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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (April 18, 2018)
THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM ❘ / SIUSLAWNEWS ❘ @ SIUSLAWNEWS WEDNESDAY EDITION ❘ APRIL 18, 2018 ❘ $1.00 NEW SCHOOL RECORD SPORTS — B 128TH YEAR ❘ ISSUE NO. 31 SERVING WESTERN LANE COUNTY SINCE 1890 FLORENCE, OREGON H UMANE SOCIETY MEMBERS ELECT NEW B OARD OF D IRECTORS Oregon Department of Justice oversees OCHS election to replace board, establish new protocols and procedures B Y M ARK B RENNAN Siuslaw News The Oregon Coast Humane Society (OCHS) in Florence has a new Board of Directors as of Monday night. Members of the organiza- tion voted in seven new peo- ple to replace the previously seated directors, all of whom resigned under advisement from the Oregon Department of Justice (DOJ), declining to run for any of the open seats on the board. The election was conducted under the supervision of the DOJ, which determined at the end of 2017 that some direc- tors presiding over the OCHS had been seated illegitimately. OCHS, as a registered (501)(c)3 nonprofit, falls under the oversight of the DOJ, which worked with the attorneys to put in place a process for quickly conduct- ing a legitimately structured election for directors. Florence Attorney Jane Hanawalt was selected by the DOJ to coordinate and over- see the election process local- ly. “Oregon Department of Justice officials met with me [Monday], after 4 p.m., which was the deadline for receipt of ballots,” Hanawalt said. “We counted and verified the eligi- bility of ballots. Over 180 bal- lots were received and the new board members are Dolly Brock, Bonnie Compton, Sandra Davidson, Jack Hannigan, Jerry Hatcher, Shauna Robbers and Judy Roth.” The initial complaints against the humane society last year also included mem- ber reports of animal mistreat- ment and the improper han- dling of organizational resources and personnel. There were also concerns relayed to the DOJ regarding financial accountability and the professionalism of indi- viduals involved at all levels of OCHS. These complaints were assessed by the DOJ and led to the agency requesting financial records, emails and board related communications from the OCHS, going back in some instances to 2001. See DIRECTORS 9A Harbor Vista SHS prom this weekend comes with warning Crashed vehicle annexed points out dangers of drinking and driving into Florence B Y M ARK B RENNAN Siuslaw News City provides services to Lane County, which will continue to maintain park, roads On Monday, Florence City Council approved Ordinances No. 2 and 3, 2018, approving the annexation of B Y C HANTELLE M EYER Harbor Vista Siuslaw News Campground, 87658 Harbor Vista Drive, and establishing its new zoning assignments. This was done following a public hearing and the approval of Florence Planning Commission. City of Florence Planning Director Wendy FarleyCampbell presented information on the two hearings. The petition for annexation was submitted by Lane County Administrator Steve Mokrohisky on behalf of the Lane County Board of Commissioners. “The applicant applied for the petition for annexation for Harbor Vista Campground in order to connect to sewer services, and those are in the process of being extended,” FarleyCampbell said. Work on the Harbor Vista Campground Sewer Collection System Project began in February, with plans to be complete by Memorial Day in May. On March 27, Florence Planning Commission held the first evidentiary hearing on the ordi- nances, with written and oral public comment. The April 16 city council meeting was the final evidentiary hearing. According to the staff report, annexations require consent in writing from more than half of the owners of the land on or before the date of the hearing. “One hundred percent of the property owners owning all of the land and all of the assessed value consented to annexation prior to the coun- cil hearing date,” the report stated. “The other criteria applicable to annexation is, basically, can the property be served? We don’t want to bring things in that we can’t serve,” FarleyCampbell said. “The big one for the county is sewer. The campground needs sewer services — badly. Sewer will be provided through the existing pressure that’s in Rhododendron Drive, and they will be connect- ing via a gravity system within their own devel- opment, from there connecting to a regional pump station and into Rhododendron Drive.” Florence Public Works Director Mike Miller submitted referral comments on the services aspect of the annexation. “The city currently has excess capacity to accommodate the sewer needs of this area,” Miller wrote. “Without going into great detail, it is the policy of the city of Florence to provide sanitary sewer service to any property within the city’s wastewater service area. … Staff believes that the proposed project will provide opportuni- ties for other surrounding homeowners who desire sanitary sewer service from the city.” INSIDE See Siuslaw High School’s Prom will be held at the Florence Events Center on Saturday, April 21, from 8 to 11 p.m. Siuslaw School District and Florence Police Department’s con- cern for student safety during this time of celebration led to the placement of a destroyed vehicle at the entrance to the high school as a reminder of the deadly toll under- age drinking takes each year. Mothers against Drunk Driving (MADD) reports that more than 4,300 people are killed each year due to teen alcohol use, more than all other drugs combined. MADD also shows the unset- tling statistic that one in four car crashes involving teenagers involves an underage drunk driver. These numbers are the reason Siuslaw High School Principal Kerri Tatum felt the placement of the damaged truck at the high school entrance might serve as a reminder, difficult as it is to see, of the deadly dangers associated with underage teen drinking. “We wanted to put the truck in front of the high school because that is a very visible place,” Tatum said. “We talk to the kids about safe driving and making good choices. This is a very big visual of what could happen.” MARK BRENNAN/SIUSLAW NEWS This crushed vehicle was placed at the entrance to Siuslaw High School to remind students of the dangers of underage drunk driving. The high school will hold its prom Saturday at the FEC. The vehicle also has a Florence police banner stating, “Drive to arrive. Don’t drink and drive.” Unfortunately, drunk driving is still the number one cause of death on American roadways, accounting for more than 13,000 deaths each year. Tatum is aware of these num- bers and hopes the visual impact of the destroyed truck will remind everyone, not just students, of the dangers associated with drunk T HE driving. “We are trying to be proactive in reteaching expectations. This was a great way to put it out there, not just to our students, but to our public,” she said. Information gathered by MADD shows that every 51 min- utes someone is killed by a drunk driver. “This is a very exciting time for our kids, but we want them all to come back to school the following Monday,” Tatum said. “We also have graduations coming up, spring sports finishing up and summer around the corner. All of these things lead to kids feeling like they can let go a little.” Students are encouraged to car- pool, take a taxi and avoid alco- hol. Mapleton High School will hold its prom on Friday, April 27, at the Best Western Pier Point Inn in Florence. RIGHT OF THE PEOPLE TO KEEP AND BEAR ARMS : Pros and cons of gun laws across the world B Y J ARED A NDERSON Siuslaw News “T here are countries that have only the tiniest frac- tion of gun deaths that we have because they’ve taken steps to make sure they don’t proliferate and don’t get into the wrong hands,” said a gun reform demon- strator at the Florence March for Our Lives support march last month. “In Australia, they did a gun buyback and that was their last mass shooting. After their last mass shooting, they had a law that essentially recalled virtually all weapons.” The debate over gun laws in America often turns to how other countries handle the issue, with either side pointing to a country that most mirrors their political belief in hopes to sway opinion. If it works there, the argument goes, then it can work here. But are the laws implemented in other countries really as helpful as people say? This article seeks to look at how they compare in relation to the U.S.’s gun laws and gun culture by looking at the effectiveness of weapons bans, buyback programs and gun free zones. In addition, what are the responsibilities of gun owners in America in relation to these laws? Part IV of this series will exam- ine gun laws in other countries, starting with Australia. Australia and Switzerland In 1996, a man killed 35 people and wounded 18 at the tourist town of Port Arthur using an AR- 15 rifle. That was the second mass shooting that year, following a P ART IV rampage killing in Hillcrest, Queensland, where a man killed six members of his family. Just 12 days after the incident, the government introduced sweeping gun control legislation that would ban importation, own- ership, sale, resale, transfer, pos- session, manufacture or use of all self-loading center-fire rifles, all self-loading and pump action shotguns and all self-loading rim- fire rifles. There was a compensatory buy- back scheme, where Australians sold 640,000 prohibited firearms to the government, and voluntari- ly surrendered another 60,000. See HARBOR VISTA 6A Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Community . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kid Scoop . . . . . . . . . . . . . Library Tidings . . . . . . . . . . . B6 A3 B5 A5 Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A4 Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A2 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B Weather Data . . . . . . . . . . . A2 THIS WEEK ’ S TODAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY 57 39 56 41 58 45 55 41 WEATHER Full Forecast, A3 S IUSLAW N EWS 2 S ECTIONS ❘ 18 P AGES C OPYRIGHT 2018 SPECIAL SERIES 7A
