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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (May 12, 2018)
THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM | SIUSLAWNEWS | @ SIUSLAWNEWS SATURDAY EDITION | MAY 12, 2018 | $1.00 SEASON ENDS AROUND DIAMONDS SPORTS — B 128TH YEAR | ISSUE NO. 38 FLORENCE, OREGON SERVING WESTERN LANE COUNTY SINCE 1890 Rhody Rendezvous honors first First Citizen Festival Grand Marshal Dr. Al Brauer reminiscences on his experiences in Florence By Jared Anderson Siuslaw News Dunes City announces legal action against State of Oregon By Damien Sherwood For the Siuslaw News D r. Al Brauer wasn’t expecting to be named the grand marshal of the 111th Rhododendron Festival Grand Floral Parade this year, which runs Sunday, May 20, on Highway 101 and down to Historic Old Town Florence. “Shocking,” he said. “I had no idea. I’ve been here almost 60 years. I guess at this point in time I’m an oldtimer.” Over that 60 years, Brauer estab- lished a medical practice, helped build new hospitals and clinics, de- veloped Summerset Estates, was a board chairman for Oregon Pacific Bank (OPB), helped initiate the New Life Lutheran Church and served on the Lane Community College Flor- ence Center board for 12 years. “I can’t say I did anything,” Brauer said. “I just helped.” Brauer first arrived in Florence in 1958 with his wife, Alice. They had both attended school at the University of Oregon and would take trips out to Road Assembly of God, 1380 10th St. FB4K is a registered 501(c)(3) and all donations made are tax deductible. The FB4K program began in 2012 with a simple goal: to make sure no students in the Siuslaw and Mapleton school districts would be hungry. On Wednesday, Dunes City announced its intention to take legal action against the State of Oregon. After a special session on May 7, in which Dunes City councilors listened to legal counsel and public opinion, the council “gave direction to the city administrator to contact the League of Oregon Cities to give them our intent to take legal action against the state and the Building Codes Division (BCD),” said Dunes City Mayor Robert Forsythe. The city’s move is in response to new rules handed down by the BCD last month which re-strict cities from contracting with third-party building inspectors. Oregon cities in violation of the new rules were issued notifications that they must hire building inspectors as city employees by July 1 or else hand over their building programs to county or state control. Only cities with programs up for renewal this July were notified, though many more are thought to follow. Dunes City and Florence were among the first wave. “This process in our opinion is draconian and overreaching and it really needs to be stopped,” Forsythe said at Wednesday’s City Council meeting. Stopping the process through litigation would require substantial backing. Although at least 32 Oregon cities have been notified of being in violation, it is yet unclear how many are willing to join Dunes City in taking legal action. “We are the only one that I am aware that has actually voted to pursue litigation,” said Dunes City Recorder Jamie Mills. “We can’t take on the state all by ourselves. We’re only willing to do this if a number of other cities are willing to do this as well.” Florence has yet to announce a decision. See NUTRITION page 7A See LEGAL page 8A JARED ANDERSON/SIUSLAW NEWS Dr. Al Brauer was selected as the Florence community’s 1967 First Citizen when he was just 38 years old. different communities in the region, a medical officer for the Marines, Al- service, so he could quickly come to looking for a place to settle down. ice had received a call about a doctor the community. He purchased a clinic “I wanted nothing to do with the who had just passed away in Florence, across the street from the old hospital Portland area,” Brauer said. “I’m a and the newly built hospital was look- on 12th street. wide open, country guy.” ing for a new physician. The city lob- See REMINISCE page 6A When he was stationed in Hawaii as bied for Brauer to be released from his Food Backpacks for Kids grows, receives statewide recognition Volunteers gather at Cross Roads Assembly of God to assemble bags of food that will be distributed later in the week to students in the Siuslaw and Mapleton school districts. Nutritional support program for region expands past 80 kids Story by Mark Brennan Siuslaw News The specter of not eating at all today is re- mote for many residents of Florence. How- ever, some of the community’s youngest cit- izens face the fear of hunger on a daily basis. One program that has been directly ad- dressing this painful reality is the Food Back- pack for Kids (FB4K) program, created and coordinated locally by members of Cross MARK BRENNAN/SIUSLAW NEWS Siuslaw School District finalizes facilities plan and requests bond support $108.7 million is needed to meet codes, replace inadequate high school building and ensure student safety now and in the future By Mark Brennan Siuslaw News INSIDE The Siuslaw School District Board has decided to ask the community to support a bond measure that will fund a replacement for the district’s high school and major upgrades to the ele- mentary and middle schools. The bond request will be for $108.7 million. During a school board meeting on May 9, directors appointed a Bond Advisory Committee to engage in out- reach designed to inform the public about the current state of district facil- ities. Classifieds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . B6 Community. . . . . . . . . . . . . A3 Mother’s Day Letters . . . . . . . . C Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A4 The vote to move forward with the bond request was supported unani- mously by all seven Siuslaw School Board members. At the May 9 meeting, the board members decided to approach at one time the issues of seismically unsafe buildings, inadequate classroom ca- pacity, structural deficiencies, liabili- ty concerns and outdated heating and electrical systems by asking residents to help the district deal with the many facility related problems now, rather than later as costs continue to rise. The total dollar amount and the manner in which that sum will be used, Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A2 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B Teacher Appreciartion . . . . . A7 This Week on the Coast. . . . . A6 if the voters approve funding, was reached after a full year of work. The process was multi-faceted, incorpo- rating feedback and suggestions from educators, administrative staff, an ar- chitectural firm, a steering committee, technical, engineering and mechanical professionals, community members and financial consultants. The task of coordinating the effort to upgrade the district’s facilities, while overseeing the ongoing education of more than 500 students, is the respon- sibility of Siuslaw School District Su- perintendent Andy Grzeskowiak. He said he believes the district faces con- THIS WEEK ’ S siderable issues regarding the safety, comfort and education that students in the district will face if the decided upon modifications are not undertak- en. He pointed to the looming issue of deferred maintenance, now approach- ing the $40 million mark, and the possibility of a structural failure in the event of a natural disaster as ma- jor contributing factors underlying the funding request. “The total amount the board will be sending to voters in November for bond approval is for projects at all three school sites across the district,” Grz- TODAY SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY 64 50 72 51 63 51 61 49 WEATHER Full Forecast, A3 E xplor e eskowiak said. “The goal is to reset the clock on major deferred maintenance projects and expenses, while bringing all facilities up to current codes and providing students a modern learning environment that reflects current best practices in education to prepare stu- dents for their futures.” The decision to move forward with a more inclusive approach to the numer- ous problems identified by the Pivot Architecture was based on assessments of the current state of the district facili- ties with an eye toward the future. See DISTRICT page 8A S IUSLAW N EWS 3 S ECTIONS | 22 P AGES C OPYRIGHT 2018 all the Florence art community has to offer. Pick up your Florence Art Passport today! #FlorenceArtPassport Florence Area Chamber of Commerce | Siuslaw Pioneer Museum FRAA - Florence Regional Arts Alliance | Backstreet Gallery The River Gallery | Rodger Bennett Photography | Dragon Art Florence Events Center | Siuslaw Public Library BeauxArts Fine Art Materials & Gallery | Frames of Florence Oregon Coast Military Museum | Digital Dunes Photography PASSPORT q ART FLORENCE | OREGON
