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Siuslaw News
VOL. 129, NO. 40
NEWS &
VIEWS THAT
DEFINE OUR
COMMUNITY
F LORENCE , O REGON
WEATHER
SATURDAY EDITION | MAY 18, 2019 | $1.00
TH
THESIUSLAWNEWS.COM
preview
The
Mustard
Seed
OPEN HOUSE!
come see what we're all about!
Friday, May 24th, 2019
10am until 8pm
R HODY S CHEDULE — I NSIDE A6
R HODY
R ULERS
www.tms1720.com
community shoppe &
creative studio
509 Kingwood | 541.991.3888
112th Rhododendron Festival
names Queen Rhododendra
Madison Reynolds & King of the
Coast Patrick Rowley
Showers all day with
a high of 58 and a
low tonight of 49.
Full forecast on A3
COMMUNITY
Photos by Jo Beaudreau
Story By Chantelle Meyer
For the Siuslaw News
n Wednesday, the 112th
annual Rhododendron
Festival crowned Siuslaw
High School seniors Madison
Reynolds as Queen Rhododen-
dra and Patrick Rowley as King
of the Coast. Prince Tim Lowder
and Princess Ella Stidham are
the runners up.
The Rhody Court Corona-
tion celebrated more than five
months of preparation under-
taken by members of the Senior
Courts and Junior Court, as well
as their advisors, the Rhody
Court Committee, Siuslaw Tale
O
Florence’s new
park opens on
Rhododendron Drive
INSIDE — A3
SPORTS
Vikings get
All-League Honors
INSIDE — SPORTS
RECORDS
Obituaries &
emergency
response logs
Inside — A2
SIDE SHOW
Activities and
comics every
Saturday
Inside — B4
CLASSIFIEDS
Listings and public
notices
Inside — B5
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Port proclaims Safe
Boating Week, selects
hauler, approves
major dock upgrade
By Mark Brennan
Siuslaw News
S IUSLAW N EWS
2 S ECTIONS | 18 P AGES
C OPYRIGHT 2019
The May Port of Siuslaw
Commissioners meeting took
place Wednesday evening, with
an agenda that included the
selection of a waste hauler and
a decision on accepting a bid
for a major upgrade to the dock
behind Mo’s.
There were just over a dozen
members of the public in atten-
dance, but none came forward to
speak directly with commission-
ers during the public comments
part of the meeting. Commis-
sioner Bill Meyer facilitated since
Commission President Terry
Duman was absent.
The evening began with the
financial report presented by Port
Administrative Assistant Kelly
Stewart. The report highlighted
the arrival of expected reim-
bursement funds from Business
Oregon for $21,500 and FEMA
for $64,530. Stewart also reported
that campground occupancy was
up 7 percent and moorage rental
was down slightly.
The commissioners accepted
Stewart’s report and approved the
monthly expenditures of $55,304.
See PORT page 7A
Spinners and more.
Referencing the 2019 festival
theme of “Coastal Canvas,” vol-
unteers decorated the stage of
the Florence Events Center with
live rhododendrons from Bones
Nursery, giant paint brush sculp-
tures, artist tools and lights. In
addition, the opening number,
“Shine,” performed by CROW’s
Flight Dance Team and the en-
tire Rhody Court, used flashing
lights and bright neon to intro-
duce the court in full color.
Princess
Marissa Wells
and River
Princess
Aylenne
Vazquez
& Christian
See REIGN page 10A
Mural starts to take shape
Story & Photo
By Mark Brennan
Siuslaw News
Much like beauty, art is in
the eye of the beholder. This
was never truer than when
the Florence Public Art
Committee and the Florence
City Council approved the
installation of what became
a controversial mural on the
Central Lincoln Public Util-
ities Building in April.
The debate engendered by
the selection of the design
submitted and awarded to
Marino-Heidel Studios was
at times contentious, with
many area residents turn-
ing out at public meetings
to voice their opinion on
the subjects chosen for the
work, as well as the colors,
style and appearance of the
final design.
The Marino-Heidel work,
entitled “Stitching Time,
Weaving Cultures,” includes
iconic imagery from the
Siuslaw region presented in
a colorful, modern style.
The piece was created
primarily by Angelina Ma-
rino, who has designed and
installed dozens of murals
around the country over
the last 20 years. Her work
is characterized as dynamic,
vibrant and engaging, with
Artists begin mural
installation this week
See MURAL page 7A
Angelina Marino of Marino-Heidel Studios, based in Portland, Ore., begins sketching elements of
the city’s newest mural on Quince Street and Highway 101. For more info, visit ci.florence.or.us.
‘Helping people on their worst day’
New Chief
Director Michael
Schick talks
Siuslaw Valley,
Western Lane and
his path to Oregon
By Jared Anderson
Siuslaw News
“I have a vivid memory of
my son, Alex, sitting on my lap
watching Rescue 911 on TV. We
just loved the show,” Siuslaw Val-
ley Fire and Rescue (SFVR) and
Western Lane Ambulance Dis-
trict’s (WLAD) newly installed
chief Michael Schick said. That
was 25 years ago when Schick
lived in Louisville, Colo. “Driving
by the fire department one day,
they had a big sign out, looking
for volunteers. I said, ‘You know,
maybe I’ll try that.’”
Schick didn’t think he would
have a career in fire and EMS.
He was a medical researcher by
trade, working on producing syn-
thetic blood.
“We were making blood in bac-
teria and using that for transfu-
sions, a blood substitute,” Schick
said. But his company was soon
bought out by a larger corporation,
See CHIEF page 8A
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