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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (July 6, 2019)
PR RESS OG PR Fourth of July festivities ROCKETS’ RED GLARE Fireworks end full day of fun, food, friends in Florence Story By Mark Brennan Photos by Mark Brennan, Chantelle Meyer and Victoria Sanchez Siuslaw News Partly sunny with a high of 67 and a low tonight of 52. Full forecast on A3 COMMUNITY RESS WEATHER PR NEWS & VIEWS THAT DEFINE OUR COMMUNITY F LORENCE , O REGON I Inside n – Progress: Real Estate Special Section Inside — A8 Siuslaw News VOL. 129, NO. 54 RESS PR RESS B usiness Quarterly OG OG Greater Florence Area OG SN SATURDAY EDITION | JULY 6, 2019 | $1.00 THESIUSLAWNEWS.COM TH T he 2019 Florence Area Chamber of Commerce Independence Day Fire- works display drew thousands of spectators to the Port of Siu- slaw for the dynamic ending of a sunny day that had earlier featured pie and watermelon eating contests as well as events around town. Young and old alike partic- ipated in the friendly contests, which this year were sponsored by Florence Habitat for Hu- manity and the chamber. The crowd started arriving at the large lawn by the marina boardwalk around noon and, by sunset, hundreds had staked out a small patch of ground Mapleton fireworks come back after a two-year hiatus T from which to watch the high- light of the day, which came with the fire- works display at 10 p.m. There was some concern earlier this year that Florence would not have a fireworks show this year due to logistical concerns; there didn’t appear to be a way to launch the fireworks from the river, as the barge that had served as a launching pad for the pyrotechnics had been sold and moved to another lo- cation. Fortunately, Port of Siuslaw Manager David Huntington and Chamber Executive Direc- tor Bettina Hannigan were able to come up with a plan to legal- ly stage the display with mini- mal problems. The move to the east end of the camping area of the port was accomplished in a relatively short time and the new staging See FLORENCE page 12A Wings & Wheels Returns today INSIDE — A3 he Mapleton High School parking lot was awash in smoke, flashing lights and smiles as family By Jared Anderson m e m - Siuslaw News bers from across the upriver community gathered to watch the return of Mapleton’s fireworks show. “My husband and I used to watch the ones that happen across the street. After they stopped doing that, we went to Florence, but we’re so happy it’s back here now,” said Male- na Butler as she tailgated with her family, set- ting off their own fireworks when they were waiting for the big show to begin. “I feel like it makes families even closer, and the commu- nity that much closer. It definitely makes you get to know your neighbors and people that you would never really talk to.” Malena’s niece, six-year-old Katie, smiled as she spun a sparkler around in various de- signs. “Crazy sparkles,” Jesse Butler said, watch- ing Katie laugh as the burning embers fell to the ground. See MAPLETON page 5A SPORTS Cyclists return to Florence 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 FOLLOW US FOR THE LATEST NEWS : /S IUSLAW N EWS @S IUSLAW N EWS T HE S IUSLAW N EWS . COM JARED ANDERSON/SIUSLAW NEWS Local loggers’ voices heard on House Bill 2020 R&R King Logging, Foglio Trucking participate in Timber United rally in Salem By Victoria Sanchez Siuslaw News Intern S IUSLAW N EWS 3 S ECTIONS | 26 P AGES C OPYRIGHT 2019 In June, the Oregon House and Senate were in the midst of trying to pass a controversial cap-and- trade bill with the goal of reduc- ing greenhouse gas emission lev- els to 80 percent below what they were in 1990 by 2050. This would be done by essentially charging corporations for polluting in the state, as well as raising gasoline prices in an effort to transition Oregonians to renewable ener- gy instead of fossil fuels. These changes would have affected ru- ral Oregonians more, as farmers, truckers and loggers would have to pay more for the gasoline that goes in their equipment. R&R King Logging has been part of the Florence community for more than 50 years. Started by her grandfather and father, Jennifer Waggoner is now the partial owner of R&R. Both she and her husband are multi-gen- erational logging families and, currently, R&R works with large COURTESY PHOTOS (Right) Jennifer and Cait Waggoner travel to Salem to join the Timber United rally against controversial cap-and-trade bill that would adversely affect rural industrial businesses. industrial landowners for log- ging around Oregon. “It’s as much a business as it is a culture,” Waggoner said. According to the Oregon For- est Resource Institute, Oregon is the country’s number one pro- ducer of softwood lumber, which is wood from coniferous trees used mainly in furniture, struc- tural framing, beams and other construction. For Waggoner, logging is — and has always been — a lifestyle. That’s why, on June 27, she and her 13-year old daughter, Cait, attended the Timber United ral- ly at the state capitol in Salem, which included loggers, truckers, road construction and agricul- ture workers showing their sup- port for the Republican senators who walked out of the capitol and left the state on June 20 after House Bill 2020 came before the Oregon senate. “We started driving into the capital and we had tears, because people were so proud of what they do for a business and the product they provide, and to be able to link arm to arm with other peo- ple that share those values and contributions to our community,” Waggoner said. “The trucks kept coming around the corner and it was so moving. People made a lot of sacrifices to be there.” In an effort to curb the rapidly warming climate, HB 2020 intend- ed to commit Oregon to a cap- and-trade system, setting caps on the total greenhouse gas emissions allowed for industries around the See INDUSTRY page 7A SAVE THE DATE • SAVE THE DATE • SAVE THE DATE • SAVE THE DATE • SAVE THE DATE • SAVE THE DATE THE VAN FANS ANNUAL ICE CREAM SOCIAL Saturday, July 20, from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Florence Events Center. Everyone is welcome TICKETS ARE $8 and will be available at the door. We are serving: • Homemade pie and cake (a la mode of course) • Hot and Cold beverages Separate Gift Drawing and Raffle tickets Sold Please, come spend a relaxing afternoon, enjoy the ice cream, and do something that will help a neighbor or friend.
