Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (May 27, 2020)
THESIUSLAWNEWS.COM WEDNESDAY EDITION | MAY 27, 2020 | $1.00 Some SNF rec sites open for day-use Community & Lifestyle ODFW asks public to be aware of nesting turtles ODFW biologists advise Ore- gonians to be on the lookout for turtles on roadways, bike paths or trails. Now through July, female tur- tles begin searching for suitable nesting grounds to lay their eggs. “It’s not uncommon to see fe- male turtles on land at this time of year as they leave the water to lay their eggs,” said Susan Barnes, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation Biologist for northwest Oregon. “If you see a turtle on land, the best thing to do is let it continue on its path. Don’t try to return it to water.” It’s fi ne to move it off a road or trail (if it is safe to do so,) but put it on the other side, pointed in the same direction it was headed. Barnes, a co-chair of the Or- egon Native Turtle Working Group, works to conserve Ore- gon’s turtles year-round. “Our See Entrance Siuslaw River Low Tide May 27 3:02am / 6.9 5:14pm / 5.7 10:20am / -0.8 10:21pm / 3.3 May 28 3:54am / 6.5 6:08pm/ 5.8 11:11am/ -0.6 11:32pm/ 3.2 May 29 4:59am / 6.1 7:03pm / 6.0 12:07pm / -0.2 May 30 6:16am / 5.8 7:54pm / 6.4 12:49am / 2.8 1:06pm / 0.1 May 31 7:39am / 5.5 8:42pm / 6.9 2:05am / 2.1 2:04pm / 0.5 June 1 8:58am / 5.5 9:28pm / 7.4 3:12am / 1.2 3:01pm / 0.9 June 2 10:11am / 5.7 10:12pm / 7.9 Bob Hylton (left) and Lanny Nivens stand next to the original Hans Petersen Memorial Field in September 2019. The twosome kept stats for Siuslaw football for 49 years. Chronicling Viking tradition TURTLES 2B Tide Tables High Tide COURTESY PHOTOS 4:11am / 0.2 3:56pm / 1.2 As a Florence native, a lifelong sports junkie and a sports writer and columnist in Medford for 32 years, Don Hunt was aware that Siuslaw High School boasted a very rich tradition in football. In 2015, he launched an effort to capture it in a book. “The project took nearly three years to complete as I waded through hundreds of reports and stories from the archives of the Siuslaw News, the Eugene Register- Guard and virtually every Siuslaw High yearbook,” said Hunt, who also interviewed many for- mer Viking coaches and players, enabling him to write compelling feature sto- ries on several of them and also enrich the recaps of every season from 1955 through through 2019. He learned that Siuslaw’s football tradition includes 22 league titles, 32 trips to the state playoffs, two state titles and a pair of state runner-up finishes. “I also learned that the warriors who have worn Viking uniforms have gone on to very noteworthy careers in fields such as med- icine, science, business and coaching.” Hunt said. The first edition of his book, “The History of Siuslaw High School Football: A Tradition of Excellence,” appeared in May of 2018. “My greatest regret was not including a feature chapter on longtime statisticians Lanny Nivens and Bob Hylton,” said Hunt. “I was also troubled by the down- ward spiral of the program in 2016, 2017 and 2018, but thrilled with its resurgence under new head coach Sam Johnson.” Thus, a second edition, which includes chapters on Nivens and Hylton, Johnson and the 2018 and 2019 sea- sons, along with updates on the program’s school records, seemed necessary and appro- priate. What follows is an excerpt from Hunt’s second edition, and the chapter devoted to Nivens and Hylton... L anny Nivens has a trea- sure trove of fond and funny memories when he harks back to his nearly three decades serving as Siuslaw’s football statistician. But one stands out above the others. At an away game during the 1980s, head coach Len Lutero took issue with an official’s call and promptly drew a 15-yard unsports- manlike conduct penalty. Convinced that the Vikings were getting the short end of the deal, Lutero shouted louder and received another yellow flag. Then another. Lutero turned to Nivens, who was standing a few yards away along the side- line, and yelled: “Lanny, where the hell is he going?” “It looks like he’s headed all the way to the end zone if you don’t shut up,” Nivens said, suppressing a chuckle. Nivens kept stats for the Vikings from 1967 through 1995, which was the entire length of Lutero’s head coaching reign. When Nivens stepped aside, Bob Hylton stepped in and kept stats for Tim Dodson during his 20 seasons as the Vikings’ mentor. Statisticians are unsung and often unacknowledged members of a football program, yet they serve a valuable purpose: keeping weekly records of games and seasons. Without them, there would be no accounts of game, season and career school records. And Nivens and Hylton took their stat-keeping a step further — publishing a com- prehensive school-record book that details the top 25 to 30 players in virtually every statistical category, dat- ing to the 1950s. Nivens, who also kept bas- ketball stats for Siuslaw for many years, started out working in the press box but moved down to the field after a couple years. “You get really involved when you’re on the sidelines,” Nivens said. “You get the fla- vor of the action and can hear everything that’s going on — from the coaches, play- ers and officials. Good and bad. There’s nothing else like it.” Lutero often asked Nivens questions, such as how far the Vikings needed to gain a first down or what yard line the ball was on. See BOOK 2B Beginning May 22, many developed recre- ation sites on the Siuslaw National Forest reopened as part of a phased re- opening process. With some exceptions, most national forest boat ramps, day use sites and trailheads throughout the SNF, and some off -high- way vehicle staging areas on the Oregon dunes, will be available for day use, in many cases with limited or no services. Visitors are strong- ly encouraged to follow state and local guidelines for physical distanc- ing and staying close to home. Th e ability to open rec- reation sites, and the level of service off ered at open sites, depends on several factors, including work- force capacity and the ability to provide services in a manner that is safe for employees. Visitors should be pre- pared to be self-suffi cient as they may encounter a reduction in or lack of services, such as bath- rooms and trash collec- tion. “We understand how important outdoor recre- ation is to our local econ- omies and to Oregonians who rely on public lands for their physical, mental, and spiritual health,” said Donna Mickley, acting forest supervisor. “Since we’re not yet able to pro- vide the level of service at recreation sites that visi- tors may be accustomed to, we’re asking everyone to please protect and re- spect their public lands, as well as other visitors, by packing out all of their waste.” For more information and the complete list of recreation sites that are open, visit http://go.usa. gov/xdzAE. Th is website will be updated regularly and the list of open sites may change with little notice. Visitors should review the list prior to leaving home to ensure their destination is open for use. Planning for open- ing remaining sites and campgrounds is ongoing, with dates yet to be deter- mined. Limited camping returning to state parks in June The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department (OPRD) will offer limit- ed camping at many state park campgrounds beginning June 9. State park camping closed statewide March 23 in an effort to contain the spread of coronavi- rus and limit travel, especially to smaller communities and rural areas. A list of which camp- grounds will open June 9 is still being finalized. That list will be pub- lished online at oregon- stateparks.org by the end See PARKS 2B Hello Florence! I hope you all had a safe Memorial Day. I have to admit I did miss having the Rhody Festival last week. I missed my yearly corndog, curly fries, going on a couple of rides and the Rhody Run. Th is last weekend we did venture out on Friday aft ernoon and had lunch for the fi rst time out. We sat outside at Bridgewater and felt entirely at ease. As the weekend progressed, I did not venture out since there were so many people visiting without masks. It’s amazing how we view things now with this pandemic. Next week, Coldwell will be back to regular 8-5 hours. Hopefully we can get back to some semblance of normalcy soon. Take care and be safe! 100 Hwy. 101, Florence, OR • 541.997.7777 Lynnette Wikstrom Broker “We’re next to the Bridge.” lynnette@cbcoast.com · Cell: 541.999.0786 COAST REAL ESTATE