Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 26, 2019)
SN SATURDAY EDITION | OCTOBER 26, 2019 | $1.00 TH THESIUSLAWNEWS.COM Siuslaw News F ALL A UTO PAGE I NSIDE Attention Medicare Recipients: Consult YOUR Local Expert! PEACEHEALTH will no longer accept ALL Medicare Advantage Plans that it did as of 2020. Find out what this means for YOU! A Free, 40 minute, Educational Workshop will help you discover ALL options for which you qualify. (lower rates) Tues. October 29 th Either 11am or 4pm; AT “The Mustard Seed” 509 Kingwood St. Florence, OR. For more info Call Ralph (541) 977-6199 — A8 VOL. 129, NO. 85 NEWS & VIEWS THAT DEFINE OUR COMMUNITY F LORENCE , O REGON WEATHER Clouds and sunshine with a high of 54 and a low tonight of 49. Full forecast on A3 COMMUNITY Scare-CROW and other Halloween events. INSIDE — A6 SPORTS CHANTELLE MEYER/SIUSLAW NEWS City of Florence and RAIN representatives welcome entrepreneurs from Pakistan to Florence City Hall earlier this month. An invitation to entrepreneurs RAIN continues four-year partnership with City of Florence By Chantelle Meyer Siuslaw News SHS gears up for district meet. INSIDE — SPORTS RECORDS Obituaries & Anniversaries 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 I n October, Oregon Regional Ac- celerator and Innovation Network (RAIN) celebrated four years of partnering with the City of Flor- ence to boost a start-up and entrepre- neurial economy. In two events on Oct. 15, an “Art-repeneur” Meetup at The Studios at Jayne Smoley Designs and a women in business tea at The Bodega, RAIN reaffirmed its dedication to rural communities and the entrepreneurial spirit that can uplift economies and im- prove futures. “We only enter cities who invite us in. Fortunately, four years ago we got invit- ed to the City of Florence, which was the first rural community to invite us in,” said Caroline Cummings, executive director of RAIN. In 2015, Florence City Manager Erin Reynolds contacted Cummings about a partnership with RAIN. “She said, ‘We know we have really talented entrepreneurs in this commu- nity, but we’re a government. We don’t know how to help them raise capital, think through their finances or realize if there is a market for their great ideas, whether it’s an art project, turning a hobby into a business or a new tech- nology, consumer or food product,’” Cummings said. “Once we started get- ting calls from rural communities, that’s when RAIN thought, ‘Wow, there’s a real need.’ By working with the City of Florence, RAIN launched into the rural areas of Lane, Linn, Lincoln and Benton coun- ties, following the organization’s suc- cesses in Corvallis and Eugene. According to Cummings, RAIN has now been invited into 20 rural commu- nities in the State of Oregon. “The size of the territory we cover is about half of the country of Pakistan,” she said. In Florence, several entrepreneurs have been involved with RAIN since the beginning, including fused glass artist Jayne Smoley. By working with RAIN, she developed a product, planned a business model, shifted plans, and eventually opened The Studios at 1458 First St. in Historic Old Town Florence. “It’s been a pure joy to work with RAIN,” Smoley said. “I went to the very first meetup four years ago at City Lights Cinemas and met Caroline. RAIN has been a tremendous support throughout, … connecting us with oth- er businesspeople, finding support with financial institutions and introducing us to people who can support and help us grow our businesses.” Besides running The Studios, Smoley also began selling curated Studio Box- es, filled with themed art and regional products. For RAIN, Smoley has been a suc- cess, Cummings said, because not only did she “pivot” from one idea to anoth- Climate debate continues (Part II) By Mark Brennan Siuslaw News S IUSLAW N EWS 2 S ECTIONS | 18 P AGES C OPYRIGHT 2019 The Biosphere is extremely resilient. There have been nu- merous, major shifts in world- wide weather patterns over the millennia and there will always be climate changes on Earth. Nature has the ability to recover from degradation and adapting to the consequences of human life on Earth. Then again it may not. The geologic record clearly indicates there have been mul- tiple ice ages and also extend- ed periods of much warm- er-than-average temperatures during the last 50,000 years and longer, going back a mil- lion years in some estimations. The fossil record is replete with examples encased in the plants, rocks and earth of changes in the quantity and percentages of Co2 and meth- ane in the atmosphere. This resource can be stud- ied to determine the biological make-up of the Earth’s land and water during previous geologic eras and also in short- er time frames. Data gathered by scientists that work to un- derstand the changes in the cli- mate, and how it has impacted the planet, is for the most part aligned with the interpretation that man is having a direct negative impact on the viabil- ity of Earth. Many scientists believe mankind has so dramatical- ly impacted the planet that it has entered a new geological epoch — the Anthropocene — or, the era of human planetary control. They also point out what, in a geological sense, is an abrupt spike in extreme weather con- ditions as proof that a change has taken place. However, there are those who don’t support the notion of what some are calling a cli- mate “crisis.” Among them is Florence resident Ian Eales, who disagrees with the posi- tions expressed by local envi- ronmental activist Mike Allen in Part I of this series. “What is ‘abrupt?’ There is See CLIMATE page 7A Honor a loved one with a gift of light. Brighten our tree with a light and inscribed star in honor of someone special. Light Up A Life at the Florence Events Center Saturday, November 9, 2019 • 2:00 - 3:30 p.m. er, she has found a way to support her business, create local jobs and find ways to help other artists. “Jayne has really epitomized what it means to be an entrepreneur, because now it has come full circle and she is giving back, hosting and mentoring. That’s really what we need,” Cummings said. “We want Florence’s entrepre- neurial ecosystem to be about you, not about us and RAIN. This is community driven, so it needs to be owned by you and the community to really build the ecosystem. Jayne and many of the other entrepreneurs in the community have really stepped up to the plate to do that.” The Art-repreneur event was a re- laxed meetup, where past RAIN par- ticipants were able to visit with people new to RAIN’s model. Smoley also led a fused glass demonstration. One highlight of the event was the participation of six women visitors See RAIN page 5A Individuals recognized by WLFEA for life-saving efforts By Jared Anderson Siuslaw News Last Thursday night’s meeting of the Western Lane Fire and EMS Authority (WLFEA), the administrative board of Siuslaw Valley Fire and Rescue (SVFR) and West- ern Lane Ambulance District (WLAD), showed how it takes a community to save a life. A special presentation was held to present a group of individ- uals Life Saving Awards. WLFEA EMS Operations Chief Matt House presented the recognitions. “On Sept. 11, which we all know is a day of infamy for us, 343 brothers and sisters died in an act of terrorism,” House, who presented the awards, said. “However, for this gentleman, it was a day that he was reborn.” House stood next to John R. Peterson, who last month, while shopping at the local Fred Meyer, went into cardiac arrest. Fred Meyer employees immediately began CPR on Peterson. “Every minute of CPR that’s not being done decreases the survival rate of a patient by 10 See WLFEA page 5A Free Admission. Refreshments served. For more information call: Peace Harbor Hospice 541-997-3418