SIUSLAW NEWS | WEDNESDAY, O CTOBER 17, 2018 | 9A
TOOLS from page 1A
Tatum is enthusiastic about
the future of a more hands-on
type of educational experi-
ence for his students.
He also wanted to thank
the local businesses that have
already donated tools and
equipment to assist him with
the task of rebooting the con-
struction program.
“So many of our local busi-
nesses have stepped up and
made donations,” Tatum
said. “John LaRocco at Pro
Lumber, Michael Parr at
Cascade Wholesale and
Richard Erickson and Sun-
belt Rentals have made do-
nations totaling over $3,000
to this point.”
The program is looking
for donations of money,
tools and materials.
To find out how you can
contribute to the building
of the Siuslaw School Dis-
trict construction toolbox,
contact Tatum at ctatum@
siuslaw.k12.or.us or call 541-
997-8241, ext. 7436.
CITY CLUB from page 1A
The City Club is experiencing a
problem that is becoming an op-
erational issue for many local non-
profits and public service groups: a
lack of volunteers. The important
role that volunteers play in Flor-
ence is becoming more apparent
as time passes and older mem-
bers of the community are forced
to stop assisting at area organiza-
tions.
These retiring volunteers are
not being replaced by younger res-
idents and important services are
being impacted.
The Florence Senior Center,
Florence Food Share and Meals
on Wheels are struggling with
reduced staffing and increasing
demands for the services they pro-
vide, joining City Club in a des-
perate search for new members.
“I’ve been involved for the last
five years or so,” Nichols said.
“There was a time when we were
a little more formalized and we
had officers and things like that,
but as the group has diminished,
either through illness or moving
away, we are down to just the two
of us. So now it’s a partnership or a
co-chairmanship.”
As the years passed and new
members failed to come in, cur-
rent City Club members began to
look into keeping the club afloat.
“Three years ago, we started a
discussion about what we were
about, where we were going and
what we could do to address flag-
ging membership,” Nichols said.
“So we thought about all the dif-
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ferent components, whether it was
the speakers or the lunch, and we
decided that it was more about the
topic than anything else.”
Former City of Florence City
Manager Craig McMicken is one
of the founding members of the
Florence City Club. He spoke
about the inspiration that stirred a
small group of friends to form the
group.
McMicken remembers listening
with great interest to the Portland
City Club, which was established
in 1916, and continues to hold
weekly meetings that are broad-
cast on public radio stations across
Oregon.
“My interest was prompted by
listening to the City Club of Port-
land and the City Club of Eugene.
We listened to their shows every
month and decided to start a club
here. We had video cameras that
we could use in our meeting room
and send the show to other clubs.
And we had a telephone connec-
tion and people, after listening to
the speakers, could ask questions
and we could answer them,” Mc-
Micken said.
City Clubs across America have
been organizing civically orient-
ed discussions and public pre-
sentations since the formation of
the New York City Club in 1892.
There are more than 100 active
City Clubs across the country,
which host politicians, educators,
entrepreneurs and advocates for
causes from the far left to the far
right.
The hope for these clubs across
America is that talking about dif-
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ferences and the basis for these
differences will lead to a better un-
derstanding among those that dis-
agree. Attention drawn to issues
highlighted at City Club meetings
has helped to shape the debate on
a wide array of issues, including
the establishment of a minimum
wage, expansion of rapid transit
and voting rights for women.
Voting and civil rights have
been subjects of club discussion
in the past, helping to shape
public opinion and the political
future of candidates that spoke
to City Club groups during that
time.
Now, Election-related debates
continue to be an integral part of
City Club programs.
Last spring’s debate between
West Lane County Commission-
er Jay Bozievich and challenger
Nora Kent was held before a full
house on a weekday afternoon in
Florence.
The two candidates were asked
questions presented by voters, se-
lected randomly by Nichols, and
Baumrucker acted as the modera-
tor for the debate. The response to
the candidate forum was positive
and social media comments post-
ed during and after the debate was
considerable.
The debate between Bozievich
and Kent is one of the examples
that Baumrucker points to when
describing the role her now small
group plays in civic discussions.
“The event with Nora Kent and
Jay Bozievich was standing room
only, with people standing out-
side and looking in the windows.
There was obviously a lot of inter-
est in the community about the
race, and the turnout was great,”
she said.
There was a clear local focus at
City Club of Florence for 2018.
Guests included Florence Mayor
Joe Henry, Siuslaw News Editor
Ned Hickson, Siuslaw School
Board President Suzanne Mann-
Heintz, Public Arts Committee
member Harlen Springer and
Old Town entrepreneur Mari-
anne Brisbane.
“Now, what we need is to find
some new people to come in and
infuse the group with some new
ideas and new energy,” Nichols
said. “We could really benefit by
having someone step forward
to help who knows about social
media and they could help us get
the word out.”
October’s guest speaker will be
Florence City Council candidate
Maureen Miltenberger, who is
part of the Nov. 6 General Elec-
tion. Miltenberger will be speak-
ing at noon on Thursday, Oct.
18, at the Florence Unitarian
Universalist Fellowship.
November’s scheduled speak-
er is Oregon author Bob Welch,
who has just released a new bi-
ography of track and field inno-
vator Dick Fosbury titled, “The
Wizard of Foz.” He will speak to
the to the City Club and interest-
ed community members in the
Bromley Room at the Siuslaw
Public Library on Nov. 2 from
noon to one.
City Club is also broadcast on
Saturday mornings on KXCR 90.7.
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