Lighthouse hosts many for holidays
Looking forward by looking back
COMPILED by TONY REED Associate Editor
For many Florence Community members, 2024 made strides toward a goal and for others, the realization of it.While many some made strides toward a goal in 2024, others realized their goals or moved on to new ones.
The same was true in the City of Florence. Often, large projects designed to improve the quality of life take more than a year to go through the public process, meetings, bidding and contracting.
Housing, homelessness and other quality of life issues took up a lot of City time this year and resulted in new ordinances about temporary sheltering, emergency shelters and enforcement. Investments were also made in the city and its safety, such as a new fire engine and dedicating funds toward keeping a section of the Siuslaw River bank from eroding into the river at great risk to neighboring properties. Taking a look back at 2024
See REVIEW, Page A3
Christmas storm brings down trees
SIUSLAW NEWS STAFF
A windstorm that swept through western Lane County Christmas night kept Central Lincoln Public Utility District personnel busy into the following day as they made repairs removed downed trees and repaired lines to fix power outages.
FIre personnel were also kept busy through the night as the wind pushed trees over and set off fire alarms.
Just before midnight, a caller in the 1900 block of 17th Street reported that a tree had fallen into power lines and was on fire. Western Lane Fire and EMS Authority personnel responded.
WLFEA Division Chief Rob Chance said that while the fire was in no danger of spreading, it put on quite a show.
See STORM, Page A3
How Siuslaw Valley Charter School, WCA came to be
SIUSLAW NEWS FILES
The Siuslaw Valley Charter School (SVCS) Board of directors has been meeting regularly to discuss the implementation of policies but the process to reach this point has been ongoing since before 2024. Creation and approval of the new school has taken many meetings and generated many column inches of copy in this paper. Now that its board is eyeing a fall opening, it’s interesting to note how it came together.
In late 2023, SVCS asked the Siuslaw School District to approve its proposed charter school, Whitmore Classical Academy (WCA), along with its classical learning model. In October, 2023, the board approved the SVCS application.
In what would become a lingering topic of Siuslaw School Board discussions in 2024, School District attorney Rich Cohn Lee sent a January letter to Siuslaw Valley Charter School, asking that it disavow, for the record, any affiliation with Hillsdale College, a known conservative, private Christian institution in Michigan.
In January 2024, Lee warned the District Board of Directors that approving a charter with affiliations to a known religious and political institution could have severe legal consequences.
“My understanding was that there were some concerns raised, pursuant to ORS338, which essentially bars a public school district which receives public dollars, from establishing or approving the charter that affiliates with a religious, sectarian or political organization.” Cohn Lee said the application noted an affiliation with Hillsdale College which they agreed to remove. However, he said the applicant’s website still noted the affiliation at the time. He also alleged SVCS had said no special needs students would attend the school.
The letter kicked off extensive discussion, public comment and responses from SVCS staff.
For SVCS, Aric Sneddon said that Cohn Lee provided misinformation, asserting that the charter had not removed special education from its curriculum, and that it was not a religious or political organization.
“The curriculum hasn’t changed from the last time we spoke. He also spoke about it
Visitors to the Heceta Head Lighthouse had a lot to enjoy during the 28th Annual Victorian Christmas Open House.
The Light keepers House could easily be seen from Highway 101, with holiday lights adorning the entire house and surrounding picket fence. Inside, they found a warm and welcoming atmosphere, food and refreshments, caroling, knowledgeable docents and even got a photo with Santa and Mrs. Claus. Tony Reed photo
Fire personnel responded to this tree into power lines in the area of Mercer Creek Drive and Sutton Lake Road. Photo provided by WLFEA
Election results certified
While national election results were available before midnight on Election Day, results in Lane and many other Oregon counties took more time to vet and count. Results were certified in December.
In the races that most affect Florence, City Councilors Sally Wantz and Bill Meyer retained their seats with 40 12 percent and 34 .3 percent of votes respectively.
Challenger mark Brennan failed to unseat them but received 24 .3 percent of the total 7, 696 votes cast.
In Dunes City, Mayor Ed McGuire ran unopposed and retained his seat.
City Councilor Chris Clemons also ran unopposed and retained his seat.
City Councilor Jo Beaudreau lost her bid to unseat Dick Anderson from the Senate District 5 position. Beaudreau was able to garner 46 percent of votes while Anderson had collected 53 percent of 17 740 total votes. However, Beaudreau will retain her seat on the Florence City Council.
Measure 20 - 359 which was intended to establish spending limitations and prescriptions for exceedances of those limits, failed with 49 percent of yes votes and 51 percent
no votes. Total votes were 169 , 722
Measure 20 - 361 intended to repeal Section 34 of the Lane County Charter, which limits the rate of County income tax, and directs how revenues should be used, was also failing with 44 percent yes votes and 56 percent no votes, out of 170 383 votes.
Redistricting measure 20 - 362 , intended to amend the Lane County Charter to form a citizens redistricting commission, was failing by the largest margin, with 26 percent yes votes and 74 percent no votes. Total votes cast came to 175 , 353
Start the year with your friends at FUUF
All are welcome for the Burning Bowl Ceremony, Jan. 5, at Florence UU Fellowship Rev. Katherine Hemmens will once again lead our community in the 6th annual Burning Bowl Ceremony. This ritual can have several meanings: releasing what no longer serves us, an intention for what lies ahead, or fulfilling a promise to our deepest inner yearning. We liberate these thoughts and words to a sacred fire. This is a personal contemplation, no sharing necessary. Materials and paper for writing will be supplied.
Following this ceremony, lunch will be provided for everyone who wants to join us. Time: Doors open at 9:30am; ceremony begins at 10am; lunch at 11am. Florence Unitarian Universalist Fellowship is located at 87738 Hwy 101 at Heceta Beach Road.
BERNICE TAYLOR DAIN
Bernice (Bunny) died on December 13, 2024
She was born in 1924 in Taunton, Massachusetts, to Marion and Alfred Taylor. She lived in Taunton until graduation from high school then moved to New York City to attend Juilliard School of Music.
While studying voice during war time, she was cleared to work within a unit of the OSS (Office of Strategic Services and forerunner of the CIA) in Rockefeller Center. She remembered being in Times Square on VE and VJ nights, the nights World War II ended with Germany and Japan.
She married Norman Dain In 1948 on his return from China where he had been with a documentary film crew. They then moved to Darien, Connecticut where their three daughters,
Abigail, Sarah Elizabeth, and Nancy, were born. Subsequently, they moved to St. Louis, Missouri where Norman was an executive with an advertising agency. There, Bunny began a new career at Washington University Libraries, eventually being named “chief” of the Audio/ Visual Department of John M. Olin Library. Taking early retirement, in 1980 they moved to Florence where they formed Dain Communications, a public
EDITORIAL
relations/advertising agency. After Norman’s death in 2002, Bunny continued with the agency for another five years. Music, especially opera, was always of great importance to her. When asked once what to her was the most important thing in life, her reply was, “the relationships I’ve made” She treasured all those she formed throughout her long life. She was preceded in death by her husband, her grandson Samuel, and daughters Sarah Elizabeth and Nancy. She is survived by her daughter Abigail Dain, her grandson Nathaniel Dain Zeller, and her son-in-law Michael Dain Smith. Arrangements are in the care of Major Family Funeral Home in Springfield. Visit www majorfamilyfuneralhome. com to share a memory.
Shaping your community paper
In the last year, I’ve had has as many readers commend the paper for bringing back local coverage as those who have said we need to cover more.
Our editorial department currently consists of one part-time editor (me) one part-time reporter (me), one part-time photographer (me) and another part-timer to handle the remaining aspects of the job (also me). That’s not to suggest I could do my job without the dedicated and consistent work of our Office Manger and ad rep, graphic artist, publisher, sports writer and the other Country Media newspaper personnel who help each other when things get tight.
Meanwhile, I’m always mulling how I can better cover local news with finite resources (and energy).
Looking forward to 2025, I’d like to highlight what local organizations like the Elks, Kiwanis, Lions, and others do
and the challenges they face. I’d like to find a student intern from the High School to talk about school and student news and concerns. I’d like to highlight what the academic clubs in the high school are doing and I’m always open to hear local youth concerns.
I had a reader recently ask if his 1968 memory of a drive-in theater was accurate and the question generated some fun memories and comments on social media. I wrote a couple features in 2024 about the former Rainbow Ballroom in Old Town, which were well-received and generated many comments. Are there any historical local feature stories you’d like to see?
In the end, what I’d like to know is what we can cover more of, less of and otherwise.
Looking at the new year stretching out ahead, I’m still happy to be living and working in Florence and honored to continue providing relevant local news here.
Thank you for supporting your local newspaper and we look forward to serving this community in 2025 and beyond.
and some of the major projects in the area at year’s end, we can see that some are done, others are in process and some have yet to occur.
JANUARY
The City Council started the year on the housing topic during presentations about how two nonprofit housing authorities create local affordable housing, as well as information about other involved agencies, stipulations, funding sources, costs and other factors. Clayton Crowhurst, a developer at Northwest Housing Alternatives, and Matt Salazar, a project developer with Homes for Good, said over 1600 affordable units had been developed in the county at 34 different sites.
According to the presentation, the demographics of voucher holding households in Florence were 77 disabled people, 51 elderly people, 37 people with children, and five veterans. The Housing Choice Voucher Program, commonly known as Section 8, is the most commonly-used program for subsidizing rental costs.
The two spoke of programs that allow tenants to pay no more than 30 percent of their income for rent, regardless of how little that income is.
Salazar said Fair Market Rent is a tool used to vaguely determine what the general rent costs should be, based on market conditions.
“The economists at HUD let us know that generally, fair market rent for a one bedroom (house or apartment) should cost $1,025 a month,” he said.
“For a two-bedroom, that’s $1,349 a month.”
Some laughter could be heard in the room when Crowhurst said, “Trying to find a three-bedroom for a family of three kids for about $1,100 a month around here? If you could even find it, you’d pay way more than that.”
One proposed project which could almost double Florence’s affordable
S torm
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“That one was has some sparks to it when the wind would pick up and it would start flaring up,” he said, noting that the 12-16 inch diameter tree was resting on power lines over a backyard. “We just hung by until they turned the power off and got the tree out of there.”
In another incident an 18-inch diameter tree fell on a line in the area of Mercer Creek Drive and Sutton Lake Road, taking out an entire power pole, he added.
Other trees were reported down near Twin Lakes Store off Highway 101. At 12:33, a caller reported a transformer on fire Off Clear Lake Road.
Police also were busy through the night responding to calls that building entry alarms were going off.
August Murphy, with Florence Public Works, said the city fared well overall.
“We had some minor stuff like trees down, but there was no flooding or backed up storm drains,” he said the next morning.
According to CLPUD reports, calls started
units is The Field on Quince, an 86-unit project with 33 one-bedroom units, 40 two-bedroom units and 13 three-bedroom units in three separate buildings.
FEBRUARY
In his State of the County address, County Commission Chair Pat Farr didn’t mention Florence, but spoke of countywide code changes that may help to house more people.
“To help alleviate the current housing shortage, County staff authored new land use code making Lane County the first County in Oregon to adopt allowances for Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU) outside of Urban Growth Boundaries,” he said.
“As we plan this coming year, knowing now so many things that we did not know four years ago—even one year ago, we must judiciously work with our own people, with our nonprofits, with the business community and with our cities and other jurisdictions to maximize how we provide the services we know we can do better at,” he said.
In his State of the City address, Mayor Rob Ward recalled the completion of the Miller Park Playground replacement and spoke about the upcoming project to repave and modify a section of Rhododendron Drive which runs next to the Siuslaw River.
“Rolling Dunes Park will be enhanced with a new picnic area, updated restrooms, and additional pickle ball courts… which I hear is kind of a big deal,” he said in March. “We are also excited to see the Siuslaw Estuary Trail constructed in Old Town along the banks of the estuary. This area will also be home to the future private hotel development that the Florence Urban Renewal Agency has been working hard to bring to fruition to support the Florence Events Center.”
MARCH
The Florence City Council adopted, as amended, a first-of-itskind Housing Code update that defines where and
coming in around 5 p.m. and by 11 p.m., almost all personnel were working to restore outages.
“Those crews will have worked about a 24-hour shift before they get to go home tonight for some rest,” one report said.
how transitional housing, emergency shelter and mission facilities can be cited in the City of Florence. The decision came at the end of a series of public meetings
City Manager Erin Reynolds boiled the information down to say, “this is very new code,” and is not a revision or update of previous city code. “It is in response to requirements to have the opportunity to meet the needs of all housing types for all kinds of people.”
The approved ordinance adopts legislative amendments to the Florence City Code to support missions, emergency shelters, and transitional housing, associated with phase 2 of the Housing Implementation Plan project and reduce lot dimensions for medium density single unit detached dwellings.
APRIL
City Councilors spent a couple hours April 4 discussing potential changes and adjustments to proposed codes that will determine allowable homeless sheltering locations inside city limits.
City Manager Erin Reynolds explained that the process is very fluid as the council takes in input and revisits issues and gets feedback from the community. Community Development Director Wendy Farley-Campbell opened by noting that the session was the third time the council met to discuss
the issue. Councilors spoke about the allowances for tent camping in certain areas, the ability of private property owners to host people and temporary shelters, legal limitations of enforcement, and whether certain restrictions would be legally reasonable.
MAY
At its May 6 meeting, the Council unanimously authorized the sale of two parcels of City property, to be used for the construction of an affordable rental complex and an early learning child care center.
“The interested parties are Our Coastal Village, Inc. for Parcel 1, with the intention to build an Affordable Apartment Rental Complex, and Chestnut Management, LLC. for Parcel 2, with the intention to build an Early Learning and Child Care Center, the printed staff report states.
According to staff reports, the property is located located between Greenwood Street and the undeveloped platted rights-of-way of Fir, 10th, and 11th Streets, north of 9th St. “Construction is to be completed within 1 year of closing or by Dec. 21, 2026,” Reynolds said, explaining that council approval will not result in the immediate opening of an affordable housing complex and child care
See REVIEW, Page A4
While the most common calls were related to wind, trees and power lines, on call involved a car that hit and broke a power pole.
Around 5,500 customers were affected by outages and some were still
out as of Friday morning. CLPUD serves 700 square miles, encompassing 112 miles of Oregon’s central coastline from Gleneden Beach to North Bend, providing power to over 41,0000 customers.
OUR STAFF
Florence saw snow and ice in March.
A man sleeps with his bike under the bridge.
facility. “There is a lot of work yet to be done but this is a significant step toward that.” She said the learning facility completion deadline is December 31, 2027 and the city is
expected to meet its infrastructure deadline of June 30, 2025. Under public comment, Childcare Sector Strategist for Lane County, Holly Mar-Conte, spoke of the urgency for childcare development, specifically in Florence by noting that an estimated 114 childcare spaces are open for over
640 children in the birthto-5-year age group.
“Only 69 of those are licensed childcare and provide full daycare for children and families, she said. “That means there’s access for about 10 percent of the children in the Siuslaw Region.” She said no centers provide care for children under 2 and there are fewer options outside the region. Noting several constraints to childcare development, Mar-Conte said the proposed project is “incredibly exciting” and said all of the partner agencies she works will are willing to help.
JUNE
Congresswoman Val Hoyle postponed a visit to Florence to view a slipping riverside area which threatens public, private and federal Coast Guard properties.
According to the funding request, the damaged area threatens City property, as well as private property and the federally-owned Cost Guard station there.
“After a period of heavy rain in January 2022, a steep section of the bank of the Siuslaw River adjacent to Coast Guard Road began to fail, resulting in cracking of the Coast Guard Station parking lot, disconnection of a City stormwater main, and deformation of a private wooden deck,” the City’s request stated.
According to the City of Florence website, the wall would “temporarily halt the the slipping so we can engineer a more long-term solution.”
The city was requesting $800,000 for the construction of a pile wall in a landslide area that was damaged by heavy rains in 2022, as well as needed repairs to public facilities
in the area.
“With recent storms and significant rain events from January 12, 2024 to present, the slippage has become more acute, slipping more than 25 inches in less than four weeks,”according to the City. “From the City’s evaluation the slope movement resulted in the formation of a scarp, a long steep slope or cliff at the edge of a plateau or ridge that is formed by erosion.”
Hoyle made funding requests for several projects in the County.
*Officials and members of the public got a chance to visit the recently-completed Oak Manor affordable housing complex on Oak Street June 13 and hear from its developer.
The 24-unit complex contains a variety of room configurations. According to Submitted by Layne Morrill, President of Our Coastal Village, Inc., “Six units are set aside for households at or under 30% of the area median income at rents of $407 (1-bedroom) and $487 (2-bedroom). Sixteen units are set aside for households at or under 60% of the area median income with the rents prescribed for that cohort. Our Coastal Village has reduced those rents by an additional five percent due to its MUPTE property tax exemption, yielding rents for the sixteen units of $820 (1-bedroom), $984 (2-bedroom), and $1,137 (3-bedroom.) For comparison, in April 2021, Florence market rents were $950 (1-bedroom), $1,100 (2-bedroom), and $1,250 (3-bedroom).”
The opening concluded with a tour of one of two remaining, 3-bedroom apartments. The basic layout featured no frills, fireplaces, expensive fixtures
or accessories, but instead, a usable, practical layout with all needed amenities, essentially square rooms, a small balcony and the greenhouse and gardens.
JULY
The Florence City Council approved a construction bid for an estuary trail constructed of compressed gravel and parking area and trail head located at the southwest corner of the Spruce St. and Hwy. 126 intersection and with an access point on Quince Street. The trail will essentially follow the tree line from just south of Highway 126 near Munsel Creek to Quince Street about a half block south of the Florence Event Center.
Public Works Director Mike Miller said bids opened on July 2 and six were received.
Showing a map of the area, Miller said the trail will require 12,870 square feet of gravel, 229 lineal
feet of curbs and gutters, 1,221 feet of sidewalk and 310 tons of asphalt, among other components. He said about 18 trees will have to be removed.
City Manager Erin Reynolds reminded the council that the project also includes construction of a parking lot on Highway 126, to balance the increased capacity of people that will come to use the trail.
*Three days after a divided United States Supreme Court (SCOTUS) sided with the City of Grants Pass, the Florence City Council adopted code updates to regulate where and how long homeless citizens can sleep and remain in public areas.
City Attorney Ross Williamson explained that the SCOTUS ruling would have little effect on the City’s new codes, since they’re based on an Oregon State law. Williamson said the SCOTUS determination means the Martin vs Boise and the Johnson vs. Grants Pass cases were no longer “good law.”
“Those cases no longer stand for the propositions that we have been talking about over the past year,” he said, “and that the 8th Amendment is no longer implicated in these types of camping regulations.”
“So, even though those cases are no longer ‘good law,’ we still have a codification We still have a state statute on the books that essentially draws those cases into the law of Oregon,” he said.
Williamson said that throughout the City’s process, it has crafted codes to meet ORS 195.530, and have resulted in what the city determined to be objectively reasonable. He added that as cities in Oregon create codes, they will be tested over time as claims are filed and the definition of “objectively reasonable” is more refined by courts.
“From the legal landscape where we are now, we believe our code provisions pass the test,” he said.
With little further discussion, the council unanimously approved a first and second reading of the ordinance, making it effective Aug. 1, 30 days from the date of approval. The full text of the code can be found on the Siuslaw News website at https://www. thesiuslawnews.com/ approvedcode2024
AUGUST The City Council, City Manager and Public Works Director symbolically broke ground to mark the
A solemn Memorial Day in Florence.
Rolling Dunes Park. The 35-foot expansion was to widen the existing courts eastward, creating the space for two additional courts.
According to City reports, the current picnic shelter and bathrooms will be replaced once the expansion is complete. After the construction of the new pickleball courts is complete, the entire new and existing court surfaces will be resurfaced.
*As part of its earlier adoption of temporary sheltering codes, the City Council adopted a resolution allows private property owners to host people experiencing homelessness, and allow them to essentially “camp” on their property. However, property owners will need to register with the City to do so.
According to Planning Director Wendy FarleyCampbell, the program is modeled off similar programs enacted in other Oregon coast cities including Bandon, Seaside, Roseburg, Salem and Newport. The fourpart program is made up of provisions for required registration information, standards and guidelines for registration, the approval process and revocation. It established fee rates for related City services, appeals and permits.
SEPTEMBER
Congresswoman Val Hoyle was in Florence to discuss funding to temporarily hold reinforce a slipping area of Siuslaw River bank until a more permanent fix can be identified.
The exact area is where the Siuslaw River Coast Guard station meets Seawatch estates private property along the riverbank.
City Manager Erin Reynolds credited Hoyle’s Field Representative Cheri Brubaker for alerting the city of available grant money that could be applied for to fund the project.
“We didn’t really know what category this went into right away,” Reynolds said, noting that the issue relates to stormwater, embankment and potential threats to access to the Coast Guard station. . “We just knew we had a problem.”
ity Public Works Director Mike Miller explained that the area has been slipping toward the river for some time, and the Coast Guard put in riprap to stabilize it. More is located at the south end of the slip area.
He said that in January, 2022, the City noticed movement in the area when a nearby resident reported a city stormwater pipe had been pulled apart.
Miller said engineers have developed plans to install a secant wall, to help preserve some of the foundational sand below ground.
“It will buy us some time until a more permanent solution is found,” he said. Miller said the Coast Guard will have a significant project to repair the area, but their work will end at the property line. Miller said if the area south of the property lines fails, it could impact the Coast Guard’s project.
As for the $800,000 funding request for the temporary solution, Hoyle said the project fits the requirements for use of that funding source.
Hoyle’s deputy District director, Dan Whelan said if the request goes through soon, funding for the project could be available by summer of 2025.
OCTOBER
Siuslaw High School
Students were given a front row seat to a simulated DUI crash that involved school staff, other students, police, firefighters and medical personnel. The Every 15 Minutes program originated in California and was conceived to bring a high-impact message to students not to drink and drive. While DUI deaths used to occur every 15 minutes, that number decreased over time. However, the number of distracted driving deaths increased with the advent of smart phones and touch screen technology, and was added to the list of things one shouldn’t do while driving.
After watching their friends taken from classrooms and listening to their obituaries, students at Siuslaw High School watched as firefighters extricated their classmates from vehicles, packaged them for transport to the hospital and sent them away in ambulances.
Another student failed a field sobriety test and was arrested by the school resource officer. The last remaining student in the simulation was zipped into a bodybag and left
the school in a hearse.
The following day, students heard about the consequences of drinking and driving from an innocent DUI victim who spent years recovering from her injuries. They also heard letters from students, written to their families as if from the grave that began with …”today, I died.”
NOVEMBER
First Step Florence took possession of a folding house which was unfolded and set up on a concrete pad to be used for transitional housing.
n it’s unfolded state, the home is 20 by 19 feet, with two bedrooms, a restroom, shower and sink, a kitchen cabinet, vinyl flooring, and electrical connections.
According to an information sheet provided by FSF, the cost of the folding home is less than $20 000
FSF officials are hopeful that more such houses can be added to the property to provide safe, stable transitional housing to families.
The FSF program also works with families to set and achieve goals for employment, budgeting and saving.
“First Step owns a piece of property North of Fred Meyer on the East Side of 101 where the Bridges Program is currently serving singles and couples who are struggling with housing insecurity,” FSF staff reported. “They continue to look for a permanent location. First Step Florence transitional housing for families will take up residence on
their property by October 2025. The goal is to move from the church onto First Step property and scale up the program at the same time.”
Dr. Paul Pearson, FSF Vice President, said it’s hoped that as many as 10 families could be housed in the folding units by October 2025
*After six months of detours and intersection changes, residents were able to once again travel down the section of Rhododendron Drive directly next to the east bank of the Siuslaw River. A brief ceremony was held in the rain to open the section of roadway along the river, attended by City and Public Works staff, the City Council and contractors K&E Excavating.
The Rhododendron Drive realignment project started with an open house in March of 2024, and was paid for by a combination of Street, water, sewer and other funds, along with a loan taken out by City. The project took about six months to complete and the total cost of the project came to just under $7 million. Public Works Director Mike Miller said the authorized budget amount was about $7.3 million. The City also partnered with the County for repairs and improvements on New Hope Lane, a County road. Miller said the timing worked out that the City could do the contract and bidding for the improvements, which the County paid for.
The project essentially moved the entire roadway to the east about 12 ft, the width of one lane. The roadway now features parallel parking along the river, paved pathways on both sides of the road, and a raised bike and pedestrian path and fence along a high concrete wall on the east side. Stormwater channels and drains have been installed on both sides. New
Friendship - Fellowship – Fun FAITH DIRECTORY
To include your organization in this directory, please call us @ 541-997-3441
ANCHOR OF HOPE CHURCH
Live like Jesus, share His Love. 1318 Rhododendron Drive www.anchorofhopeflo.com
Sunday Service 11am
Livestream on Facebook @anchorofhopeflo
BAHA’I FAITH OF FLORENCE
“What is Baha’i, and Why?” 2nd Monday 7:00 pm
Interfaith Devotions 4th Monday 7:00 pm Info and meeting location: 541-590-0779
Zoom link on Facebook: Florence Baha’i Community All ARE WELCOME!
COMMUNITY BAPTIST CHURCH
4590 Hwy. 101 N, across from Fred Meyer541 997-7418
SUNDAY SERVICES - Adult Bible Study
9:30 AM; Worship 10:45 AM; High School Youth 7- 9 PM
MID-WEEK- Women’s Bible Study-Tuesday 10:00-Noon and Thursday 7:00-8:00PM; Men’s Bible Study Thursday 8:00-9:30 AM; Middle School Youth Wed. 7-9 PM. Sunday Worship streams live at Community Baptist Church Facebook Page
CROSS ROAD ASSEMBLY OF GOD Corner of 10th & Maple- 541-997-3533 Sunday Services 9am 1st Service in person Sunday Services 11am 2nd Service in person & livestreamed Wednesday kids/youth night is at 6:30 NOT livestreamed. https://www.florencecrossroadag.org/church-online Other platforms update after the service. florencecrossroadag.org office@florencecrossroadag.org
FLORENCE CHRISTIAN CHURCH
2nd & Ivy - 541-997-2961 - Non-Denominational
Service is on Sunday at 10:00 am Sunday Service also streaming live at 10am at florencechurch.com
FLORENCE UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST FELLOWSHIP
87738 Hwy 101 at Heceta Beach Road
RUAUU? Come explore the answer with us. Sunday Worship Services ~ 10:00am www.florenceuuf.com
pavement runs all the way south to Wildwood and north to 35th Street, where a three-way stop has been installed with a turn lane.
Miller says feedback from the community has been positive.
DECEMBER
The Florence City Council reallocated leftover COVID 19 money to stabilize the eroding slope next to the US Coast Guard station on the Siuslaw River.
City Manager Erin Reynolds explained that the affected area is at the end of a City stormwater line that runs between the Coast Guard property and private property. The resulting erosion is affecting properties on both sides of the easement and the Coast Guard will handle repairs on its side.
Reynolds called it a very specific,
singular action, saying the Obligation of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) was a specific part of COVID stimulus funding. According to her report, the City received $2.032 million from the fund in 2022 and allocated $1.48 million for various City services. The remaining $554,000 was held for a stormwater project in Old Town but has accrued interest to currently total $600,000. Funding had perviously been held for a possible stormwater improvement project before it was reallocated.
An $800,000 request from the state for the project has not been guaranteed as of December.
At year’s end, the Estuary Trail is nearly complete and a grand opening date will be announced.
FLORENCE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
2nd & Kingwood • (541) 997-6025
Sunday worship is at 10:30 a.m. Sunday School for adults is at 9:00 a.m. Online services at www.florenceunitedmethodist.org or find us on Facebook.
FOURSQUARE CHURCH
1624 Highway 101 (next to A&W) –- 997-6337
Pastor George Pagel – Something for the entire family. Sunday Service 10:00 am Wednesday Bible Study returns this Fall. Website: florence4square.com
NEW LIFE LUTHERAN E.L.C.A. NEW LIFE LUTHERAN CHURCH, E.L.C.A.
“Serving Christ by serving others.” 21st & Spruce Streets—(541) 997-8113 Sunday worship is at 10:30 a.m. Online services available on our FaceBook, YouTube, and website: www.florencenewlifelutheran.org
PRESBYTERIAN COMMUNITY CHURCH
3996 N Hwy 101 541-997-7136
Internet and in person Sunday Services at 10:30am, Adult Sunday School is at 9:30am. Call the church for details. Reverend Greg Wood All Welcome. Come as you are.
RELIGIOUS SOCIETY OF FRIENDS (QUAKERS)
“War is still not the answer.” FCNL We meet Sunday’s at 11am in our homes. Call 541-515-8191 for locations.
RESURRECTION LUTHERAN
being religious. This curriculum is not religious,” Sneddon stated. “If he was doing research and found a religious curriculum, it was a mistake.”
AFFILIATION
SVCS wrote a letter to the board that included testimony from Oregon State Representative Kevin Mannix, who questioned Lee’s legal interpretation of the word “affiliated,” saying, “As long as the chosen curriculum does not explicitly promote a specific religion, it is likely that your charter school board is operating within acceptable legal bounds.”
The letter also included input from Jean Judge, an attorney for Hillsdale College, said while it is a Christian college, Hillsdale does not have a K-12 homeschool curriculum or a K-12 religious curriculum. Judge disagreed with Cohn Lee’s assertion that a supreme court would use a dictionary definition of the term “affiliated.”
A letter from state representative Boomer Wright to King, quoted ORS 743B.005, which states, “Affiliate” of, or person affiliated with, a specified person means any carrier who, directly or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, controls or is controlled by or is under controls with specified person.
ORS743B 548 reads, “affiliate” means
a person that directly or indirectly, through one or more intermediaries, controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with, another person.
“Now that you have the correct information, that Siuslaw Valley Charter School will not be affiliated or controlled by Hillsdale College, but rather, will be allowed to share their classical education curriculum and teacher training support,” she closed. “The other thing we’d like to remind you is that there are public charter schools using this curriculum all over the United States.”
Lengthy public and board comment followed, and the Board voted to require that SVCS disavow any affiliation with Hillsdale College in order for the contract to be considered further. SVCS later agreed to discontinue any affiliation with Hillsdale.
RELIGION
The question had been raised repeatedly throughout the year as to whether SVCS intends to operate a religiously-based school, especially following the proposed connection with Hillsdale College. SVCS Co-chairs Kay King and Aric Sneddon have said the school will teach about all religions and their impact on history but will not proselytize students or teach that one religion is superior to others.
Board discussions resumed, a new contract was written and, according to Grzeskowiak, has been reviewed by the District’s
legal counsel.
At its August meeting, the Siuslaw School District Board held a first reading of a contract with Siuslaw Valley Charter School. The contract mandates that WCA will set enrollment dates and provide a list of student names and information, will comply with district policies, provide services for talented and gifted children, and meet insurance and indemnification requirements, among others.
With the Sept. signing of a contract and agreement between Siuslaw School District and SVCS, officials worked out the details to hire a head of schools and find a building in Florence.
SVCS President Kay King said the two sets of documents were signed during a very congenial meeting Sept. 18.
WHERE AND WHO
As for a building to house the new teachers and students, one had not been located by the time the contract was signed.
“There are not many buildings in Florence that would meet our need,” King said at the time, “so we’ve identified one that we are very interested in and we’re working on that now.”
SVCS reports said grant-writing and marketing was also under way, along with other necessary aspects.
When asked, King said while the original idea was to open a K-8 school, the charter school will have to start with K-4.
“We think it’s important to do things well from the beginning,” she said. “We decided to start out fairly small. We know that the majority of children will be in the younger grades.” She said the intent is to keep classroom sizes small.
King said SVCS called all parents who had shown interest since 2022 but some had moved on or that their kids had passed the enrollment age.
“Right now, we’re still at about 144 children and about 82 families showing interest,” she said. “We’ll be K-4 the first year and then K-5 until we reach K-8, and we will not be a high school.”
At year’s end, SVCS has hired Arturo Ruelas as Head of Schools and school have been holding monthly board meetings which are open to the public. A location for the school has not yet been
identified. The SVCS board meets on the third Thursday of the month and the January meeting is set for Jan. 23 at 4 p.m. A special meeting will take place Jan. 9.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This was included in response to questions I’ve received from readers and was too long to be included in the Year End Review. In the next issue, we’ll be talking with SVCS Head of Schools Arturo Ruelas about plans, a possible location and more.
SPORTS & LIFESTYLE
Siuslaw basketball in the new year
Will LOHRE Country Media, Inc.
The new year has arrived, and Siuslaw boys and girls basketball are preparing for the annual Bandon Dunes Tournament hosted by Bandon High School from Jan. 2-4.
The results of each program’s game against North Bend on Dec. 30 are unknown at the time of press, but through most of December, both teams have been trying to find their rhythm.
BOYS BASKETBALL
Through the early part of the season, the boys basketball team has been playing well, with a 5-2 record as of Dec. 29. The Vikings put on a dominant display against Toledo High School on Dec. 20, demolishing the Boomers by 43 points in a 72-29 victory. That win extended Siuslaw’s winning streak to four in a row, averaging 70 points per game during that stretch while only
surrendering 43 points per game.
Going into Christmas, Siuslaw was the second-ranked team in the 3A-5 Far West League behind Sutherlin. Despite
GIRLS
being second in the Far West, the Vikings are the highest-ranked in the league in OSAA’s 3A rankings at 24th.
After the upcoming Bandon Dunes Tournament,
the Vikings will still have three more non-league games to fine-tune any shaky parts of their game ahead of the first league game of the season against Sutherlin on Jan. 17
BASKETBALL
The girls couldn’t quite grab a win against the Boomers on Dec. 20, but it
New Year Violin solo concert The 15th Annual Peace Hike: A Commemoration of Resilience and Remembrance
Start your New Year with violinist Rebecca Huber’s romantic solo violin repetoire. A native of the Pacific Northwest, Rebecca moved to The Netherlands to study at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague. She is now a member of the Conservatory faculty and has a list of musical achievements too long to list here. She will be performing Saturday, Jan. 4 at 3 p.m. at Florence Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 87738 Hwy 101 Admission is free, with donations gratefully accepted. For more information and to hear for yourself, go to rebeccahuber.org
On New Year’s Day, Yachats, Oregon will host the 15th Annual Peace Hike, a meaningful event that honors the legacy of the indigenous peoples who endured immense suffering under government-sponsored genocidal policies during the 19th century. The Peace Hike commemorates the tragic history of the Alsea Subagency (1860–1875), highlighting the story of Amanda, a blind Native American (Coos) woman who was forcibly separated from her daughter and marched barefoot with other captives over 80 miles of rugged terrain to the Alsea Subagency prison camp in Yachats in 1864. This annual gathering serves as a solemn remembrance of those who lost their lives and a celebration of the resilience of their descendants, many of whom participate in the event each year. The day will be filled with ceremonies, reflections, and guided trail walks and more, starting at 9:30 a.m., at the Yachats Commons.
Committee members will be on hand at the Yachats Commons to provide guidance, maps, and answer any questions.
Community Briefs
Annual illustrating America art contest kicks off
Kids still have until March 31 to enter the VFW Auxiliary’s annual Illustrating America art contest. Local students in grades K through 8 can share how they view our world through their drawings and paintings while competing for national awards. Students must submit an original two-dimensional piece of artwork. coloring sheets, digital art and photography are not accepted. The entry must have been completed during the current school year and the application must include a parent or guardian’s signature. Students begin by competing at the local VFW auxiliary level.
The first place winner from each auxiliary advances to the Department (State) competition. The contest consists of three grade divisions kindergarten through 2nd, 3rd through 5th, and 6th through 8th grades. The Department (State) first place winner in each division will be forwarded to the VFW Auxiliary National headquarters. There are awards for first, second and third place in each division. All state winning entries are judged at National headquarters in Kansas City Missouri in July and will be displayed at the VFW auxiliary National convention, scheduled to take place August 9th through 14, 2025 in Columbus Ohio. Winners will be notified via the email address provided on the winners
If you are considering a
addition to your family, come meet Eric! You may fill out an application online or stop by the shelter. Call (541) 997-4277 to learn more!
COAST HUMANE SOCIETY 2840 Rhododendron Drive • Florence • 541-997-4277 www.oregoncoasthumanesociety.org Shelter hours are 10am until 4pm seven days a week.
entry form. The contrast rewards the artistic abilities of elementary and middle/ Junior High School students. student entries must be submitted to VFW auxiliary, Florence 3232 by March 31. Interested youth, parents and Guardians and teachers should contact Sue Miller at 541-991-3841 or at suzqmiller@gmail.com for more information
Rhododendron speaker in Florence
On Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, MikeBones, wellknown member of the Rhododendron club, will present an overview of Rhododendrons, including samples of his topic. This presentation will take place at the Presbyterian Church of the Community located at 3996 Highway 101 Florence, at 1 PM on January 8, 2025. This event is open to the public at no cost.
Garden Club seeks scholarship applicants
The Florence Garden Club invites local Siuslaw and Mapleton High School seniors to apply for the Garden Club scholarship for the 2024/25 school year. Applicants must be planning a post High School career in horticulture or a related field such as forestry or Environmental
Submitted by THREE RIVERS CASINO
Three Rivers Casino Resort in Florence and Three Rivers Coos Bay collected 1,993 pounds of food for Florence Food Share while filling three pallets with toys in its 20th Food and Toy Drive. “Guests come to the casino with an arm full of toys.
Every time I look in our toy drop-off box, my heart makes a big smile,” said Marguerite Morgan, Promotions Supervisor at Three Rivers Casino. “The best part is when I call up our police station and say we’re on our way and have three crates full of toys and 30 bikes. The officers are coming out to greet us and take the toys
science. Awards are typically $2,000 or more. applications are available through your High School counseling department. Deadline for applying is March 3rd 2025. Since the first scholarship was awarded in 1994, over 72,350 has been distributed to local students from the Florence Garden Club.
Renew your business license by Jan. 2
City of Florence Business License Renewals are now open! In order to maintain compliance with Florence City Code, renewals must be completed no later than January 2nd, 2025. Don’t wait and risk letting your license expire! Please make sure that all of your business information is up to date in order to have your license be approved as soon as possible. For a list of FAQ’s, information about pricing, business classes, or for a refresher on the application process, please refer to our Business License page located on our city website, https://www.ci.florence.or.us/administrative-services/ business-licenses. A walk-through of the renewal process can be found at: https://www.ci.florence.or.us/administrative-services/ application-portalrenewal-information.
For more personalized questions about your license, please send us a message via License Registrar while viewing your license at: https://licenseregistrar.com/bizlic/bizlic.html.
to Santa’s station. I’m so grateful to the community for making a child’s Christmas merry.”
“The food collected during this drive helps fill our shelves with essentials and ensures no one has to choose between rent and a meal during the holidays.
Three Rivers Casino Resort’s support is invaluable, and we appreciate their generosity,” said Colin Morgan, executive director of Florence Food Share This year’s drive aided families and strengthened the bonds between local organizations, volunteers, and the community.
Officers from the Florence Police Department joined the effort to deliver toys to children and their families.
EPA sending Oregon millions for more electric school buses
Beaudro Principal Broker 541 991-6677
data
showing that transportation is the single largest contributor to Oregon’s greenhouse gas emissions, curtailing them is a priority for state officials.
Oregon’s senior U.S. senator, Democrat Ron Wyden, said the money will help.
“Creating opportunities like this with school buses to reduce those emissions is key to tackling this issue head-on in Oregon and nationwide,” Wyden said.
The $6.5 million comes from the Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicles Grant Program established in the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022. It will be awarded in early 2025 and can be spent over the next three years, the news release said.
The EPA has also granted Oregon since 2022 more than $64 million in rebates and grants for 23 school districts, allowing them to purchase about 200 electric school buses. The Beaverton School District, the third largest in the state, was the first to purchase an electric bus and has the largest fleet of electric buses so far. According to district data, electric buses have one-third of the operating costs as diesel buses, and they’re half as expensive to operate as the district’s propane-powered school buses.
Oregon Capital Chronicle is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Oregon Capital Chronicle maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Lynne Terry for questions: info@ oregoncapitalchronicle.com.
B
and the first loss of the Vikings’ season that has been within 10 points. Despite a 1-6 record, Siuslaw sits fourth of the six teams in the 3A-5 Far West League, above Glide and Douglas. It will be tricky for the Vikings to qualify for the playoffs from the league, considering the top two teams in the conference, Coquille and Sutherlin, are each ranked inside OSAA’s 3A top 10, at 6th and 8th, respectively. The Vikings are ranked 37th of the 47 teams in OSAA’s 3A rankings but will hope to catch some wins throughout the season and shine as a new member of the Far West League. Siuslaw’s first league game of the season is against Sutherlin on Jan. 17.
From Page B1
it was also a close
1. FOOD & DRINK: What kind of cake is named after a British queen?
2. TELEVISION: What is the name of the family dog on "The Simpsons"?
3. ANATOMY: How long does a human red blood cell exist?
4. GENERAL KNOWLEDGE: Where is New Year's celebrated first each year?
5. ADVERTISING: Which company sponsors a 13-foot-long Weinermobile?
6. MEASUREMENTS: How many pints are in a quart?
7. MOVIES: What is the name of the dance performed in the "Rocky Horror Picture Show"?
8. BIOLOGY: What does the term ectothermic mean?
9. GEOGRAPHY: Which country has the longest coastline in the world?
10. LITERATURE: Who is the author of "The Canterbury Tales"? © 2024 King
Victoria Sponge Cake
Santa’s Little Helper
About 120 days
The island of Kiritimati in the Oceanic nation of Kiribati
Oscar Mayer
Two
The Time Warp
Coldblooded, when body temperature is regulated by the environment
Canada
Geoffrey Chaucer
OLIVE
By Emi Burdge
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SLN25-100
The Siuslaw Public Library District is soliciting proposals from qualified accounting firms to audit the District’s financial statements. The District is seeking a new auditor to replace an accounting firm that will cease offering municipal audits at the end of the year. The selected firm will audit the District’s financial statements for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025, with the option of auditing the District’s financial statements for the four (4) subsequent fiscal years, ending on June 30, 2029. Proposals must be received no later than 5 p.m. on Friday, January 24, 2025 to be considered. For a complete RFP document please visit the District’s website at www.siuslawlibrary.info/finances.
SLN 25-101
Notice of Public Hearing
The Florence Planning Commission will hold a public hearing in person and via videoconference on January 14,
2025, at 5:30 p.m. in the City of Florence City Hall Chambers located at 250 Highway 101, to consider and deliberate on the following: PC 24 29 CPA 01 and PC 24 41 TA 02 - 1150 BAY ST. COMPREHENSIVE PLAN AND ZONE AMENDMENTS: An application for property containing the formerly known “Lotus” building and westerly abutting unaddressed property (MR 18-12-34-12 TLs 8000 and 8100) to change Comprehensive Plan designations, zoning, and zoning text as follows: Comprehensive Plan diagram Map 17̴- 1: Estuary & Coastal Shorelands Management Unit in the Florence UGB, change from Development Estuary Management Unit F to Residential Development Shoreland Management Unit 3; Zoning Map Amendment from Development Estuary to Old Town Area A; and 2. a Zoning Text Amendment to Old Town Area A to add multi-unit, single unit attached, duplex, tri-plex, and four-plex development as permitted
uses for properties within a specific distance from residential zoning or having a Residential Shoreland MU overlay. The Planning Commission will make a recommendation to the City Council for a hearing date yet to be determined. The requests include quasi-judicial and legislative proposals. The application will be processed in accordance with the higher/greater public noticing standards. Meetings air live on Cable Channel 191 and stream at www.ci.florence. or.us/citymanager/public-meetings-live. Testimony can be given in writing or through a request to participate in the meeting. Those wishing to testify via conference call must submit a speaker’s card at www.ci.florence. or.us/bc-pc/request-address-planning-commission-speakers-card by 3:30PM on January 14, 2025. Testimony not submitted in compliance with the above procedures, will not be included in the record. For additional information contact the Planning Department at
CAPRICORN -Dec 22/Jan 20
Capricorn, you’ve been waiting patiently to say something and looking for an opportunity to share your input. You might need to interrupt if you feel it is important enough.
AQUARIUS -Jan 21/Feb 18
Your mind feels as if it’s going in a million different directions, Aquarius. One way to alleviate distractions is to direct your energy to an assortment of small projects.
PISCES -Feb 19/Mar 20
Pisces, sometimes it seems like what you are saying is going in one ear and out the other. Don’t let your frustration get the best of you. Keep trying to be heard
ARIES -Mar 21/Apr 20
You are likely to question information you receive this week, Aries. Investigate things further, but remain receptive to what others are saying.
CANCER -Jun 22/Jul 22
Cancer, this week you may be looking to clean house, so to say. You are toss ing away old beliefs and habits and are ready to embrace something new. It might be an exciting time.
LEO -Jul 23/Aug 23
Taurus, it is time to solidify plans and any grand schemes you may have; otherwise, you may not know which path to take. For now, start outlining your ideas.
GEMINI -May 22/Jun 21
Practice your communication skills, Gemini, as you are likely to need them this week. You may need to resolve a sticky situation and serve as a voice of reason.
LIBRA -Sept 23/Oct 23
Leo, everything that you are going through right now is part of a cycle that has a beginning and an end. If you wait it out, you will find that patience pays off.
Do what you can to help others in need, Libra. Offer your services and insight, and be prepared to help in other ways
VIRGO -Aug 24/Sept 22
Virgo, maintain open lines of communication. Some may offer advice, while others may seek it. Be receptive to the former and do your best to accommodate the latter.
SCORPIO -Oct 24/Nov 22
Scorpio, you are giving off an energy lately that others might be attracted to. Don’t be surprised if your fan club increases in the next few days. Enjoy the attention.
SAGITTARIUS -Nov23/Dec 21
Communication from a former friend or an old roommate may catch you by surprise this week, Sagittarius. Embrace this opportunity to reconnect.
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