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NOVEMBER
126TH YEAR ❘ ISSUE NO. 9
SERVING WESTERN LANE COUNTY SINCE 1890
6
FLORENCE, OREGON
Florence experiences dramatic rise in HIV, flu
B Y J ACK D AVIS
Siuslaw News
ane County Public Health
Services (LCPHS) has discov-
ered five new cases of Human
Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) in
Florence over the past month, a dra-
matic rise over historic averages.
According to LCPHS Information
Officer Jason Davis, from 2006 to
2015, there were only 118 cases report-
ed in Florence. That averaged to one
case per month.
“We have been tracking on (the five
individuals) to try and figure out a rela-
tionship,” Davis said. “Once we had a
potential hypothesis that these cases
were connected, we went ahead and
consulted with our community partners
and decided to take a more broad
approach to alert the Florence commu-
nity to work to reduce the number and
spread of HIV in Florence.”
Davis said the five cases have ties to
one individual, and there were two fac-
tors involved. One is intravenous drug
use. The other is unprotected sex.
According to Davis, Florence does
not currently have a free 24-hour test-
ing resource, but LCPHS is working
L
with
PeaceHealth
Peace Harbor Medical
Recent outbreaks of HIV,
Center and the HIV
syphilis and influenza
Alliance in Eugene to
concern health officials in
establish local testing
Florence and Lane County,
for HIV.
especially as each disease
“We are still setting
is preventable.
up the facility at
Peace
Harbor
Hospital. We hope to
have that up and
going within a matter
of days,” Davis said.
“We are working with
them to offer an open
door, no judgment
pass for people with-
out insurance or
money to get tested.”
In the meantime,
people can call the
HIV Alliance at 541-
342-5088. It will pro-
vide information and
a timeline on where
and how to get tested.
establishing a local needle exchange
“When you call the HIV Alliance, program.
identify to them that you are from
“When you call, they will give a site
Florence and that you are looking for within the county where their van will
ways to get tested,” Davis said.
do a ‘no questions asked’ and no iden-
He said the HIV Alliance is also tity required needle exchange,” Davis
COURTESY PHOTO
said.
Davis’s biggest frustration is that
HIV is preventable if proper precau-
tions are taken.
“We urge people to use condoms and
also take advantage of needle exchange
H ONEYMAN S TATE P ARK
Woahink turf target of vandalism
B Y M ARK B RENNAN
Siuslaw News
epeated acts of vandal-
ism at Lake Woahink
have
prompted
Oregon’s park service to ask
the public for assistance in
deterring future incidents of
destruction.
Justin Helberg, a park ranger
at Jessie M. Honeyman
Memorial State Park, reported
that vandals have struck the
picnic areas in the East
Woahink area of the Park.
“The day use area has been
impacted by some turf vandals
coming and driving on the
large open spaces throughout
the park, devastating the
resource in a manner that is
going to be really difficult to
recover from,” he said.
And while most incidents of
PHOTOS BY MARK BRENNAN/SIUSLAW NEWS
vandalism are one-time affairs,
Honeyman State Park Ranger Justin Helberg
that doesn’t appear to be the
shows some of the damaged turf vandals left
case here.
behind after driving on open spaces in the
“This is at least the sixth or
East Woahink Lake day use areas.
seventh time that we have had
resource damage, particularly done to the involved may not realize the impact the
turf by driving on it,” Helberg said. “And “joy riding” has on the turf and the larger
unfortunately each event has escalated in eco system.
“It seems like maybe a harmless thing
scale.”
While Helberg believes the acts are to do, but the first time it happened, I
intentional, he feels that the individuals spent at least six hours doing turf repair,
An official ballot
dropbox is at Florence
Justice Center, 900
Greenwood St.
INSIDE
B9
A9
A4
B4
Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A2
Religion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A5
Sideshow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B8
Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B
THIS WEEK ’ S
Dickerson takes over
as Siuslaw Valley
operations chief
Siuslaw News
iuslaw Valley
Fire and
Rescue’s
new Operations
Chief James L.
Dickerson began
work Monday,
Oct. 31, replacing
retiring 35-year
Siuslaw Valley
veteran Marvin
Tipler, who fin-
ished his last day
JACK DAVIS/SIUSLAW NEWS
yesterday.
Dickerson was
Siuslaw Valley Operations Chief
previously the
James L. Dickerson
Training Chief for
the Netarts Rural
were three distinct areas I was
Fire Protection District. He
looking at and Florence was
was selected from seven
No. 1 on the list.”
applicants for the position in
In addition to his creden-
Florence.
tials as a firefighter,
Siuslaw Valley Fire Chief
Dickerson is a member of the
Jim Langborg said, “James
U.S. Coast Guard Reserve
was very attractive to us. He
and is trained in water rescue.
came with a lot of experience.
“He has a very strong back-
He has experience both with
ground,” Langborg said. “He
career departments as well as
ran the Firesides program at
volunteer departments. We are Tillamook Community
excited to have him on
College. He also ran their
board.”
Emergency Medical
According to Langborg, the Technician program.”
operations chief oversees the
Langborg was also
operations of the district,
impressed with Dickerson’s
including everything that
experience with both career
comprises a response: equip-
and volunteer fire depart-
ment, training, deployment,
ments.
procedures and personnel
“As we grow as an organi-
management.
zation, at some point we may
Dickerson, 38, said, “I’m
have personnel on shifts, so
extremely happy to be here.
having someone with that
When I first decided to come
to the Pacific Northwest, there
See OPERATIONS 11A
S
along with other staff members that were
donating their time,” Helberg said.
The upkeep and maintenance of the
public areas is the primary responsibil-
ity of the park rangers and Helberg and
his colleagues take that duty seriously.
He said, “Park employees are here to
protect the resource and to provide safe
spaces for recreation that are scenic and
esthetic in value. This is one of those
spaces.”
The repair for the vandalized areas
is not a simple process. It will take
months to return the turf to its original
condition.
TURF 11A
TODAY
SUNDAY
MONDAY
TUESDAY
58 50
60 51
66 54
62 52
WEATHER
Full Forecast, A3
OUTBREAK 11A
B Y J ACK D AVIS
See
Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Coastal Events . . . . . . . . . .
Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Photo of the Week . . . . . . .
See
New operations chief started Monday
R
Tuesday, Nov. 8, is
Election Day
Don’t forget to vote!
programs,” Davis said. “If people
choose to use intravenous drugs, they
should do so with a clean needle and do
not share needles.”
HIV/AIDS has seen a resurgence in
the last decade. Davis said about 62
percent of the population of men who
have sex with men and who have HIV
do not use protection.
“HIV in the ’80s and ’90s was a
death sentence and people took it very
seriously,” Davis said. “Our rates of
protected sex were very high and that
really helped the downturn of
HIV/AIDS in the U.S.
“However, in the late ’90s and up
until now, we have been developing
better treatments for HIV/AIDS so it is
no longer a death sentence — it is a life
sentence. You still have it, but it is treat-
able, like diabetes or other life-long dis-
eases. This has lessened the concern
and, as a result of that thinking, we
have seen a drop off of condom use and
other safe sex practices,” he added.
One of the other health concerns fac-
ing Florence is a high number of flu
cases at Siuslaw Middle School and
other area schools.
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CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK
Lane County Public Health worried over high levels of 3 preventable diseases in Florence area