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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (June 10, 2020)
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Call or stop by and see how we do it 541-997-8086 RS 2020 NEW MEMBERS 1/2 PRICE ENROLLMENT FEES FOR JUNE EA SIU S CEL SN BR WEDNESDAY EDITION | JUNE 10, 2020 | $1.00 THESIUSLAWNEWS.COM W 1890 AW NE L S AT I N G 1 30 Y M ORE P HOTOS Celebrating the Class of 2020 ON A9 Siuslaw News NEWS & VIEWS THAT DEFINE OUR COMMUNITY VOL. 130, NO. 46 F LORENCE , O REGON ‘The class that will change the world’ ‘Who is it you want to be?’ Mapleton High School seniors parade through area, create graduation video Siuslaw High School conducts socially distant graduation ceremony Story & Photos By Jared Anderson Siuslaw News hree months ago, we were finishing the third quarter and achieve- ments. “It’s not every day we get to celebrate the ac- complishments of 13 precious S COURTESY PHOTO years of your life, so let it sink in and enjoy it with the ones you love,” he said. and beginning Spring sports,” Siu- slaw High School Principal Kerri Tatum said. “When the students went home on March 11, we were looking forward to a long weekend and nice weather. Overnight, edu- cation as we know it changed.” Tatum stood on the grounds of Hans Petersen Memorial Field to start off Siuslaw School District’s first social-distance friendly gradu- ation ceremony. Instead of hosting the nearly 100 graduating seniors all at once, the district spaced out the event, allowing seniors and their families the opportunity to walk to the makeshift stage to be handed diplomas. Senior Class President Ame- lia Wells read the names out loud, while district board members Guy Rosinbaum and Paul Burns alter- nated the giving of diplomas. One by one, seniors and their families walked onto the field, laughing, crying and taking pic- tures as the seniors entered their next chapter in life. Traditional highlights of the cer- emony, including speeches by se- niors, were prerecorded and broad- casted live on KCST Coast Radio and posted online. KCST also cov- ered the event live, with school board member Bob Sneddon and school counselor Steve Moser com- mentating. “I want to thank this group of seniors and their families for their See MAPLETON page 7A See SIUSLAW page 8A Story by Jared Anderson Photos by Chantelle Meyer Siuslaw News “T T he nine graduating seniors of Mapleton High School cele- brated graduation on Friday with a parade through the upriver com- munity, as well as a posted video of this year’s ceremony. For the past few weeks, seniors and their families have been visiting the high school gym one at a time, filming all of the Mapleton tradi- tions of graduation, including the giving out of roses and a candlelit diploma presentation. On Friday, the video was released, which started with senior Justyce Wierichs reminding all viewers to turn off their cell phones during the presentation. The ceremony’s opening saluta- tion was given by Theryn Schwert- feger, who opened his speech with a tribute to Brandon Kimble, a Ma- pleton student who passed away in 2016. “Brandon Kimble was an amazing classmate of ours, a class clown, and a genuinely good person,” Schwert- feger said. “I am truly saddened that he cannot be here to graduate with us here today. We can never forget Brandon, our classmate, and we should keep his memory alive.” Schwertfeger then congratulat- ed Class of 2020 seniors across the world for their accomplishments State PTA honors Siuslaw teacher, student Florence City Council responds to heightened concerns Music teacher Amanda Sarles named Oregon PTA Teacher of the Year By Chantelle Meyer Siuslaw News (Above with flow- ers) Oregon PTA and members of the Florence Com- munity PTA hon- ored Siuslaw Elementary music teacher Amanda Sarles as the Or- egon PTA Teacher of the Year and (left, with balloon) 4th grader Claire McNeill as the with the Student Service Award for the state. and individuals for their work and Oregon PTA honored McNeill dedication to further PTA’s mission with the Student Service Award for and values. Congratulations to our making “important contributions 2019-2020 award winners.” See AWARDS page 6A >ĞĂƌŶŚŽǁƚŽĮŶĚƚŚĞďĞƐƚDĞĚŝĐĂƌĞƉůĂŶĨŽƌLJŽƵ͘ x x x 'ĂŝŶ ĂŶƵŶĚĞƌƐƚĂŶĚŝŶŐŽĨŚŽǁDĞĚŝĐĂƌĞǁŽƌŬƐ͘ Learn ƚŚĞĚŝīĞƌĞŶĐĞďĞƚǁĞĞŶDĞĚŝĐĂƌĞĚǀĂŶƚĂŐĞĂŶĚDĞĚŝĐĂƌĞ^ƵƉƉůĞŵĞŶƚƉůĂŶƐ͘ ŝƐĐŽǀĞƌŚŽǁDĞĚŝĐĂƌĞWƌĞƐĐƌŝƉƟŽŶƌƵŐWůĂŶƐǁŽƌŬ͘ Mostly rain with a high of 60 and a low tonight of 53. Full forecast on A3 COMMUNITY Protests continue in Florence INSIDE — A3 LIFESTYLE Bowling centers open up INSIDE — SPORTS RECORDS Obituaries & response logs Inside — A2 NEW: TV GUIDE Inside — B3-B4 KIDS CORNER Activities for kids Inside — B5 CLASSIFIEDS Listings and 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 | 18 P AGES C OPYRIGHT 2020 Every year, members of the Flor- ence Community Parent Teacher Association (FCPTA) get together to decide on nominations for the annual Oregon PTA Awards. This year, the local group nominated two people, Siuslaw Elementary School music teacher Amanda Sarles and fourth-grader Claire McNeill, for awards at the state level. And this year, both Siuslaw people won. “This is an emotional, huge, epic moment for all of us,” said FCPTA President Crystal Osburn. According to the awards an- nouncement, “Oregon PTA takes great pride in recognizing units The Florence City Council met via teleconference on Monday, June By Mark Brennan 9, with a full agenda. Siuslaw News City leaders at t e mp t e d to reassure city residents that there is no need for concern regarding com- munity safety on any level. The city is in the process of im- proving the video platforms used for council meetings and all councilors were in attendance — and fully vis- ible — during the nearly two-hour long meeting. Florence Mayor Joe Henry brought the meeting to order and turned to City Manager Erin Reynolds, who welcomed the council and made a See COUNCIL page 5A WEATHER ,ĞůƉŝŶŐKƌĞŐŽŶŝĂŶƐ^ŝŶĐĞϭϵϵϲ ϭϵϯϮWŝŶĞ^ƚ^ƵŝƚĞ-ϲ &ůŽƌĞŶĐĞ͕KZ͘ϵϳϰϯϵ ĂŶĂĂŶĞ/ŶƐƵƌĂŶĐĞŝƐŶŽƚĐŽŶŶĞĐƚĞĚǁŝƚŚŽƌĞŶĚŽƌƐĞĚďLJƚŚĞhŶŝƚĞĚ^ƚĂƚĞƐŐŽǀĞƌŶŵĞŶƚŽƌƚŚĞĨĞĚĞƌĂůDĞĚŝĐĂƌĞƉƌŽŐƌĂŵ͘