PR
RESS
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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
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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
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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.