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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 29, 2021)
Editor’s Note: Due to a printing error in the Friday, Dec. 24, edition of the Siuslaw News, the News is reprinting some of those stories. The stories are also available to read at www. TheSiuslawNews.com. Thank you for your understanding. By Mark Brennan Siuslaw News People in the region regularly give to others during the hol- iday season, including Twin Lakes Store (above) and the Baunachs’ donation site for Florence Food Share at their home in Florentine Estates. Story & Photos By Mark Brennan Siuslaw News to be careful due to COVID, but we had close to 50 fami- lies that received gifts they had requested,” Crowder said. “As always, we couldn’t have done this without the support of our customers and friends.” Community members fre- quently donate individual gifts, all of a teen’s wish list or make cash donations to help with the effort. This year, local Santa surrogate Mike Bones was on hand to greet the recipients in the pouring rain. The Twin Lakes event wasn’t the only effort to help members See HOLIDAY page 6A Commissioner Bozievich to retire at end of current term On Dec. 17, Lane County Commissioner Jay Bozievich announced that he will not be running for re-election and will retire at the end of his current term. Bozievich is currently serving as a county commis- sioner for the West Lane – Dis- trict 1 through Jan. 3, 2023. “I am proud of what Lane County has accomplished while I served,” Bozievich said. “We went from being on a list of counties that could go bank- rupt to the highest financial stability rating from Moody’s in the history of Lane County. We went from scandals and secret meetings to earning enough trust with citizens in May 2013 to pass the first public safety levy in a generation — after 14 unsuccessful attempts — and renewed that levy in May 2017 Districts work on their strategic plans, operations Siuslaw Valley, Western Lane meet in December M AKING M ERRY In and around Florence, the holiday season is often about helping others. That was certainly the case this week at the Twin Lakes Store on Highway 101 as a number of local families re- ceived toys from Santa and his elves on Dec. 21. Rain and wind didn’t slow down the line of cars waiting to pick-up their gift bags Karen Crowder manages the Twin Lakes Store and helps store owner Vicki Ambrosio coordinate the giveaway, which allows teens to make a wish list that the community then ful- fills. “The toy giveaway went real- ly well this year. The kids that came by to pick up their toys and gifts were really happy. This is the second year we had SIUSLAW NEWS | WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2021 | 5A by an almost 3-1 vote.” Bozievich will have served three complete four-year terms as a commissioner and pre- viously served one four-year term on the Lane Community College Board of Education. Prior to being elected as a com- missioner, he practiced civil en- gineering for 29 years. He will turn 65 before the end of his current term. “I look forward to continuing to represent the citizens of West Lane to the best of my ability through the end of my term and I want to thank the citizens for the trust they placed in me for the last 11 years,” Bozievich said. For more information, visit lanecounty.org/government/ county_departments/board_ of_county_commissioners. The monthly meeting of the boards of Siuslaw Valley Fire and Rescue (SVFR) and Western Lane Ambulance District (WLAD) took place on Dec. 16. The administra- tive branch of both districts is the Western Lane Fire and EMS Au- thority (WLFEA). The joint session was facilitated by Operations Chief Matt House, as Fire/EMS Chief Michael Schick was an excused absence. It began with a recognition of Lori Severance’s tenure as the coordinator of the district’s Mo- bile Crisis Response program. House recapped the evolution of the current model, and the role Severance has played in elevat- ing the quality of care provided to community members in crisis. “Tonight, we’d like to recognize someone who, personally, I have nothing but great respect for. And going back 4.5 years, not only did she create a program, but it is fully funded by the county through its Crisis Response Unit,” House said. “It’s gone from a little program to a much bigger program that is actually providing a huge asset to both our districts and the community members involved.” He then presented Severance with a bouquet and a certificate of appreciation from SVFR and WLAD, and she was roundly ap- plauded by attendees from both or- ganizations. According to the chief ’s report to the directors, there were 50 visits recorded for the group during the month of November. The next presentation to WL- FEA directors was presented by Jacob Callister, a representative of the Lane Council of Governments (LCOG). He updated the directors on the creation and development of a long-range strategic plan for both taxing districts. Callister has been working with WLFEA to structure two separate strategic plans, aligned in mission and purpose, which will provide the districts with opportunities to more closely merge if that decision is made in the future. After reviewing the process LCOG has undertaken thus far, Callister turned his attention to the future. “We are at an important point right now, where we are ready to take the information we have gath- ered and start drafting the first draft, which is an exciting step in the process,” he said. “That’s be- cause you can put something to pa- per which can then be scrutinized further, but it’s an important step in that you have enough information to draft something.” He also provided a more concrete timeframe for the next steps in the process. “We will be working over the holidays to complete some draft- ing of the strategic plan, as soon as we can. In January, we will release a draft plan that will be something the steering committee can put their eyes on. Hopefully in Febru- ary we will be able to present the plan to the board,” her said. Callister finished his presenta- tion by saying the adoption of the new strategic plans may be possible by early spring. Directors, who have been in- volved with the strategic plan throughout the process, had few comments or questions for Callis- ter, and next moved to approve the consent agenda and a cursory dis- cussion of two pending resolutions. The reports from leaders in both SVFR and WLAD reviewed the training undertaken to main- tain annual certifications, includ- ing CPR Training required by the American Heart Association, re- pairs to department apparatus and facilities and the monthly financial information. Fire Marshall Tony Miller took the opportunity to remind the community of the fire dangers as- sociated with the holiday season. Miller said the season always brings with it an increase in the amount of time people spend in the kitchen cooking. In addition, home heating sys- tems and smaller, portable heating device use also increases. Holiday decorations are also a concern, as 20 percent of Christmas tree fires are caused by placing a heating source too close to the tree. According to Miller, half of all home heating fires occur in Decem- ber, January and February. Fire- places, wood burning stoves, space heater, furnaces and fuel (kerosene, propane) burning heaters should be cleaned and serviced annually to safeguard against issues. Space heaters are convenient for localized heating if plugged directly into an outlet and should never be plugged into an extension cord. Following this, the Chief ’s Re- port updated directors on the sus- pension of a mandated vaccine deadline which is caught up in legal challenges, and also on labor nego- tiations which are in the pre-dis- cussion phases. Two resolutions, Resolutions 2021-05 and 2021-06, were then passed, which approved the trans- fer of all operation employees from both SVFR and WLAD to WLFEA starting July 1, 2022. Resolution 2021-05 stated, “WHEREAS, Siuslaw Valley Fire & Rescue (“SVFR”) and Western Lane Ambulance District (“WLAD”) (Contracting Parties) are parties to an intergovernmental agreement establishing the Western Lane Fire and EMS Authority (“Authority”); and “WHEREAS, the Contracting Parties have delegated to the Au- thority the power, duty, and re- sponsibility to maintain, operate, manage, and control all fire and rescue and EMS activities, equip- ment, resources, and all property of the Contracting Parties, including without limitation, the operation and management of all fire and am- bulance stations, land, buildings, and firefighting equipment, to em- ploy or manage the necessary per- sonnel; and “WHEREAS, the Contracting Parties have delegated to the Au- thority the power duty, and re- sponsibility to do any and all oth- er things necessary or desirable to provide continued efficient and economical Services to all persons and property within the combined territories of the Contracting Par- ties; and “WHEREAS, the Contracting Parties have previously moved all Administrative personnel into the Authority; “NOW, THEREFORE, it is re- solved as follows: “The SVFR Board of Directors hereby approves and adopts Exhibit 1 Amended 12/16/2021 which lists all current Authority employees and all WLAD and SVFR Opera- tions Personnel to be moved into Western Lane Fire and EMS Au- thority effective July 1, 2022.” Following this, A major expen- diture request for equipment was then presented by House and ap- proved by Directors. The amount requested was for the purchase of seven cardiac defibrillators, six by WLAD and one by SVFR. The need for these devices was discussed briefly and then the requested $353,939 was approved. Director comments were limit- ed, although Western Lane Direc- tor Russell suggested both districts ramp up public education efforts. She talked about new video capa- bilities at the recently re-opened Florence Senior Center as a po- tential venue for these educational workshops. The next WLFEA meeting is scheduled for Jan. 27. Learn more at svfr.org, westernlaneambulance. com and www.wlfea.org. Blazing Fast Internet! Buying or Selling? I can help. ADD TO YOUR PACKAGE FOR ONLY 19 . 99 $ /mo. where available 2-YEAR TV PRICE GUARANTEE 69 $ Dunewood Drive #9500 – Nice elevated lot in the Reserve at Heceta Lake. Cleared and level homesite with septic approval. Sunny location with views of common wildlife and natural ar- eas. 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