Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 20, 2018)
8A | SATURDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2018 | SIUSLAW NEWS INTERIM from page 1A Materials Operations, Instructor 2, Fire Officer 3 and National Fire Academy Leadership Train- ing. Able is quick to mention the importance of training when discussing his priorities. His ex- perience and enthusiasm are ap- parent when stressing the need for rigorous training sessions for first responders. “My first priority is the ‘Chief ’s Bullseye’ and safety and performance are at the center of the target,” Able said. “I am looking at the safety of individ- uals as well as the safety of the entire crew. You cannot be safe unless you are properly trained. We are putting people into fair- ly dangerous situations. If they are not well trained, you are not going to be safe. And if you put firefighters at risk, you put your community at risk.” Able has progressed steadily up the ranks in different fire ser- vices since leaving the fire mar- shal’s office, serving as fire chief in West Linn, division chief in Tualatin and spending four years as fire chief for the City of Mount Vernon. During those leadership stints, he worked closely with civic leaders and government of- ficials to organize, among other things, a City Incident Manage- ment Team, oversaw the imple- mentation of an Advanced Life Support Program and developed and maintained budgets for multiple fire districts.. Over the last decade, Able has been tapped to head transitional leadership situations at fire de- partments at the Pleasant Hill / Goshen Fire district in Oregon, and at the Palominas Fire Dis- trict and Buckskin Fire Depart- ment in Arizona. While a focus on preparation MEASURE from page 7A Voter control itself, she said, constitutes a significant bul- wark against badly-written bonds. Overburdening the under- privileged also concerned Ol- sen. Raising property taxes in the name of affordable housing will hurt some of the very peo- ple backers of the bill purport to be helping, he said, such as those who are financially strug- gling and edging by month-to- month. “Every action has an equal and opposite reaction,” he said, “and if you put people into homes because you charge somebody else, you might put those people out of their homes. That concerns me and nobody has taken that into ac- count.” There are also concerns that the proposed amendment does not include safeguards against the risks associated with giving private entities ac- cess to public money, though Wever said these buffers al- ready exist. “There are a lot of safe- guards attached to public money and attached to mon- ey for affordable housing,” she said. “And every layer of mon- ey that you bring in, wheth- er it’s state money or federal money, to those bond funds, adds additional, rigid require- ments for how long that hous- ing has to be affordable, who it’s going to serve … and how well it’s being kept up.” Additionally, some wor- ry the bill lacks independent oversight. “It doesn’t provide for ad- equate audits,” said Henry. “The audits under this bill are allowed to be done by the gov- ernment managing the mon- ey. That’d be like me auditing my own tax returns.” However, most small cities hire third parties to conduct audit reports as it is rare to keep an auditor on city staff. “The audits and the pub- lic reporting required in the measure — that’s an addition- al piece that’s not required of bonds otherwise,” said Wever. “So it really is an extra level of scrutiny on those funds.” Even so, opponents of the bill remain uneasy about giv- ing governments and their private partners undue public fund access, and protest that the bill does little to alleviate the state’s housing crisis. “It’s not that I don’t want to build affordable housing,” said Olsen. “Of course I do. I want to get people off the streets like everybody else.” Olsen believes it’s a case of treating the symptom, not the disease. Deeper prob- lems such as restricting ur- ban growth boundaries and accumulating systems devel- opment charges only serve to worsen the problem. “So those are the things that concern me,” he said. “And giving carte blanche without Visit us on the web T HE S IUSLAW N EWS . COM is central to Able’s philosophy, professionalism from all district employees and volunteers is a close second. “When a resident of Flor- ence calls 911, they expect well trained professionals to respond,” he said. “They want them to know what they are doing and to do it right the first time. When someone calls 911, they don’t care if it’s a career fire- fighter or a volunteer, they want a well-trained, proper response with the proper equipment.” The need for cross training of EMTs (emergency medical tech- nicians) and firefighters is a sub- ject familiar to Able and one that he believes is dictated primarily by the changing nature of the calls received by SVFR and fire departments across the country. “I’m glad we are having few- er structure fires. That says a lot about the local fire preven- tion programs and it says a lot about the building codes,” he said. “We are responding to a lot more medical calls and there is a public expectation of proper emergency medical re- sponse from all agencies. If we are responding to medical calls, we better know how to handle the defibrillator without getting the instruction manual out. The next call may be a motor vehi- cle accident, and we may need to do a vehicle extraction. We better know how to use the jaws of life.’” The new interim chief has most recently spent time as a consultant for the Special Dis- tricts Association of Oregon (SDAO). SDAO assists member or- ganizations with staffing sit- uations that require a specific skill set. Often these groups are districts from smaller towns or nonprofits, as in the case of re- cent SDAO client the Oregon Coast Humane Society in Flor- ence. SDAO assisted the hu- mane society with hiring an in- terim director earlier this year. Over the last decade, Able has been tapped to head tran- sitional leadership situations at fire departments at the Pleasant Hill and Goshen Fire District in Oregon and at the Palominas Fire District and the Buckskin Fire Department in Arizona. Able has been successful in stabilizing these situations and assisting with the retention of his successors, leaving the dis- tricts with competent, profes- sional leadership. He has also worked in larger districts, with much more in- volved fire situations. As divi- sion chief in Tualatin, he served a population base of more than 440,000 with a department that employed 36 full-time employ- ees that were deployed to 21 fire stations. Able’s focus on preparation and training were captured in a statement, simple on its surface, but meaningful in its implica- tions for residents of the SVFR district: “There is no satisfac- tion in fighting a fire you could have prevented.” Able has a contract to serve as SVFR’s interim chief director through June 2019. Shorewood Senior Living WELCOME TO SHOREWOOD RICK CHARLES Rick says… “I was born to cook”. He actually began cooking professionally at age 16. One of our staff members said watch- ing Rick cook was like “Poetry in motion. He can Multi-multi task.” He has Southern roots and it shows in the signature dish of; Southern Fried Chicken. Fresh only, never frozen. He likes to cook with organic prod- ucts, and always fresh. When asked how he keeps 70 people happy at once he said he was not sure, but leaned on his cooking prowess. Previously from Little Brown Hen, and now such a blessing to have him at Shorewood Senior Living. I asked Rick for a quote and he said, “I feel I was meant to be here and I love having the freedom to use my creativity.” Thank you Rick for joining our team and helping make Shorewood Senior Living a great place to live. Most voters should receive their ballots by Wednesday, Oct. 24. Voters may drop off their bal- lots at one of many official drop box locations listed in the in- sert included with their ballot. Drop boxes are now open and will remain open until 8 p.m. that will make a really big dif- on Election Day. Florence’s ference.” drop box is located at the Flor- 1451 Spruce St. Florence, OR 97439 Though proponents argue ence Police Department, 900 541-997-8202 that the measure adds another Greenwood St. tool to the toolbox, opponents worry that the tool will be mis- used by people who don’t know how to use it — or worse, know how to abuse it. Even accept- Florence Food Share provides food to those who are hungry in our community. If you have four ing that the bill has flaws, the hours a week available, we are in need of vol- question voters must consider unteers to staff our Front Desk and also act as is whether it’s better to imple- Guides as clients walk through the pantry. Please ment a flawed plan or no plan call our volunteer coordinator, Sarah Lovejoy, @ 541-997-9110 (Monday – Friday, before noon) at all. knowing what you’re going get.” For local governments, though, there remains an ap- peal to local control when ad- dressing problems as unwieldy as homelessness and affordable housing. “Communities across Ore- gon are really struggling with a housing crisis,” said Wev- er. “There’s almost no county in Oregon where a full-time, wage-earning renter can afford to rent a one-bedroom apart- ment because rents are rising faster than income in nearly Lane County Elections every community. I think Mea- mailed ballots Thursday for the sure 102 is a really small change Nov. 6, 2018, General Election. to learn more about volunteering. info@lorence- foodshare.org 2190 Spruce Street. Volunteer Get involved BUD’S UPHOLSTERY Boat Tops & Cars Florence Habitat for Humanity ReStore is a place to put your talents to work. From customer service to furniture repair, we offer volunteer opportunities geared toward individual interests and skills.By giving your time, you help Florence Habitat ReStore do more to support building projects that benefi t families in our community. 2016 Hwy 101 or email volunteer@fl orencehabitat.org Store hours 9am – 5pm Monday- Saturday 541-997-5834 www.facebook.com/restorefl orence • Complete Auto & Boat Interiors • Canvas Work 10 am-6 pm Mon-Sat. Donate Do your part and volunteer today Be ready for Summer. We’re booking appointments now! to help support 4981 Hwy. 101, Complex B 541-997-4856 Over 41 yrs Experien ce Join the Peace Harbor Hospital Volunteers. <RXZLOOÀQGDQDUHDRILQWHUHVW in a caring organization. Peace Harbor Volunteers non-proft organizations in 400 9th Street, Florence, OR 97439 541-997-8412 ext. 2218 Meals on Wheels are available to people over the age of 60 who cannot get out much due to illness or advanced age and who are not eating properly, regardless of income. Cafe 60 is available for those who prefer to make new friends in a dining room setting. these local our community! 1570 Kingwood • PO Box 2313, Florence 541-997-5673 laneseniormeals.org Operating Monday, Wednesday and Friday Volunteer A NO-KILL SHELTER Scientifically Proven Health Benefits Of Fostering Cats and Kittens! 1 2 3 4 They Can Lower Risk Of Heart Disease Purring Helps To Heal Bones, Tendons And Muscles They Reduce Stress And Anxiety You'll Sleep Better Call and Schedule a Visit to the Shelter! (541) 997-4277 Get involved Donate Saving men one PSA test at a time. 541-997-6626 maribob@oregonfast.net Someone to talk to... who understands! Do your part and volunteer today to help support these local non-proft organizations in our community! To include your organization in this directory, please call us @ 541-997-3441