SIUSLAW NEWS | WEDNESDAY, JUNE 2, 2021 | 7A
Library Tidings
Book Review
“The Smallest Lights
in the Universe”
by Sara Seager
In the wake of trage-
dy, an MIT astrophysicist
must reinvent herself and
in the process discovers
the power of connection
on this planet, even as she
searches our galaxy for
another Earth.
Sara Seager has always
been in love with the stars:
so many lights in the sky,
so much possibility. Now
a pioneering planetary
scientist, she looks for ex-
oplanets — especially that
distant, elusive world that
sustains life. But with the
unexpected death of Sea-
ger’s husband, the purpose
of her own life becomes
hard for her to see. Sud-
denly, at 40, she is a wid-
ow and the single mother
of two young boys.
For the first time, she
feels alone in the universe.
As she struggles to nav-
igate her life after loss,
Seager takes solace in the
alien beauty of exoplanets
and the technical chal-
lenges of exploration. At
the same time, she discov-
ers Earth-bound connec-
tions that feel every bit as
wondrous, when strangers
and loved ones alike reach
out to her across the space
of her grief.
Among them are the
Widows of Concord, a
group of women offer-
ing advice on everything
from home maintenance
to dating, and her beloved
sons, Max and Alex. Most
unexpected of all, there is
another kind of one-in-a-
billion match, not in the
stars but here at home.
Probing and invigo-
ratingly honest, “The
Smallest Lights in the
Universe” is its own kind
News about the Siuslaw Public Library by Kevin Mittge
of light in the dark.
Library Book Drop Now
Open!
The Maple Street book
drop (on the west side of
the building) is now open
24/7. You can drop off
items any time. One slot is
for books while the other
is for DVDs and CDs. We
continue to offer returns
in the lobby during brows-
ing hours. The Mapleton
branch library book drop
is also open and available
for returns.
Browsing and Curbside
A lot of our patrons
are enjoying the brows-
ing hours at the library.
As reminder, the current
browsing hours in Flor-
ence are Monday through
Thursday, 11 a.m. to 2
p.m., and Fridays, 11 a.m.
to 6 p.m.. In Mapleton
browsing is on Thursdays,
from noon to 5 p.m.
Additional hours will
be added as quickly as we
can.
Patrons are currently
required to wear masks
inside the library. Ap-
pointments are not neces-
sary. We have new touch
less check-out stations we
encourage patrons to use.
There is no seating at this
time and meeting rooms
are not available. You can
bring your kids in to se-
lect books but toys are not
available and we cannot
accommodate play groups
or meet-ups.
Meanwhile contactless
curbside takeout service
continues. Patrons can
call the library, 541-997-
3132, between 10am and
1 p.m., Monday through
Friday, to request mate-
rials, or use our online
request form, 24/7, avail-
able on the library’s web-
site: www.siuslawlibrary.
info. Materials are pulled
for pick-up the following
business day in Florence
or the soonest Thursday
in Mapleton (calls must be
made before that Thurs-
day).
Officials seek public input on proposal to change Oregon Dunes motorized vehicle decibel limits
CORVALLIS—Siuslaw
National Forest officials
are seeking public input
on potential changes to
decibel (noise) limits for
motorized vehicles at the
Oregon Dunes National
Recreation Area (ODN-
RA). The goal of the pro-
posed changes is to reduce
noise impacts on neigh-
boring communities while
being more realistically
attainable by riders.
The proposed deci-
bel limits will also better
align with State of Oregon
regulations, provide con-
sistency across motorized
riding areas throughout
the Siuslaw National For-
est, and will be easier to
enforce.
Based on years of mon-
itoring, the sound limit
of 93dBA that was estab-
lished in the 1994 ODN-
RA
man-
agement
plan
has
been found
to be un-
a ch i e v abl e
by
most
modern,
non-mod-
i f i e d
off-highway
vehicles.
This deci-
bel limit is
also out of
alignment
with state
regulations,
limiting op-
portunities
for coordinated enforce-
ment efforts.
The preliminary pro-
posal changes the deci-
bel limit for front-engine
vehicles from 93dBA to
95dBA and the limit for all
other motorized vehicles
from 93dBA to 97dBA.
As most noise-level com-
plaints have stemmed
from vehicles registering
over 99dBA, the new lim-
it is expected to strike the
balance between allowing
motorized use while ad-
dressing concerns of visi-
tors and residents.
“By raising the limit to
better align with the state
and being within the range
that is at-
tainable by
contempo-
rary stock
vehicles,
we’ll be bet-
ter able to
work with
riders
on
compliance
and
pro-
vide the en-
forcement
necessary
to manage
the
noise
violations
that most
impact our
COURTESY PHOTO
neighbors,”
explained Garrit Craig,
deputy district ranger for
the Central Coast Rang-
er District and ODNRA.
“We encourage members
of the public to review
the project information
Lane County Planning Commission seeks new member from coastal area
There are three vacant po-
sitions on the Lane County
Planning Commission and
applications to fill those posi-
tions are being accepted now.
Applicants must be residents
of Lane County.
The open positions include:
a representative of the Lane
County’s Coastal area; a rep-
resentative who lives with-
in an incorporated city; an
at-large representative. The
Coastal area is defined as west
of the eastern boundary of the
Mapleton School District.
The Lane County Planning
Commission is a 9-member
advisory board that makes
recommendations to the
Board of County Commis-
sioners regarding land use,
comprehensive plan issues
and amendments, as well as
other regional planning is-
sues. The group generally
meets twice per month in the
evenings.
“How we implement our
comprehensive plan and is-
sues related to land use is how
we build our community for
ourselves and future genera-
tions,” said Lane County Plan-
ning Director Amber Bell.
To learn more or download
an applica-
tion,
visit
w w w. l a n e -
c ou nt y. org /
volunteer.
We are open and
ready to assist you!
Clean the
Air in Your
Home
Professional air duct cleaning can eliminate
the circulation of dust, debris and allergens
for a safer and healthier home.
Whole-House
Air & Dryer Vent
System Cleaning
With Sanitation
now through 05.31.21
Pioneer Museum
seeks volunteers
Siuslaw Pioneer Museum, 278 Maple
St., is looking for docents — volunteers
to greet visitors — from the community.
If six to eight people would be willing to
volunteer four hours of their time each
month, this would allow the museum to
open for a day.
Currently, the museum is open noon
to 4 p.m. on days when it opens. It has
enough docents to be open two days each
week as long as volunteers are available.
For more information, call 541-997-
7884 or visit the museum on Facebook.
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Call or contact us online
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Ask us about other services we
do also.
During these uncertain times, we are accessible
by phone, email and by appointment only.
We are conducting business as safely as possible
for our clients as well as our staff.
541-997-7653
Jim_hoberg@hotmail.com
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and let us know what they
think.”
Documents that de-
scribe the preliminary
proposal, including Fre-
quently Asked Questions,
can be found at https://
w w w. f s . u s d a . g o v / p r o -
ject/?project=60053 in the
Project Documents sec-
tion.
Written
comments
on the proposal should
be submitted electron-
ically in common for-
mats at https://cara.eco-
system-management.
org/Public//Reading
Room?Project=60053.
They can also be mailed
to Siuslaw National Forest,
3200 Jefferson Way, Cor-
vallis, OR 97331 ATTN:
Katie Isacksen.
Comments should be
submitted by June 15,
2021.
www.edwardjones.com
Member SIPC
Member SIPC