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August 25, 2018!
Details on 2A
128TH YEAR | ISSUE NO. 67
Of Parks and
Pickleball ...
It takes a community
to build a community
Part II
By Jared Anderson
Siuslaw News
“We’re hoping that people are inspired to do
something for their community,” said Vision
Keeper and former co-chair of Siuslaw Vision Jo
Beaudreau. “There’s a lot that we can do together.”
She paused, then laughed.
“I sound all touchy feely there,” she said.
“But community building is touchy feely,” Siu-
slaw Vision Coordinator Stephanie Sarles said.
Beaudreau and Sarles work with the Siuslaw
Vision 2025, a community-led organization that
looks for the needs of a shared community vision,
and then works to make it a reality.
It’s a central hub of ideas, working closely
with community organizations to navigate the
intricate challenges of creating broad community
organizations. Its main goal is to help build the
community.
Siuslaw Vision isn’t very discriminatory in
who it will help achieve their dreams, but one of
the projects it is looking to help come to fruition
is a community recreation center. There are a
multitude of groups that could benefit from the
Vision’s expertise — one of which are pickleball
enthusiasts across the region.
As described in Part I of this article, a group
of pickleballers, or picklers, have been having
difficulties getting their vision of a dedicated
pickleball court off the ground that would include
indoor and outdoor courts, and be a hub tourna-
ment.
This Monday, some picklers attended a Flor-
ence City Council meeting to talk about their
love of the sport, describing a plan that brings in
tourism dollars through the sport.
The idea of painting in additional lines to the
tennis court was floated, with picklers saying they
would pitch in money. Even Mayor Joe Henry
said he might raise some funds for the project,
and Councilor Joshua Greene promised $300 of
his own money. But as far as a larger complex was
concerned?
Henry explained the city’s predicament:
“It’s going to take money to do this project,”
he said. “I’m all in favor having a pickleball court
and complex. … But you guys have to get orga-
nized and spearhead this. This is not something
the city is going to take on. We have very limited
resources.”
The question goes back to how a group of
picklers could begin fundraising and organizing
such a project. The picklers stated they had an
upcoming meeting with Florence City Manager
Erin Reynolds about starting a grass roots project
to get the project running.
So how does one start a project like this? Some-
thing that, as the picklers believe, could create a
healthier citizenship and help make the Siuslaw
region a better place to live.
It just so happens that Siuslaw Vision shares
those same goals.
“Vision tries to find ways to support people with
our resources for the community,” Sarles said.
And right now, the Siuslaw region is “on a roll.”
Recreation Center
The picklers did work with Siuslaw Vision at one
point, put the project fizzled out.
INSIDE
See VISION page 6A
Classifieds. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Community. . . . . . . . . . . . .
Kid Scoop . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Library Tidings . . . . . . . . . . .
B6
A3
B5
A5
FLORENCE, OREGON
SERVING WESTERN LANE COUNTY SINCE 1890
Restoring
the dunes
Oregon Dunes Restoration
Collaborative explains what it
will take to bring the region
back to its former glory
JARED ANDERSON/SIUSLAW NEWS
Members of the Oregon Dunes Restoration Collaborative work to keep the Heceta Dunes clear of invasive species, such as Scotch broom.
By Jared Anderson
Siuslaw News
“I
n Wales, we like to look af-
ter the Scotch broom and
the gorse because it’s so pretty,”
Dafydd Balston said. “But one
of the invasive species there is
rhododendrons. They’re a weed
over there, spreading and tak-
ing over. But the Scotch broom,
with its bright yellow in the
spring time, we work to preserve
those.”
Balston, who now lives in Flor-
ence, was volunteering for the Oregon
Dunes Restoration Collaborative last
Saturday, a group that is dedicated to
restoring the Oregon dunes to their
natural habitat. Once a month, the
collaborative sets out to pull or cut the
species that have wreaked havoc on the
local dunes ecosystem.
But in his home country of Wales,
Balston would be doing the exact op-
posite.
“Rhododendrons were introduced
in Victorian times,” he said. “There
are still some stately manors in the UK
where you go in May, and it’s an abso-
lute blaze of color because there’s so
many different species from all around
the world. It is a big tourist attraction.
But, they spread. In the ornamental
gardens they’re controlled. Out in the
wild it can be a real nuisance.”
So, in Wales, collaboratives would be
set up to eradicate the wild rhododen-
drons and preserve the native Scotch
broom.
“It’s a worldwide campaign to main-
tain some different ecosystems,” he
said. “Trying to preserve different spe-
cies.”
Balston and the collaborative were
working in the Heceta Dunes area, just
County opens option to ‘round up’ recycling
September event to accept limited plastic waste
Plastic. The word once met un-
Master Recyclers in the Florence
By Mark Brennan
limited possibilities, now it means
area to assist any individuals or
Siuslaw News
unending pollution.
groups who may want to partici-
Plastic is most often produced
pate in the September Recycling
using a process that includes pe-
Roundup.
troleum-based materials to create the multitude of
Bell is also working on the pre-event publicity for
objects that fill the households of America and those the county, providing information to clarify the de-
across the globe.
tails of the roundup.
Much of these materials will eventually make their
“Lane County Waste Management is hosting this
way into a landfill or waterway and then into hu- special collection event to provide residents an op-
man and animal food chains. Toxic petroleum-based portunity to recycle many of the plastic containers
chemicals leach out of plastic waste and make their that were dropped from recycling programs in recent
way into humans and animals, where exposure has months,” Bell wrote in an email. “Because this mate-
been linked to cancers, birth defects, impaired im- rial will be clean and collected in segregated, material
munity responses and endocrine disruption.
types, they will be delivered to Denton Plastics and
Residents of Florence and the surrounding areas processed into plastic pellets for manufacturers of
have had to deal with the changing world of plastics new recycled-content products, such as park bench-
as recycling of the materials has been discontinued es, decking, flower pots, electronic components and
by local waste haulers since the end of last year due much more.”
to changing relationships with those who accept re-
Locally, one of the organizations that has been
cycling.
most active in fashioning a plan for the future of
Lane County is also in the crosshairs of the plastic plastic recycling in the Siuslaw region is Precious
problem and is taking a step to answer concerns con- Plastics, a nonprofit formed in the wake of last year’s
sumers have with throwing out the plastic containers plastic recycling changes.
they have purchased.
Precious Plastics is planning on coordinating a
To that end, Lane County Waste Management will trip from Florence to Glenwood for the roundup, but
be hosting a plastic recycling event on Sunday, Sept. the details of the trip are still being finalized.
30, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at its Glenwood facility,
Eileen Angilletta is the spokesperson for the group
3100 E 17th St.
who wants residents to know that there are some
The event is called the Recycle Roundup and the solutions on the horizon for recycling in town.
transfer station will accept for recycling plastic bot-
“Precious Plastics Florence is hoping to partic-
tles, tubs and jugs labeled number 2, 4 and 5.
ipate in the Recycle Roundup, possibly to have a
Materials must be clean, free of labels and adhe- joint pick up spot, but details are in the works,” she
sives and sorted by number and shape. Incorrect, said. “My understanding is that the status of plas-
unsorted or unclean materials will not be accepted.
tic recycling at this time is pretty much at a stand-
Kelly Bell is coordinator for Lane County’s Mas- still, but this could change as the rest of the county
ter Recycler Program and she has reached out to the
See RECYCLE page 7A
Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A4
Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A2
Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B
Weather Data . . . . . . . . . . . A2
THIS WEEK ’ S
TODAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
63 56
66 52
66 51
66 53
WEATHER
Full Forecast, A3
northwest of Florence’s city limits.
“We try and come out once a month,”
said Bill Blackwell, who helps organize
these excursions. “In the spring, it was
even twice a month. We work primar-
ily here at Heceta Dunes, and we also
went to Lagoon Campground at Siltco-
os, Honeyman State Park and the Ore-
gon Dunes day use area.”
Blackwell’s group was focusing on
Heceta, starting a four-hour expedition
that began with cutting down invasive
species and ended up with a tour of one
of the most pristine areas on the entire
See DUNES page 5A
Weekend accidents,
emergencies lead to
multiple callouts
Story and Photo
By Mark Brennan
Siuslaw News
A two-car collision resulted in a roll-over
and the need for extrication on Aug. 19.
It was unfortunately a busy summer weekend
for first responders at Siuslaw Valley Fire and
Rescue (SVFR) and Western Lane Ambulance
District (WLAD). Increased traffic in the area
and on Highways 101 and 126 during the week-
end resulted in heavier than expected callouts
for both organizations.
Operations Chief Jim Dickerson reported that
SVFR responded to 14 calls over the weekend
and WLAD also ran many multi-call periods,
often responding to multiple emergencies at one
time.
“We ran six motor vehicle accidents, which
are dual response situations where SVFR and
WLAD work in tandem,” Dickerson said. “One
of the motor vehicle accidents was a mutual
aid with a partner agency upriver. Six respons-
es were medical assists and one was to set up a
landing zone for a critical transport.”
S IUSLAW N EWS
2 S ECTIONS | 14 P AGES
C OPYRIGHT 2018
See ACCIDENTS page 5A