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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 19, 2020)
8A | WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2020 | SIUSLAW NEWS The vehicle came to a stop about 20 feet down a ditch in thick mud, tan- gling into a barbed wire fence. The air bags de- ployed since the front of the vehicle had significant intrusion and passenger side damage from splitting the pole off at the base. “Upon my arrival, the husband had already come from home and was on the road, in the west- bound lane and talking to his wife, who was the driv- er of the Excursion,” Iabi- chello said. “She had tried to get out of the vehicle and was talking to him. I stopped and requested he move his vehicle to the next pole east.” When Iabichello ad- vised the occupants to re- main in the vehicle, “The man responded, ‘My and kids are in the car!’” Iabichello told them that the power lines were still on. “‘She must get back in the vehicle,’ I said. I kept her in the front and the three kids in the back seat by explaining how dan- gerous it is and that they were safer in the vehicle.” Central Lincoln Peo- ple’s Utility District (CL- PUD) is responsible for OCHS from page 1A In addition, ODJ made a number of “strong sugges- tions” at the conclusion of its inquiry, which included the hiring of both a per- manent shelter manager and the organization’s first executive director. OCHS Board Chairper- son Shauna Robbers said she believes the setbacks of the resignations do not present major obstacles to the organization. “People quit jobs all the time. It’s just part of the process,” Robbers said. Although Curran quit in early January, the board of directors did not post a job listing to the OCHS web- site until Feb. 3. According to the job description, “The execu- tive director serves as the dynamic liaison between the board of directors, the shelter staff, the thrift store staff and the com- munity. The director will be expected to direct the administrative, financial, managerial and supervi- sory activities necessary to uphold the mission state- ment, policies and goals of OCHS, consulting with Florence’s power lines. It has worked in the past with local first respond- ers to prepare firefighters and emergency response teams for an electrically based emergency situa- tion. CLPUD Public Affairs Manager Chris Chandler was pleased that informa- tion shared with first re- sponders during training was central to the success- ful rescue of the trapped family. According to Central Lincoln Safety Coordi- nator Cody Christian, “People can’t tell if a line is energized by looking at it. Please stay a mini- mum of 30 feet away from a downed line, and don’t drive underneath sagging lines. If a line falls on your car, stay in the car until a utility worker arrives with the right equipment to handle the situation. If you try getting out of the car, you could be badly in- jured or even killed.” In the wake of the successful rescue the daughter of the driver, Eve Stidham, shared her appreciation of the work done by Iabichello and the team from SVFR in a moving letter that was read aloud to Siuslaw Val- ley’s Board of Directors: Dear Siuslaw Valley Fire Department, Thank you for helping me and my family after our car wreck on Dec. 31, 2019. You guys respond- ed so quickly and got us out of there as quickly as possible. I never realized how important first re- sponders were until I got in the accident. You guys worked on New Year’s Eve just to help me and my family. And this to the nice lady who was helping my mom calm down — thank you. My mom was hys- terical and that made me cry. You helping my mom also helped me. I love my mom so much, and that made me cry. Thanks to you guys I got to go home and see my puppy. Also, thanks to you guys I got to have my 14th birthday and I get to keep living. Thank you so much you guys, I really appreciate it. the board of directors in making decisions for the highest interest of the or- ganization.” Available job listings at OCHS are posted at www. oregoncoasthumanesoci- ety.org/career-opportuni- ties. Robbers said, “We have sent out a letter to our members updating them on the work we are doing and what our plans are for the future, which we will be discussing at our next membership meeting.” While the next board meeting is not listed on the OCHS website, shel- ter staff indicated that the board plans to meet quar- terly and a date has not been selected. The letter OCHS mem- bers received reviewed steps being taken to im- prove the skillset of board members and addressed some of the difficulties employees have dealt with for the past few years. In terms of the board of directors, the letter said that members attended professionally run strate- gic planning sessions. Rob- bers reported the board “walked away with better skills and a mutual vision of where and how our or- ganization can grow, profit and thrive in the coming years.” The board also rejoined the Nonprofit Association of Oregon and Cascade Employers Association, added board meeting min- utes to the OCHS website and began drafting plans for proposed remodel and expansion projects. One of those tasks was submitting to the county a request to extend and expand OCHS’ land lease. “Expanding the amount of land we control will en- able us to establish walk- ing trails and help handle any future expansion at the shelter,” Robbers said. “The city police need us as they contract with us to drop off stray and lost dogs. Lane County Com- missioner Jay Bozievich supports this request.” OCHS also formed a committee for the Trap, Neuter and Release Pro- gram (TNR) and identified several community cat col- onies in Florence. “The TNR program will also provide education to the community,” Robbers said. “We are seeking grant and donor funding for this project.” Other work detailed in the letter to members included addressing em- ployee concerns. These included: drafting job descriptions for employ- ee positions; creating job evaluation forms; com- pleting the job description for executive director and posting it to Indeed.com and OCHS’ website; hiring a part-time IT expert; and eliminating inequities and setting appropriate pay scales for employees since “our employees are the bedrock of our organiza- tion and haven’t seen mer- it-based pay increases for a long time,” Robbers said. The letter also talked about increased engage- ment with the Oregon Coast Humane Society Thrift Store Facebook page and employee safety. The final item said that the annual OCHS Volun- teer Appreciation Gather- ing is scheduled for March 15. For more information, visit www.oregoncoasthu- manesociety.org. Shooting from page 1A The woman was pronounced deceased at the scene while the man was transported to Peace- Health Sacred Heart-Riverbend and its trauma unit due to the 8 201 VOTED F BEST O E RESCUE from page 1A F LO E N C R 541•999•6078 PETERSENAUTODETAIL @GMAIL.COM Gift Certificates available MARK BRENNAN/SIUSLAW NEWS FACEBOOK.COM/PETERSENAUTODETAIL Eve Stidham and SVFR Captain Liz Iabichello seriousness of his wound. As of press time on Tuesday, the couple’s identity and the man’s condition had not been released, and the investigation by the LCSO and OSP was con- At a ceremony on Feb. 18, members of Siuslaw Valley Fire and Rescue, Florence Police Depart- ment and the Stidham family were presented with CLPUD “Challenge” coins by Christian. CL- PUD elected to recognize the teamwork and com- munity support for the first responders who re- sponded to accident. “You have no idea how much this means,” Iabi- chello said. “It’s commu- nity helping community.” tinuing. According to the sheriff ’s of- fice, there was no indication of a continued threat to the com- munity in connection with the shooting. Special Event? We make it EASY! Your place...or ours! We’ve got what you need! Tables | Chairs | Punch Bowls | Place Settings Podiums | PA Systems | AND LOTS MORE! 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