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❘ MARCH 7, 2018 ❘ $1.00
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128TH YEAR ❘ ISSUE NO. 19
SERVING WESTERN LANE COUNTY SINCE 1890
FLORENCE, OREGON
ODOT institutes more Siuslaw River Bridge safety measures
Changes include a reduced speed limit in the construction zone, additional signage and help traversing hazards
B Y J ARED A NDERSON
Siuslaw News
New pedestrian safety improve-
ments have been made to the Oregon
Department
of
Transportation
(ODOT) Siuslaw River Bridge con-
struction zone, including a reduction
in the speed limit and additional sig-
nage for pedestrian routes.
Issues surrounding the safety of the
construction zone arose in January
I N
after the death of Florence resident
Heather Marie Sanford, who was
struck and killed while walking in the
highway’s southbound lane by mile-
post 191 near Glenada Road.
Multiple concerns about the bridge
were raised by the community, includ-
ing the lack of a discernable pedestri-
an crosswalk, a 40-mph speed limit on
the bridge during construction and
limited visibility for motorists and
pedestrians going into the bridge.
“Safety is our priority,” ODOT
Public Information Officer Angela
Beers Seydel said. “On the Siuslaw
Bridge Project, we appreciate the peo-
ple who travel through the area shar-
ing their experiences and concerns.
We took those concerns through our
internal traffic engineers and our safe-
ty review process and found that there
were things that could be done to
improve pedestrian safety.”
The list of improvements includes a
THEIR
reduced speed limit throughout the
work zone, making it a 30-mph zone
all hours of the day.
Enforcement of the speed limit will
be increased as well, as Oregon State
Police will be focusing additional
enforcement on the south side of the
bridge, where the pedestrian crossing
location is.
ODOT has added additional signs
for the pedestrian route from one side
of the bridge to the other, identifying
‘Breath of
Spring’
breezes
through
Home &
Garden
Show
OWN WORDS :
L ATINOS
ALONG THE
S IUSLAW
P ART II
Latino residents
continue discussion
into community, culture
B Y J ARED A NDERSON
Siuslaw News
PHOTOS BY JARED ANDERSON/SIUSLAW NEWS
Editors note: This is the contin-
uation of a discussion held by
members of the Latino community
on their place in the Siuslaw
region, published on Feb. 28 in
the Siuslaw News. Participants of
the discussion included Liza
Alvarez, Rosy Dominquez
Guillenus, Karla Sanders and
Sanders’ mother Rosa Hernandez
and sister Andrea Sanchez.
Portions of the interview were
spoken in Spanish, with Alvarez
providing translation for the tran-
script below.
Why is it important to have a
community?
KARLA: A lot of people in
town don’t have the resources and
the right information about us and
about our culture. And a lot of us
don’t have the resources to feel
backed by someone. We’re afraid
to come out and even say anything
because of the looks we might get.
When you’re not from this
country, or you don’t have a paper
that says you’re from this country,
you can’t say anything.
ROSA: Or then you get ICE
coming. There are people (in
Florence) who are very good, and
I do not think they deserve to go.
That’s my opinion.
Those of us who are here came
to work — we did not come to
steal, we did not come here to do
things that are not right. We came
for a better quality of life. Not all
of us had the opportunity to come
with a document, and they don’t
know how difficult it is to obtain
that document.
Not all of us have the opportu-
nity to have people who support
us or can count on to help us; sim-
ply to drive us to the store, to take
us to the doctor, to take us to the
hospital, the most basic things.
INSIDE
See
LATINOS 9A
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Community . . . . . . . . . . . . . A3
Kid Scoop . . . . . . . . . . . . . B5
Careers & Employment . . . . . . C
T
he 22nd annual Florence Home
& Garden Show welcomed
spring to the area last weekend
as 3,100 people came through the
doors of the Florence Events Center
(FEC). “A Breath of Spring” was the
theme of this year’s show, as multiple
vendors created elaborate displays
exhibiting various home and garden products, from hot tubs, furniture, appliances, woodwork
and home decor. The centerpiece of the show was a large floral exhibit created by Laurel Bay
Gardens. “It was one of our better shows based on the variety and quality of the displays,” said
event organizer Jon Thompson of KCST, who presented the show in conjunction with the
Siuslaw News. Displays at the show included a full bedroom by Roby’s furniture, a restroom dis-
play featuring a claw foot tub and working shower by ReVision Design Build and a full kitchen
cabinet set by Willamette Custom Woodworks. “One of the keys to our show is that it’s small,
so we have to have good diversity in our vendor lineup,” Thompson said. “I think this was one
of the shows where we had a really good variety from multiple categories that fit the theme.
That, combined with vendors that did outstanding displays, is what made this year stand out.”
crossing locations and closed sidewalk
areas so motorists and pedestrians
know where crossing will occur.
Included in the additional signage
are electronic signs that have been
placed on Highway 101 northbound
and southbound that rotates the mes-
sages “BIKES/PEDS ON SHOUL-
DER” and “SLOW NARROW
BRIDGE.”
See
BRIDGE 11A
Florence
City Council
discusses
policy,
procedures
Mayor Henry addresses
rumors about gun
legislation
B Y C HANTELLE M EYER
Siuslaw News
On March 5, Florence City
Council met at Siuslaw Valley Fire
and Rescue Main Station on
Highway 101, one of several loca-
tions city staff has picked out for
meetings while Florence City Hall
undergoes an upgrade. The coun-
cilors discussed several topics,
including council rules and proce-
dures and projects at the Florence
Municipal Airport.
Mayor Joe Henry opened the
meeting by addressing people in
attendance.
“We’re going to deviate a little
bit from our normal opening since
we have such a large audience here
with us this evening. I’m going to
talk a little bit about public com-
ments, but first I would like to tell
you that there is a big rumor going
around town that ‘the mayor is
going to take your guns away,’”
Henry said. “I’m going to preface
our meeting by saying there is noth-
ing on the agenda this evening that
involves any kind of gun legislation.”
See
POLICY 10A
Founder of Alpha Farm turns 90
Society has changed since 1972, but
Caroline Estes is still hopeful
Humans are social crea-
tures that congregate in
towns, cities and rural areas.
They create systems for food
distribution, merchandise
production and for the effi-
cient transport of these
goods between population
centers.
Central to all of these
efforts is good communica-
tion between all the partici-
pants, whatever their goal.
Deadwood
resident
Caroline Estes has spent the
past 50 years working to
help people communicate
more effectively and more
Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A4
Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A2
Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B
Weather Data . . . . . . . . . . . A2
respectfully, and she is con-
sidered a leader in assisting
groups to communicate,
regardless of their opposing
positions or beliefs.
Estes is also one of the
original members of an
intentional community locat-
ed in Deadwood, known as
Alpha Farm.
Estes is a Quaker and she
is approaching her 90th
birthday with mixed feelings
about the future. Her faith is
still a strong element in her
life and she believes that the
best way to accomplish goals
is for all participants in a
THIS WEEK ’ S
B Y M ARK B RENNAN
Siuslaw News
project, whatever that might
be, to agree on the outcome
and the manner in which the
goal might be best achieved.
This concept is known as
consensus.
“Consensus is based on
the belief that each person
has some part of the truth
and no one has all of it, no
matter what we would like to
believe,” Estes said. “It is
based on a respect for all
persons involved in the deci-
sion that is being consid-
ered.”
See
FOUNDER 11A
TODAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
60 47
52 42
51 38
56 43
WEATHER
Full Forecast, A3
MARK BRENNAN/SIUSLAW NEWS
Alpha Farms founder Caroline Estes will turn 90 this
month. Her enthusiasm for improving communica-
tion between those with differing opinions has made
her a leader in the process of building consensus.
S IUSLAW N EWS
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