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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 8, 2021)
SN THESIUSLAWNEWS.COM | WEDNESDAY EDITION | DECEMBER 8, 2021 | $1.00 Siuslaw News Shi ni ng lights Siuslaw News NEWS & VIEWS THAT DEFINE OUR COMMUNITY VOL. 131, NO. 98 D ec . 8, 2021 F loreNce , o regoN WEATHER T Cool and rainy with a high of 49 and a low of 39. Full forecast on A3 COMMUNITY courtesy photo he lights shone brightly this past weekend, with the “Merry and Bright” Holiday Festival hosted by the Flor- ence Area Chamber of Commerce and the City of Florence. Mayor Joe Henry lit the living Christmas tree in Historic Town while Santa Claus visited and children could mail their letters to the North Pole. In addition, multiple events across the re- gion featured the U.S. Marines and their Toys for Tots giveaway, live reindeer in Mapleton, Empty Bowls and the Florence Re- gional Arts Alliance Holiday Arts Festival at the Florence Events Center and more. See upcoming holiday events on page A8. Photos By Mark Brennan Siuslaw News Three Rivers opens Sportsbook INSIDE — A3 SPORTS Bball nets gains for SHS, fresh start for MHS INSIDE — B RECORDS Obituaries & response logs Inside — A2 TV GUIDE Inside — B3-B4 KIDS CORNER Activities for kids Inside — B5 CLASSIFIEDS Listings & notices Inside — B6 follow uS for the lateSt NewS : /S iuSlaw N ewS @S iuSlaw N ewS T he S iuSlaw N ewS . com Florence police arrest Florida man S iuSlaw N ewS 2 S ectioNS | 20 P ageS c oPyright 2021 The Florence Police Department has arrested Avery McMullen, a man living in Florence, after a traffic stop revealed several warrants out for his arrest. On Friday, Dec. 3, at approximately 7:23 p.m., a Florence Police Officer stopped a vehicle in the 200 block of Nopal Street for a routine traffic stop. The driver stated he did not have any ID on his person and identified himself as Avery McMullen. The officer checked McMullen for warrants and driver’s license status and discovered that there were several warrants issued for an Avery McMullen out of Florida, with one of the warrants being for two counts of attempted first degree murder. Officers were able to safely detain McMullen and confirm that he was the sus- pect wanted out of Florida. The warrants for McMul- len were issued in January 2021 and McMullen had See ARREST page 6A Shangri-La to close programs in Newport and Florence After completing the closure of residential programs for individu- als with intellectual/developmen- tal disabilities (IDD) in Newport on Dec. 1, Staff Report 2021, Shan- Siuslaw News gri-La is now also moving to close the remainder of its IDD residential, employment and day service programs in Florence and Newport. In the weeks after making the announcement to close residential programs in Newport, addition- al information about the difficulty of getting services for individuals served at the Florence group home surfaced in greater detail. This sparked a series of more in-depth conversations about risks to health and safety due to the lack of commu- nity resources available in Florence and ongoing staffing hardships. “Historically, we have had a hard time finding employees in the Flor- ence community,” explained Janet Yousey, CEO. “To start, there is al- ready a smaller pool of candidates to recruit from, and like so many other industries right now, the ap- plications just aren’t coming in. Without the people needed to ap- propriately staff the program, we are unable to provide the quality of services we pride ourselves on. While we have a number of dedi- cated staff, there’s only so many ex- tra shifts we can ask people to fill before burnout happens. We are at the tipping point.” See STAFFING page 6A Oregon’s U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio to retire By Mark Brennan Siuslaw News On Dec. 1, longtime Oregon District 4 U.S House of Represen- tatives member Peter DeFazio an- nounced he will retire when his current term of service expires at the end of 2022. DeFazio has served the people of the fourth congressional district for 36 years, winning reelection 18 times, and rising to become the chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. DeFazio received a master’s de- gree from the University of Ore- gon and worked as a congressional aide to Congressman Jim Wheeler from 1977-1982. He then served as a Lane County Commissioner from 1983 until he was elected to Con- gress in 1987. “With humility and gratitude, I am announcing that I will not seek re-election next year. It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as Congressman for the Fourth Dis- trict of Oregon,” DeFazio said. “For 36 years. I have fought corporate greed and special interests to ben- efit Oregon’s working families — from delivering affordable health care under the Affordable Care Act, to preventing the privatization and destruction of the Social Security safety net, to protecting our natural treasures for future generations, to fighting trade policies that under- mine American workers, to holding industry and regulators account- able to improve aviation safety, to asserting congressional war pow- ers authority to stop endless wars, to making historic job-creating investments in our roads, bridges, ports and more under the Infra- structure Investment and Jobs Act. Thank you for putting your trust in me.” See RETIRE page 6A 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
