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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 9, 2021)
SN THESIUSLAWNEWS.COM SATURDAY EDITION | JANUARY 9, 2021 | $1.00 Greater Florence Area B usiness Quarterly Special Section Inside Siuslaw News Siuslaw School District navigates a new year Siuslaw News NEWS & VIEWS THAT DEFINE OUR COMMUNITY The school district takes a look back as it heads forward into 2021 By Chantelle Meyer Siuslaw News VOL. 131, NO. 3 F LORENCE , O REGON “It’s been an eye-opening way to look at teaching and learning,” said Siuslaw Superintendent Andy Grz- eskowiak, referring to the past year. The abrupt shift from in-person instruction in schools to compre- hensive distance learning. Teachers learning online methods right be- fore opening up virtual classrooms. WEATHER The struggle to make sure an entire district could connect to quality internet. The worry about kids not having enough to eat. Wondering when students could come back to school, and what that might look like. “Distance learning is a stressor for everybody because it’s not what people are used to,” Grzeskowiak said. “We’ve had to kind of rewrite the playbook, so to speak.” Siuslaw has done distance learn- ing since April. “Last spring was a fast, dry run. But people are making strides with it now,” Grzeskowiak said. “The teachers are doing phenomenally well. This has been a huge shift for them. … A lot of it is retuning and retooling how you approach teach- ing and learning. With a loss of in- teraction, you have to really look at how you’re presenting the material Clouds and wind with a high of 54 and a low of 46. Full forecast on A3 so that it can be accessed virtually.” Classes gather online in the morning and separate in the af- ternoon for additional worktime. Since it’s all distance learning, it’s all “homework,” though some is self-led, with students clicking through links for assignments, and some with the instructor or other students. SCHOOL 6A See Connecting neighbors to ‘Every Child’ COMMUNITY Western Lane County gets increased support for foster system By Chantelle Meyer Siuslaw News LIFESTYLE MARK BRENNAN/SIUSLAW NEWS Local vocal teacher offers new option INSIDE — B As improvements continue along areas of the Port of Siuslaw, newly available funds will help improve waterways along ports throughout the Oregon coast. RECORDS Water Resources Development Act will provide financial resources to coastal ports Port to receive additional funding PORT 5A Florence City Council begins interview process to fill seat @S IUSLAW N EWS T HE S IUSLAW N EWS . COM Interviews began Friday and will continue this Monday to fill the council vacancy by Jan. 25 By Mark Brennan Siuslaw News S IUSLAW N EWS 2 S ECTIONS | 18 P AGES C OPYRIGHT 2021 The City of Florence is con- tinuing the process of filling the opening on the City Council by scheduling interviews for six in- dividuals that have filled out ap- plications to be considered for the vacant position. Candidates for the council po- sition include past mayoral can- didate Jo Beaudreau and previous council candidate Maggie Bagon, both of whom were scheduled to be interviewed on the morning of Jan. 8 during the day’s first round of interviews. In the second round, the four-person council of Mayor Joe Henry and councilors Woody Woodbury, Bill Meyer and Sally Wantz were set to interview coun- cil candidates Joel Marks, Dianne Allison and Brian Jagoe for indi- vidual sessions that afternoon. The final candidate, Marga- ret Wisniewski, who ran for the council in November, has an in- terview scheduled for the after- noon of Jan. 11. People can learn more at ci.florence.or.us. A series of basic questions eliciting the applicants’ previous See CITY 7A Y L O P O - E C N E On Sale F L O R $ 9 Modeled after the world famous board game, Florence-Opoly is customized to our great city. Fun for the whole family! Siuslaw News • 148 Maple Street • Old Town Florence or call 541-997-3441 24. each 9 See CHILD 5A D\ P +LJKZ WUKXQWHUFR ZZZ /S IUSLAW N EWS ͘͘͘ LATEST NEWS : ͕ FOLLOW US FOR THE Ăƚ See ŝƚƵ Ɛ Listings and public notices Inside — B5 sŝƐ CLASSIFIEDS ͘͘͘ƚŽ Ě Activities and comics every Saturday Inside — B4 sions to ensure that Harbor Main- tenance Funds are used for harbor maintenance. The measure now heads to the President’s desk to be signed into law. “This is a tremendous victory for Oregon’s coastal communi- ties. For decades, I have fought to unlock the Harbor Maintenance ibrary.or iuslawL www.S 97-313 2 541-9 The Port of Siuslaw received some unexpected good news this week in an announcement made by the office of U.S. House of Repre- sentative Peter DeFazio, who stat- ed that the previously unavailable revenue stream, “The Harbor Trust Fund,” has been reclassified and — pending expected Presidential SIDE SHOW approval — can be used by Oregon coastal communities with a need for additional financial support. This funding became available in large part due to the efforts of De- Fazio acting in his role as Chair of the Transportation and Infrastruc- ture Committee. DeFazio updated the Siuslaw News after passage of the bipartisan Water Resources De- velopment Act of 2020 (WRDA), which includes important provi- OUT CHECK S.) (WE EVEN GAME BOARD g By Mark Brennan Siuslaw News rd aboa g Climb readin ad! the real railro Obituaries & emergency response logs Inside — A2 ŝƐĐ ŚŽ ŽǀĞƌ ŵĞ ǀ ŝŶƚĞ ŝŶƚĂ ƌŝŽ ŐĞĐů ƌƐ͕Ă Žƚ ŶĚ ŚŝŶŐ ĐŽ ͕Ă ŽŬ ŶƟ ŝĞƐ͊ ƋƵ ĞƐ Annual Women’s March to be virtual INSIDE — A3 Every Child Lane County has a new advocate working with vulnerable children and families in Western Lane Oregon. Clara Smith, a teacher at Mapleton Ele- mentary School, is now the part-time representative for foster families in Florence, Mapleton and the upriver communities. “Our goal is to provide love, care and support for vulnerable children and families,” Smith said. “We work to serve foster children and their families in our community by just coming around them and support- ing them in the best way that we can. And we really like to engage, and that’s all done with our community members.” Smith gave a brief update on Every Child Lane Coun- ty to the Kiwanis Club of Florence in December, right before delivering Christmas presents to the children in the area’s foster families. Every Child Lane is an offshoot of Every Child Oregon, which serves 17 of Oregon’s counties. In Lane County, 1,530 children spent time in foster care in the past year, with some of them in more than one home in that time period. “Foster parents are lov- ing and giving people who try to meet all the needs of these kids, but sometimes it can be difficult for them. That’s where Every Child Lane comes in,” the group stated. “Several people vol- unteer with the nonprofit agency that works closely with the Oregon Depart- ment of Human Services to fill those gaps and provide a little extra for children who are in an especially Framing es Fram ence Quality Custom of Flor • Mirrors s • Needlework • Watercolors Shadowboxe Photography Oils • 43 97-20 G 541-9 101, Suite Hwy. 2285 OR 97439 Florence,
