Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 30, 2019)
SN TH THESIUSLAWNEWS.COM Siuslaw News VOL. 129, NO. 96 NEWS & VIEWS THAT DEFINE OUR COMMUNITY F LORENCE , O REGON WEATHER Cloudy with a high of 44 and a low tonight of 37 Full forecast on A3 COMMUNITY Get ready to fill up Empty Bowls INSIDE — A3 SPORTS SATURDAY EDITION | NOVEMBER 30, 2019 | $1.00 W EEKLY C ALENDAR I NSIDE — A6 Florence Kiwanis continues tasty tradition Community Thanksgiving Dinner serves 615 T he holiday season began in earnest on Thursday with the Kiwanis Club of Florence once again offering a free Thanksgiving Story & Photos Day dinner to By Mark Brennan the commu- nity. The Elks Siuslaw News Club pro- vides the kitchen facilities and do- nations provide money to purchase the groceries needed to prepare and serve a traditional dinner to hun- dreds of Florence area residents. “We are grateful for all the vol- unteers which help make this event successful for our community,” said Shannon Sheets, one of three Ki- wanis members who coordinated this year’s event. According to Sheets, the team as- sembled to cook and serve the din- ner was made up of some volunteers that have been a part of the tradition for years and others that are new to the experience. “As of now, our pre-event setup allows seating for about 270 people at a time, while utilizing about 60 to 65 volunteers from around the community to help make the event possible. Some of our volunteers are in the area temporarily, for work or pleasure, and have joined in the vol- unteer festivities,” she said. Diners enjoyed a full Thanksgiving meal at the Florence Elks Lodge on Thursday during Florence Kiwanis Club’s annual free Community Thanksgiving Dinner. One of the long-term vol- unteers at the Thanksgiving Dinner is Francie. She has been volunteering as a serv- er for the past eight years and looks forward to the opportunity every holiday season. “I think this such a wonderful way to spend Thanksgiving,” she said. “There are many people who are alone during the holidays and this is way for them to get out and have a meal with their neighbors. It is also a way for us, the volunteers, to share some of the fun of the season with people who may not have any fam- ily in the area or who are unable to cook.” There were a number of volun- teers who helped with the meal, Sheets said, in addition to contri- butions made by diners to support local food distribution. See THANKS page 11A Plastic bag ban Top Hydraulics delivers matching Cold Weather approaches funds to Florence Food Share Shelter opens its Vikings to remain in 3A INSIDE — SPORTS RECORDS Obituaries & emergency response logs Inside — A2 SIDE SHOW Activities and comics every Saturday Inside — B5 CLASSIFIEDS Listings and public notices Inside — B6 FOLLOW US FOR THE LATEST NEWS : /S IUSLAW N EWS @S IUSLAW N EWS T HE S IUSLAW N EWS . COM S IUSLAW N EWS 2 S ECTIONS | 24 P AGES C OPYRIGHT 2019 Reusable bags will be necessary as law goes into effect Jan.1 doors this week By Mark Brennan Siuslaw News The Florence Emergency Cold Weather Shelter opened its doors throughout the Thanksgiving week as old tem- peratures descended on the re- gion earlier than expected. “This is the first Thanks- giving we’ve been open, but it was a good day,” said Pas- tor Greg Wood, president of the program, which is held at his church, the Presbyterian Church of the Siuslaw. “I think folks were overall thankful for being there. We’ve had some tremendous volunteers from the community come out and help out, which is very much welcomed.” A traditional turkey dinner, along with the prerequisite pumpkin pie, were served to the 23 people who utilized the shelter’s services on Thursday. “And most of our guests also attended the dinner at the Elks Lodge, so our guests ate well on Thanksgiving. I think that was welcomed,” Wood added. The emergency shelter, which opens when tempera- tures reach 32 degrees and be- low, or 34 degrees with rain, kept its doors open throughout most of the day on Thanksgiv- ing. Consumers will notice a ma- jor difference when checking out at all stores and restaurants in Oregon, beginning Jan. 1, 2020. That is the date HB 2509, “The Sustainable Shopping Initiative,” takes effect, which prohibits re- tailers from providing single-use check-out bags to consumers for their purchases. Oregon now joins California, Connecticut, Maine, New York and Vermont in passing some form of statewide plastic bag re- striction policy. The new law places restrictions on the types of check-out bags retailers and restaurants may pro- vide. HB 2509 will require retail- ers to charge a fee of at least five cents for providing sustainable bags at point of purchase. The new rules also codify the ban on a statewide basis, making it easier for businesses to comply with the updated requirements. “With so many city ordinanc- es currently in place, we heard overwhelmingly that uniformity and predictability for business- es across this state was critical,” said the bill’s chief sponsor Rep. Janeen Sollman. See BAG BAN page 9A By Jared Anderson Siuslaw News As area residents look- Story & Photo unteers busily stacking ing to stock up on food By Jared Anderson the pantry shelves before for the Thanksgiving hol- Siuslaw News opening, the Wittes pre- iday began to form a line sented the check (above) outside the Florence Food Share on to Florence Food Share Executive Di- Wednesday morning, Maria and Klaus rector Janet Engle (right), Operations Witte (right) quietly slipped in through Manager Colin Morgan (behind) and the back to present the organization Board President Judy Plumery (cen- with a check for $23,410. The donation ter) in a brief ceremony before open- was spurred on by a record-breaking ing. year from the annual fundraising event After the presentation, Maria point- “The Pounding,” where locals donated ed out how quickly the food on the food and funds to the nonprofit. shelves can be depleted, and stressed For every pound of food donated, the importance of the Florence Food the Wittes, who own local auto parts Share for residents all year round, not manufacturer Top Hydraulics, prom- just during the holidays. ised to donate $1. The couple thanked the volunteers While the Pounding was hoping and the generous community for their to bring in 19,000 pounds of food, support of the food share. the event brought in a record-break- Florence Food Share employees ing 23,410 pounds for the food share, warmly thanked the Witte’s for their which Klaus and Maria were more than continued support throughout the happy to match in dollars. year, and then quickly got back to the So on Wednesday, as food share vol- task at hand — feeding those in need. See SHELTER page 9A