THESIUSLAWNEWS.COM
SATURDAY EDITION | APRIL 4, 2020 | $1.00
T IME
O UT
Recreation options
while social distacing
Sports &
Recreation
By Lloyd Little
Retired teacher, coach and
game offi cial
With more than55 years as an
athlete, coach, parent and specta-
tor, Lloyd Little has gained some
insights and perspectives regarding
athletics. Each week, he shares
what he's learned about sports
from his multiple points of view.
Diversity
Calendar
All sporting
activities
at Siuslaw
and
Mapleton
high schools
have been
cancelled
through
April 28
Tide Tables
Entrance Siuslaw River
High Tide
Low Tide
April 4
9:27am / 6.9
10:51pm / 6.5
3:41am / 2.8
4:21pm / -0.2
April 5
10:30am / 7.3
11:30pm / 7.1
4:39am / 1.9
5:09pm / -0.4
April 6
11:28am / 7.5
5:31am / 1.1
5:53pm / -0.3
April 7
12:08am / 7.7
12:22pm / 7.7
6:20am / 0.2
6:36pm / -0.1
April 8
12:45am / 8.1
1:15pm / 7.6
7:08am / -0.6
7:18pm / 0.3
April 9
1:23am / 8.4
2:08pm/ 7.4
7:56am/ -1.1
8:00pm/ 0.9
April 10
2:02am / 8.4
3:02pm / 7.0
8:44am / -1.2
8:44pm / 1.5
MARK BRENNAN/SIUSLAW NEWS
Florence Golf Links, Ocean Dunes and the Siuslaw Rod & Gun Club are still open to locals.
For those looking get fresh air and exercise, local golf courses
and gun range are still options while social distancing.
B Y M ARK B RENNAN
Newspaper headlines have
been fi lled with the concept of
diversity for the last few years.
For students in America, di-
versity starts from day one in
our education. I, for one, liked
math and physical education.
Th e schools and teachers
threw in ge-ography, English,
science, Spanish, history, etc.
to make our education diverse
and well-rounded.
Th is diversity of education
was also present in our physi-
cal education (PE) classes
See
LITTLE 3B
ODFW R EGIONAL F ISHING
R EPORT
Siuslaw News
T
he COVID-19 emer-
gency has forced public
officials to close most
public venues either voluntari-
ly or in response to state,
county or municipal emergen-
cy declarations. Schools are
closed and trips to larger cities
like Eugene and Coos Bay can
only be made for essential rea-
sons.
Restaurants may be open
for take-out or delivery but
not for in-house dining; gro-
cery stores, with a newly
appreciated workforce, are still
selling the food and the house-
hold goods needed for people
to maintain some semblance
of normal life while maintain-
ing social distancing.
This has left many residents
feeling a little stir crazy due to
the lack of activity options
posed by the challenges of
COVID-19.
As the initial wave of clo-
sures and lifestyle shifts have
begun to become more famil-
iar, some experts are suggest-
ing we turn our collective
attention to pausing a moment
to relax and recharge.
The stress of the unknown
and disruption of routines can
be difficult personally, profes-
sionally and spiritually; the
cumulative effect of these on
the mind and the body can in
turn be equally detrimental.
One of the best ways to
recharge and revitalize is
through exercise — which can
be a problem with local fitness
and workout spaces closed
along with state, county and
city parks.
However, there are a limited
number of outdoor recre-
www.dfw.state.or.us/RR
ational activities. Florence res-
idents are fortunate to have at
least three outdoor options at
this time that still meet social
distancing
requirements:
Florence Golf Links, Ocean
Dunes Golf Course and the
Florence Rod and Gun Club.
All three have posted
COVID-19 rules at their
respective clubhouses and are
actively enforcing the social
distance and cleaning proce-
dures currently in place.
Bob Rannow, PGA Pro at
Ocean Dunes, spoke with
Siuslaw News about following
the guidelines.
“It’s challenging to keep
people apart, but I am sur-
prised how well people are
responding and we are pleased
to be able to provide an oppor-
tunity for people to get outside
and get some exercise,” he
said. “We are not really mar-
keting our golf course at this
time, we let members here
know we are open — but we
are not looking to get folks
coming from other areas to
golf.”
In order to keep golfers as
safe as possible, the signage at
Florence Golf Links is very
specific about acceptable —
and more importantly —
unacceptable behavior.
The most important of the
procedures now in place
emphasize social distancing
by not allowing golfers to
share carts with anyone from a
different household, and to
not touch other players equip-
ment, cart or personal items.
Sand Traps are also current-
ly out of play because the rake
needed to smooth the sand
after a shot into the bunker
could potentially pass infec-
tion to someone else.
Restrooms on both courses
are closed and water fountains
have been shut off for the
same reasons.
Nik Remer is the PGA pro
at Florence Golf Links, and
while the course is open there
are some important points to
remember to help maintain
the health of employees and
members at the club.
“All group and tournament
See
GOLF 2B
COVID-19 precautions
• To help protect you and
others during the COVID-19
pandemic, take the following
precautions when fishing: fol-
low social distancing guide-
lines when bank fishing, only
fish from a boat with other
members of your household,
carry your own hand sani-tiz-
er or soap/water, and, if a
place is crowded, go some-
where else.
• Anglers have been catch-
ing striped bass in the upper
portions of tidewater of the
Coquille River. Most of the
fish are 20 – 26 inches long.
• Fishing for recently
stocked and holdover trout
has been good in several area
lakes and reservoirs including
Ben Irving Reservoir, Cooper
Creek Reservoir, Empire
Lakes, Galesville Reservoir,
Garrison Lake and Loon Lake.
• Jackson County Parks and
ramps are closed, Josephine
County Parks day use and
boat ramps are open. Learn
more about the specific water
bodies below.
• There are limited boat
ramps available in the Upper
Rogue.
• Lost Creek Lake is a great
location to bank fish as trails
are open and there is ample
bank access.
• Bank anglers willing to do
a little walking on the Elk
See
FISHING 2B
OSAA discusses potenial cancelation of spring sports this season
The OSAA executive board also discussed extending the season and adopted safety guidelines.
The OSAA Executive Board
held an online meeting Wednes-
day to discuss the latest develop-
ments regarding the COVID-19
situation. In its meeting, the board
decided to continue its current
suspension of spring activities but
chose not to cancel any other re-
maining state championships at
this time.
“Up to this point, the board has
aligned its decisions regarding
OSAA’s education-based activities
with the Governor’s school clo-
sure orders and plans to continue
on that path,” said OSAA Execu-
tive Director Peter Weber. “Board
member discussion centered
around the latest information sent
out from the Oregon Department
of Education (ODE) last week
stating that there is a very real po-
&
SHEET METAL, INC.
“Your Local Independent Trane Dealer”
Florence’s Oldest &
Largest Heating Contractor
tential that students may not re-
turn to school this academic year.”
Weber added that if the Gover-
nor orders ends in-person student
learning for the remainder of the
school year, the OSAA will con-
tinue to align with the school clo-
sures and also cancel its spring ac-
tivities and state championships.
In the meantime, the OSAA
says its staff has been in com-
munication with all spring state
championship venues and shared
potential challenges they are run-
ning into. In particular, Western
Oregon University has shut down
all of its athletic facilities through
June 30. That means the facility
will not be available to host the
3A, 2A, 1A Track and Field State
Championships in May. For now,
OSAA is looking into other po-
tential track venues to determine
optional availa-bility.
Board members also discussed
the potential of shifting spring ac-
tivities and state championships
into the summer, “but the board
wasn’t supportive of that concept
at this time,” Weber said. “Con-
cerns include increased staffing
See
OSAA 3B
• Heating Systems
• Heat Pumps
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(L-R) Matteo Cocciolo,
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