Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 13, 2018)
THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM | SIUSLAWNEWS | SATURDAY EDITION | OCTOBER 13, 2018 | $1.00 @ SIUSLAWNEWS n e M & n e m Wo in Business INSIDE — A8 SENIOR NIGHT & A9 128TH YEAR | ISSUE NO. 82 Nov. 6 General Election Voter registration deadline is Tuesday People who are not registered to vote in any Oregon county may register online at oregon- votes.gov no later than 11:59 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 16. The online option is available only to those with a valid Oregon driver’s license, DMV-issued identification card or learner’s permit. The next election is upcoming on Tuesday, Nov. 6. Other registration options: • Submit a voter registration form to the Elec- tions Office by 5 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 16. • Mail a voter registration card to the Elections Office with a postmark no later than Tuesday, Oct. 16. New voters who will turn 18 on or before the Nov. 6 Election Day can register by the Oct. 16 deadline and receive a ballot, even if they are still 17 on the deadline date. See VOTER INFO page 10A Siuslaw School Bond would finance upgrades at all three district facilities One of the local measures on the November ballot asks Florence residents to invest heavily in By Mark Brennan the educational future of area students. Measure Siuslaw News 20-291 requests invest- ment from taxpayers in the amount of $108,700,000, with the length of the bond issue being 31 years. The requested amount will finance major structural upgrades at the Siuslaw elementary and middle schools and a complete replacement of the high school. Measure 20-291: Bonds to Construct and Up- grade School Facilities, Improve Safety Shall Siuslaw School District issue $108,700,000 in general obligation bonds to construct, expand and remodel facilities, im- prove safety, and enhance curriculum? If the bonds are approved, they will be payable from taxes on property or property ownership that are not subject to the limits of sections 11 and 11 b, Article XI of the Oregon Constitution. If passed, the cost to voters will be $2.72 per $1000 of the assessed value of property owned. A property valued at $300,000 would have a monthly tax responsibility of $68 and a total cost for the year of $816. The $108 million requested in Measure 20- 291 would be divided between the district’s three schools. The elementary school is slated to re- ceive $18,925,269, the middle school improve- ments are estimated to cost $1,333,329 and the majority of funds, $88,359,075, would be allocat- ed for a complete replacement of the high school. According to Siuslaw School District admin- istrators and independent consultants hired to assess and analyze the structures and surround- ing areas owned and operated by the district, the need for significant improvements at all schools SPORTS — B Worth his salt? “T o make sure everybody is on the same page that we are on our timeline, we so- licited designs for our new logo from the stu- dents, community, staff — anybody could turn By Jared Anderson in a logo,” Mapleton School District Super- Siuslaw News intendent Jodi O’Mara said. She was speaking at the Mapleton School Board meeting this past Wednesday, where the future of the Salty the Sailor logo, which has adorned the center of the high school gym floor since the late 1970s, was expected to be decided. She had prepared a presentation going over seven logos that the student body had chosen the day earlier out of the 12 that had been sub- mitted to the school. Three logos had renditions of Salty, one had an anchor, another a battleship. Two logos focused on the letter “M.” The students had the opportunity to vote for the original Salty design, with his bell bot- tom pants and determined grin, but they voted against it. After presenting the designs, O’Mara turned the discussion over to the board of directors. “So, it’s up to us to decide our favorite, us four here?” board member Michelle Holman asked. “Yes, as we are the representatives of the com- munity,” Board President Mizu Burruss said. “It’s not just the students here now that this is a decision for. It’s for all the past, as well as the future students.” The four board members (new member Mary Ellen Mansfield was absent) heard a slew of comments regarding the possibility of changing Salty over the past week. “I’m so sick of this stupidity! Leave it alone!” read one comment on the Facebook page “You know you’re from Mapleton, Oregon when…” There were 87 comments in total, many of DAMIEN SHERWOOD/SIUSLAW NEWS Salty the Sailor was painted on in the 1970s on Mapleton High School's gym floor. which simply stated, “Keep Salty.” Burruss had received 20 comments from community members on this issue. “Every single email I received wanted some version of Salty kept,” she said. “Some of them were, ‘Well sure, but add a female version as well.’ Every single one did want a Salty, an actual person character as a mascot.” But the conversations that followed covered the difficulties in keeping the mascot. Much of the public discussion had been focused on gender, but there were other considerations in- cluding race, disability and America’s changing culture. INSIDE Mapleton contemplates Salty the Sailor’s fate Even religion played into the discussion when it was mentioned by an audience member that the school’s often-used anchor symbol could be considered a Christian symbol, which the board hadn’t been aware of. By the end of the meeting, a decision had not been reached. A special session on the topic is now sched- uled for Tuesday, Oct. 30, as it was clear that the board needed more input from the community. While it was difficult to say where the board members were swaying on the issue, Holman said, “I don’t see the human floor in the center of the gym anymore. I just think it’s a different time. I respect where people are coming from, and their attachments to the past. But, a lot of schools are going to letter logos for very reason- able reasons. “I can’t tell what’s going to happen over the next week, but just to be inclusive I don’t see how Salty could represent everybody. It’s just not possible.” The discussion will be open for the next few weeks, and it is not expected to be an easy one. The goal is to create an environment that fosters an inclusive atmosphere for everyone. But in the process, it’s possible that many may feel the ex- act opposite, whatever the outcome may be. “I think that the discussion is actually divisive and difficult,” Burruss told the Siuslaw news a day after the meeting. “I don’t know if people will feel closer together after this, which I regret. But I also don’t feel like we can shy away from these kinds of discussions and decisions, and I do think that there are real things that prompted us to have this discussion. You have to have the hard discussions, too. We wouldn’t be doing our job if we didn’t think about it and talk about it.” Mapleton needs to talk about Salty. See SAILORS page 7A Western Lane Chief named EMS Administrator of the Year Chief of Operations Matt House receives statewide recognition for leadership By Mark Brennan Siuslaw News Western Lane Ambulance District (WLAD) Chief of Operations Matt House received recognition this month for his leadership as the recipient of the 2018 Emergency Systems Administra- tor of the Year Award from the Oregon Health Authority. The award is given each year to the individual that has distinguished them- See SCHOOL BOND page 11A Classifieds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . B5 Community. . . . . . . . . . . . . A3 Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A4 People in Business. . . . . . . A8-9 FLORENCE, OREGON SERVING WESTERN LANE COUNTY SINCE 1890 Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A2 Sideshow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B4 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B This Week on the Coast. . . . . A6 COURTESY PHOTO THIS WEEK ’ S Western Lane Ambulance District Chief of Operations Matt House (center, with certificate) was named the 2018 Emergency Systems Administrator of the Year. TODAY SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY 73 44 72 47 73 47 72 47 WEATHER Full Forecast, A3 selves in the management of an Emer- gency Services Organization during the previous year. House was nominated by staff and he believes the award speaks primarily to the high quality of his team, rather than his individual contributions. “To me this is not an individual award. It’s more that it symbolizes that we as an organization are going in the right direction as a district,” House said. “And even though I am singled out as Administrator of the Year, I don’t inter- pret it that way; I interpret it as a district award. I believe in the old saying that great leaders have great teams and I am just a small part of that equation.” See AWARD page 10A S IUSLAW N EWS 2 S ECTIONS | 20 P AGES C OPYRIGHT 2018 ,ĞůƉŝŶŐKƌĞŐŽŶŝĂŶƐ&ƌŽŵ&ůŽƌĞŶĐĞ^ŝŶĐĞϭϵϵϲ EĞǁ>ŽĐĂƟŽŶ͊ ϭϵϯϮWŝŶĞ^ƚ͘^ƵŝƚĞͲϲ&ůŽƌĞŶĐĞ KŶƚŚĞEŽƌŶĞƌŽĨϭϵƚŚΘWŝŶĞ x >ĞĂƌŶŚŽǁƚŽĮŶĚƚŚĞďĞƐƚDĞĚŝĐĂƌĞƉůĂŶĨŽƌLJŽƵ͘ x ^ĞĂƌĐŚDĞĚŝĐĂƌĞWĂƌƚWƌĞƐĐƌŝƉƟŽŶƉůĂŶƐďĂƐĞĚŽŶLJŽƵƌŶĞĞĚƐ͘ ĂŶĂĂŶĞ/ŶƐƵƌĂŶĐĞŝƐŶŽƚĐŽŶŶĞĐƚĞĚǁŝƚŚŽƌĞŶĚŽƌƐĞĚďLJƚŚĞhŶŝƚĞĚ^ƚĂƚĞƐŐŽǀĞƌŶŵĞŶƚŽƌƚŚĞĨĞĚĞƌĂůDĞĚŝĐĂƌĞƉƌŽŐƌĂŵ͘
