Remembering those who served…
Veterans who have fallen in the line of duty will be honored this weekend on the central Oregon Coast as communities prepare for their Memorial Day observances.
In Reedsport, Sunday is the biggest day, starting with a 2 pm parade and a 3:30 memorial service at Hahn Memorial Park.
That will be followed immediately by a Veterans “meet and greet and dinner at the Pacific Auditorium and the Presbyterian Church next door at four.
The Pacific Auditorium will host a patriotic concert that evening at seven.
Memorial Day itself in Reedsport there will be a ten o’clock memorial service at the Masonic Cemetery hosted by the VFW and American Legion.
In Florence, the observances will be concentrated on Memorial Day itself… the Florence Elks Lodge will host a service at ten, followed by another at the Veteran’s Memorial Wall on West Bay Street in Old Town at 11. The VFW will dedicate a new flag pole and memorial at Pacific Sunset Cemetery at one. A shuttle to and from the site will leave the Elks Lodge at 12:30.
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The Port of Siuslaw is soliciting the help of area residents. A new floating restroom to serve boaters during fishing season will be deployed to the Siuslaw River in July and some believe it needs to be named.
Port Manager Steven Leskin said they are sponsoring a competition… with a $100 dinner gift certificate going to the winner.
Leskin said there are few rules… all entrants must be 18 or older and you can submit as many suggestions as you like. Leskin said it does need to be “appropriate”… that means no rude or graphic names… and it must be suitable for a public facility.
The winning entry will be announced July 4th by Port Commission President Ron Caputo, with the floating restroom to be christened and launched the next day.
Entries and more information can be submitted to the Port of Siuslaw office.
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Completely unrelated to the previous story…
Oregon Governor Kate Brown signed a bill this week a new law that will help low-income Oregonians repair failing septic systems. Oregon Senator Arnie Roblan sponsored SB 1563. It was approved by the legislature earlier this year. The bill directs the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality to develop a low-interest loan program for repairing, upgrading and evaluating residential or small business on-site septics.
Roblan said failing septics are a health and environmental issue and especially for rural communities. He said this program will help “working class folks” with failing septic systems to replace them. He said a series of town hall meetings will be scheduled later this year to get information about the program out to families. The first ones are scheduled for June 27th in Lincoln and Lane Counties.
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The Siuslaw School Board spent about 90-minutes Wednesday discussing the outcome of last week’s failed school construction bond levy. Voters said no to $36.9-million that would have paid for a new high school. Board Chair Tammy Butler said the consensus was there were several different reasons for the denial, but one of the biggest was timing.
200 – “Well the overwhelming response centered on the seemingly short timeline. There just really wasn’t enough time for voters to make such and important decision.”
The local effort was condensed into about six-months because the State of Oregon offered an additional $4-million that would have matched the local funds. But they required a nearly immediate answer. Even with the denial, Butler said the entire board knows the community is supportive of schools and the conditions at the high school won’t just “go away”.
201 – “There did seem to be support to move forward and put the bond on a future ballot, most likely the 2017 May election. The need hasn’t gone away.”
No decisions were made this week, but she said the board will talk about it in the coming weeks and months.