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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 22, 2020)
THESIUSLAWNEWS.COM THE WEDNESDAY EDITION | JANUARY 22, 2020 | $1.00 LY ibrary.or iuslawL www.S 97-31 32 541-9 OUT CHECK S.) (WE EVEN GAME BOARD g OPO - E C N E R FLO ƐĂ ƚ sŝƐ ŝƚƵ ͘͘͘ƚŽ ĚŝƐĐ ŚŽ ŽǀĞƌ ŵĞ ǀ ŝŶƚĞ ŝŶƚĂ ƌŝŽ ŐĞĐů ƌƐ͕Ă Žƚ ŶĚ ŚŝŶŐ ĐŽ ͕Ă ŽŬ ŶƟ ŝĞƐ͊ ƋƵ ĞƐ͕ ͘͘͘ D\ P +LJKZ WUKXQWHUFR ZZZ rd aboa g Climb readin ad! the real railro AVAILABLE NOW see ad on page 4B for details. Framing es Fram ence Quality Custom of Flor • Mirrors s • Needlework • Watercolors Shadowboxe Photography Oils • Monthly Global Carbon Level Report joins rain data 43 97-20 G 541-9 101, Suite Hwy. 2285 OR 97439 Florence, I NSIDE — A2 Weekend unites civil rights movements Two events highlight social justice concerns WOMEN ON THE RISE Community turns out for Florence Women’s March Siuslaw News NEWS & VIEWS THAT DEFINE OUR COMMUNITY VOL. 130, NO. 6 F LORENCE , O REGON WEATHER Story & Photos By Mark Brennan Siuslaw News T At the Martin Luther King Jr. event in Florence Sunday, Paul Klippel presents “Heirloom Dream,” a poem about the Civil Rights Movement. See MLK page 6A Siuslaw schools discuss summer food, texting students, new intercom system By Jared Anderson Siuslaw News The January meeting of the Siuslaw School Board began with an overview of the district’s sum- mer food program, which pro- vides free breakfast and lunch to children under 18 in the Siuslaw region. Other than age, there is no criteria for the program — any child can get a meal, which ranges from hamburgers, bagels and other types of food that can easily travel. The traveling portion is im- portant, as the program isn’t based solely on district property. On most summer week days, dis- trict staff brings the food to vari- ous locations, such as the Siuslaw Public Library and Miller Park. “I think if you speak to anyone, they’ll tell you this is an import- ant program,” said District Food Service Manager Dave Bitner. “There are at-risk children in the summertime, and this is really our only opportunity to get to those.” Since 2016, the program has served thousands of meals. In 2018 alone, Bitner’s team served 7,134 meals in 43 days. According to District Business Manager Kari Blake, “The only ‘doom and gloom’ to the program is food costs. With salaries and benefits, we’re looking at a profit loss pretty much every year.” The program is staffed by dis- trict employees, who use the pro- gram as a summer job. “The unintended benefit is that if the staff stays employed here, they don’t have to look for another summer job and possibly stay there,” Blake explained. “So it helps us retain our employees.” The program could get more money from the state if the pro- gram was able to serve more chil- dren. “Labor would remain the same, but we would get more re- imbursements,” Blake said. So to get more children in- volved, the program is going to have to find more kids. “The program has its limita- tions, like most of the food ser- vice programs with the state,” Bitner said. “The biggest one is, you have to set up sites. You have to go there, set up, be there for a limited amount of time, load up, and then move to the next site. It limits our movement.” Instead, Bitner suggested the best way to administer the food would be to drive around town. “That’s what Reedsport does,” he said. “They have 25 sites and spend five minutes at each site. They hit all parts of town. That’s our plan going forward, so then we could find new locations. So, if you have any idea where the kids are congregating, please tell me — we need to find them.” Following the presentation by the summer food program, Su- perintendent Andy Grzeskowiak read a recent proclamation by Oregon Gov. Kate Brown: “Whereas the leadership of a locally-elected school board, in close partnership with the educa- tors, students, families and com- munities they serve, fosters the en- gagement, care and resiliency that leads to equitable achievement for See SIUSLAW page 6A Rain with a high of 51 and a low tonight of 50. Full forecast on A3 COMMUNITY Library continues reading challenge INSIDE — A3 SPORTS Viks win wrestling tournament INSIDE — SPORTS RECORDS Obituaries & emergency response logs Inside — A2 KIDS SCOOP Activities for kids every week 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 | 16 P AGES C OPYRIGHT 2020 Two weekend events in Florence commemorated the ongoing fight for social justice and civil rights in the U.S. One was a celebration of Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy Story & Photo By Mark Brennan in honor of his holiday, and the Siuslaw News other, “Women Rising,” was the fourth Women’s March held in Flor- ence. The political polarization that is playing out on a national stage with the start of the U.S. Senate trial considering the impeachment of President Donald Trump was reflected in angry words spoken and signs of dissent held high at two public events this weekend. Between the two events, hundreds of local residents were involved in Sat- urday’s call to action expressed at the Women’s March, along with the recog- nition of Dr. King during a special re- membrance on Sunday. The first Women’s March here, and across the nation, began in response to the election of Trump in 2016. National organizers and local participants made clear their disregard for the tone and agenda of the then-incoming president. Millions of people across the world have continued to show their displea- sure with the current federal adminis- tration by marching in a January pro- test each year since. In Florence, there were similarities between the two weekend events as or- ganizers and featured speakers recalled historical struggles for the right to vote and the imperative of racial equality. More deeply, they spoke about a shared sense that in order to fulfill the nation’s destiny as a country, society must lift all and denigrate none. Both rallies presented the thoughts of civil justice leaders over time as seen through a lens of current threats to vot- ing and privacy rights. This made the tone of the speeches delivered this year stand in contrast to those of previous years. While the Women Rising rally gave voice to those discussing the impeach- ment of the sitting president on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, as well as the upcoming elec- tion, the tone was markedly different and more somber at the Dr. King event. he fourth-annual Florence Women’s March, which took place this past Satur- day, Jan. 18., and themed “Women Rising,” was coordinated by mem- bers of the local activist group Florence ORganizes (FOR). The event drew members of the com- munity from many walks of life and with many different opinions Marchers on Highway 101 during a march designed to draw sport signs saying, “In our attention to the important work America, love wins,” “City that needs to be done to assure Council Act on Climate the continuation of American de- Change,” “ERA Now,” “Equal mocracy. Pay for Equal Work,” “Vote!” More than 100 women, men and more. and children met at the Florence United Methodist Church on Kingwood Street at noon. From there, community members marched while carrying signs and banners to Highway 101, making their way along the busy traffic corridor before circling around for return to the church. The weather on Saturday was cold and wet, but the rain held off until the majority of the marchers had finished walking. The cold was quickly forgotten as partici- pants turned their attention to the waiting potluck, which featured gumbo and lots of discussion re- There was also a celebratory was mentioned in speeches and garding the upcoming impeach- tone when the subject of the at discussion groups that followed ment trial and the 2020 presiden- 100th anniversary of Oregon’s the march. tial election. passage of the 19th Amendment See MARCH page 7A Don’t Sit on the Sidelines! PLAY TO WIN! Sponsored by: PRO FOOTBALL’S BIG GAME CHALLENGE Test your know and enter to win a Weber Gas Grill plus one of our local prizes Go Online to enter thesiuslawnews.com
