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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (July 24, 2021)
SN THESIUSLAWNEWS.COM | SATURDAY EDITION | JULY 24, 2021 | $1.00 And when they do, we’re here in Florence. 4480 Hwy 101, Suite G · 541.997.1251 Walk-ins welcome -or- schedule online at novahealth.com Siuslaw News Siuslaw News NEWS & VIEWS THAT DEFINE OUR COMMUNITY VOL. 131, NO. 59 J ULY 24, 2021 F LORENCE , O REGON WEATHER Sun and wind with a high of 70 and a low of 53. Full forecast on A3 COMMUNITY Habitat builds new board INSIDE — A3 SPORTS Explore the tide pools with tour 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 FOLLOW US FOR THE LATEST NEWS : /S IUSLAW N EWS @S IUSLAW N EWS T HE S IUSLAW N EWS . COM And still they rise Florence Chamber announces 2020 Siuslaw Award Winners By Scott Steward Creative Wave Marketing T he Florence Area Chamber of Commerce held its pres- tigious Siuslaw Awards: Phoenix Rising event Thursday night at Three Rivers Casino Re- sort and presented awards to nine businesses, two individuals and an entire industry. The awards celebrate excellence during 2020 in the local business community. “This year’s slate was an amazing representation of our community’s best assets, our businesses, and in- dividuals who made a difference,” said Chamber President/CEO Bet- tina Hannigan. “We recognized and celebrated those who inspired us during the past 18 months.” The event was attended by Flor- ence’s mayor Joe Henry, Florence city council members, Travel Lane County President/CEO Kari West- land and several hundred business and civic leaders. Proceedings included Hannigan’s State of the Chamber presentation, installa- tion of new board members and retiring of outgoing board mem- bers. “All who attended heard the sto- ries of those businesses, nonprof- its, civic groups and individuals who not only survived but thrived through hard work, creativity, col- laboration and compassion,” Han- nigan said. “There were inspiring tales of businesses helping busi- nesses, churches helping churches and nonprofit organizations work- ing together to see the Florence area through all we faced during the height of the pandemic” In her welcoming remarks, Han- nigan said “Each person here has First council meeting in person covers full agenda S IUSLAW N EWS 2 S ECTIONS | 18 P AGES C OPYRIGHT 2021 The Florence City Council met in person at Florence City Hall By Mark Brennan for a reg- ular ses- Siuslaw News sion meet- ing for the first time in more than a year on Monday, July 19. Councilor Woody Woodbury was excused as he was traveling, but Mayor Joe Henry and councilors Bill Meyer, Sally Wantz and Maggie Wisniews- ki were on the dais as the meeting was gaveled to order. Henry began by welcoming the full house of attendees and staff, “It is my great pleasure to call the July 19 meeting of the Florence City Council to order, especially since it happens to be in person again, and we have three new councilors with us this evening, Councilor Bill Meyer, Councilor Sally Wantz and Councilor Mag- gie Wisniewski. They have been See AGENDA page 5A Longtime Mason supports children’s library $500,000+ donated to Siuslaw Public Library’s program By Chantelle Meyer Siuslaw News PHOTOS BY CHANTELLE MEYER/SIUSLAW NEWS The Phoenix Rising Siuslaw Awards saw winners in the Florence First Citizen, Steve Olienyk (above), the Stu Johnston Business of the Year, Boys and Girls Club of Western Lane County and many more. sacrificed through this pandemic, many of us lost friends and mem- bers of our family. We were unable to mourn with our loved ones. Our lives, lifestyles, jobs and social worlds were all challenged in ways unimaginable two years ago. Who would have ever thought we’d hear the word pivot so much, how about ‘I like your mask?’ Really? Our lives will never be the same and, like the phoenix, we will rise above. We have proven we can change and many of the pivots we all made were actually innovative and will improve our future.” In addition, two outstanding in- dividuals in the community were honored with the First Citizen Award and the Future First Citizen Award. Steve Olienyk was named First Citizen, which recognizes an individual who has given selflessly to the community based on com- munity involvement, leadership and overall community impact. At age 94, Olienyk may be best known for leading the Kiwanis Flag Pro- gram, which places American flags along Highway 101 and other main streets on patriotic holidays and special occasions. Others nomi- nated were Jodi O’Mara, Bob Teter and Lori Gates. The Future First Citizen Award recipient was Siuslaw High senior Jessica South for her academic leadership and success as well as civic involvement and contribu- tions to the community. See AWARDS page 7A On Wednesday, July 21, officers from the Florence Masonic Lodge presented a check to the Siuslaw Public Li- brary and its Chil- dren’s Sec- tion. The amount, totalling more than Paul Kindsvater $500,000, 1932-2020 was just one way that longtime Mason Paul Robert Kindsvater left a legacy for children. Kindsvater, 1932-2020, loved chil- dren and was a teacher for over 34 years. He spent many years on the local Masonic Lodge Scholarship Committee. “Sometimes he would even pro- vide an extra scholarship when he thought it was necessary,” said local Mason Dick Tooley. “He always sup- ported our Dictionary Give Away program, Child ID, students abroad, as well as our teacher training pro- gram.” Kindsvater was a Mason for 65 years. In 1955, like his father in 1948, he joined Medford Lodge Number 77 and, in 1994 after See DONATION page 5A Bike Adventure ‘builds community’ – Part II On rides, cyclists raise money for homebuilding By Zeahna Young Siuslaw News The Fuller Center Bike Ad- venture’s West Coast tour came through Florence last week and was hosted by the Presbyterian Church of the Siuslaw overnight. On Friday, they continued their ride down Highway 101 with their next stop being in North Bend and their final destination being in San Diego, where they will arrive on August 8. The Fuller Center builds homes for impoverished families, and Ryan Iafigliola started the Bike Ad- venture 14 years ago as a means to raise funds for homebuilding. Rid- ers collect donations before their tour, then team up with various Fuller Center Covenant Partners across the country to build and re- model homes along the way. “The Fuller Center for hous- ing was started by Millard Fuller, who was the same gentleman that started Habitat for Humanity,” explained Gary Schroeder, a rid- er from California. “In 2005, the Board of Directors fired him be- cause they had a different vision Come Join Tracy Markley Personal Trainer for her Book Signing Saturday July 31st 2pm to 4pm at the Bodega Wine Parlor, 180 Laurel Street in Old Town Five Brand New Books added to her Collection! Cyclists with the Fuller Center Bike Adventure’s West Coast tour raised funds to benefit homebuilding programs across the country. of where Habitat should go — the board of directors was getting very corporate.” At that point, it was important to Fuller to continue with his hous- ing ministry based on the original biblical principles and grass-roots methods he used to begin Habitat for Humanity. “Millard wasn’t done with pover- ty housing, so he started the Fuller Center,” said Schroeder. “Americus, Georgia, is the [location of the] cor- porate umbrella, but there are now about 80 local covenant partners.” Covenant partners are the local organizations that sign an agree- ment with the Fuller Center to build or renovate houses for fam- ilies in need in a particular area. The Fuller Center helps local or- ganizations by providing expertise, training, funding, name recogni- tion and providing for information sharing. See BIKES page 6A Through the rough Covid pandemic local and world known Author Tracy Markley made the most of her time publishing 5 new books. Her kids book even won a literary book award. Pictured here are her five newest books she published this past year. She is the author of 9 books total. You can visit Tracy’s websites at www.tracyspersonaltraining.com and www.tracymarkley.com to learn more about the work she does to help people live better healthier lives physically and with her books.
