THESIUSLAWNEWS.COM
SATURDAY EDITION | JUNE 17, 2020 | $1.00
Juneteenth
‘Freedom Day’
march is Friday
Collective voice
Community
&
Lifestyle
Most remaining
SNF sites,
campgrounds
reopening
At noon on June 12, the Siu-
slaw National Forest began its
next round of reopening recre-
ation sites throughout the forest.
Implementation of these reopen-
ings will occur incrementally,
with groupings of recreation sites
scheduled to open each week
throughout the remainder of
June.
Barring unforeseen circum-
stances related to community
readiness, recreation site open-
ings are scheduled as follows:
• June 12: Most remaining day
use sites, including Drift Creek
Falls Trailhead and recreation
sites along the Horsfall and Silt-
coos corridors; does not include
Sand Lake recreation sites.
• June 18: Campgrounds, ex-
cluding Canal Creek, Riveredge,
and Cape Perpetua group camp-
grounds in Lincoln County and
campgrounds and sand camping
at Sand Lake Recreation Area.
See
SNF 2B
PHOTOS BY MARK BRENNAN/SIUSLAW NEWS
T
he death of George
Floyd at the hands of
Minneapolis, Minn.,
police officers on May 25 con-
tinues to inspire protests
across the nation and in
Florence. On Saturday, June
13, the largest group of sup-
porters so far — nearly 100
between all four corners of
Highways 101 and 126 — were
on hand to protest the death
of Floyd, Breonna Taylor and
dozens of others, and to con-
tinue support for police
reforms aimed at addressing
the disproportionate number
of shootings of Black
Americans by law enforcement
across the nation, particularly
in large metro areas. Floyd’s
death has been labeled a
homicide by the Minneapolis
District Attorney and the offi-
cers involved have been
removed from duty and
charged with felonies.
Saturday’s peaceful protest
rally included local supporters
from the Florence LGBTQ com-
munity, who joined with other
participants by holding signs
calling for justice and reforms
in the procedures and proto-
cols utilized by police depart-
ments regarding the use of
deadly force.
See
Tide Tables
Entrance Siuslaw River
Newest park gets official sign as parks re-open
Exploding Whale Memorial Park is one of several community parks open to the public
High Tide
Low Tide
June 17
10:53am / 4.9
10:17pm/ 7.0
4:42am/ 0.4
4:12pm/ 2.4
June 18
11:43am / 5.2
10:53pm / 7.2
5:22pm / -0.1
4:55pm / 2.7
June 19
12:29am / 5.5
11:29pm/ 7.4
6:00am/ -0.7
5:36pm/ 2.8
June 20
1:12pm / 5.7
8:25pm / 6.2
6:38am / -1.1
6:17pm / 2.9
June 21
12:05am / 7.5
1:53pm / 5.8
7:16am / -1.3
6:58pm / 2.9
June 22
12:43am / 7.6
2:35pm / 5.9
7:55am / -1.5
7:40pm / 2.9
June 23
1:24am / 7.6
3:18pm / 6.0
8:35am / -1.5
8:26pm / 2.9
Last year, community
members were asked to help
name Florence’s newest park,
located along the Siuslaw
River along Rhododendron
Drive (612 Rhododendron
Dr.) with an initial 124
unique suggestions submit-
ted by the public.
That number was nar-
rowed down to nine, which
were part of a communi-
ty-wide survey that included
856 total votes — with 439 of
them voting for the park to
be named Exploding Whale
Memorial Park.
With this November being
the 50th anniversary of the
exploding whale incident, as
well as “Blast from the Past”
chosen as the theme for
this past May’s annual
Rhododendron Days, there
had been initial plans for
unveiling the park’s new
name with a community cel-
ebration.
However, COVID-19 pre-
cautions meant making the
unveiling in a different way.
On May 14, the City of
Florence hosted the Siuslaw
River Beach Access Park
Grand Opening and, this
past Saturday (June 13), an
Florence ORganiz-
es will be sponsor-
ing a family friendly
Juneteenth (Freedom
Day) Celebration
this Friday, June 19,
from noon to 1 p.m.,
at the Florence Unit-
ed Methodist Church
(333 Kingwood St.)
The celebration will
be followed by a march
from 1 to 2 p.m.
The march is in sup-
port of Black Lives
across the nation and
also in remembrance
of the official end of
slavery in the U.S.
Pa r t i c i p a nt s w i l l
gather at noon at the
church for celebrating.
Bring your own chair
and picnic food .
There are nearby
restaurants that pro-
vide take out meals,
including Los Com-
padres, Hukilau and
Dairy Queen.
Supporters are free
to bring noisemakers-
rattles, tambourines,
drums, etc., to add to
the festivities.
There will also be
recorded music and
chalk for sidewalk art.
At 12:30 p.m., there
will be a rally with an
invocation, followed
by guest speakers prior
to the march at 1 p.m.
The route will begin
at the church and con-
tinue along Highway
along 101 to Rhodo-
dendron Street, then
south on 101 to City
COURTESY PHOTO
Florence Mayor Joe Henry was on hand Saturday during the
unveiling of the new sign officially designating Exploding
Whale Memorial Park.
official sign dedication took
place.
With Lane County’s
approval to move into Phase
2 of the Gov. Kate Brown’s
reopening process, the City is
following guidance from the
Oregon Health Authority
(OHA). Governor Brown’s
Framework for Reopening
Oregon outlines phases for
restarting public life and
business through gradual,
incremental segments based
on science and the latest data.
“The City of Florence is in
regular communication with
public health officials regard-
ing COVID-19 and taking
steps to limit the communi-
ty’s exposure to COVID-19
in accordance with state offi-
cials and public health guid-
ance,” the City said in a
See
PARKS 2B
MARCH 2B
Campfires can
fuel wildfire
season
Throughout Oregon,
hay and grass seed are
big business. It can
also be a big problem
when remnants of the
harvest are carried by
wind into power lines.
Hay or grass caught
in the components of
a power line that be-
come damp can spark
a fire.
To avoid this poten-
tially catastrophic situ-
ation, if you see hay or
grass hung up in pow-
er lines, call your local
utility and report it.
“Fires started by
grass or hay are a big
concern, but they are
not the only concern,”
said Mike Miller, BPA
Transmission Services
vice president of Field
Services.
During hay season,
lightweight hay can
be picked up by wind
and blown 100 feet or
more. If hay collects on
power lines and then
becomes wet from rain
or dew it can cause
lines to spark and light
a fire.
VIEW LOOP
Mostly level 0.22 AC lot on View Loop. Test hole dug, septic approved.
Some great timber on the lot. Mercer Lake Heights lots come with Mercer Lake
community dock and boat access privileges at otter cove. $56,000
100 Hwy. 101, Florence, OR • 541.997.7777
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Broker
MLS#19419228
CCB#11871
“We’re next to the Bridge.”
lynnette@cbcoast.com · Cell: 541.999.0786
COAST REAL ESTATE