6A | WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2021 | SIUSLAW NEWS
RESCUE from page 1A
said Schick who, at the time
of the incident, said he didn’t
know how the operator got
from the bottom of the cliff
back up to the highway.
The rescue was the result
of some quick thinking from
bystanders who had been
driving along the winding
stretch of the highway when
the collapse occurred.
Gabrielle Colton, a Flor-
ence-area
photographer,
was passing the accident and
joined in the impromptu res-
TAC from page 1A
along with and City Eco-
nomic Development Co-
ordinator Kelli Weese,
who gave an overview of
the responsibilities of TAC
members and the upcom-
ing timeline for meetings
this year.
As she is doing for oth-
er city committees, Weese
presented slides covering
the “do’s and don’ts” that
are associated with being a
member of TAC, the goal of
the group and some of its
limitations.
The upcoming work for
the committee includes an
update to its workplan sug-
gestions for the Florence
City Council, the creation
or continuation of TAC
subcommittees, and the de-
velopment of the Florence
Transportation
System
Plan.
“We try to have a good
representation of people
that are interested in differ-
ent sectors of the transpor-
cue effort.
“I was on the way to Dev-
ils Churn Friday to photo-
graph an elopement when
we pulled up right after the
crane had fallen over the
cliff,” said Colton. “The car
in front of us had witnessed
the accident; we had just
missed it.”
According to Colton, the
occupants in the car ahead
of hers began running to the
line of cars that had become
backed up in order to get
others to help pull the opera-
tor to safety from below.
“He miraculously survived
and crawled out of the ma-
chine that had landed on the
rocks just above the ocean,”
said Colton. “We got out and
helped unravel a very tangled
rope to let it down so that he
could tie it around himself.”
From there, the rescuers
were able to pull him up.
“It took about 12 people to
pull him up from the side of
the cliff. There was no [cell]
service, and it took a while
for someone to call 911,” said
Colton who, along with the
group, was able to success-
fully bring the operator back
up to safety after about 20
minutes.
It was shortly after that
emergency responders ar-
rived.
“When the man finally
made it to the road, he was
smiling and looked thrilled
to be alive and was thankful
for our efforts,” Colton said.
Today’s road closure,
which will begin at 8 a.m.,
will be on Highway 101 be-
tween Sea Lion Caves and
Cooks Chasm, south of
Yachats and north of Flor-
ence.
Local traffic will have ac-
cess beyond the closures on
either side of the project, but
there will be no through traf-
fic at any time.
According to Angela Beers
Seydel, Public Information
Officer for ODOT, “Travel-
ers should expect closures
or extended delays in the
area for the next few weeks
as crews build a new retain-
ing wall to hold the road in
place.”
After work is completed,
there will be access through
the project area on a single
lane with flaggers controlling
traffic — but travelers should
expect extended delays for
an additional week.
Once the repair project is
complete, the road will again
be closed for several days for
the drill rig to be recovered
from the rocks below using
a 200-ton crane, which will
block the entire road.
For more information on
the status of the impacted
area on Highway 101, check
TripCheck.com or call 5-1-1
for the current road status.
tation for our community,”
said Weese.
She also emphasized
the distinction between
speaking as a community
member — where personal
opinions can be shared —
and as a member of TAC,
where it should not.
Besides Tomeny, Steele
and Napoles, the current
make-up of TAC includes
Joseph Cullivan, Vicki
Dunaway, Larry Farn-
sworth, Susan Jones, Gary
Plunkett, Stephen Raley
and Gary Trevisan. Ex-of-
ficio members include City
Councilor Woody Wood-
bury, Josh Haring repre-
senting River Cities Taxi,
David Hope representing
Coos County Area Transit,
John Ahlen representing
Lane Transit District and
Kelly Clarke from the Lane
Council of Governments.
Trevisan is a new mem-
ber of TAC who was added
during the January vetting
process at the suggestion of
City Councilor Sally Wantz.
“My goal is to lend the
handicapped vision of
transportation,” Trevisan
explained. “I am handi-
capped. I am still able to
walk fairly well but I do use
a wheelchair, so I am try-
ing to give an idea of what
the transportation system
could be like for some-
one who is handicapped. I
know when I was able bod-
ied, I never gave it much
thought. Now that I am not,
it is right in my face.”
The portfolio for TAC
includes most aspects of
transportation in the Flor-
ence area. Over the past
three years, the committee
has overseen the addition
of public transportation op-
tions to Yachats, Coos Bay
and Eugene from Florence.
In addition to public
transportation, TAC deals
with parking issues, in-
cluding the looming debate
over parking in Historic
Old Town Florence, bicycle
paths and regulations, and
other traffic-related issues.
The group has also been
central to the reinvigora-
tion of the Florence Munic-
ipal Airport, working with
Florence Public Works to
obtain grant funding to im-
prove the lighting systems
and the runway surfaces,
which has led to an increase
in air traffic to and from the
airport.
Tomeny, a pilot and a
volunteer at the airport,
said he is pleased with the
recent higher profile of the
committee and people who
have joined the group.
“I am very happy that we
got some more volunteers.
I’m sorry that we lost some
folks that had been on the
committee, but I think the
backgrounds of people are
fantastic and I think that
will bring a lot to the com-
mittee,” he said.
He tasked the committee
members with considering
subcommittees to serve on.
TAC meetings are gen-
erally scheduled on the
second Thursday of the
month, with the next meet-
ing planned for March 11,
beginning at 2:30 p.m.
For more information,
visit ci.florence.or.us.
the web
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