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Siuslaw NewsWednesday, June 12, 2024 Florence, Oregon

Number 24 • 133 years

Bicycle ride across US starts in Florence By TONY REED Siuslaw News

Motorists driving through Florence early Monday morning, June 3 may have wondered about a small group of similarly-clad bicyclists and a large van with “Pedaling to end Poverty” on the side. The small group of hardy cyclists embarked from the beach at Driftwood Shores in Florence and they don’t plan to stop pedaling until they reach the beach in Yorktown, Virginia. Michael Glauser, executive director of the Center for Entrepreneurship at the Jon M Hudson School of Business at Utah State University, was among the cyclists leaving Florence June 3. He explained that the group, along with a support team of three staffed vans will be promoting awareness of a program that teaches entrepreneurship in a way that can be taught to others and can help entire families. The SEED (Small Enterprise Education and Development) program gives high-intensity entrepreneur training to students who then go on to share that knowledge and coaching with indigent families around the world. “What we do is recruit 100 students a year from various universities and train them for three to four months in entrepreneurship so they know how to stand in front of a class and teach the skills of recieving an idea, vetting that idea, launching the

Florence teacher needs kidney donation By TONY REED Siuslaw News TONY REED PHOTO

Linda Dunne, Patti Clemons, Michael Glauser, Mary Glauser and Jodi Clark touched the Pacific Ocean with their bikes before heading for the east coast. The side of the support van shows all the waypoint cities of the coast-to-coast ride. idea, funding the idea and managing the idea and they also learn how to mentor one-on-one entrepreneurs that are in starting companies.” He said after attending the training, they go live in the world for a semester. “We have partners who bring us hundreds of people who are living in poverty,” he said. “We mentor the top 10 or 12 in each class, one-onone for three full months.” Glauser said the — then tracks all the clients’ progress and the next class picks up where the last left off.

“We have 100 students per year,” he explained. “We are in Peru, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Paraguay, Ecuador, Cambodia, the Island of Cebu, the Philippines and Manila, and we’re in Africa,” he listed, “so that’s where the students are all living and doing this right now. The goal is for every family we teach to double their household income, so we teach them how to better market their products, we teach them how to diversify their product, we teach them how to buy better and lowe their costs. “

creating an encampment problem for everyone. “I guess we’ll see how we do,” he said. Councilor Bill Meyer said the City has obligations imposed by the state but it also has to comply with the obligation to the ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling. “So what we’re trying to do is come up with the best fit for this community within what the state obligates us to do and what the Court’s obligate us to do. Now I don’t believe we’re going to necessarily create the perfect solution right off. I am sure that there are areas that we’re going to have to revisit, areas that have been raised here tonight.” He said a code needs to be tested to determine effectiveness, adding “ when we put this document together and actually put it out there, there are going to be

A long-time Florence grade school teacher is in need of a living kidney transplant to avoid the possibility of having to undergo dialysis treatment for a hereditary disease. Charlene Wilson started her teaching career in 1972 and moved to Florence in 1974, and taught first through 6th grade for 25 years and was a reading specialist for 10 years. She has a hereditary disease called Polycystic Kidney Disease. “My mother died from it,” she said, “and my sister got a transplant and she has it also.” Wilson explained that her sister was able to receive a deceased kidney transplant, and was difficult to match because of her antibody count. “She got it two years ago in August,” she said, explaining that the transplant does not stop the disease but makes it livable with medication. “It’s pretty harsh medication, a lot of prednisone. When you take prednisone, you really bloat up and it’s very hard on your body.” However, patients are soon able to travel and eat regular food following a transplant and treatment. “My life has really changed since my kidney function has gone down,” she said, adding that she eats a lot of vegetables and drinks a lot of water. “There are a lot of times where I don’t feel good,” she said. “If I do something or eat something I’m not supposed to, I really don’t feel good after that.” She said she also has a lot of skin irritation, possibly due to her body’s inability to flush toxins. “I pretty much stay home,” she said, later noting that she has taken up watercolor painting. Asked what will happen if she cannot find a donor, Wilson said she will have to undergo dialysis. “I’m at stage 4 right now,” she said, “So I will go on dialysis soon, but that’s why I’m really strict with my diet and drinking a lot of water, so I can try to put it off as long as

See COUNCIL, Page A4

See TEACHER, Page A5

He said the organization has helped about 10,000 families. “This is to raise awareness that their is a problem but that we have a solution that actually works,” he said, noting that the tour will make many stops along the trip to speak about the program. Asked about the route, Glauser explained that the group will follow the TransAmerica Bicycle Route. For information about the program and how to sponsor a rider, go online to huntsman.usu.edu/seed/pedaling

Council sends proposed homeless sheltering codes to first reading lying, and sleeping are … universal and unavoidable consequences of being human.” The city’s process started in 2023 During a two-hour meeting June with Transitional Housing subcom3, the Florence City Council heard mittee meetings, followed by a joint one last round of public comments work session of the council and and made small changes before Planning Commission December 4, choosing to hold a first reading 2023. of proposed ordinances regulating After the City created a transiemergency sheltering, formerly referred to as “homeless camping” in tional housing ordinance to create land use categories for missions, the City of Florence. Community Development Director emergency shelters, and transitional housing, a draft code proposal was Wendy Farley-Campbell went over made to create a temporary shelthe long list of previous meetings, tering program so private property revisions and comments to the proowners could allow limited shelterposed code, which were spurred ing via tent or vehicle under within by legal precedent set in 2018. At certain standards. It also forbids that time, the 9th Circuit Court of sheltering in tents or vehicles on Appeals case, Martin v. City of specific City properties and rights Boise determined that the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution of way and creates a sheltering site “prohibits the imposition of criminal cleanup policy to comply with state law. penalties for sitting, sleeping, or lying outside on public property for homeless individuals who cannot obtain shelter … because sitting, By TONY REED Siuslaw News

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Obituaries — A2 Sports & Lifestyle — B1

Opinion — A3 Classifieds — B7-B8

Why and how

Mayor Rob Ward spoke of the City’s intentions regarding the proposed code changes. “One of the things we wanted to do as a council when we started thiswhatever we did we wanted to show compassion for the people that are homeless. That’s one of our goals,” Ward said, “but we also wanted to show compassion for the people that area affected by those that are homeless. We’re trying to find where that path is between all that and we hope we do. One of the things I don’t ever want to see in Florence is an encampment, where you have a permanent group like you used to see over by Walmart driving into Eugene. We don’t ever want to see anything like that here in Florence.” Ward said that by limiting the time someone can set up camp at night and remove the camp on the morning, they will still have a right to sleep in certain public areas without

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