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THESIUSLAWNEWS.COM
WEDNESDAY EDITION | MAY 19, 2021 | $1.00
Look for results from the
May 18 Special Election
online at www.
TheSiuslawNews.com or in
the May 22 edition of the
Siuslaw News.
Siuslaw News
Florence council
decides to increase
waste removal rates,
approve annexations
Siuslaw News
NEWS &
VIEWS THAT
DEFINE OUR
COMMUNITY
VOL. 131, NO. 40
M AY 19, 2021
F LORENCE , O REGON
The Florence City Council met virtually
for its regular session on May 17. The eve-
ning agenda was
By Mark Brennan
extensive, with
Siuslaw News
councilors con-
sidering the final
disposition of two annexation requests, a
rate increase for waste haulers and the sale
of city owned property in the Pacific View
Business park.
All councilors were in attendance as May-
or Joe Henry brought the meeting to order
and read into the record three separate
proclamations. The first was in recognition
of Public Works Week from May 16 to 23,
the second was in recognition of Building
Safety Month and the third was a reminder
about Boating Safety Week, which is from
May 22 to 28.
Next up for the council was consideration
of four items, all of which required a public
hearing. There were no public comments
related to any of these ordinances, other than
very brief comments from the petitioners.
The first two action items were pending
requests in the form of Ordinance No. 5
and 6, Series 2021, asking for an annexation
and related zoning change.
As part of the approval process for
annexation, referrals were sent to Florence
Public Works and police departments, Lane
County Transportation and Land Manage-
ment Divisions, Charter Communications,
Century Link, Central Lincoln PUD and
Heceta Water PUD — all of which sup-
ported the ability of the city to annex the
locations in question.
The first was from Stonefield Invest-
ments and owner Robbie Wright, who was
on hand for the meeting. Stonefield had
submitted the appropriate documents and
permitting for annexing and assigning a
zoning designation to property described as
Assessors Map No. 18-12- 04-44, TL 03800,
located approximately 410 feet northeast
of the intersection at Rhododendron Drive
and Sebastian Street. The proposed zoning
is medium density residential.
See COUNCIL page 6A
WEATHER
Partly cloudy
with a high of 53
and a low of 43.
Full forecast on A3
COMMUNITY
Soroptimists donate
to Food Backpacks
INSIDE — A3
LIFESTYLE
Siuslaw places at
district meet
INSIDE — B
In recognition of Rhody Days
PHOTOS BY MARK BRENNAN/SIUSLAW NEWS
People honor 114th festival even without many formal events
By Mark Brennan
& Chantelle Meyer
Siuslaw News
F
lorence Area Chamber of
Commerce’s Rhododen-
dron Festival, usually an annu-
al event, was cancelled again
this year due to the COVID-19
pandemic. However, some ele-
ments of the weekend still took
place on Saturday, May 15, as
people honored the event’s 114-
year history.
The morning began with
the Rhody 5K/10K Run-Walk,
which took place at the Flor-
ence Events Center. More than
100 people participated in the
event, with all ages of runners
represented.
The sunny weather and the
return of an in-person activ-
ity made for high spirits and
lots of smiles being shared by
runners and the support team
from Eclectic Edge racing,
which oversaw the race. All
proceeds from the U.S. Track
and Field-sanctioned race will
benefit Florence Habitat for
Humanity, which helps the
Florence community in the ar-
eas of job training and creating
affordable housing for low-in-
come level households.
A complete list of finishing
times and winners is available
at eclecticedgerecing.com.
During a year when more
formal Rhody Days events are
held, vehicles make up a big
portion of the festivities. This
year featured a new way to in-
corporate cars with the Rhody
Days Poker Run, which featured
classic cars, motorcycles and
other automobiles.
Five nonprofits were the ben-
eficiaries of the event: Florence
Food Share, Florence Habitat
for Humanity, Food Backpack
for Kids, Oregon Coast Humane
Society and Oregon Coast Mili-
tary Museum.
“We were able to donate $200
to each of the five non-profits, in
addition to an average of $159
that they reported receiving at
their on-site stops,” reported
Oregon Coast Military Museum
Committee Chair Gary Cargill.
See RHODY page 7A
RECORDS
Obituaries &
response logs
Inside — A2
Governor declares May 22 to 28 as National Safe Boating Week
S IUSLAW N EWS
2 S ECTIONS | 18 P AGES
C OPYRIGHT 2021
PHOTO BY CAROLE COHEN
U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliarists (from left) Joe Cohen, Deborah Heldt
Cordone, AUXPA1, and Scott Philben from Florence hold a framed
copy of the State of Oregon Safe Boating Week proclamation signed,
with state seal, by Oregon Gov. Kate Brown. The proclamation and
Safe Boating Week help promote safe boating during the beginning
of the boating season and all year long.
most since 1987. Seven of the 27 both motorized and non-motor-
victims were wearing life jackets. ized vessels, including paddlecraft
Recreational boating encompasses such as kayaks, canoes, standup
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CLASSIFIEDS
National Safe Boating Week is the
official launch of the 2021 North
American Safe Boating Campaign.
The U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary
wishes to help ensure the public has
a safe, secure and enjoyable boating
experience this season by bringing
attention to important life-saving
tips for recreational boaters.
In May, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown
signed, with seal, an official proc-
lamation declaring May 22 to 28,
2021 to be Oregon Safe Boating
Week.
The Oregon Safe Boating Week
proclamation encourages boaters
to practice safe boating while en-
joying the “many wonderful oppor-
tunities for recreational boating in
lakes, rivers and the ocean” in Or-
egon.
According to the Oregon State
Marine Board, there were 27 fatal-
ities on Oregon waters in 2020, the
...to
Activities for kids
Inside — A9
ibrary.or
iuslawL
www.S 97-31 32
541-9
KIDS CORNER
paddleboards, and others. All these
recreational vessels are included in
the numbers.
According to U.S. Coast Guard
statistics for recreational boating,
on average, 600 people die each
year in boating related accidents
in the United States. Approximate-
ly 79 percent of those drowning
victims with reported life jacket
usage, 86 percent were not wear-
ing a life jacket. Where instruction
was known, 70 percent of deaths
occurred on boats where the oper-
ator did not receive boating safety
instruction. Only 20 percent of
deaths occurred on vessels where
the operator had received a nation-
ally or state approved boating safety
education certificate.
Alcohol use is the leading known
contributing factor in fatal boating
accidents. Operator inattention,
improper lookout, operator inex-
perience, excessive speed and alco-
hol use rank as the top five primary
contributing factors in accidents.
See BOATING page 5A
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CHECK S.)
(WE EVEN GAME
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Story by Deborah Heldt
Cordone, AUXPA1
U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary
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