E Daylight Saving Time ends Nov. 1 (tonight) at 2 a.m. RS 2020 EA CEL SN BR SATURDAY EDITION | OCTOBER 31, 2020 | $1.00 S SIU THESIUSLAWNEWS.COM W 1890 AW NE L S AT I N G 1 30 Y FURA selects development partner Trebuchet trouble Proposal could lead to 90-room hotel on Quince Story & Photos By Mark Brennan Siuslaw News By Mark Brennan Siuslaw News By Mark Brennan Siuslaw News The Florence Urban Re- newal Agency (FURA) met twice this week, first on Wednesday, Oct. 28, in ex- ecutive session, then again Thursday, Oct. 29, for its regular session to discuss en- tering into an agreement for developing a parcel of land on Quince Street across from the Florence Events Cen- ter that has been vacant for many years. The property, former- ly home to Siuslaw Middle School, was purchased by the City of Florence from a private developer in 2018. Since then, there has been a concerted effort by the city to determine which type and style of development would be best suited for this unique piece of property. Earlier this year, FURA released a “Request for Ex- pressions of Interest” (REI) marketing proposal, seeking parties interested in work- ing with FURA and the city to develop the land. The re- quirements for acceptance included building a large- scale hotel, with amenities and support for creating the Siuslaw Estuary Trail, which would lead from the parcel along the river to Old Town. At Thursday’s meeting, Florence City Manager Erin Reynolds welcomed the di- rectors and quickly recapped the central purpose of the meeting. “We had an executive ses- sion last night to discuss the item that is before you tonight See FURA page 6A The Siuslaw woodshop tre- buchet is almost ready to launch pumpkins. S iuslaw woodshop stu- dents learned a valuable lesson in woodworking and physics this week as they attempted to build a trebuchet remotely. The reason was simple: they wanted to participate in the autumn pastime called “chunkin punkins” (chucking pumpkins) by launching small gourds behind Siuslaw Middle School towards the athletic fields. According to woodshop teacher TJ Wilson, “It’s just a fun way to keep the kids doing something that they enjoy. We are following all COVID protocols and just trying to keep things going in the woodshop, even during COVID.” However, despite the best efforts of Siuslaw Superintendent Andy Grzesko- wiak, Siuslaw Middle School Principal Andy Marohl and Wilson, the trebuchet Lane County to add Deputy Sheriffs to enhance rural patrols building process. It also allows us to increase the level of service we can provide to West Lane County residents who live in the most geo- graphically difficult area to provide law enforcement services. Over- all, this will help reduce response times and increase our presence in rural communities.” Prior to this new investment, funding for the Sheriff ’s Office only provided 25 FTE to patrol 4,600 square miles of the county. Those 25 FTE — spread across 24 hours per day, seven days per week — provided about three deputies on at any given time to respond to calls throughout the county, resulting in very long re- sponse times for life safety calls, and often no response to property crime calls. See COUNTY page 6A wasn’t quite able to “chunk the punkins” Thursday, as it wasn’t quite up to the task, failing during its trial runs. How- ever, the woodworking team hopes to have the miniature wooden version of the medieval catapult ready to go soon. Rain on Friday prevented further testing of the trebuchet. “We are pretty close to having it ready to go,” Marohl said as he used a hand drill in an attempt to stabilize the struc- ture. “I think it will just take a few ad- justments to get it ready.” The Tuesday, Oct. 27, Florence Planning Com- mission regular session was held via teleconference with all members in attendance. Chairperson John Murphey opened the meeting with the pledge of allegiance, took roll and gained ap- proval from the committee on both the agenda and minutes from the Oct. 13 meeting. There were no speaker cards submitted to the commission and no public comments were provided digitally. As all city committees and commissions are updating their respective workplans, Planning com- missioners were primarily focused on working their way through the workplan they will submit to the Florence City Council at a specially scheduled work session on Nov. 16. The crafting of the soon- to-be-submitted work plan has been coordinated by Planning Director Wendy FarleyCampbell who, along with City Recorder Kelli Weese, has helped shepherd the items to completion before the upcoming work session. City staff have taken the goals remaining from pre- vious plans and collated the “still to do” items — along with and the additional issues that have arisen since the creation of the last workplan — into cogent, cohesive memos for the City Council. See PLANNING page 6A NEWS & VIEWS THAT DEFINE OUR COMMUNITY VOL. 130, NO. 87 F LORENCE , O REGON WEATHER Sunny with a high of 62 and a low tonight of 42. Full forecast on A3 COMMUNITY Voting deadline is Nov. 3 INSIDE — A3 LIFESTYLE The Haunting of Heceta Head INSIDE — B RECORDS Obituaries & emergency response logs Inside — A2 SIDE SHOW OHA provides tips for safe, fun Halloween The COVID-19 pandemic is re- shaping how Oregonians celebrate holidays, and that includes Hallow- een. But it doesn’t mean Halloween this year can’t still be fun. This year, it’s more important than ever to put safety first because COVID-19 cases have risen recent- ly and holiday gatherings on Me- morial Day, July 4th and Labor Day led to increased case counts. So, this Halloween, be extra mindful of your choices. Choosing low risk Halloween plans can help to prevent the spread of COVID-19 illness, decrease the impact on Oregon’s health care system and save lives. “If you dress up in a costume, be careful to plan a costume that al- lows you to wear a face covering,” said State Health Officer Dr. Dean Siuslaw News Activities and comics every Saturday Inside — B4 CLASSIFIEDS Listings and public notices Inside — B5 Sidelinger. “Halloween masks will not protect you or others from coro- navirus. Wearing a cloth or dispos- able face mask that fits snugly and covers your mouth and nose is still required while wearing a costume, no matter how scary or silly your costume is.” This Halloween, the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) is recom- mending that Oregonians avoid tra- ditional door-to-door trick or treat- ing and many events because these are high-risk activities for crowding among people outside your house- hold. See SAFE page 6A Community Christmas Food Basket Giveaway needs the support of our generous community, now more then ever! Soroptimist normally prepares for 400 to 425 households but this year it will be much closer to 500 families. We need your support and donations urgently! Mail tax deductible donations for the Community Christmas Basket Project to Soroptimist International of Florence, PO Box 1209, Florence OR 97439. You can also contact Carol Bennett at 541-991-3455 or dumplady@hotmail.com. 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 The Lane County Board of Com- missioners unanimously approved (4-0) the addition of 4.0 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) deputy sheriff positions in order to enhance rural patrol and service for the next five years. Two FTE will be designated to work in the McKenzie River Valley area during the ongoing response, recovery and rebuilding related to the Holiday Farm Fire. The other two FTE will be assigned to the Western Lane region. “As most of our rural residents know, funding for the Sheriff ’s Of- fice has allowed for only minimal rural patrol over the past several years,” said Sheriff Cliff Harrold. “This new investment comes at a time when the McKenzie River area is in need of support and a sense of security as residents begin the re- Planning Commission approves next biennium workplan