22 January 2014
Former Top Cop Filling In
There’s a familiar face in the chief’s office at the Florence Police Department right now… if only on an interim basis. Lynn Lamm headed the department for seven years, retiring in 2005 to take a position training police officers in the Middle East.
Lynn Lamm – “Originally when I went to Baghdad in 2005 we were training Iraqi police. Actually I worked in the management level so I was training Iraqi military officers and they were making police chiefs and supervisors out of them.”
After a couple of stints in Iraq, Lamm moved closer to the Mediterranean.
Lynn Lamm – “In 2008 I went to Beirut Lebanon. We pioneered the first, I guess you could say, western democracy police academy there. We actually wrote the curriculum and set the academy up.”
A native of Florence Lamm spent most of his 34-year law enforcement career in Alaska and Washington State. He and his wife Lare (larry) have repurchased the house he grew up in.
Lynn Lamm – “I’m excited about it. I’m having a very good time and hopefully we can do some very good things in four months; get some prep work done.”
Lamm will serve as interim chief following the retirement earlier this month of Ray Gutierrez. City Manager Jacque Betz… who used to work for Lamm… says she expects to fill the position by April.
Rhody Junior Court Announced
A group of five grade-school girls will represent Florence and Mapleton this spring as junior royalty. The five will make up the Rhododendron Festival Junior Court.
Ashlyn Hart is a first grader and Aubrie Lynn Saari (sorry) a second grader, both at Siuslaw Primary School. Kiana Moody is a third grader at Mapleton Elementary School; Zoey Slider and Lizbeth Garcia are in the fourth and fifth grades at Siuslaw Elementary. The five will visit community events; senior living centers, youth organizations and civic groups in the runup to the annual festival in May.
Spokesperson Jenna Bartlett said applications will be taken through this Friday for Senior Court hopefuls… this year for the first time they are seeking five young men in addition to the traditional court of five young ladies.
Hospice Wreathes
Do you still have that holiday wreath hanging around? Maybe you’ve taken it down, but it’s laying in the storage shed out back because you think you just might use it for something else next year.
Ease your conscience and allow it to be reused at the same time.
Every year Peace Harbor Hospice creates wreathes and delivers them to patients. Donna Becker says they bring a “light” to them. This year, though, they struggled to find enough frames to fill the need and were able to only make 15.
If you have an old wreath to donate, Becker says you can call her at the hospice office… or drop it off. She’s located in the 310 9th Street PeaceHealth Annex.
ASPIRE Program Expanding to Middle School
Siuslaw Middle School is “aspiring” to host some volunteers this afternoon.
For the past several years the high school has had an “ASPIRE” program that uses volunteers to help students as they consider college and career plans. Now that program is expanding into the middle school.
Volunteers will be asked to spend an hour with students on Friday afternoons beginning next month, talking with them about their options and providing assistance.
Sarah Girard is the counselor at the middle school; she says volunteers are vital to the program because they bring such a “diversity of experience”.
Girard is hosting a volunteer meeting this afternoon from noon to one to talk with potential volunteers. She adds if you can’t make the meeting… she still wants you. Just call her at Siuslaw Middle School and she’ll explain the program.
