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AT I N G 1 30 Y
SIUSLAW NEWS:
A LOOK B ACK AT 130
Y EARS
INSIDE — A7
‘Remote
Workers and
the Rise of
Main Street’
Mapleton
Siuslaw News
NEWS &
schools to hold VIEWS
THAT
DEFINE OUR
classes online COMMUNITY
for all grades
VOL. 130, NO. 64
F LORENCE , O REGON
2020-21
school year to
begin Sept. 14
How lifestyle
destinations can
harness remote
workers for eco-
nomic growth
COURTESY IMAGE
‘Sea and shore’ to
unite in new mural
By Chantelle Meyer
Siuslaw News
G
N
I
N
E
OP DAY,
SATUR UST
AUG H.
15T
Clawson’s Wheelhouse waits on city approval
after community funds project
S
ometime in the next
recognition in town after he
By Lena Felt
few months, a colorful
restored the 1990 mural of a
Siuslaw News
new mural titled “Legends
whale on ICM Restaurant’s
and Lore of Sea and Shore”
front entrance on Bay Street
will appear on the south side of Claw- in Historic Old Town Florence.
son’s Wheelhouse on Eighth Street off
“When I was working on the ICM
Highway 101. The new mural has been mural, the Novellis asked me if I would
in the works since last October, when do a mural on their little crab shack on
Amy Clawson spread the word that she the dock as well,” Wood said. “So I did,
was hoping to add some life to the blank and I sort of got a reputation for those
white siding of her business.
murals.”
Local artist Michael Wood jumped
One of the first concepts Wood
at the opportunity as soon as he heard pitched to Clawson was inspired by
Clawson was looking for an artist to take the interior of Clawson’s Wheelhouse,
on the job.
which showcases several mermaids and
“It really was just serendipity how it other nautical elements.
came to together,” said Wood, who gained
See MURAL page 6A
By Jared Anderson
Siuslaw News
The Mapleton School Dis-
trict has announced it will
be beginning the 2020-21
school year online, with the
possibility of moving to a
hybrid schedule later in the
year. The decision comes af-
ter Oregon Gov. Kate Brown
announced new metrics
for districts to allow onsite
learning.
“I know it’s hard for a lot
of our families, especially
working families that will
now have kids at home with
online learning. But we’re
going to do our best to sup-
port them,” said District Su-
perintendent Jodi O’Mara.
When O’Mara discussed
reopening at the beginning
of summer, she stated that
they hoped they could open
up fully on-site, no hybrid
models.
See MAPLETON page 6A
Mostly sunny with a
high of 65 and a low
tonight of 47.
Full forecast on A3
COMMUNITY
Yachats begins
annual banner sale
INSIDE — A3
LIFESTYLE
The direction we’re going
A deep dive into partisan politics in Florence and the Siuslaw region
do that was to begin with an over-
view of this investigation, how it
came about and what mistakes have
n this two-part introduction to been made on all sides — including
Siuslaw News’ investigative series our own — along the way.
that began with a front-page editori-
al on Aug. 8, we have chosen to elim- “Have city committees been infil-
inate references to specific individu-
trated by partisan actors?”
als and groups, with those specifics
In February 2019, members of the
coming in subsequent installments newsroom here at Siuslaw News were
of this series. We have chosen this still learning from mistakes we had
approach so that our readers can made during the 2018 election for
first get a clear understanding of the Florence City Council. In a two-part
broad issues related to partisanship series titled “Chaos in the Commu-
in our community and its impacts nity,” we described a number of dis-
on local government, and hopeful- turbing incidents that had occurred
ly do so without creating additional in the run-up to that election. In-
fracturing between specific groups, cidents included sitting councilors
individuals and our community.
attempting to push out candidates,
What follows is an overview which vandalism being reported and ethics
is clear but not accusatory.
complaints filed.
The groups we write about in this
However, what took our staff most
series have often used soundbites by surprise was that it was occurring
without context in order to both at all. Two of our three reporters had
denigrate political opponents and been hired little more than a year
further divide the community. We earlier, and none had noticed any
are doing our best to provide the signs that the political atmosphere
truth without adding to that divi- had deteriorated to the extent that
sion.
it had. So, 2018 — we thought —
The City of Florence has come to was a one-off and something merely
this moment because of a series of sparked by the heightened political
small steps, miscommunications, atmosphere in the nation.
mistrust and overall frustration
We were wrong.
with the direction of things result-
After the 2018 election, it seemed
ing from decisions both distant and most were ready to move on as elect-
in the recent past. It’s these smaller ed officials made hopeful statements
steps that we will be covering over about working together. There was a
the next few months as we examine sense that a level of normalcy would
specific moments that have led to return.
where we are today.
But by February, elected officials
But to understand any of this, it’s were again openly fighting with each
important to know what is being other. Many of those arguments
fought over. We felt the best way to surrounded the direction of the
By Siuslaw News
Editorial Staff
I
city, from how affordable housing
should be approached, to the role of
job creation. The Public Art Com-
mittee (PAC) and the Florence Ur-
ban Renewal District (FURA) were
suddenly becoming battle grounds.
At that point, we began asking the
city a host of questions about those
agencies and others; the city had
spent countless hours and tens of
thousands of dollars on community
planning.
We decided to look at commit-
tees and their role in the city, how
some had flourished while others
had failed — some due to internal
conflicts among members, others
because of the sheer enormity of the
task at hand.
We found plenty of information
on the issues facing the city, and
there were some clear disagree-
ments about what direction the city
should take. But ultimately council
members and committee officials
appeared to have more in common
than not and the gaps in agreement
seemed easy to bridge.
Yet problems continued to esca-
late although no one could pinpoint
the reasons why.
To find out, Siuslaw News be-
gan asking questions beyond the
scope of what was transparent and
into things that had become more
opaque. Though most of our ques-
tions were attempts to either dispel
or verify rumors — some given from
elected officials themselves — the
questions began exacerbating what
had already become a tense situation
between elected officials.
See DIRECTION page 8A
Free Fishing
weekend
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NEW: TV GUIDE
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KIDS CORNER
Activities for kids
Inside — B5
CLASSIFIEDS
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Inside — B6
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2 S ECTIONS | 18 P AGES
C OPYRIGHT 2020
Small towns on the Ore-
gon coast are gaining atten-
tion as lifestyle destinations
due to their abundance of
natural beauty, recreational
opportunities and charm-
ing business centers. In an
Aug. 5 webinar hosted by
Pacific Northwest Econom-
ic Region (PNWER) State
Sen. Arnie Roblan repre-
sented the coast in a forum
on “Remote Workers and
the Rise of the Main Street.”
The discussion, which
also included representa-
tives from British Columbia
and Montana, centered
how the novel coronavirus
COVID-19 might allow re-
mote workers to live where
they want while working
where they want — as long
as the technology infra-
structure is in place.
PNWER covers the five
northwest US states and all
of western Canada.
“It’s a very diverse, large
area,” said PNWER Senior
Program Manager Steve
Myers. “We’re lucky today
to have representatives
from three areas around
our region that represent
a diverse geography and
community perspective
when it comes to econom-
ic development and other
issues around our region.”
The panel included
Roblan, representing his
hometown of Coos Bay and
the Oregon coast; Central
Okanagan Economic Devel-
opment Council Manager
Krista Mallory, represent-
ing Kelowna in B.C.; and
Bozeman, Mont., Economic
Development Director Brit
Fontenot. PNWER Inno-
vation Co-Chair Nirav S.
Desai moderated the panel.
Desai described the three
locations as “lifestyle cities
— great locations that aren’t
just fun to vacation in, but
are great towns.”
Although vastly different
in location, the three areas
encompass similar growth
trajectories in recent years,
with technology as a key
point in economic develop-
ment. Similarly, the impacts
of economic shutdowns due
to COVID-19 have caused
people in these areas to
plan for a future where
in-person meetings may
not be possible.
See ECONOMY page 5A
WEATHER
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Open 11:00 am - 7:00 pm
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