Nation’s newest Coast Guard City, Aug. 16

The Coast Guard will be designating the City of Florence as an official Coast Guard City at a ceremony scheduled to be held at the Florence Events Center, Wednesday, at 11 a.m. The city will be accepted as the 24th official Coast Guard City and the third one in Oregon joining Astoria and Newport. The ceremony which will be presided over by Rear Adm. David Throop, commander, Coast Guard 13th District, who will then be available to the media for a short time after the ceremony. There will be a Coast Guard MH-65 Dolphin helicopter, a 29-foot Response Boat-Small II and a 26-foot Trailerable Aids to Navigation Boat on display during the ceremony. Coast Guard City designations are part of an official program to recognize the special efforts of local communities and what they do for the men and women of the service. Coast Guard City applications are prepared by the requesting city government officials and sent to the commandant of the Coast Guard for consideration. The designation of the City of Florence coincides with the 100-year anniversary of Coast Guard Station Siuslaw River, which was established in the community, Dec. 14, 1917, when Capt. Theodore Roberge from the Coast Guard Station Cape Disappointment was appointed as the “Keeper” of Station Siuslaw River. Appetizers will be available to the public starting at 10:30 a.m. Following the ceremony, personnel at Station Siuslaw River will he hosting an open to the public open house starting at 12:30 p.m.