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Florence lights up
for the holidays
C ONT I NUING
E D U C AT I O N
WINTER 2021
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CLASSES START
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C ATALOG I NSIDE
Siuslaw News
NEWS &
VIEWS THAT
DEFINE OUR
COMMUNITY
VOL. 130, NO. 98
F LORENCE , O REGON
WEATHER
Clouds and evening
rain with a high of 54
and a low of 45.
Full forecast on A3
Photos By
Mark Brennan
Story By
Chantelle Meyer
Siuslaw News
COMMUNITY
H
ow many City of Florence officials does it take to light the Christmas tree?
Thanks to Public Works staff, just Mayor Joe Henry as he was lifted high in the
air to light the Siuslaw River Bridge Interpretive Center’s living 30-foot
Douglas fir tree at a special tree lighting on Thursday night. Due to the COVID-19
pandemic, participation was limited at the event and all attendees wore masks and
socially distanced. To light up the area, city staff and their families counted down
while Henry released glitter over the tree. According to Public Works Director Mike
Miller, the interpretive center has even more lights this year, and many hands went
to finishing the display. The City of Florence is releasing a video about the tree
lighting and other holiday specials this weekend. People are encouraged to wear masks and
take photos as they interact with holiday displays. Learn more online at www.ci.florence.or.us.
Holiday by delivery
Homegrown Pub once again “Adopts a Family” for holidays
Home
By Mark Brennan
Siuslaw News
Homegrown Public House and
Brewery, 249 Laurel St. in Histor-
ic Old Town Florence, continues
to show its concern for homes and
families with its special “Adopt A
Family” program. Now owned by
Scott and Elaine McMillan, the pub
offers food and brews, many which
combine traditional preparation
with a unique “Homegrown” twist.
“The Adopt a Family program was
started eight years ago at Beauty by
Delivery Wellness Spa,” said Elaine,
who also owns the spa. “Each year,
we have served the community by
choosing one family in Florence to
get an entire holiday delivered at no
cost. Two years ago, we decided to
take the event to the brewery. This
enabled the project to get more ex-
posure to the public.”
The McMillans are concerned not
only for their businesses, but for the
friends and customers who frequent
their establishments who are being
negatively impacted by COVID-19
restrictions and related business clo-
sures.
The Adopt A Family Program
is designed to support — in as full
a manner as possible — one family
during the holiday season. Food,
Christmas tree, decorations and
gifts are all part of the holiday pack-
age donated to the selected family.
“People can nominate themselves
or a friend and we choose a family,”
Elaine continued. “It is always confi-
dential, and no one knows who the
family is but me.”
This year, there were 17 nominat-
ed families. Homegrown’s Facebook
announced that it selected a family
on Dec. 1.
Now, the real work begins.
“We gather lists from every per-
son in the household,” Elaine said.
Then, each list is written up and
affixed to one of two trees on display
at the pub.
“The community tree at Home-
grown is where you can grab tags
of need off the tree,” she continued.
“We ask that you wrap the gifts and
put the tag on the outside. A few
days prior to the holiday, we deliv-
er the tree, dinner and all the gifts
wrapped for the entire family. The
goal is to literally drop off the entire
holiday, stress free.”
The Adopt A Family tree is already
up at Homegrown after being donat-
ed by members of the community.
Besides this holiday event, the
McMillans are involved in support-
ing the Florence community in a
number of other ways, such as their
“Kegs for a Cause,” which donates
proceeds from kegs provided by
outside breweries to local support
agencies.
See FAMILY page 6A
Backstreet “Shell-
abrates” artists
INSIDE — A3
LIFESTYLE
Mapleton
School District
looks at ‘what’s
best for kids’
By Jared Anderson
Siuslaw News
“We are in comprehensive
distance learning with limited
in-person instruction (LIPI),”
said Mapleton School District
Superintendent Jodi O’Mara.
“That means we’re still doing
online schools for all of our stu-
dents, K-12. Our preschoolers are
receiving online learning kits.”
However, the district is offering
LIPI for 50 students as supple-
mental education.
“Some of them simply bring
their Chromebook, and they
open up Chromebook here, just
like their peers are at home, but
we have the wi-fi,” said Mapleton
High School Principal Brenda
Moyer. “For some kids, they need
See MAPLETON page 5A
Pounding continues
to give to Florence
Food Share
INSIDE — B
RECORDS
Obituaries &
emergency
response logs
Inside — A2
SIDE SHOW
Activities and
comics every
Saturday
Inside — B4
CLASSIFIEDS
Listings and public
notices
Inside — B5
FOLLOW US FOR THE
Brown’s proposed budget hopes to ‘ensure basic needs are met’
Governor calls for increased federal aid as pandemic affects all aspects of economy
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown present-
ed her proposed 2021-23 budget
to the state this week, followed by
a press conference on Dec. 1. She
went over highlights of the budget,
which will next be reviewed by Ore-
gon lawmakers before final approval
in 2021.
In addition to outlining areas of
increased spending and marked de-
creases, Brown spent considerable
time requesting aid from the U.S.
government to address the pandemic
and help states support their people.
“Unlike the federal government,
state governments have to balance
our budget,” Brown stated. “We have
to meet the needs of the pandemic.
Our revenues are down as a result
of the recession caused by the pan-
demic, and yet we’ve got to meet the
needs of vulnerable Oregon families.
And frankly, we have got to invest
and rebuild in our communities.”
Her proposed budget seeks to do
that, but also calls for more federal
funds.
According to the budget doc-
ument, “The Governor’s Recom-
mended Budget for 2021-23 pro-
poses $100.2 billion in total funds
spending, including $25.6 billion in
General Fund and Lottery Funds.
… The budget includes over $293.8
million in increased revenues and
leaves $243.3 million in the General
Fund. In addition, by the end of the
2019-21 biennium, the Rainy-Day
Fund is projected to have a balance
of $942.3 million.”
See BUDGET page 7A
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By Chantelle Meyer
Siuslaw News
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