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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 23, 2021)
SN THESIUSLAWNEWS.COM | SATURDAY EDITION | OCTOBER 23, 2021 | $1.00 FIRST STEP FLORENCE TRANSITIONAL HOUSING SOLUTIONS is searching for two places to park a 30’ RV to house a currently unhoused family (program support provided). If you have or are aware of a space to donate - please contact Greg Wood at 541.991.8208 (1st Step will pay water, sewer, electric and wifi costs) Siuslaw News Great Pu mpki n Giveaway 2021 Siuslaw News NEWS & VIEWS THAT DEFINE OUR COMMUNITY T he 33rd annual Coast Radio Great Pumpkin Giveaway took place on Thursday with a drive- through event. Stormy weather didn’t prevent hundreds of people from driving by Old School Furniture to receive pumpkins for area chil- dren. The event is sponsored by KCST/KCFM Coast Radio and True Value Hardware, with help each year from Florence Police Department, Siuslaw Valley Fire and Rescue and Western Lane Ambulance District. VOL. 131, NO. 85 O CT . 23, 2021 F LORENCE , O REGON WEATHER Rain throughout with a high of 57 and a low of 51. Full forecast on A3 COMMUNITY Chamber Appreciation Day INSIDE — A3 SPORTS Looking back at Mapleton football INSIDE — B RECORDS Obituaries & emergency response logs Inside — A2 SIDE SHOW Activities and comics every Saturday Inside — B5 Barbershop builds bridges Old Town Barbershop, Camp Florence team up to help incarcerated youth transition to professional careers By Mark Brennan Siuslaw News If someone walks into Old Town Barbershop, 1341 Bay St., on any given day, they may get more than they bargained for. Besides a mod- ern haircut, they may meet a young man making his first steps into a lifelong career. These young men ar- By Zac Burtt en’t here, learning to be barbers, be- Siuslaw News cause they grew up always wanting & to cut hair. Theirs is a different path. Sara Evans Jess, Kincade and Tyler are all Oregon Youth graduates of MacLaren Youth Authority Correctional Facility’s barber- ing program. All three, as part ZAC BURTT/SIUSLAW NEWS of their progression through the The barbers of Old Town Barbershop, (from left) Jess, Kincaide, Oregon Youth Authority (OYA), Tyler and Melissa. Not pictured is shop owner Geraldine Prociw, See BARBER page 6A who originally connected the barbershop with Camp Florence. ODOT nears completion on bridge upgrade By Mark Brennan Siuslaw News The ongoing repairs and up- grades to the Siuslaw River Bridge have snarled traffic headed both north and south, occasionally causing long delays for area res- idents as well as visitors to His- toric Old Town, Honeyman Park and Lake Woahink. Lane County rated 2nd for mushrooms Oregon Department of Trans- portation (ODOT) began the project on Sept. 20, with crews installing scaffolding. During that time, crews restricted traffic to one lane from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., controlled by flag- gers. “We recognize the project has impacted travelers and appreciate everyone’s patience and support to keep this historic structure safe and functioning for the future,” said Tom Strandberg, ODOT Re- gion 5 public information officer. ODOT crews followed that initial work with replacement of the bridge’s timber deck and the installation of counterweights is scheduled to be the last portion of the project tackled. See ODOT page 6A One of the more surprising ben- eficiaries of the COVID pandemic is fungi, more specifically, mush- rooms. The collecting and eating of the many different types and forms of mushrooms has been a human activity for thousands of years, but there has rarely been a time when the public has been more interested in the unusual umami flavored food. Since the onset of COVID and its mandated social restrictions, many people have taken a more active and outdoor oriented approach to their physical fitness regimens and hiking in the forest and hills are part of that change. An increased interest in nature has brought renewed attention to the mushrooms which are abundant throughout the Northwest. A recent article rated Lane Coun- ty as the Second Best County in the country to forage for mushrooms. Travel Lane County has included mushroom foraging as one of its highlighted family activities and Lane Community College has of- fered mushroom identification classes and field trips. One of the nation’s premier loca- tions to view and learn about mush- rooms is the Mount Pisgah Arbore- tum, just south of Eugene. See SHROOMS page 7A CLASSIFIEDS Listings and public notices Inside — B6 FOLLOW US FOR THE LATEST NEWS : /S IUSLAW N EWS @S IUSLAW N EWS T HE S IUSLAW N EWS . COM Food Backpacks fill the gaps in local hunger By Mark Brennan Siuslaw News S IUSLAW N EWS 2 S ECTIONS | 18 P AGES C OPYRIGHT 2021 The idea that a child in the Flor- ence area would go to bed hungry is unsettling to most who live here. There are some local children that have to face that prospect on a reg- ular basis. Fortunately, for the last decade, a small group of dedicated members of Cross Road Assembly of God have been delivering easy to pre- pare foods to many students at the Siuslaw and Mapleton School Dis- tricts through the Food Backpacks for Kids program. The successful effort to distribute food to hungry students has fed hundreds of young people since its inception in 2012, allowing them to concentrate on the information shared in their class- rooms and not on the empty space in their bellies. Food Backpacks for Kids’ mission is simple: “Together, no child will go hungry.” As the holidays draw closer, the need for donations and volunteers to assist with the distribution of the Food Backpack for Kids be- (From left) Some of Cross Road Assembly of God’s Food Backpacks comes more pressing. One of the for Kids program’s volunteers include Rhonda Dow, Nona Homenyk, main issues are holiday breaks, See HUNGER page 7A Walt Homenyk, Debbie White and Jane Alsop. C elebrating Over 30 Years in Real Estate LOCALLY OWNED AND OPERATED JIM HOBERG Broker/Owner 1870 Hwy. 126, Suite A • PO Box 3040, Florence, OR