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Siuslaw News
Siuslaw News
NEWS &
VIEWS THAT
DEFINE OUR
COMMUNITY
VOL. 131, NO. 15
F EBRUARY 20, 2021
F LORENCE , O REGON
WEATHER
Rain followed by
clouds with a high of
49 and a low of 43.
Full forecast on A3
COMMUNITY
‘Safe Families’ holds
meeting
INSIDE — A3
LIFESTYLE
Siuslaw kicks off
soccer
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
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LATEST NEWS :
/S IUSLAW N EWS
@S IUSLAW N EWS
T HE S IUSLAW N EWS . COM
Florence honors Black History Month
differing sides of the issue directly
against one another.
The divide was not only reflect-
ed in large cities across the U.S.,
uring Black History Month,
but also in repeated local demon-
this year’s recognition of
strations on street corners at the
the contributions and struggles of
intersections of Highway 126 and
African Americans takes place af-
101 in Florence,
ter a summer of
which alternate-
racially charged
ly advocated for
protests across the
“This February, during Black History Month, I call on the American people
Black Lives Matter
country, and the
awareness as well
to honor the history and achievements of Black Americans and to reflect on the
ground-breaking
as in support of law
election of Amer-
centuries of struggle that have brought us to this time of reckoning, redemp-
enforcement.
ica’s first female
tion and hope. We have never fully lived up to the founding principles of this
The issues of
vice president, Ka-
nation that all people are created equal and have the right to be treated equally
cultural imbalance,
mala Harris, who
throughout their lives. We know that it is long past time to confront deep racial
financial inequity
is of African and
and social justice
inequities and the systemic racism that continue to plague our nation.”
Asian descent.
were the focus of a
That milestone
— President Joe Biden on Black History Month, Feb. 1, 2021
KXCR Communi-
in the nation’s his-
ty Radio broadcast
tory was a stark
last Monday, which
contrast to the
May 25 murder of George Floyd, and — eventually — heal on a jour- of a broken system whose barriers included poetry, music and readings
of inequity remain in place.
from archival letters written by Af-
a Black American whose death at ney to something better.
The contrasts of those two mo-
Demonstrations following the rican Americans over the past 150
the hands of a Minneapolis Police
Department officer captured the at- ments — one of inspiration and the killing of Floyd took place across years.
other of horror — sparked action U.S., often pitting protestors on
See HONOR page76A
tention of the nation.
By Mark Brennan
Siuslaw News
D
EMAC holds
meeting
with new
members
By Mark Brennan
Siuslaw News
S IUSLAW N EWS
2 S ECTIONS | 16 P AGES
C OPYRIGHT 2021
The City of Florence En-
vironmental Management
Advisory Committee (EMAC)
met Feb. 16 for the first time
since the seating of four new
members: Lisa Walter-Sed-
lacek, Laurie Green, Anthony
Cavarno and Erick Oshel, each
selected by Florence Mayor Joe
Henry to advise the council and
city staff on environmentally
related matters.
The meeting was chaired by
Vice Chair Michael Titmus,
who coordinated the presenta-
tions from staff related to the
main focus of the evening —
committee training.
There were a number of writ-
ten public comments submitted
to the committee and entered
into the record, including one
from past EMAC member
Britte Kirsch.
Kirsch, who has been very
active in the area of waste re-
duction and recycling, request-
ed support from EMAC and the
city in sponsoring three future
recycling events. The “Take
Back” events would be conduct-
ed by Eco-Generation, a waste
reduction nonprofit which
held a successful local event in
November 2020.
At the January EMAC meet-
ing, Kirsch introduced the idea
of city participation in more
recycling events this year and
she revisited that hope in her
comments.
“At the last meeting, I men-
tioned these ‘Take Back’ events
and I wanted to give you a little
background to help you to un-
derstand more about them
See EMAC page 6A
The two are a sobering juxtapo-
sition representing both the prom-
ise of America, and the continuing
struggle against systemic racism
that has been a continuing thread
woven through the nation’s history
as it works to understand, mitigate
not only among the Black commu-
nity but among Americans of all
ethnicities, genders and economic
status. On one hand, the election
was a celebration of a barrier being
broken; on the other, the summer’s
protests were an adamant defiance
Siuslaw gets February update
School board meeting includes Lane
ESD, vaccination update, policies
Siuslaw
School By Chantelle Meyer right now, for my
District Board of Di-
senior year, to get a
Siuslaw News
rectors continues to
little bit of football in
meet mostly virtually
there,” Blankenship
as the district prepares for on-site said.
learning, which is scheduled to be-
According to Burns, “The board
ing at Siuslaw Elementary School thought it was really important to
this Monday, Feb. 22. The board have more of a student represen-
met with a full agenda and an exec- tation on the board so we could
utive session on Feb. 10, along with have a better relationship with our
two special meetings.
student body. And Elijah has been
Board Vice Chair Paul Burns led gracious enough to be that go be-
the meeting, as Chair Bob Sneddon tween. So, thank you for doing
was absent. All other board mem- that.”
bers were present, with directors
During the meeting, the board
Guy Rosinbaum and John Barnett went over several action items,
joining school district staff in-per- including a first reading on four
son at the district office.
policies. Three — “2 IJ – School
To start the meeting, the board Counseling Program,” “IKFB –
went through mandatory reporter Graduation Exercises” and “LBE/
training, which requires that people LBEA” concerning public charter
report known or suspected child schools — moved to the consent
abuse.
agenda at the March meeting. The
“That was a good synopsis of a last, “GCPC/GDPC – Retirement
very important responsibility of of Staff,” concerned the Public Em-
the board and all within the school ployees Retirement System (PERS)
district to remember and to pro- and if they can still work.
tect our children that we care for so
Director Suzanne Mann-Heintz
much,” Burns stated at the end of proposed just approving the poli-
the video.
cy, since the change was just a few
Following this, Elijah Blanken- lines to existing policy. Director
ship, the Siuslaw High School stu- Dianna Pimlott seconded Reso-
dent liaison, gave an update on lution 021021-6.11, which passed
school matters from a student per- unanimously.
spective. He also talked about his
Next, the board approved Res-
experience starting limited in-per- olution 021021-6.3, which con-
son instruction (LIPI).
cerned Lane Education Service
“Personally, for me, I really enjoy District (ESD) and its 2021-23 Lo-
being able to be back in the build- cal Service Plan for the first year of
ing two times a week,” Blankenship the biennium.
said. “It’s supposed to be for more
Lane ESD Superintendent Tony
of a study hall, but I use it more as a Scurto, accompanied by Nora Kent,
social hour, such as a lot of the stu- Lane ESD board member for West/
dents in there. They’re getting to North County, presented the chang-
see each other, which is nice, and es to the plan.
see our teachers. I’ve really enjoyed
“It still has the same four main
that.”
services that we’ve always had —
He also talked about sports that special education, technology,
are now able to be in session, in- school improvement and adminis-
cluding soccer, cross country and tration,” Scurto said, “But I want to
football.
highlight some new areas.”
“It’s nice to at least be practicing
See SIUSLAW page 5A
City Council
holds second
work session
on work plan
By Mark Brennan
Siuslaw News
Florence City Council met on
Feb. 18 for a work session to fin-
ish the overview of the current
City of Florence Work Plan. The
recap was primarily a review for
new councilors Bill Meyer, Sally
Wantz and Maggie Wisniewski,
bringing them up to speed on
the range and complexity of the
work being done by various city
departments and committees.
The work session was the sec-
ond time the new council has
met to review the progress made
on the existing work plan, with
the first taking place Feb. 10.
Earlier reviews were provided
by City Manager Erin Reynolds,
City Recorder Kelli Weese, Pub-
lic Works Director Mike Miller
and Florence Police Chief Tom
Turner to update councilors on
the specifics of their depart-
ments or areas of responsibility.
Thursday’s session began with
a review provided by Adminis-
trative Services Director Anne
Baker, followed by presentations
from Assistant City Manager
Megan Messmer, City Planning
Director Wendy FarleyCampbell
and Miller.
The areas covered in the latest
presentations included a recap
of the work done in the past 12
months to further the work plan
objectives in their specific realms
of authority and, perhaps more
importantly, what areas needed
to be continued this year — and
which projects are presenting
challenges to complete.
The questions from council-
ors were few as the presenters
covered a number of subjects
including communications and
See CITY page 6A
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1728 32ND STREET
“OAK STREET COMMONS” - New Townhomes! This is the
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construction, other finished units can be shown. Showings by
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110 PARK VILLAGE LOOP
Recently updated home with an open style living area and
high-speed fiber-optic internet. Located near medical clinics,
hospital, library, shopping, and post office. Completely updated
kitchen with Corian style countertops, stainless steel appliances.
Bathrooms have Corian Style counters, & energy-efficient
showerheads. New LVP flooring, lighting, and painting. A
laundry room, covered deck, and a beautiful fenced yard.
This home is immaculate and won’t disappoint. Hurry this one
won’t last long. $394,900 #12128 MLS#21453154
541-997-7777
1613 1ST ST.
Vintage Charmer. Charming 1907 home located in the heart of
Old Town District. Beautiful views of the Siuslaw River, board-
walk and bridge. 4 bedrooms, 2 baths in 2487 SF of living. Bay
windows, landscaped yard, deck, carport and storage garage.
Built-in wall clock and Barber pole included. All appliances
stay. Come see this one before it’s gone. Shown by appoint-
ment only. $539,000 #12126 MLS#21666570
1501 WILLOW LOOP
A fantastic open floor plan in a quiet neighborhood makes for
an excellent 1st home or a home to settle down for retirement.
This well cared for 3 bedroom 2 bathroom home boasts a large
kitchen, spacious great room, and a step in tub in the master
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large outbuilding. A covered back patio allows for year-round
outdoor living. $385,000 #12138 MLS#21174480
“We’re next to the Bridge”
100 Hwy. 101
See all Florence Listings at
cbcoast.com