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WELCOME INTO THE
SIUSLAW HALL OF FAME
SPORTS — B
INSIDE — A8
128TH YEAR | ISSUE NO. 65
FLORENCE, OREGON
SERVING WESTERN LANE COUNTY SINCE 1890
OCHS moves
forward with
process to hire
shelter manager
Of Parks and
Pickleball ...
How to build a rec center
in the Siuslaw region
Part I
Board clarifies
No-Kill Policy
By Jared Anderson
Siuslaw News
“Welcome to tonight’s big crowd … and
many pickleballers,” said Lane County
Parks Division Manager Brett Henry,
looking across a crowded room at a public
meeting on Aug. 2. He was revealing the
county’s newly drafted Parks Master Plan,
which will work as a guidepost for the
department over the next two years.
It wasn’t immediately clear why the
pickleballers, or “picklers” as they call
themselves, had shown up. The sport
of pickleball was not on any previous
literature distributed about the meeting
beforehand, and the 88-page master plan
mentions nothing about the game.
“Maybe they got the wrong room?” one
person posited before the meeting.
The picklers made up the majority of
the audience, which was the largest the
Parks Division had ever seen at a commu-
nity meeting.
During the meeting, the county team
members went over their hopes for what
the parks would become and the six goals
that they’ll implement to see their plans to
fruition: Collaborate, connect, create vi-
brancy, generate economic vitality, protect
resources and reflect our values.
They talked about some of the econom-
ic and staffing factors that were affecting
the department, the shortcomings of the
previous plan and what they needed from
the community to succeed.
It was a robust presentation, but by the
end no mention of pickleball had been
made.
“I think we can wrap up now,” said
Charlie Conrad, Lane County parks
supervising analyst, at the end of the pre-
sentation. “John, do you want to talk? I’m
interested to hear about pickleball.”
At that point, John Griffin, local coach
and pickleball extoller, stood in front of
the room. He spoke with an enthusiastic
command as he addressed the room.
“This is the greatest thing that’s ever
happened to me, I love this game,” Griffin
said. “Not everyone is capable of playing
the major sports, but we still want a feel-
ing of team camaraderie. Pickleball gives
us that. We have team camaraderie. We
laugh, we throw friendly insults to each
other, it’s just a blessing.”
The crowd cheered him on, clapping
with every statistic about the sport, cheer-
ing when he spoke about how it could
revitalize the local economy.
Griffin explained that the picklers do
have access to a public court at Rolling
Dunes Park, located at the corner of 35th
Street and Siano Loop in Florence. But as
the years have gone by, the picklers have
outgrown the park’s capacity.
By Mark Brennan
Siuslaw News
Students enjoy aerial summer school
PHOTOS BY MARK BRENNAN/SIUSLAW NEWS
Students in the second annual Florence Air Academy learn about STEM and future careers.
By Mark Brennan
Siuslaw News
here are many dif-
ferent ways that stu-
dents on summer
break can spend
their free time. One of the
most interesting, exciting and
unexpected ways may be to
learn to fly.
This opportunity is offered
through a partnership be-
tween Boys and Girls Club of
Western Lane County (BGC)
and Aero Legends, a local
t
company that is deeply in-
volved in aviation on many
different levels.
The “Air Academy,” as it has
been dubbed by program co-
ordinators Chuck Trent and
Terry Tomeny, was created
to showcase the scientific el-
ements of flying, but also to
help area youth discover their
passion, whatever that may be.
It is the second summer for
the academy.
“Every child in America
deserves a great future,” said
Trent, the local executive di-
rector of BGC. “STEM (Sci-
ence, Technology, Engineer-
ing and Math) education is
critical to the ultimate success
of our young people, as STEM
jobs in the United States
are expected to grow nearly
twice as fast as other fields in
2018. Unfortunately, there is
a shortage of both interested
and adequately prepared kin-
dergarten through 12th-grade
students in STEM subjects,
especially among minority
youth and young women.
“To meet the demands of
the changing world, and de-
velop the leaders of tomorrow,
we must help our youth build
the necessary competencies
and skills to pursue STEM ca-
reers.”
Trent is always on the look-
out for new ways to engage
the students involved in the
programs at the BGC and was
intrigued by a proposal he
received last year from two
prominent local aviators.
See ACADEMY page 10A
Oregon Coast Humane Society (OCHS),
still faced with the changes brought about by
a new board and lack of an executive direc-
tor, has announced a significant addition to
the organization’s leadership team with the
hiring of a new shelter manager.
OCHS Board President Shauna Robbers
said she is glad to have one of the main el-
ements of the recently reorganized group
hired and expected on site soon.
“We are pleased to have hired a full-time
shelter manager with a great depth of expe-
rience,” Robbers said. “Her name is Marina
Lewis and she is in the process of moving
here from Plano, Texas. We expect her to be
here to start in her new position as early as
next week, and we are really looking forward
to working with her. She will be an important
hire for us moving forward.”
There have been a number of changes at
the OCHS as a direct result of an inquiry into
the shelter’s practices, which was initiated by
the Oregon Department of Justice late last
year.
Lewis’s hiring addresses one of the board’s
major problems, which has been a lack of
leadership at the OCHS shelter, while board
members are continuing to work to imple-
ment other suggestions made by the Depart-
ment of Justice.
The position of thrift store manager was
filled last month and the search for an ex-
ecutive director, to supervise all operational
aspects of the organization, is ongoing.
The humane society’s current board mem-
bers were selected by a vote of the member-
ship of OCHS in April.
There have also been some contentious is-
sues, in addition to unanticipated personali-
ty conflicts, that have created new concerns
within the OCHS ranks.
Some of these concerns have been ex-
pressed in letters and emails sent to the
Siuslaw News and posted on social media
platforms, and during protests and petitions
organized against the current board.
There has also been confusion and anger
generated by the unclarity and misinforma-
tion shared surrounding the recent euthana-
sia of two long-term canine residents of the
shelter.
The OCHS No-Kill Policy, which lately
has been criticized on social media platforms
and among board members, has resulted in
disagreements on the intent of the policy.
These disagreements led to the resignation of
directors Jack Hannigan and Judy Roth last
month.
A new director, Jackie Parker, has recently
filled one of the empty positions on the board.
INSIDE
See PARKS page 6A
Classifieds. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Community. . . . . . . . . . . . .
Kid Scoop . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Library Tidings . . . . . . . . . . .
B6
A3
B5
A5
Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A4
Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A2
Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B
Community Voices . . . . . . . A8
See SHELTER page 10A
THIS WEEK ’ S
TODAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
65 56
69 54
69 54
68 55
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