Plan to Rename Middle School Gym
One item on the agenda this evening for the Siuslaw School Board is a request by middle school staff to name the main basketball court at Siuslaw Middle School in Memory of a long-time teacher and coach who recently passed away suddenly.
“To name the main court at the middle school for Ethan Dougherty for his significant contributions to education at Siuslaw. He’s been here since 1997.”
Dougherty was in his 28th year at the middle school when he passed away suddenly at home on November 22nd. Superintendent Andy Grzeskowiak said Dougherty began coaching basketball in his very first year at Siuslaw. The death of the 6-foot-7-inch teacher sent shock waves and grief across the school and community. Grzeskowiak has been working with Dougherty’s family on a memorial service to be held this Saturday at the middle school.
“It will start with a formal ceremony in the gym at three PM to celebrate his time as a teacher and coach here at Siuslaw. And then afterwards we’ll adjourn to the commons where again people will have a more informal time to sit and talk about Ethan’s impact to education in their lives.”
Dougherty is survived by his wife Kady Sneddon, his 10-year-old Daughter Olive Dougherty, his parents Greg and Terry Dougherty of Aptos, California, and many other family members. He would have celebrated his 52nd birthday this Friday. The Ethan Dougherty Memorial Fund has been established with the Western Lane Community Foundation. Family members say it is hoped that money generated by the endowment will be used to pay for a specific and significant need each year at the middle school on an on-going basis. The Siuslaw School Board meets at the District Office beginning at six this evening.
Flock Camera Update
Florence City Council this week heard an update on the city’s surveillance camera technology. The single camera has been in place along highway 101 for almost a year and Florence Police officers describe it as a “success story” for the department. Kristin MacLeod, Community Engagement Manager with the Atlanta based company Flock Safety described the technology as “stationary”. She says they are motion activated and focused on the rear of the vehicle.
“It’s really about capturing vehicle attributes, not people,”
MacLoud says the cameras use what they call “fingerprint” technology. When officers don’t have full plate information they can create searches based on criteria including vehicle make, body type, color, temporary tags and state recognition. She added that the cameras do not have facial recognition, do not collect biometric information, are not used for tracking speed or parking violations, and the data automatically deletes itself every 30 days. Lieutenant Len Larson says he has been involved in its use a number of times.
“It’s been a success story for us. We use it all the time. In some cases like a theft from the gas station at Fred Meyer, if we get a partial plate or vehicle description and we just enter it into the search category and we can pull the plates of the registered owner that starts the investigation”
Chief John Pitcher added that officers are expanding what they are doing with the camera and said that they were able to alert Lane County officers that a vehicle connected to a homicide came through Florence and went south. The vehicle was later located South on highway 101. You can find more information including Flock presentations and city policy information on the City of Florence Police Department page.
Fire Season Affects
The effects of climate change are making the fire season in Oregon and other western states burn hotter and longer, urgently requiring additional funding and firefighters. Oregon fire officials say the state lost one-point-nine million acres during the 2024 fire season, an area larger than Delaware. Patrick Skrip, who manages the rural Douglas Forest Protective Association, says the fires they fight today are very different from the ones they saw 20 years ago.
“Our fire seasons are longer. The weather patterns have changed to what used to be 1-in-10-year event; we’d hit 100 degrees. We hit 100 degrees in our district multiple times a year.”
Local fire officials are talking with state and federal agencies to find a new funding model for their agencies. Skrip says fighting Oregon wildfires in 2024 cost over 300 million dollars. A task force is scheduled to deliver a new funding plan to the state legislature in February.
