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Siuslaw News Wednesday, January 21, 2026 Florence, Oregon

Number 3 • 136 years

Council hears more Flock testimony Whitmore Academy By TONY REED The Siuslaw News

The Florence City Council heard almost four hours of testimony from the police chief, a representative from Flock Safety, and the public before opting to continue the discussion at a January 22nd work session. Mayor Rob Ward introduced the topic, saying the purpose of the special meeting was to gather community input regarding the City’s use of the Flock Safety Automatic License Plate Reader (ALPR) camera system. The council heard 20 speakers from the public, only one of See FLOCK, Page A5

curriculum up for review FROM SVCS

events, it was harder and harder to get competitive meets between two schools, so the dual meet kind of went the way of the dinosaur.” Johnson said some of the bigger schools will still compete in dual meets, but it’s hard for smaller programs to field enough athletes across all events. Johnson said that the way to measure a “complete, deep track team” is how they would perform against another team in a dual meet. “If you’re a really good team in a dual meet, it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re a really good team in a state meet, because in a state meet you need people who can score at the state meet,” Johnson said. In the modern context, Johnson said that a team is judged on its performance at the state championships, but that

Siuslaw Valley Charter School has released its proposed Whitmore Classical Academy 2026/27 curriculum for public review. The 30-Day Public Review Period of Instructional Resources and Materials is January 12 to February 13, 2026 In accordance with its charter agreement with Siuslaw School District, the sponsor of Siuslaw Valley Charter School as Whitmore Classical Academy, the charter school will conduct a 30-day public curriculum review. This process reflects a local contractual requirement and is not part of a uniform curriculum adoption process prescribed by the Oregon Department of Education for public charter schools. Public Curriculum Review and Comment Process During the public review period, curriculum crosswalk documents are available for in-person review at Whitmore Classical Academy, located at 524 Laurel Street, Florence, Oregon, on Tuesday-Thursday from 12 to 3 p.m. or by appointment by calling 541-999-4258. Curriculum crosswalk documents are also available for review at the Siuslaw School District office. Visitors at each location will be asked to sign in prior to reviewing materials for the purpose of documenting public access during the review period. 2 In addition, a representative selection of curriculum teacher guides and student materials is available for review at the Whitmore Classical Academy office on Tuesday-Thursday from 12 to 3 p.m. or by appointment by calling 541- 999-4258. Members of the public are invited to submit written comments regarding the proposed curriculum during the designated public comment period. To ensure comments can be appropriately reviewed and documented, all comments must be submitted directly to the charter school through the designated submission process. Comments can be submitted in writing by email to info@siuslawvalleycharterschool.com, by mail to 625 HWY 101 #1035, or in person at 524 Laurel Street, Florence, Oregon. Only comments submitted through these designated methods during the public comment period will be included in the official public comment record. All comments received through the established process will be reviewed by the

See TRACK, Page A4

See REVIEW, Page A4

The Florence City Council discussion on Flock cameras will continue at a work session in City Hall Jan 22.

Protest held for Good On the weekend following the shooting death of Renee Good in Minneapolis by an ICE officer, a smaller than usual crowd took to the streets Jan. 10 in protest. The demonstration took place at the 126/101 intersection and no demonstrators were seen at City Hall. While the demonstration incited honks from passing cars, the mood was noticeably more somber than previous ones in 2025. Gary Winterholler photo.

2025 Siuslaw track team is one of the best in history WILL LOHRE Country Media, Inc.

At the 2025 3A OSAA Track and Field Championships, Siuslaw’s boys clinched another state title, but they also cemented their spot in history as one of the deepest track programs in Oregon 3A history. That distinction was recognized by Who’s Who in Oregon High School Track & Field and Cross Country, a publication that has been published since 1965 and offers “championship results, maintenance of state record lists, data, analysis and historical perspective.” For Siuslaw Head Coach Chris Johnson recocognition by Who’s Who, and competing against history, are something he’s always had his sights on. “Every mark, all the best 60 or 70 marks from every classification, is documented in these books,” Johnson said.

INSIDE

Obituaries — A2 Sports & Lifestyle — B1

The 2025 Siuslaw Vikings Track and Field team atop the podium. Courtesy photo Becky Holbrook In addition to physical books, the publication can also be found on the Phoenix High School website. Who’s Who is now in its 60th year, and its specialty is documenting and comparing the best track teams across Oregon high school track and field history. But the style is particular to ensure comparisons can hold up over time. “They do what’s called a dual

Opinion — A3 Classifieds — B6-7

meet ranking. So, 50 years ago, 45 years ago, dual meets were kind of the thing. Two teams would come together, and they would compete: there’s three people in every event, and it’s scored 5-3-1, and that’s how teams competed, you’d usually go against one other school,” Johnson said. “As teams got bigger and bigger, and people gravitated towards different

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