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Siuslaw News
Siuslaw News
NEWS &
VIEWS THAT
DEFINE OUR
COMMUNITY
VOL. 131, NO. 60
J ULY 28, 2021
F LORENCE , O REGON
WEATHER
Partly cloudy with
a high of 71 and a
low of 54.
Full forecast on A3
COMMUNITY
Donation benefits
food shares
INSIDE — A3
SPORTS
In the wake of the Olympics
On the road to surf
inclusion for the
Oregon Coast
By Reina Harwood
Siuslaw News
On Saturday, July 26, the Tokyo
Olympics opened with one of the
newest additions to the Olympic
line-up, which has drawn attention
for its inclusion and centuries old
traditions. Surfing was added to the
medal docket in 2020, thanks in part
Agencies swear
in new directors
to boards
to the Tokyo Organizing Committee
who pitched the idea. The Interna-
tional Olympic Committee autho-
rized inclusion for the sport of surf-
ing in the Olympic program in 2016.
The first official international
competition for the cultural corner-
stone of Hawaii has brought the al-
lure of victory presenting 40 surfers
from around the world to discuss
the history of the sport and its fu-
ture.
Gold medalists will be announced
today, July 28, according to the To-
kyo Olympic day-to-day guide.
Each match is set to take place at
the Tsurigasaki Surfing Beach along
the Chiba shore, but the schedule
is subject to change depending on
when surfing conditions will be at
their best.
Florence has a small community,
but dedicated surfers often congre-
gate at the South Jetty of the Siu-
slaw River when the tide, swell and
crushing breaks allow.
Most have been surfing for de-
cades. Meanwhile, young surfers are
paddling to catch their first waves.
With wetsuits zipped, Florence surf-
O
By Mark Brennan
Siuslaw News
RECORDS
Obituaries &
response logs
Inside — A2
TV GUIDE
Inside — B3-B4
KIDS CORNER
Activities for kids
Inside — B5
CLASSIFIEDS
Listings & notices
Inside — B6
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LATEST NEWS :
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@S IUSLAW N EWS
T HE S IUSLAW N EWS . COM
Local galleries and business-
es are participating in Peace-
Health Peace Harbor Medical
Center Foundation’s Art From
the Heart Walk, which kicked
off last Friday.
Story & Photos
By Reina Harwood
Siuslaw News
Summer in the city
n July 23, the PeaceHealth
Peace Harbor Medical
Center Foundation hosted its Art
From the Heart Walk featuring
local artists and galleries. Pro-
ceeds from the art walk through
Florence will go to the Cardiac
Program Support Fund at Peace
Harbor, and will be applied with-
in the local community.
The kick-off event took place
that evening, beginning in front
of the “Low-Poly Open Heart”
sculpture at the intersection of
Maple and Bay streets. The heart
was sculpted by artist Matthew
Duffy and is part of the Florence
Public Art Committee’s “Art Ex-
posed” Rotating Art Gallery.
The walk and auction portion
of the Art From the Heart lasts
until Sunday, Aug. 1, and the
event will carry through Tuesday,
Aug. 3.
About 150 people participated
in the Friday event. They were
See HEART page 7A
Siuslaw concludes
summer school
CHANTELLE MEYER/SIUSLAW NEWS
Just horsing around
with C&M Stables
INSIDE — B
See SURF page 7A
Florence has real heart for art
Siuslaw Valley,
Western Lane hold
combined meeting
S IUSLAW N EWS
2 S ECTIONS | 18 P AGES
C OPYRIGHT 2021
Siuslaw Valley Fire and Rescue
(SVFR) and Western Lane Ambu-
lance District (WLAD) held a joint
meeting of their respective boards
of directors on July 22 at the SVFR
Main Station, with some directors
attending in person and some
remotely.
The combined administration of
the organizations is referred to as
Western Lane Fire & EMS Author-
ity (WLFEA), and this is the first
joint meeting to include new SVFR
directors Laurie Heppel and Tim
Mendolia and new WLAD directors
Vanessa Buss and Adam Holbrook,
who were sworn in after the meet-
ing was gaveled to order.
The meeting was facilitated by
Fire/EMS Chief Michael Schick,
who next asked the new boards to
select officers for their respective
organizations. Cindy Russell was
chosen to serve as the WLAD pres-
ident, with Buss as vice president
and Holbrook as the secretary/
treasurer.
Newly elected officers for SVFR
include Alan Burns as president,
Jim Palisi as vice president, and
Heppel as secretary/treasurer.
Also appointed by both boards
were representatives to WLFEA.
Murphey and Webb were selected
by WLAD, along with Palisi and
Sam Spayd from SVFR. For WL-
FEA, Palisi was selected as presi-
dent, Webb as vice president, and
Spayd as secretary/treasurer.
ers drop in midday or early morn-
ings, depending on the surfing fore-
casts.
Historically, surfing has been
recognized as a male-dominated
sport, a trend that Lexi Hallahan,
who runs the Northwest Women’s
Surf Camps (NWWSC) in Seaside,
strives to change. With an appear-
ance of 20 women surfers at this
year’s Olympic Games, the beauty
and grace of the sport has soaked in
the spotlight and further promoted
SIuslaw Elementary School concluded its “We
Built This City on Heart and Soul” summer pro-
gram on July 22. Read more on A8.
See WLFEA page 8A
“Help Lovejoy’s Paint Some Old Town Charm!”
Lovejoy’s is moving forward with their beautiful mural of Big Ben from
across the River Thames, an English icon.
We are asking for donations in order to have this beautiful mural
painted by Florence’s own, Michael Wood! Thank you, in advance,
for all your help and generosity! Without you, there would be no us!
Follow this link and let’s get painting!
www.givesendgo.com/lovejoysmural