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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (July 10, 2019)
SIUSLAW NEWS | WEDNESDAY, JULY 10, 2019 | 7A Wings & Wheels from page 1A Local car clubs and individ- ual car owners were parked on the tarmac just a few yards from the collection of locally owned aircraft from different eras in the history of flight. Groshong had been a mem- ber of the Florence-Siuslaw Lions Club for years and was often the public face of the or- ganization’s charitable efforts. His particular passion was the Wings and Wheels event, which he had been coordinat- County Transfer & Recycling Th anks for recycling in Florence! Separating recyclables from your trash reduces the amount of waste that ends up in landfi lls, saves energy, and reduces emissions! Th e items that can go into your recycle cart are: • Cardboard (please fl atten) and Paper (magazines, junk mail, newspapers, scrap paper, cereal boxes, egg cartons) • Plastic milk jugs and transparent drinking bottles (please rinse – no lids) • Metal food and drink cans (please rinse – no lids) In Florence recycling is picked up on the same day as your trash. Th anks for letting us serve you! For more information please call us at: 541-997-8233 5078 Coastwood Ln, Florence, OR 97439 The Salvation Army – Western Lane County P.O. Box 1041 Florence, Oregon 97439 1 (800) 481-3280 Like us on Facebook: Salvation Army – Western Lane County We’ve got you COVERED Serving Florence since 1990 business • homeowners • auto • life • health • medicare plans A SK US ABOUT M ULTIPLE P OLICY D ISCOUNTS ! ing for the past six years. Groshong’s good nature, commitment and dedication to service were spoken of of- ten during the day by his many friends and colleagues. The new coordinator of the event, Ross Kroenert, worked with Groshong on the Wings and Wheels show for the past few years. Kroenert, who has been involved with the man- agement of large-scale car shows, was pleased with both the turnout of vendors and vis- itors at the airport and the nice weather. “It went great and went bet- ter than I had hoped,” he said. “It just went really smooth. All of the vendors and volun- teers were here when the gates opened up and the airport gave us a little more space, so instead of 125 cars, we ended up with about 140. We had cars that were waiting to get in, so we were able to accommodate them.” The unexpected loss of Groshong did add a somber element to this year’s event but also inspired the volunteers. Kroenert said, “I met Mike five years ago when we moved here and I was attending the show. At that time, I told him that I had a lot of experience putting on car shows down in Southern California and I’d like to help him out in any way that I could, so I’ve been on his committee for the last four years.” Earlier in 2019, he had a con- versation with Groshong, who was staying at PeaceHealth Sa- cred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend in Springfield “He said, ‘Ross, I don’t think I can do the show this year. Can you jump in and take it?’ ... So I said OK,” Kroenert said. “His last comment to me was, ‘We need to get together so I can talk to you about all of this,’ … and three days later he passed away.” The sudden loss of the event’s coordinator a few months before a show that combined cars and airplanes, with little guidance from oth- ers, presented a challenge to the committee. Kroenert said he realized that his best course of action was to adhere to the old axiom, “If it’s not broke don’t fix it.” “We on the committee didn’t change that much from what Mike did. We tweaked it a lit- tle bit here and there, and we brought in a few more vendors in the past, but this was Mike’s baby. We are just adding to it and pushing it forward,” he said. The overall goal of the Wings and Wheels event is to raise money for the Flor- ence-Siuslaw Lions Club and the charities it supports. Two of the main areas Lions members across the country and across the world have attempted to positively impact is vision and hearing. Internationally, the Lions Club was formed in Chicago in 1917 and currently has 1.7 million members in 46,000 local clubs working to help disadvantaged individuals see and hear. The group’s motto is simple — “We serve.” This service most often takes place because of financial sup- port from local businesses. Kroenert found the good will engendered by Groshong over the years made the finan- cial aspect of his new job easier. “It really is a tribute to Mike how the businesses in the city turned out in support of the event this year,” he said. “As soon as the business people un- derstood this year is in mem- ory of Mike, the support was overwhelming and a lot of that FIRES from page 1A The owners, an older cou- ple, were hosting their son, who had two children, and daughter, who had three. The Red Cross was asked to pro- vide temporary lodging for the family. No injuries were reported, and the cause of the blaze is still undetermined. “It could have been much worse, but we got called quick which is always help- ful,” Schick said. “The sooner we get there, the more we can save.” Booth Island, which is lo- cated in Siltcoos Lake, had a fire that appeared to have started on Sunday night. SVFR was notified of the blaze Mon- day morning, after an SVFR volunteer who was fishing on the lake reported a column of smoke coming from the is- land. Responders went by boat to the lake, finding that a vaca- tion home had burned down the night before with no 911 calls received. Fire Marshal Tony Miller evaluated the scene to ensure all hot spots were extinguished to prevent rekindling. “It’s still a mystery why that occurred. We’re not exact- ly sure what happened,” said Schick, who stated that they were able to contact the own- ers of the home. Finally, on Monday evening at approximately 6:30 p.m., smoke was reported north of Florence along Taylor Road, Schick continued, “We had more than enough people showing up. After this long holiday weekend and have them still ready to go on Mon- day was very nice.” The Greentrees fire started early Monday afternoon, as SVFR responded to a struc- ture fire in a manufactured home. Crews confined the fire to an attached garage. The ga- rage and contents, as well as a pickup truck parked in front of the garage, were destroyed in the blaze, though the fire was stopped from entering the home. However, the home did suffer some smoke and water damage. Mike Groshong is because people just loved him.” One special moment ded- icated to the memory of Gro- shong took place on Saturday afternoon, which was initiated by a family member. “Mike’s brother Bill Grosho- ng is a pilot and he coordinated with two other pilots from Eu- gene to do the ‘Missing Man’ flyover as a tribute to Mike,” Kroenert said. “Mike was just a great guy. If you talked to him you’d think the guy never had a bad day. He was always smil- ing, generous and he loved the Lions and his car guys and gals and they loved him. We sure will miss him.” See page 10A for more photos off of Highway 101. The fire was located on a Central Lin- coln Public Utility District (PUD) access road, and it ap- pears that a homeless camp had ignited and caught fire near the PUD station. “It was a little grass fire,” Schick said. “It was reported quickly, and we had a good turnout.” SVFR crews arrived quick- ly to the scene, establishing fire break trenches and extin- guishing the fire. The area was cleared out and the surround- ing brush and soil was soaked to prevent rekindling. No in- juries were reported, and the area was vacant when SVFR arrived at the scene. Contact Angela, Jodi or Paul to discuss your policy needs. Peace Harbor from page 1A dozens of suggestions from Services (HHS). 875 Hwy 101 • Florence, OR • (541) 997-3466 www.AbelInsuranceAgency.com Get Results...List With Jan. Jan Jagoe Broker 541 999-0879 89310 Levage Dr – Enjoy this 3 bdrm, 2 bath home with vaulted ceilings, sepa- rate living and family rooms, and sunroom to the large backyard. Kitchen with cook island, double oven and pan- try. Master bath has custom shower and heated fl oors. $359,000. #2901-18621943 1749 Highway 101 • 541-997-1200 See Jim for your auto sales needs! 2150 Hwy. 101 • Florence (541) 997-3475 • 1-800-348-3475 “The weather here today is just another indication of how this project has gone well from the beginning.” State Sen. John Brenneman delivered the keynote ad- dress, saying that access to health care would continue to be a major concern through- out the decade. “You are shaping health care in the 1990s,” he said. “Rural hospitals that sur- vive in the 1990s will be the ones affiliated with one, two or four other hospitals who share their technologies and technologists, whose position is compatible and supportive of one another and whose economic future is tied to- gether in a mutually benefi- cial manner.” Sister Monica Heeran, ad- ministrator of Sacred Heart General Hospital said, “This hospital can be seen as a sym- bol of the future. It will serve the community well into the 21st Century.” Voters in the hospital dis- trict twice rejected a $6 mil- lion levy to replace the exist- ing 31-year-old hospital in 1983, forcing the Lane Hos- pital Board to turn to private hospital corporations for as- sistance. On March 1, 1989, the naming of the hospital made front page news. “Peace Har- bor” was selected by the steer- ing committee for its coastal theme, its connotation of care and its association with its parent organization, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace. The committee had received hospital employees, members of the medical staff and by the general public. “‘Everything is on track’ for this week’s formal dedication of Florence’s new Peace Har- bor Hospital, according to hospital Administrator Jim Barnhart,” the Siuslaw News reported on Monday, July 3. Landscapers were prepar- ing the grounds and, on July 5, the hospital’s architecture and facility building were in- spected. Barnhart said that the move from Western Lane Hospi- tal to Peace Harbor would not create any disruption of service, and that the hospital would be fully operational on July 14 when the actual trans- fer of patients occurred. The dedication itself oc- curred without a hitch as dig- nitaries cut the ribbon on July 8. The following is the Siuslaw News article on the event: Several hundred spectators cheered as a ribbon stretched before the main entry was cut and the $5.2 million facility was officially dedicated. The dedication followed more than an hour of pub- lic thanks to the community leaders, businesses and vol- unteers who helped to make the project a reality. “The people of Florence and the Western Lane Dis- trict can be proud of meeting the challenge of the future with vision and foresight,” said Monica Heeran, for- mer administrator of Sacred Heart Hospital Eugene and now president of St. Joseph of Peace, Health and Hospital The new hospital is owned and managed by HHS of Bel- levue, Wash., a non-profit Catholic health care corpora- tion controlled by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace, which also operates Sacred Heart General Hospital in Eugene. … The 21-bed facility will replace the aging Western Lane Hospital, which was dedicated more than 30 years ago. At the time when many small rural hospital are dying, Florence is taking the lead into the ‘90s with a first class health care system, said key- note speaker State Sen. John Brenneman, who outlined future changes in the state’s health care system which are expected to enhance Flor- ence’s ability to provide quali- ty health care. Following the ribbon cut- ting, visitors explored the new hospital, munching homemade cookies and be- ing greeted by “the ladies in pink,” members of the hos- pital auxiliary. The 21 sin- gle-occupancy rooms, the operating rooms, special care rooms and lab areas were all investigated as visitors circu- lated through the one-story brick building, designed and built by Hospital Building and Equipment Co. of St. Louis, Mo. All 21 rooms of the new facility are private, and oth- er improvements include an expanded emergency room, a radiology department with both ultrasound and mam- mography services, and a number of design changes to enhance patient care. Also given special atten- tion by visitors was a wall of plaques listing about 450 do- nors, small plaques for those who gave at least $1,000 and large ones commemorating gifts of at least $100,000. Patient rooms also sported individual plaques honor- ing those who gave at least $10,000. In all, $1 million in private funds were donated for the hospital, as well as the 20-acre hospital site. On a facing wall memora- bilia was displayed, tracing the history of Western Lane Hospital and Peace Harbor. Special recognition was given by master of ceremo- nies and a member of the new hospital’s governing board Tom Grove to Don-Lee Da- vidson, who donated the 20- acre site for the hospital, and to members of the hospital steering committee. Also recognized were the Sacred Heart Hospital Board of Directors, The Sacred Heart Hospital Foundation, Sacred Heart Administrator Sister Barbara Haas, elected officials, Hospital Adminis- trator Jim Barnhard, mem- bers of the HHS staff and more than a dozen sisters from Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace. Western Lane Hospital, a public facility operated for more than 30 years by the Western Lane Hospital Dis- trict, closed July 14, 1989, when Peace Harbor Hospital officially opened and patients were moved into the new fa- cility. Now serving the entire Oregon Coast. Staff ed locally with factory trained professionals. Residential and Commercial Garage Door Installation. Overhead Door Company of Th e Oregon Coast™ 541.997.5008 OverheadDoor.com CCB# 50460
