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Siuslaw News
VOL. 129, NO. 26
SERVING
WESTERN
LANE COUNTY
SINCE 1890
F LORENCE , O REGON
NEW Flore
nce Cente
r Stage —
April Edit
ion Inside
Showing love for the
Siuslaw Public Library
Community rallies
around library
with art after
vandalism incident
WEATHER
“Wall the Heals” still
seeking volunteers
Generally sunny with
a high of 60 and a
low tonight of 44.
Full forecast on A3
COMMUNITY
COURTESY PHOTO
Siuslaw Public Library Director Meg Spencer shows her love for the library and the community that
supports it. Thanks to responses from dozens of area artists, “What do you love about the library?”
now has a posted answer over a window at the Florence branch. Several creative “pop-up” art pieces
now cover eight broken windows, set to be replaced on Tuesday, April 9.
By Jared Anderson
Siuslaw News
Let it snow with
area ice makers.
INSIDE — A3
SPORTS
Crabbing season
now open
INSIDE — SPORTS
RECORDS
Obituaries &
emergency
response logs
Inside — A10
SIDE SHOW
Activities and
comics every
Saturday
Inside — B4
CLASSIFIEDS
Listings and public
notices
Inside — B5
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T HE S IUSLAW N EWS . COM
Vietnam Veteran’s
Memorial replica
arrives Tuesday
T
he Siuslaw Public Library
turned an act of vandalism
into an opportunity for art
and free speech this week, as com-
munity members of all ages helped
create public art to place over the
library’s recently broken windows.
A total of eight pieces of “pop-
up” art were hung over the library’s
recently destroyed windows, with
each panel representing differing
questions such as “What do you
love about the library?” and “What
do you love about where you live?”
“So many people stopped by with
their sadness about the windows
and asked what they could do,” Siu-
slaw Library Director Meg Spencer
said. “When something like the
breakage happens, it can be easy
to forget how much the library is
loved, and how much our patrons
do really care about the library. It
was great for people to get a chance
to express that.”
The windows were shattered two
weeks ago when a disgruntled li-
brary patron, who had been banned
for inappropriate behavior, hurled
rocks through eight of the library’s
windows.
“Luckily staff did a great job and
responded quickly,” Spencer said.
“He was arrested within the hour.
Also very fortunately, we had a
number of staff members and a
couple of board members pres-
ent who were able to get the glass
cleaned up.”
As the support for the library be-
gan pouring in, so too did sugges-
tions on what could be done in the
interim. A few library patrons sug-
gested installing some public art.
Spencer took the idea to the li-
brary’s Art Display Committee,
which facilitates the public display
of rotating art at the library, along
with supporting demARTS, the
yearly art demonstration held in the
library’s Bromley room.
“We were thinking of having
certain people do a mural or some
acrylic painting and then having
the public do some painting, but
we thought that would be more
intense,” said committee member
Nicole Campanella. “I thought we
needed more of a community col-
laboration.”
Instead, she suggested that mem-
bers of the public help create the art
by creating different panels for each
window.
On March 29, 1973, Military Assis-
tance Command Vietnam was deacti-
By Mark Brennan vated, ending the
U.S. military’s in-
Siuslaw News
volvement in the
Vietnam War. In
2012, former President Barack Obama
set March 29 as National Vietnam
War Veterans Day, a date to recognize
the service and sacrifice of those who
served. President Donald Trump made
the March 29th designation permanent
in 2017.
In his presidential proclamation,
Trump said, “To ensure the sacrifices
of the nine million heroes who served
during this difficult chapter of our
country’s history are remembered for
generations to come, I signed into law
the Vietnam War Veterans Recognition
Act of 2017, designating March 29 of
each year as National Vietnam War
Veterans Day. Throughout this Com-
memoration of the 50th Anniversary of
the Vietnam War, and every March 29
thereafter, we will honor all those who
answered our Nation’s call to duty.”
Florence has a strong contingent of
Vietnam-era veterans and those former
service men and women will soon get
the opportunity to see a three-quarter
size replica of one of the most iconic
tributes to the Vietnam War ever creat-
ed, the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial.
Beginning on April 3, and continuing
through closing ceremonies at 2 p.m.
on April 7, Spruce Point Assisted Living
Facility is hosting the impressive recre-
ation of the Vietnam Veteran’s Memori-
al. The location will be behind Siuslaw
Middle School at 27th and Oak streets.
See WALL page 9A
See LIBRARY page 8A
Mayor, councilors agree to disagree on Florence
Urban Renewal Agency appointment process
By Mark Brennan
Siuslaw News
S IUSLAW N EWS
2 S ECTIONS | 18 P AGES
C OPYRIGHT 2019
The Florence Urban Re-
newal Agency (FURA)
meeting for March was held
last Wednesday at City Hall
with an agenda that includ-
ed updates on the ReVision
Florence Project and a recap
of the history of the agency.
There was a light turnout
of citizens at the meeting
which City Manager Erin
Reynolds opened by giving a
comprehensive review of the
steps involved in the process
used to create FURA.
City councilors Ron Pre-
isler and Joshua Greene and
Mayor Joe Henry were at
the meeting in their capaci-
ty as FURA members, along
with the full board. Two
members of the board, Mike
Webb and Dave Braley, were
the subject of a clarification
from Reynolds.
That clarification stems
from the adoption of City of
Florence Ordinance 1, 2019
which codified the appoint-
ment process for FURA
members. The change ad-
opted at the March 18 City
Ross Williamson, means
that Webb and Braley were
not properly seated and the
positions held by the two
will need to be filled using
the approved process.
“We have two positions
ily accept and appoint the
two open positions that are
currently held by Dave Bra-
ley and Mike Webb, to the
positions that we did at the
last Urban Renewal meet-
ing,” Reynolds said. “The
“Some of us on this council have always wanted to change
the current process of appointing people to committees. We
feel that it should have been an interviewing process that
included the full council. … But I am not here to continue
fighting this fight.”
— Joshua Greene,
Florence City Councilor and Chairman of FURA
Council meeting states that
the mayor approves all ap-
pointments to city commit-
tees, which includes FURA.
The implementation of
the new ordinance, the im-
petus of which was based on
the opinion of City Attorney
I WILL
HEAR
BETTER
THIS YEAR
that we know expired Jan-
uary 2019. And now that
the appointment process
has been clarified, and with
the new knowledge gained,
we understand the Urban
Renewal Board didn’t have
the authority to temporar-
city council, at their next
meeting, will begin the pro-
cess to fill those positions
following the appointment
process that has been ad-
opted and very thoroughly
explained.”
The realization by city
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staff that there were prob-
lems with the previous ap-
pointment process has also
led to the recognition that
the by-laws and policies un-
der which FURA operates
are in need of an update, ac-
cording to Reynolds
“Now that the city has
clarified things that are in
its power, the FURA by-laws
will need to be revised. The
areas in which the FURA
by-laws differ from city code
should be updated so that
they are in sync with city
code,” Reynolds said. “Now
is the time for us as staff
to work with the board to
review and update the by-
laws. We believe it should
be minimal, but it will be an
opportunity for the board to
also look at best practices for
Urban Renewal Agency op-
erations.”
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