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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.
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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