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Siuslaw News Wednesday, May 7, 2025 Florence, Oregon

Number 19 • 134 years

A Legacy of Leadership: 2024 Florence First and Future First Citizen Awarded

Florence First Citizen Carol Bennett, center, sits with past FFC winners going back quite a while. SIUSLAW NEWS STAFF

Carol Bennett and Macali Lade were honored as Florence First and Future First Citizens for 2024 at the Legacy of Leadership celebration, before a packed room at the Florence Events Center. “I’ve got to say this year’s

nominees are six Siuslaw High School students, and I might say future mayors, and the established Florence citizens or an amazing group,” Mayor Rob Ward introduced.”I hope each of you get a chance to talk to them, see them and get to know how special they really are.”

According to the First Citizen committee, this year’s nominees have both contributed thousands of hours of community service and were recognized for their positive impact in Florence and surrounding areas. See AWARD, Page A9

Macala Lade was elated to have been chose Florence Future First Citizen at a ceremony April 29. Tony Reed photos

Banner Bank helps with Banned book dominates candidate forum Museum repair and more By TONY REED Siuslaw News

A candidates forum at Greentrees Village that introduced four of six candidates running for Siuslaw School Board turned to a discussion regarding two topics, the yetto-open charter school and the recent board decision to remove a book from the high school library. Candidates Maureen Miltenberger, John Barnett, Adrian Pollut and Tom Posegate appeared before about 50 people in the Greentrees Village conference room. Candidates Dennis King and Maygan Hiatt did not attend, but Hyatt had a short statement read on her behalf, saying she had a business obligation.

Photo provided Manager Paul Gonsalves presented Banner Bank’s generous donation of $7,500 towards the Museum’s West Wall Reconstruction Project. While $5,000 is earmarked for the wall repair, $2,500 will cover admission into the museum for underserved children. The 120-year-old former school building has suffered significant dry rot damage. A

INSIDE

Obituaries — A2 Sports & Lifestyle — B1

campaign is underway to preserve the building and its many artifacts significant to local history. To help support this project, consider donating or learning more about the Museum, by visiting our website at www. siuslawpioneermuseum. com or by sending a tax-deductible check to Siuslaw Pioneer Museum Association, PO Box 2637, Florence, OR 97439.

Opinion — A3 Classifieds — B8-9

School Board candidates John Barnett, Adrian Pollut, Maureen Miltenberger and Tom Posegate answered questions and engaged in discussion at the April 30 forum in Greentrees Village. Tony Reed photo

VALUE OF EDUCATION Candidates were asked for their views on the board’s responsibility to raise the value of education and what it can do to help the students value education as a tool for their successful future. Barnett said the board plays a crucial role in setting the District’s vision and explained that the board hires the superintendent, and handles policy and budget. “In policy, we have the greatest leeway. We can set academic standards for curriculum, higher and evaluate the superintendent and administrative staff, manage budgets and resource allocation, promote community engagement and education,” he said. “So,

that’s really the administrator and superintendent’s primary goals, to make sure they are advocating for a proper budget for our schools. Ultimately, his job is to ensure a high-quality, equitable education to prepare students for their greatest and fullest potential. There is no perfect system, coming out of Covid, we have had our challenges … In regard to graduation rates, that is something that’s been a huge concern and is always a concern, and it is something we are making some very large gains in.” Pollut said anyone who speaks to a lot of students and school staff will find the morale to be quite low. “One of the jobs of a school board is to help make a policy that increases morale throughout the school district,” he said. “I think, in particular, banning books has been proven to lower teacher and student morale. It’s been studied for years and has

been shown to do this and is a really negative way to go about that. I think, in general, that is our biggest challenge. Beyond that, to raise our success rate, especially talking about graduation rates, I think what are facing and we are going to be facing a lot of in the future is just dealing with students and family poverty and the fact that no student is ready to come and graduate from high school if they don’t have a meal, if they don’t have a place to live.” Pollut said he grew up impoverished, which greatly affected his schooling. “I grew up in the time period where we were living through the largest economic expansion in our country and I was in poverty then, and I can only imagine with kids who are living in this city right now, who are experiencing homelessness and food-lessness are going See FORUM, Page A5

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