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WEDNESDAY EDITION | NOVEMBER 14, 2018 | $1.00
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ON THE MAT
SPORTS — B
128TH YEAR | ISSUE NO. 91
FLORENCE, OREGON
SERVING WESTERN LANE COUNTY SINCE 1890
FLORENCE VETERANS
DAY PARADE 2018
Hometown
advantage
S
NYAH PHOTO BY NEPTUNE/INRAGE ENTERTAINMENT
Rising artist chooses Florence
as location for music video
This Saturday, Florence will be the main location
for a music video produced by InRage Entertain-
ment, based out of
By Chantelle Meyer
Los Angeles. For the
Siuslaw News
Vollmar family, it made
sense to pick a place
central to 14-year-old Nyah’s upbringing and rising
talents in singing, acting and even dance.
The party isn’t limited to the young performer,
either. All of the Florence community is invited
to sign up online and show up at 10 a.m. to be
included.
“I’ve recently written a song, and we really want
to shoot this music video in Florence,” Nyah told
the Florence City Council on Nov. 5. “We want to
showcase this, because this is my home and I really,
really love it.”
Along with her father Scott, Nyah spoke to the
councilors about including them, city staff and the
public in the upcoming video shoot.
Nyah is frank for a teenager, carrying some of the
signature dry humor of those born in Generation Y.
See MUSIC VIDEO page 11A
PHOTOS BY MARK BRENNAN/SIUSLAW NEWS
unshine and large crowds were the order
of the day for Sunday’s annual Veteran’s
Day Parade. Thousands of spectators
lined the sidewalks on First and Bay Streets in
Historic Old Town Florence as retired and
active veterans, local first responders and
U.S. Coast Guard troops passed by to applause
and cheers from community members in
crowds. In addition, American Foreign Legion
Post No. 50, Elks Lodge No. 1858, Florence
Chapter of Disabled American Veterans and
Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3232 attended
a recognition ceremony at the Elks Lodge
preceding their participation in parade. See
more photos on A12.
Education week recognizes school faculty, staff
By Mark Brennan
Siuslaw News
American Education Week,
Nov. 12 to 16, is a nationwide an-
nual observance that highlights
the importance and dedication
of teachers and staff to the edu-
cation process. Throughout the
week, the Siuslaw School District
will be recognizing the work done
by these dedicated individuals by
giving small tokens of apprecia-
tion to faculty and staff through-
out the week.
The National Education As-
sociation (NEA) was one of the
creators and original sponsors of
the almost century-old recogni-
tion effort, first meeting with the
American Legion in 1919 to ad-
dress illiteracy among veterans of
World War I.
In its initial resolution, drafted
in 1921, the NEA called for: “An
educational week ... observed in
all communities annually for the
purpose of informing the pub-
lic of the accomplishments and
needs of the public schools and
to secure the cooperation and
support of the public in meeting
those needs.”
U.S. President Donald Trump
released a proclamation last week
in expectation of this week’s ob-
servance, highlighting the impor-
tance of a good education for all
Americans.
According to the official proc-
lamation released by the White
House, American Education Week
is about highlighting the com-
mitment to ensuring all Ameri-
cans have access to an affordable,
high-quality education, as well as
recognizing the hard work of the
nation’s parents, guardians, teach-
ers and school leaders to ensure
every child is prepared to join to-
day’s growing workforce.
See EDUCATION page 7A
In memoriam of Florence’s exploding whale
Groups commemorate 48th anniversary of Florence’s most famous public spectacle
By Jared Anderson
Siuslaw News
INSIDE
“Hazel, you got all the whale
parts?” James Spangler asked
Hazel Raia Monday as they
were getting ready to reenact
the famed “Exploding Whale”
incident which occurred on
Nov. 12, 1970, on a beach just
south of Florence.
The whale parts were a mix-
ture of kids and adults, dressed
in black plastic bags and hand
drawn pictures of various or-
gans: A heart, lungs, a liver, a
blowhole and a complex diges-
tive track.
“Where’s the eye?” Raia asked.
The eye was a big white disk,
an “x” representing a dead eye-
ball. It was held up prominently
Classifieds. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Community. . . . . . . . . . . . .
Kid Scoop . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Library Tidings . . . . . . . . . . .
B6
A3
B5
A5
ploded by a single firework.
as the group huddled togeth-
Bloody whale blubber (rep-
er on the sand just outside
resented by flaming Chee-
of Driftwood Shores Resort
tos) rained down on unsus-
and Conference Center,
pecting Barbie dolls.
creating the semblance of a
The video, made by local
large, beached whale. Mul-
artist Jo Beaudreau and her
tiple white boxes marked
fiancé Dan Okonski was
“TNT” were nestled along-
produced to help sell “I Love
side the makeshift marine
Florence” shirts and sweat-
mammal.
ers designed by local artist
“Do you want to do quick
Ed Gunderson as a fundrais-
practice?” Someone yelled,
er for local young artists.
and a countdown start-
The three of them showed
ed: Five, four, three, two,
up to the larger reenact-
one. The whale parts yelled
ment by Driftwood, howev-
“Boom!” as they flung them-
er the two projects were not
selves across the beach,
planned in tandem. In fact,
laughing.
SIUSLAW NEWS FILE PHOTO
neither group knew the oth-
“That was the best blown-
whale reenactment on Mon- hours before, a video had been
er existed until they began
up whale I’ve seen all day,”
day, the 48th anniversary of released online of the incident, promoting their events.
Spangler said.
“It was such a great idea that
It wasn’t the only blown-up Florence’s exploding whale. Just with a small whale replica ex-
Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A4
Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A2
Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B
Weather Data . . . . . . . . . . . A2
This is your time to see if you can find
lower premiums and extra benefits. Look
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Plans change every year, call for an
appointment with Mike Streets to review
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THIS WEEK ’ S
TODAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
62 48
54 46
52 43
50 38
WEATHER
Full Forecast, A3
obviously there’s a groundswell
in the area,” Gunderson said
about the interest in celebrat-
ing the often-derided decision
to explode an 8-ton beached
sperm whale with half-a-ton of
dynamite. In the process, Gun-
derson, along with the organiz-
ers of the Monday night event,
spoke about the history of the
exploding whale, how it has be-
come a national phenomenon,
and the importance of celebrat-
ing (and capitalizing on) some
of the quirkier aspects of the
Siuslaw region that many locals
tend to forget about.
“In two years, it will be the
50th anniversary, and we’re go-
ing to do it right,” Gunderson
said.
See WHALE page 9A
S IUSLAW N EWS
2 S ECTIONS | 24 P AGES
C OPYRIGHT 2018
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