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Siuslaw NewsWednesday, July 24, 2024 Florence, Oregon

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Number 30 • 133 years

Bid approved for trail construction Carp

Meyer

GOP CAMPAIGN HQ OPENS By TONY REED Siuslaw News

To mark the official opening of the GOP election campaign headquarters in Florence, residents heard from several area Republican politicians. After the crowd of about 20 people recited the Pledge of Allegiance and sang God Bless America, Judy Jensen explained that while watching Laura Ingraham, was inspired to ”don’t get mad, get motivated.” Sherry Harvey explained later that she and Jeff Ashmead ran a campaign headquarters in the same space in 2020. When asked if it would happen again in 2024, she said, “not unless someone takes it on.” Jensen and friend Rene Lopez did just that.

Speakers

John Large, Lane County Republican chair, said he has been in politics about six years. Large said his staff reported increased sales of Make America Great Again merchandise since the attempted shooting of former president Donald Trump on July 13.

PHOTO BY TONY REED

The GOP campaign headquarters in Florence reopened for the 2024 election. Large said his secretary reported that some were afraid to voice conservative support. “We were afraid before, to wear Trump gear, put a sign on their yard or car because they didn’t want to deal with harassment or damage to their property by deranged libtards,”

he read from a note. “She said people are now saying they no longer have any fear. The consensus is, if Trump can take a bullet for us, we can deal with property damage and harassment, so we need to rise to the occasion, don’t slow down for nothing.”

Large told the crowd of about 20 people that the Republican party has great candidates. “We can do this,” he said. “The best thing I like about the candidates See GOP, Page A4

Miss Teen Oregon hits the dunes

By TONY REED Siuslaw News

At its July 15 meeting, the Florence City Council approved a construction bid for an estuary trail constructed of compressed gravel and parking area and trail head located at the southwest corner of the Spruce St. and Hwy. 126 intersection and with an access point on Quince Street. The trail will essentially follow the tree line from just south of Highway 126 near Munsel Creek to Quince Street about a half block south of the Florence Event Center. Public Works Director Mike Miller said bids opened on July 2 and six were received. Showing a map of the area, Miller said the trail will require 12,870 square feet of gravel, 229 lineal feet of curbs and gutters, 1,221 feet of sidewalk and 310 tons of asphalt, among other components. He said about 18 trees will have to be removed. “The low bid was LaskeyClifton,” he said, explaining that staff went through a full background check on bidders. He said the lowest “responsible” bidder may be chosen over the low bidder. He said the company had no bad marks on its record, and had worked on several large projects for cities and state agencies that gave it great reviews Laskey-Clifton also completed projects for the City of Florence during the pandemic, which created some supply difficulties. “What we have budgeted for the project is $250,000,” Miller said, “so we have to come up with some additional funding.”

Make it work

Miller suggested that by delaying some timelines of other projects, the city can use that funding for the trail project. The total amount available would then be $530,000, which is $28,000 more than the engineer’s See BID, Page A3

PHOTOS BY TONY REED

Miss Oregon Teen Ashlyn Hart gets a lesson from Caleb Van Winkle before hitting the dunes behind Fred Meyer. It took Ashlyn Hart only a couple tries to get the hang of sand boarding July 16. SIUSLAW NEWS STAFF

When you think of Miss Oregon Teen , you may think of pageantry, talent competitions and elegant dresses, but few would think of her with a board strapped to her feet, sliding down a sand dune. That’s just what took place July 16 when Miss Oregon Teen, Ashlyn Hart decided

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Obituaries — A2 Sports & Lifestyle — B1

to try her hand at sand boarding. After a quick lesson from Sand Master Park employee Caleb Van Winkle, she was sliding down the tall dunes. After her first run came the inevitable question, “How do I stop?” However, she quickly got the hang of it and was turning, rotating and stopping with no help. Asked

Opinion — A3 Classifieds — B5-B6

later about her experience, Hart said she had a great time. “I’m going to bring my friends out here and see how they do,” she said. “It’s a lot easier getting into it than I thought, because I’m not good at snowboarding. I thought I was going to be bad at it but it was something I’d never done, and living in Florence for 17

years, I’d never gone out on the dunes. I thought it was about time.” She said she’d also like to get her family out on dunes, as well. A lifetime resident of Florence, Hart was crowned Miss Oregon Teen in May and will go on to compete in the Miss Teen USA pageant Aug. 1 in Los Angeles.

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. Our Salute to

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. Police

discuss homeless enforcement

Celebrating Over 30 Years in Real Estate

LOCALLY OWNED AND OPERATED JIM HOBERG Broker/Owner

1870 Hwy. 126, Suite A • PO Box 3040, Florence, OR