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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (May 9, 2020)
E BR 2020 RS Sunday, May 10 EA CEL SN S SIU SATURDAY EDITION | MAY 9, 2020 | $1.00 THESIUSLAWNEWS.COM W 1890 AW NE L S AT I N G 1 30 Y Rhododendron Festival moves to online celebration Siuslaw News ~ The 113th annual Rhododendron Court ~ NEWS & VIEWS THAT DEFINE OUR COMMUNITY VOL. 130, NO. 37 F LORENCE , O REGON WEATHER Princess Brooklyn Cahoon Princess Shakina Grover Princess Kelsey Larson Princess Madelynn Levi Princess Chloe Madden Princess Taylor Winona Partly sunny with a high of 63 and a low tonight of 50. Full forecast on A3 COMMUNITY Prince Andrew Austin Princess Farrah Baze, 1st grade Princess Addison Stewart, 2nd grade Princess Abigael Hummel, 3rd grade Princess Rianna Weese, 4th grade A note of thanks... Princess Emmy Center, 5th grade PHOTOS BY JO BEAUDREAU, MEMBER OF THE RHODY COURT COMMITTEE W ith the announcement this week of a virtual Rhodo- dendron Festival Grand Floral Parade, Photo Contest and Rhody Run, the 2020 Rhododendron Court is also blasting into the spot- light. The 12 members of the Junior and Senior Court were interviewed by KCST/KCFM Coast Radio’s George Henry and visited Rotary Club of Florence. Now, the court is working on a video presentation of their talents, sponsors and plans for the future. each year.” By Chantelle Meyer “The 2020 Rhody The video will in- Siuslaw News Court is so excited to troduce Siuslaw High continue to be part of School seniors Prince local celebrations,” said Rhody Court Andrew Austin, Princess Brooklyn Committee Chair Jenna Bartlett. Cahoon, Princess Shakina Grover, “Not only are they a historic Rhody Princess Kelsey Larson, Princess Court, they are a heroic court. These Madelynn Levi, Princess Chloe Mad- kids attend weekly Zoom meetings, den and Princess Taylor Winona. check in with each other, get inter- It will also include Siuslaw Ele- viewed publicly and do many of the mentary students Princess Farrah things that make our princes and Baze, first grade; Princess Addison princesses ambassadors for Florence Stewart, second grade; Princess Ab- igael Hummel, third grade; Princess Rianna Weese, fourth grade; and Princess Emmy Center, fifth grade. “I think the video will give Flor- ence a special way to participate in this year’s court,” said Rhody Court Committee member Meg Spencer. “This is a special group of young people who have decided to serve as a single court, and I’m so proud that this court will be remembered 113 years from now!” See RHODY page 5A Student shows appreciation for teachers INSIDE — A3 LIFESTYLE Siuslaw discusses future of emergency meal service Port to reopen Siuslaw School District serves up 26,500+ meals in 8 weeks By Jared Anderson Siuslaw News The Siuslaw School District discussed whether to extend its emergency Mobile Food Service program into the summer or end the program in favor of the tra- ditional Summer Meal program, which traditionally begins mid- June. “What the chair is asking the board is whether it’s okay for the administration to continue this should they see a need over the summer,” Board Chair Guy Ros- inbaum said. “That need could either be related to poverty or in keeping the disease spread down.” The Mobile Food Service pro- gram began in mid-March after Gov. Kate Brown closed all Ore- gon schools to prevent the spread of COVID-19. In its first eight weeks, the local program has dis- tributed 26,595 meals. In compar- ison, the Summer Meal program delivered 4,508 meals over nine weeks in 2019. While the district can afford the additional costs needed to extend the current program, it is unknown if people will still need the program as the state begins to slowly reopen the economy. To continue the service at cur- rent levels, the cost to the district for 12 weeks of summer would be roughly $55,000. However, the price could be reduced to roughly $24,000 if the state is able to reim- burse some funds and the district uses vans instead of buses to cut down on fuel costs. For the summer program, costs run below $10,000, if district costs are needed at all. “The nice thing about the sum- mer meal program is that it can be free,” said District Business Manager Kari Blake. “The more participation we can get, the more revenue that’s going to generate. It’s such a volatile fund based on staffing, food cost and participa- tion.” See FOOD page 7A Florence Council does housekeeping, looks to next phases By Mark Brennan Siuslaw News the adoption of Resolution No.8, Series 2020, which sought to es- tablish an investment policy for Florence. There was a brief dis- cussion clarifying the need for the resolution, but it was decided that the actual wording and implemen- tation of any future investment strategy won’t be re-visited until the city is in a post-COVID envi- ronment. The meeting also approved an authorization request for City Manager Erin Reynolds to enter into to a contract for auditing ser- vices and preparation of Florence’s financial statements for fiscal years 2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021-22. See COUNCIL page 7A Plans for graduation INSIDE — B By Mark Brennan Siuslaw News The reopening of recreational areas and specifically the Port of Siuslaw was the singular agenda item listed for the special meeting of the Port of Siuslaw Commissioners on Thursday. The meeting was held virtually and scheduled to discuss the possible easing of restrictions on the use of the port’s boat launch. Oregon Gov. Kate Brown has started the process of reopening many sectors of the state, including the many recreational areas that are located along the coast. The target date to begin this step is May 15. There are several goals, related to testing and infection rates, that will be the main metric used to determine the extent and speed with which all of the state’s parks and lakes will be opened. Earlier this year, Port Commis- sioners discussed the initial closing of the launch, deciding that the risk of drawing anglers from other areas was high. The health of port employees and neighbors of the facility would be a serious concern. At that time, the commissioners decided to close the launch. Now, that decision has been revisited. According to Port Manager David Huntington, he wants to reopen both the port’s launch and the camp- ground as soon as possible. See PORT page 7A RECORDS Obituaries & emergency response logs Inside — A2 SIDE SHOW Activities and comics every Saturday Inside — B4 CLASSIFIEDS Listings and public notices Inside — B5 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 This week’s Florence City Coun- cil meeting was attended “virtual- ly” by all councilors on Monday, May 4, with no members of the public in attendance, as in-person attendance is not allowed at city council meetings per social dis- tancing regulations put in place by Oregon Gov. Kate Brown in March. The council’s meeting dealt pri- marily with basic “housekeeping” issues, mostly having to do with zoning and budgetary matters. The main point of discussion was related to Ordinance No.5, Se- ries 2020, which was a request to re-zone property owned by Flor- ence Elks Lodge #1858, a two-acre property located at 1686 12th St. New Florence Senior Planner Roxanne Johnston presented her department’s recommendation that the council approve the zon- ing change from “high density” to “commercial.” Johnson recapped the approval process to that point, including a recommendation from the Flor- ence Planning Commission to al- low the rezoning to proceed. After her presentation, council approved the request unanimously. Consent items were next on the evening’s agenda and included boat launch May 15 MOVE-IN READY HOMES...WELL-MAINTAINED & VALUE-PRICED Reedsport COAST REAL ESTATE 541-997-7777 SANDPINES EAST Chetco floor plan in the desirable, gated Sandpines East neigh- borhood. Partially furnished including washer & dryer. 11 ft ceil- ing in the living room with amazing view of the pond and trees next to the golf course. 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This one won’t last long, take a look. $224,900 #11986 MLS#20413922 “We’re next to the Bridge” 615 38TH PLACE BEAUTIFUL PRIVATE HOME on “a hill” in Florentine Estates. Room to park boat or RV. Newly painted exterior. Two living spaces, and a formal dining room. Come see this awesome gated community if you are 55 or older! $329,900 #11965 MLS#20628980 100 Hwy. 101 See all Florence Listings at cbcoast.com
