SN SATURDAY EDITION | JUNE 22, 2019 | $1.00 THESIUSLAWNEWS.COM TH Postal Customer Florence, Ore. 97439 Siuslaw News School district terminates shop teacher VOL. 129, NO. 50 NEWS & VIEWS THAT DEFINE OUR COMMUNITY F LORENCE , O REGON WEATHER By Chantelle Meyer Siuslaw News Partly cloudy with a high of 64 and a low tonight of 50. Full forecast on A3 COMMUNITY MARK BRENNAN/SIUSLAW NEWS Construction along the C-Row camp sites at the Port of Siuslaw is nearly completed and should be ready for rental after next month’s Fourth of July festivities. Jon Thompson receives Tourism Ambassador Award. INSIDE — A5 SPORTS Port now ready for fireworks Completion of major upgrades for camp sites are on the fast track By Mark Brennan Siuslaw News The Fourth of July is 11 days away and the race to safely stage the much-anticipated holiday fire- works display is on. The fireworks component of the annual event was in jeopardy this year when the original plans to launch the fire- works from a barge on the river fell through. The Port of Siuslaw Florence Softball League season begins. INSIDE — SPORTS RECORDS Emergency response logs Crime report Inside — A3 SIDE SHOW Activities and comics every Saturday Inside — B4 CLASSIFIEDS Listings and public notices Inside — B5 FOLLOW US FOR THE LATEST NEWS : /S IUSLAW N EWS stepped in with an offer to provide a legal, approved staging area for the display. This decision has im- pacted projects taking place at Port facilities by changing the original completion dates due to the need to divert personnel from their reg- ular duties to finish the improve- ments as quickly as possible. Port Manager David Hunting- ton made the decision to offer space to the Chamber believing his team would be able to complete the “C-Row” installation and also prepare the space needed to meet the city requirements for the legal, safe launching of the Fourth of July fireworks. Huntington updated Port Com- missioners on the progress of the renovations and the preparation for the Fourth of July festivities See PORT page 9A City Council approves Block Party street closure The approval was just one of several agenda items approved By Mark Brennan Siuslaw News The June 17 City Council Meet- ing covered a wide array of issues including approval of a street clo- sure related to the 2019 Commu- nity Block Party, consideration and adoption of a resolution to amend the city budget and a request from City staff to renew an expiring ser- vice agreement with the Florence Chamber of Commerce. The meeting opened with public comments from three individuals that reside in Florentine Estates. These residents were requesting the council to intercede on their behalf to limit estate sales within the Florentine property. The com- plaints centered around excessive traffic and noise associated with the estate sales and the possible in- terference with first responders the sales might create in the case of an emergency. Mayor Joe Henry, while ac- knowledging the concerns of the speakers, suggested the council was not the best entity to address the issue. “Normally we don’t respond [to public comments]. But I will pro- vide a brief response. Number one, See TATUM page 9A Learning about life untethered from electronics Watershed Exploration Camp offers a view of nature through hands-on experience. @S IUSLAW N EWS T HE S IUSLAW N EWS . COM See COUNCIL page 8A On June 19, the Siuslaw School Board met for both an executive and regular session. At the open of the regular ses- sion, the board voted to sup- port Siuslaw School District Superintendent Andy Grz- eskowiak’s decision to termi- nate the employment of shop teacher Clint Tatum. “Be it resolved that the Siu- slaw School District Board of Directors moves to accept the recommendation of the superintendent and dismiss teacher Tatum for improper conduct that does not meet the standards of the district and of the teachers’ standards and practices commissions ef- fective immediately,” read Di- rector Guy Rosinbaum. After Resolution 061919- 3 was seconded by Director Paul Burns, no further dis- cussion was made during the regular session and the school board voted unanimously in favor. Tatum, a licensed contractor hired by the district to work in the Career Technical Ed- ucation program, was placed on administrative leave from his position at Siuslaw middle and high schools in early May after being arrested May 1 for first-degree criminal mischief and first-degree criminal mistreatment. Siuslaw News was unable to verify if Tatum was ever charged in the inci- dent; he was released by Lane County Corrections just over 24 hours later on May 2. While Florence police said “the investigated incident was not connected to his employ- ment and did not occur on school property,” in an official letter sent to district families, Grzeskowiak stated the leave was in accordance with the policies of the Siuslaw School District and the State of Or- egon Teacher Standards and Practices Commission. A sub- stitute teacher filled out the remainder of the school year. According to Grzeskowiak, S IUSLAW N EWS 2 S ECTIONS | 24 P AGES C OPYRIGHT 2019 Devon, one of the par- ticipants in last week’s Watershed Camp, shows off his “duck.” By Jared Anderson Siuslaw News Last week, the Siuslaw Water- shed Council’s (SWC) five-day Watershed Exploration Camp was held, teaching children throughout the region what the watershed has to offer — all beyond the hustle and bustle of main street and the allure of electronic devices. In a bid to get children outside and interested in the world surrounding them, the camp has been a chance for generations of Siuslaw children to learn and experience the tradi- tions of the Siuslaw. “We work on restoring our watershed,” SWC Executive Director Eli Tome told the camp- ers about the council at the start of the camp. “That means projects helping salmon habitat and restor- ing the river. And we want to make sure we want to have fun doing it, so that’s why we have camp — so you can actually go outside to show you what we do, and teach you See CAMP page 10A JARED ANDERSON/SIUSLAW NEWS DIVERSIFIED EQUIPMENT SALES :HKDYHH[SDQGHGRXU3DFLƓF0HWDO6WRUDJH%XLOGLQJV%HWWHU%XLOW%DUQVDQG6KHGVPRYLQJKHOSHUV VHUYLFHDQGPRYLQJHTXLSPHQWUHQWDOV,URQ(DJOHDQG3UHPLHU3OXV7UDLOHU6DOHV2XUVKRSKDVH[SDQGHG WRRIIHU)8//5(3$,56(59,&(RQWUXFNDXWRGLHVHODQGJDVWUDQVPLVVLRQVWUDLOHUUHSDLUKLWFKHVZHOGLQJ DQGHOHFWULFDOSOXVGHWDLOLQJ:HDUH2))(5,1*81%($7$%/(SULFHVSD\PHQWVDQGWHUPVRQ86('&$5 6$/(6WRPHHW\RXUEXGJHWRUVXLW\RXUQHHGVHVSHFLDOO\IRU9(7(5$16DQG5(7,5((6&KHFNRXWRXU FRQVLJQPHQWVDOHVRQ59ōVDQG$XWRōV