) and Western Lane Ambulance District (WLAD), which share administrative services under an intergovern- mental agreement. McClure’s official job at the port was administrative assistant, though she has served as interim port manag- er twice, a position she now holds. “I have really enjoyed Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . Community . . . . . . . . . . . . Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B6 A3 A4 A2 working for the port. Ports are really interesting. The confer- ences I’ve gone to with other port managers have been fas- cinating. I just like the busi- ness,” McClure said. “Having a campground is interesting, but it’s also working with the river and working the regula- tory agencies, like the Corps of Engineers and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. There’s a lot of regulatory stuff that is fas- cinating.” McClure had originally thought of applying for the currently open port manager position but decided other- wise when the position at SFVR became available. “I was planning on staying Sideshow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B6 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B This Week on the Coast . . . A7 Weather Data . . . . . . . . . . . A3 JARED ANDERSON/SIUSLAW NEWS Dina McClure will have her last day as Port of Siuslaw interim manager and administrative assistant on March 15. THIS WEEK ’ S TODAY SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY 51 38 43 31 41 27 43 30 WEATHER Full Forecast, A3 on at the port, whether or not I was hired for the port manag- er. But I have been entertain- ing the thought of making a change,” she said. “When I found out about the fire and ambulance district, it piqued my interest. Even though it’s an office manager position, it’s not the manager of an entire district.” McClure started working for the port in 2009, hired as a part-time administrative assis- tant, a job she shared with now Florence City councilor Susy Lacer. In 2015, when then port manager Bob Forsythe left his position, McClure began her first stint as port manager. “I wasn’t interested in the position at that time,” McClure said. “I really pre- ferred the behind the scenes as a support person. I like office administration and I don’t enjoy being in the spotlight.” Her first tenure as interim manager was short lived, as Steven Leskin was hired in 2016. He left the port in May 2017, and McClure became the interim manager again. “This time around, I’ve had a longer time period in the position and I’ve worked a full season here,” McClure said. “I think I’ve learned more about the port to where I felt more comfortable with the position.” S IUSLAW N EWS 2 S ECTIONS ❘ 20 P AGES C OPYRIGHT 2018 See DISTRICTS 9A
