SIUSLAW NEWS | SATURDAY, J ULY 14, 2018 | 3B
Little
Cyclists
from 1B
ham, mashed potatoes, gravy
and all the trimmings, fol-
lowed by the individual
introduction of the riders
and their goals.
Following the Wednesday
morning breakfast, the rid-
ers did their traditional “Cir-
cle of Commitment” for the
day’s ride. By 8:30 a.m., they
were on the road, next stop
Lincoln City.
As you can imagine, getting
this all to happen requires
the work, commitment and
skills of many, many people.
In addition to the St. An-
drew’s staff , cooks, kitchen
crew and hosts, this year fea-
tured the assistance of four
Siuslaw High School students
— Brendon, Jaxsen, Camp
and Caelia — along with
Sheila and Ricki, making this
truly a communitywide ef-
fort.
Th is is noted most by the
riders themselves when they
comment that they really
want to come back here and
visit in the near future.
One interesting thing the
riders said was about the
recommendations made to
them by riders of previous
years. Th is was, “Change the
route however you want, but
do not skip Florence.”
A very special thanks to Sea
Lion Caves and Coastal Fit-
ness for their support.
— Submitted by Terri
Pennington
from 1B
associated with slow-pitch soft -
ball. Th is is unfortunate as it
is also a spectator sport with
many families present during
the games.
I fi rst played slow-pitch in
the summer of 1971. During
the next 15 years, I played more
than 800 games with the fol-
lowing teams; Astoria Plywood,
Astoria Seafood, Nygaard
Logging, Warrenton Lumber,
Washington County Merchants,
Florence Merchants, Florence
A&W, and Western Lane Furni-
ture (aka Th e La-Z-Boys).
You could say I was a part of
all phases of the timber indus-
try. Th ere was logging, lumber
making and selling of furniture.
I was part of the state cham-
pion Washington County Mer-
chants in 1977. Th e same year,
I was hired to teach and coach
at Siuslaw High School. I left
my team on Sunday of the re-
gional tournament in Tacoma,
Wash., to drive to Florence for
my fi rst day as assistant foot-
ball coach. I stayed that night at
the house of Mr. Mehlum, the
former president of the former
Volunteer
for Friends
of Florence
Siuslaw Valley Bank. His cousin
was my church youth advisor in
Warrenton and arranged for my
stay.
All but two of the teams I
played on were serious soft ball
teams. We traveled to tourna-
ments around the state.
However, none of my teams
were as serious as Washing-
ton County. We took batting
practice before each of the 105
games I played with them. We
would fi nd any empty fi eld or
football fi eld and hit.
Th e oldest player I ever
played with was Hal Hylton,
on the A&W team here in Flor-
ence. He was in his late 50s or
early 60s, but he could place the
ball in the open area behind the
pitcher for hit aft er hit. He also
pitched on occasion and threw
strike aft er strike.
Speaking
of
throwing
strikes, nothing can prepare
a slow-pitch pitcher to throw
strike when the wind blows at
Miller Park. Only by pitching
game aft er game can a pitch-
er adjust for the release of the
balls to enter the strike zone.
Visiting team pitchers strug-
gled to throw strikes and the
walks added up as the game
Th e nonprofi t Friends of
Florence, which provides free
bus transportation for cancer
patients, is seeking volunteer
drivers. A commercial driver’s
license is not required. For more
info, call 541-997-8663.
progressed. A walk is unusu-
al in slow-pitch as the batter
wants to swing and hit.
I remember playing in a
tournament at Eugene Airport
soft ball complex in the early
80’s. Th e wind was blowing and
as the opposing pitchers were
struggling to throw strikes, I
threw strike aft er strike. Fi-
nally, one pitcher asked me
how I could throw strikes with
the wind blowing like it was. I
told him this is a gentle breeze
compared to the wind at Miller
Park.
Th e scariest time for a slow-
pitch pitcher is when a large
hitter enters the batters’ box.
Ty Perry, former Siuslaw Mid-
dle School teacher and coach,
comes to mind. When he
stepped up to the plate I avoid-
ed throwing him any pitch out-
side. Th ere is no way I wanted
any of his hits to come up the
middle. Th e same could be said
of Joe Perry, former tackle on
the Siuslaw football team.
Whenever I read about coed
soft ball — the ball is not soft ,
by the way — I visualize large
men hitting the ball to a small-
er player, male or female, and
I just hope they don’t get hurt.
My technique as a pitcher was
to throw my pitch and take fi ve
or six steps back while the ball
was in the air. Th is increased
distance made me feel safer.
Not many pitchers employ
this technique.
Slow-pitch soft ball disap-
peared for some time but it
Buying or Selling? I can help.
is back in action in Florence.
If you wish to see home runs,
watch the games on the north
fi eld. Th e prevailing winds will
add distance to any hitters’
blast. Th e south fi eld, on the
other hand, will see the defense
trying to judge where a high fl y
ball may land.
Some soft ball leagues have
rules to speed up play. Th e
most common is a batter is out
if they hit two foul balls. Th e
reason this is used is because
some batters would purposely
foul off pitches until they got
“their” pitch to hit. Since the
pitches are easy to hit foul balls,
this could extend games.
Runners can only run when
the ball crosses home plate
and is hit by the batter. I once
played in a two-pitch tourna-
ment; the batter only got two
pitches. Since the opposing
team could throw awful pitch-
es, teams pitched to their own
hitters. A player would stand
next to me as a defense against
hit up the middle. Th is was a
fast-paced game.
I also played in a “Red Dot”
tournament. I was playing with
A&W at the time. Th e Red Dot
was an ultra long ball-hitter’s
dream. My teammates Mike
and Hal Haberly, former Siu-
slaw athletes, blasted several
home runs as did other mem-
bers of this team. Th e wind was
blowing out and, though I can’t
say for sure, Ty Perry may have
hit highway 101 with one of his
gigantic home runs.
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SATURDAY,
JULY 21
Thank you for supporting the Power of Florence!
SERVICE PROJECTS AROUND TOWN
7:00 - 10:00 am FREE pancake and scrambled egg breakfast at the United Methodist Church at 333
Kingwood St.
9:00 am POWER Walk - Offi cial Start of Power of Florence. Mayor Henry will offi cially start
the walk, which begins at the Florence Christian Church. Wear your Power of Florence
shirt! Shirts are $10 each, hats are $15 and sweatshirts are $25 and available while they last
at beginning of walk.
9:00 am Th e Florence Garden Club and the Siuslaw Chapter of the American Rhododendron Society
will be weeding and beautifying Gallagher’s Park.
9:00 am Delta Gamma will be cleaning and beautifying the tennis courts and surrounding park area
at 35th Street.
10:00 - 12:00 pm Scotch broom removal: Help remove invasive Scotch Broom at Heceta Dunes (corner
of Joshua Lane and Nautilus). Bring water, gloves, sunscreen and tools (such as loppers,
hand pruners and small hand saws). Dogs are welcomed. Sponsored by the Oregon Dunes
Restoration Collaborative.
10:00 - 12:00 pm City of Florence employees will be cleaning and beautifying the islands outside the
Justice Center on Greenwood St. at 9th St.
10:00 - 12:00 pm Th e Siuslaw Youth Soccer Association will be cleaning and beautifying Miller Park.
10:00 - 2:00 pm C.R.O.W will hold a costume Garage Sale at 3120 Highway 101.
10:00 - 2:00 pm Th e Friends of the Florence Events Center will be beautifying and adding bark dust to
the front of the Events Center.
11:00 - 2:00 pm Florence Regency will have a carnival with games, dunk tank, face painting, bounce
house and Crepe/SnoCone food truck to raise money for the Th omas Fuller It’s All About
the Heart foundation, the Genevieve Bailey Memorial scholarship and the Oregon Coast
Military Museum.
1:00 - 4:00 pm Van Fans Ice Cream Social at the Florence Events Center. Serving homemade pie & ice
cream with live music and entertainment tickets $5 each.
PARTY IN THE PARKING LOT EVENTS AT GROCERY OUTLET
11:00 -2:00 pm Party in the Parking Lot: With Mike Bones as your MC and live music and entertain-
ment by the C.R.O.W Summer Camp kids, Jason Wood’s voice students, the Luke Turner
Jazz Quartet, Last Resort Players and Speaker Wave!
11:00 - 2:00 pm Florence/Siuslaw Lion’s Club - FREE health screening will off er screening stations for
vision, glaucoma, blood pressure, and blood sugar in the lobby of City Light Cinema.
11:00 - 2:00pm Oregon BoxLunch will be serving up delicious lunch with proceeds going to Sacred
Animal Sanctuary.
11:00 - 2:00 pm Foursquare Church will be accepting donations of new/gently used clothes, shoes and
small household items to benefi t the Better Living Center (aka “Th e Free Store”).
11:00 - 2:00 pm Oregon Coast Military Museum - T-shirts for sale to raise money to support the mu-
seum.
11:00 - 2:00 pm Oregon Coast Military Museum Military vehicles and historical weapons on dis-
play.
11:00 - 2:00 pm Public Works Department vehicles on display for kids and adults to explore and learn
more about.
11:00 - 2:00 pm Florence Police Department vehicles on display for kids and adults to explore and
learn more about.
11:00 - 2:00 pm State Police vehicles on display for kids and adults to explore and learn more about.
11:00 - 2:00 pm Siuslaw Valley Fire and Rescue Ladder Truck on display for kids and adults to explore
and learn more about.
11:00 - 2:00 pm Florence Food Share: Beavers vs. Ducks food collecting contest. Collecting food for
the Florence Food Share.
11:00 - 2:00 pm Hamburger & hotdog BBQ benefi ting Oregon Coast Humane Society.
11:00 - 2:00 pm “Stuff the Van”- Pet food drive for Oregon Coast Humane Society.
11:00 - 2:00 pm Power of Florence T-shirt, sweatshirt, and hat sale- Get yours while they last! Hosted
by the Siuslaw Elementary School Kindness Club.
11:00 - 2:00 pm Lemonade stand to support Loved Again Pets hosted by Kindness Club members
Melody and Th alia!
11:00 - 2:00 pm Emma from the Kindness Club will be selling cookies and cupcakes donated by Sweet
Mama’s Cupcakes & Goodies to raise money to clean the Deadwood Pioneer Museum.
11:00 - 2:00 pm Darcie and Lily from the Kindness Club will have a bake sale to benefi t the Oregon
Coast Humane Society.
11:00 - 2:00 pm FB4K’s (Food Backpacks for Kids) will be have an informational booth about their
mission to erase weekend hunger for students in Florence and Mapleton.
11:00 - 2:00 pm Can and bottle drive- Peace Health will be collecting refundable cans and bottles to
raise money for Food Backpacks for Kids.
11:00 - 2:00 pm Siuslaw Vision will have an informational booth to let the community know they “put
people at the center”!
11:00 - 2:00 pm Stop by the Students for a Better World informational booth in the Grocery Outlet
parking lot to learn about scholarships fro Siuslaw High School college-bound students.
11:00 - 2:00 pm Florence Community P.T.A. will have an informational booth with games and will
hold a membership drive.
11:00 - 2:00pm Florence Organizes Education group will have an informational booth to let the com-
munity know about opportunities at Lane Community College and provide information on
the upcoming Siuslaw School District bond issue.
11:00 - 2:00 pm KXCR will have an informational booth about their local non-profi t radio station, 90.7
FM.
11:00 - 2:00 pm Precious Plastics will have an informational booth about fundraising for a machine to
take the plastic we can no longer recycle.
11:00 - 2:00pm Th e Florence Climate Alliance will have an informational booth to help educate and
encourage citizens to understand how climate change is aff ecting the local area.
11:00 - 2:00 pm Th e Siuslaw Youth Soccer Association will have an informational booth to register
new soccer players. Come sign your child up for a Fall team!
11:00 - 2:00 pm Th e Florence Farmers Market will have an informational booth to spread the word
about the Tuesday market and to seek new volunteers.
11:00 -2:00 pm Florence Master Recyclers will be on hand to discuss their program and free dish
ware (for loan) program.
10:00 - 5:00 pm Habitat for Humanity ReStore: Come shop and make a diff erence. Habitat ReStore is
a nonprofi t home improvement store and donation center: clean out your own garage and
bring in donations of used fi xtures, sinks, faucets, windows, doors, etc.
www.poweroffl orence.org
poweroffl orence@hotmail.com • 541.997.9819 • “Like” our Facebook page @poweroffl orence
