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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 4, 2019)
SN Siuslaw News WEDNESDAY EDITION | DECEMBER 4, 2019 | $1.00 TH THESIUSLAWNEWS.COM Soroptimist International of Florence Christmas Food Basket & Toy Distribution Project needs your HELP! Please help us to assist area families with a food basket and toys this Christmas! Last year we helped nearly 400 families put a complete Christmas dinner on the table and put toys under the tree! Did you know that Oregon has the highest childhood hunger in the nation? That is why YOUR contribution is so important! Contributions from you and your neighbors are spent on food and toys. Any food items left over are donated to Florence Food Share for distribution. December 14 is the distribution date. Please make your check payable to: Soroptimist Int. of Florence, OR and mail to P.O. Box 1209, Florence, OR 97439. Soroptimist International of Florence is a 501(c)(3) organization. Postal Customer Florence, Ore. 97439 SVFR responds to Thanksgiving house fire VOL. 129, NO. 97 NEWS & VIEWS THAT DEFINE OUR COMMUNITY F LORENCE , O REGON WEATHER Firefighters still investigating cause Cocoa, Cookie & Cider Trail Mostly cloudy with a high of 56 and a low tonight of 41. Full forecast on A3 COMMUNITY Florence Area Chamber of Commerce starts holiday events Arc plans Christmas Party for special needs families INSIDE — A3 SPORTS S IGN UP FOR T EEN G IVING T REE — I NSIDE A6 Chamber of Commerce. Business participation in the inaugural event was good, with owners reporting a steady flow of customers that also took ad- vantage of the “Shop Small” Sat- urday sales that were underway at the same time as the cocoa trail. In addition, the chamber also be- gan the Sea Lion on a Shelf trail, sponsored by Sea Lion Caves, which will run through Dec. 20. Small Business Saturday sale opportunities were held through- out the community at indepen- Story & Photos By Mark Brennan Siuslaw News S aturday’s cold weather was a fitting backdrop for the first Cocoa, Cookie and Cider Trail, organized by the Florence dent retailers, which compliment- ed the cookies and hot beverages available in Historic Old Town and at other locations that were part of the trail around town. Lily Madera Hursh operates Waterlily Studio, located at 1340 Bay St., and felt the day was a suc- cess in spite of the challenging weather conditions. “The Small Business Saturday, sea lion trail and cookies and ci- der event in Old Town was a lot of fun. As a relative newcomer See SHOP page 8A By Jared Anderson Siuslaw News Tragedy struck on Thanksgiving evening as a small fire in a home near Old Town caused severe dam- age and led to the death of a family pet. The identity of the homeown- ers have not been released, and the cause of the blaze is still under investigation. At approximately 11:20 p.m. Thursday night, first responders from Siuslaw Valley Fire and Rescue (SVFR) and Western Lane Ambu- lance District were called to a fire on the 1100 block of Second Street. First responders arrived within minutes of the call, finding the family safely evacuated. However, two family dogs had not been accounted for. “The crew made a snap decision to make an entry and go ahead and put that fire out,” SVFR Fire Prevention Officer Tony Miller said. “They were masked up and in the door within just a couple of minutes.” Entering into the home, the crews found the fire was contained in the living room at the time, still at its smallest stage. See FIRE page 9A Art committee resumes meeting under new guidelines Potential lighting for mural dominates PAC discussion Wrestling begins for Siuslaw INSIDE — SPORTS RECORDS Obituaries & emergency response logs Inside — A2 KID SCOOP Activities and comics every Wednesday 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 | 20 P AGES C OPYRIGHT 2019 FRI. DEC 6th 4pm-7pm & SAT. DEC 7th 11am-5pm By Mark Brennan Siuslaw News The City of Florence Public Art Committee (PAC) met at 10 a.m. Monday morning at Florence City Hall for the first time since the city council approved the committee’s modified workplan at its Nov. 4 meeting. The approval of the revised work- plan last month removed the meta- phorical “Sword of Damocles” that was hanging over the organization, as members worked successfully to respond to calls earlier this year for the committee’s reorganization or dissolution. These calls came after the se- lection of PAC’s purchase of the “Stitching Time, Weaving Cultures” mural on the east side of the Lincoln Public Utilities District Building, on the corner of Quince Street and Highway 126. The process by which art is inte- grated into the different aspects of the city’s overall public art program was criticized by many residents as a direct result of the mural’s instal- lation. Public meetings were held to packed rooms of residents upset with or in favor of the subject matter and the style of the piece created by Marino-Heidel Studios of Portland. The makeup of PAC, its reporting process and the manner by which the city funds public art all changed drastically as a result of the mural controversy. There were changes in the coun- cil’s level of input into the selection of art and the Florence Urban Re- newal Agency (FURA), funding for future purchase for public art was curtailed. See ART page10A Port plans IGA with ‘Maybe It’s a Christmas Song’ Coos Bay for dredging – maybe it’s Nyah’s new single Dredging project on hold until IGA is signed The Port of Siuslaw Board of Com- missioners held a special meeting By Mark Brennan on Monday, Dec. 2, to Siuslaw News discuss the acceptance of an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) with the International Port of Coos Bay. The agreement is the final step in the process of contracting with the Port of Coos Bay to begin dredging the dock and slip areas of the Port of Siuslaw Marina. The project has been delayed for years due to a lack of funding and the availability of the equipment needed to accomplish the overdue dredge work needed to keep the port navigable. See PORT page 8A Singer debuts holiday hit for free download T his year, in addition to the tradi- tional merry tunes about chest- nuts roasting, decking the halls and By Chantelle Meyer reindeer flying, a Siuslaw News new hol- iday song is coming to the airwaves around Oregon and across the world. Flor- ence resident 15-year-old Nyah Vollmar debuted her new song, “Maybe It’s a Christmas Song,” on Thanksgiving Day, offering it for free download throughout the hol- iday season. “Honestly, the song is a question,” Nyah said. “We came up with that title because the song is one giant question. Maybe. It’s a hope; could you keep me warm? It’s about loy- alty and comfort. Will you be here, will you stay by my side, do you care?” In the middle of a busy weekend singing the National Anthem for the University of Oregon Ducks and performing for Oregon Coast Military Museum’s Festival of Trees Gala of Giving at Florence Events Center, Nyah and her mother Marijo paused to enjoy tea and scones at Lovejoy’s Restau- rant and Tearoom and talk about the musical journey that led to the release of the single. “The idea was to have the song available for free on Nyah’s web- page,” said Marijo, who, along with her husband Scott, manages the young artist’s career, webpage and social media. “This way, people who may not have had access to Nyah’s music before can find it in the form of a Christ- mas song. To get more people inter- ested, we decided to do the contest.” Through 11:59 p.m. on New Year’s Eve, people can go to www. nyahtheunicorn.com to download the song for free. At that time, they will also be entered into a drawing for a pair of Apple AirPods Pro. The song will be available for purchase after Jan. 1. Marijo added, “It’s been get- ting good responses. Not just from America, too; we’ve already See SONG page 9A Open House The drawings Chick en Coop Refreshments, & so much more! O N M A P L E 1 2 9 M a p l e S t r e e t , O l d To w n F l o r e n c e • 541.991.7739
