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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 27, 2018)
THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM | SIUSLAWNEWS | SATURDAY EDITION | OCTOBER 27, 2018 | $1.00 @ SIUSLAWNEWS ONWARD TO STATE SPORTS — B 128TH YEAR | ISSUE NO. 86 FLORENCE, OREGON SERVING WESTERN LANE COUNTY SINCE 1890 Nov. 6 General Election Thrilling Grier challenges McKeown for District 9 seat seasonal events By Mark Brennan Siuslaw News The race to represent Oregon House of Rep- resentatives District Nine is a contest between incumbent Democrat Caddie McKeown and Republican challenger Teri Grier. McKeown has represented the district since 2012 and Grier has no prior experience as an elected official, working most recently as an instructor at Southwestern Oregon Communi- ty College. The two candidates have provided the Siu- slaw News with responses to questions to clari- fy their priorities if elected on Nov. 6, 2018. PHOTOS BY JARED ANDERSON & NED HICKSON/SIUSLAW NEWS S pooky season got started this week with Coast Radio’s annual Great Pumpkin Giveaway and CROW Flight Dance Team’s flash mob dances to the song “Thriller.” Flight will perform again at CROW’s Quarantine Haunted House, which runs Oct. 27, 30 and 31 from 6 to 9 p.m. at the CROW Center for the Performing Arts, 3120 Highway 101. There will be a special, less scary Family Night on Monday, Oct. 29, from 5 to 8 p.m. Other Halloween and Harvest Parties are taking place in the community. A complete list is available at TheSiuslawNews.com. Question 1: Why are you interested in serving as the representative for Oregon House District Nine? Grier: I’m running because I don’t think our needs and issues have been well represented in Salem by our current representative. We need someone who will vote for our issues and sponsor legislation that our coastal commu- nities need, not someone who is beholden to their party leadership or the interests of Portland. McKeown: I’m seeking reelection as your state representative to make sure the South Coast See REPRESENTATIVE page 6A Measure 103 seeks to prohibit sales tax on groceries By Damien Sherweed Siuslaw News INSIDE Oregon sits uniquely in the Pacific Northwest as a state without a sales tax. When struggling Oregon families plot out their food expenditures, they can rely on their supermarkets’ price tags without any surprises at the cash register. Still, in September this year, more than 620,000 Oregonians received help from the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP), accord- ing to the Department of Human Services. With hundreds of thousands of households living on thin margins, many can ill afford price hikes in basic necessities. A measure on the Oregon ballot this year will challenge a perceived threat to these necessities. Measure 103 would amend the Oregon Con- stitution by adding a 16th section to Article IX. It proposes to prohibit taxes and fees based on the transactions of groceries, which would extend to sellers and distributors such as supermarkets, restaurants, farmers markets and food banks. The bill defines groceries as “any raw or pro- cessed food or beverage intended for human consumption,” but does not include alcohol, marijuana or tobacco products. See MEASURE 103 page 6A Classifieds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Community. . . . . . . . . . . . . Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B6 A3 A4 A2 WLEOG updates agreements with partner agencies City of Florence prepares for hazards By Chantelle Meyer Siuslaw News While residents and organiza- tions across the state participat- ed in The Great Oregon Shake- out this month, Western Lane Emergency Operations Group (WLEOG) has been updating its rules of procedure, clarifying its objectives and reviewing its inter- governmental agreements (IGA) with partner organizations. On Monday, WLEOG Board Chair Megan Messmer, who is also the City of Florence project manager, brought an updated IGA before the Florence City Council for ap- proval. Messmer said that WLEOG has been working for several months ‘Chaos’ in the community By Jared Andersen & Ned Hicksen Siuslaw News “T his is an opportunity for members of the au- dience to bring to the council’s attention any item oth- erwise not listed on the agenda,” City of Florence Mayor Joe Henry said during a public meeting held last Tuesday. The audience at the meeting was large, filled mostly with supporters of council can- didate Geraldine Lucio. Lucio, accompanied by an entourage of supporters, watched as three speakers from the public spoke on her behalf. “As an active volunteer in the community, and a small business owner, I rarely feel the need to Sideshow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B5 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B Monthly Calendar . . . . . . . . . A8 Weather Data . . . . . . . . . . . A2 This is your time to see if you can find lower premiums and extra benefits. Look at all your Medicare health plan choices for 2019, including prescription drug plans as well as Medicare Advantage plans. Plans change every year, call for an appointment with Mike Streets to review your options. Many carriers represented. THIS WEEK ’ S address the council, but I think this is important tonight,” said Terry Tomeny. “I, like many other, in our friendly communi- ty, was very encouraged to see a smart young woman like Geral- dine Lucio step up to serve on the council. She brings exactly what the council needs. Most impor- tantly, she brings a non-partisan approach. She’s not pushing ei- ther a conservative or a liberal agenda. She’s not an officer in a local partisan or political organi- zation. Her only goal is to fairly do what’s important to the peo- ple of this community. And if you want to know what’s important to the community, just go down on Bay Street and cut hair for a cou- ple of days.” Lucio is the owner of Old Town SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY 61 52 56 49 56 46 57 50 WEATHER Full Forecast, A3 The politicization of Florence’s city council election: Part II Barbershop, located in Old Town Florence. “After declining to participate in a totally uncoordinated forum, that she and many others did not consider non-partisan, she has been subjected to ongoing ha- rassment or bullying, whatever you want to call it,” Tomeny con- tinued. “Much of it being done, unbelievably, by sitting members of the city council in an attempt to convince her to withdraw her name. She was harassed verbally by a sitting city council member. She was then sent an extremely inappropriate email by another city council member.” The second incident involved Councilor Joshua Greene, who went to Lucio’s place of business to inquire about her readiness TODAY to create updates, a process it hasn’t done since 2014. “As it went through this pro- cess, WLEOG updated its mission statement,” Messmer said. “It en- compasses what we’re doing: ‘To educate, promote and implement actions to eliminate or reduce See AGREEMENT page 7A for the time and commitment involved in becoming a sitting councilor. Tomeny was referring to two incidents that occurred the fol- lowing week. One, when Coun- cilor Susy Lacer sent an email from her personal email account to Lucio, questioning her un- willingness to speak in a public forum debate with other can- didates and suggesting that she should drop out of the race. While Greene characterized the meeting as cordial, ending in a friendly embrace, Tomeny is the person on record to characterize the visit as verbal harassment. Lucio, who was in attendance at the meeting, did not give her account of the incident. See COMMUNITY page 7A S IUSLAW N EWS 2 S ECTIONS | 20 P AGES C OPYRIGHT 2018 Coverage for all the things you care for ... For 2019, new plans and an additional carrier in Lane County to choose from. For help to navigate the Marketplace, find out if you qualify for a subsidy or cost-sharing options, call for an appointment with Mike. You won’t pay more if you use an agent to help. Call 541-997-8574 1234 Rhododendron Drive / PO Box 7000 Florence, OR 97439 Phone 541-997-8574
