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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 1, 2017)
❘ / SIUSLAWNEWS ❘ @ SIUSLAWNEWS WEDNESDAY EDITION ❘ FEBRUARY 1, 2017 ❘ $1.00 VIKS BOWL ON TO STATE FEBRUARY COAST CENTRAL SPORTS — B A&E — INSIDE 127TH YEAR ❘ ISSUE NO. 9 SERVING WESTERN LANE COUNTY SINCE 1890 2017 S TATE OF THE C ITY OF FLORENCE, OREGON F LORENCE COMMUNITY HEALTH Immunization ‘Exclusion Day’ arrives on Feb. 15 Schools require up-to-date vaccination records for school attendance after that date T PHOTOS BY JACK DAVIS/SIUSLAW NEWS Florence Mayor Joe Henry addresses a crowd of 150 at Florence Events Center as he presents the annual State of the City. The vision of ‘A City in Motion’ becomes a reality B Y J ACK D AVIS Siuslaw News lorence Mayor Joe Henry gave the State of the City address at the Florence Events Center (FEC) Monday evening, focusing on the city’s work plan, goals and current and future projects. Approximately 150 people attended the event that part- nered with the Florence Area Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours hosted by the FEC and catered by Pavilion Catering. At the beginning of the evening, Chamber Executive Director Bettina Hannigan thanked the City of Florence for being a collaborative team with the chamber and its mem- bers. Boy Scout Troupe 721 pre- sented the American and State of Oregon flags and led the F Pledge of Allegiance. The evening officially kicked off with a new “The City in Motion” video by Gary and Cyndie Quinn, featuring inter- views by the Florence City Council, city staff and commu- nity members. City Manager Erin Reynolds introduced the mayor. “During this presentation, you will see that the City of Florence is not just any govern- ment, but your city — A City in Motion,” she said. Henry said, “Early on we talked about our dream of being a ‘City in Motion.’ You will see our dream is no longer a dream, instead it is a daily reality and has turned into action and results. ... In early 2015 a new council took over and created a city work plan based on seven city council goals and our City Mission. ... In 2016 the city streamlined that work plan down to five eral “once in a generation” goals.” projects in the works, including Those goals are: City Service ReVision Florence, the new Delivery; Livability and Public Works facility on Quality of Life; Economic Kingwood Street and the City Development; Communication Hall remodel project. and Trust; and Financial and According to Henry, the city Organizational Sustainability. is also expanding utility servic- With the help of a “Our dream of being ‘A City in Motion’ is no power point presentation, longer a dream. Instead, it is a daily reality Henry and has turned into action and results.” walked the — F LORENCE M AYOR J OE H ENRY audience through the five goals, explaining what has es to the north and east, bring- been accomplished and what is ing services to properties still envisioned. recently brought into the city. He acknowledged the hard Under Livability and Quality work and dedication of city of Life, Henry said the employees and volunteers. Community Development Henry said, “Over 90 percent Department has revised Title of the City’s budget goes to 10 City Code — creating operating the various city serv- streamlined and over the counter ices.” He also said the city has sev- See CITY 7A hrough recent communications, Siuslaw and Mapleton School Districts reminded parents and guardians of school age children, from preschool through high school, that “Exclusion Day” arrives on Wednesday, Feb. 15. This is the day that parents and students have to provide verification of all required age B Y M ARK B RENNAN specific vaccines, or furnish Siuslaw News school officials with the state approved certifications for either a Medical or Non- Medical exemption to immuniza- tion. Students who are unable to provide this information will not be allowed to attend school until the proper documenta- tion is turned in to school authorities. The Mapleton and Siuslaw schools have previously dis- tributed information regarding the required vaccines and the suggested immunization age. Mapleton School Superintendent Jodi O’Mara said, “Prior to the current school year, all parents fill out or sup- ply immunization records for that student. The school med- ical staff then reviews those records and informs parents of needed immunizations.” These assessments are usually given to the student’s par- ents by Feb. 1, allowing time for students to receive the missing vaccinations. This process does not apply for those that have requested and received exemptions to immuniza- tions. All Non-Medical exemption requests have to be submit- ted prior to “Exclusion Day.” These requests should consist of a Certification of Immunization Status and a Vaccine Education Certificate, attained after meeting with a health care practitioner or from the on-line vaccine education module. Students that attend Siuslaw schools should have already received notifications of needed vaccinations, according to Siuslaw School Superintendent Andy Grzeskowski. “The biggest issue that we run into is parents trying to schedule appointments with the doctor at the last minute to get the vaccinations,” Grzeskowski said. “But parents don’t have to wait for a regular appointment with their doctor, immunizations can be given by laboratory staff on short notice.” The Center for Disease Control encourages immuniza- tion for all students and cites a direct linkage between high immunization rates and a community’s ability to fight numerous illnesses. It also reports that as recently as 2014, Oregon had the nation’s highest rate of Non-Medical Student Immunization Exemptions at 7.1 percent. See SCHOOLS 7A Port holds special meeting, delays decision on storage shed removal Board of Commissioners give Port Manager Steven Leskin high marks in annual performance evaluation ort of Siuslaw commission- ers met for a special session Monday, Jan. 30, to determine the fate of the two blue metal storage buildings located in the center of the port’s campground and to review the port manag- er’s annual performance evalu- ation. Prior to the discussion on the storage sheds, Port of Siuslaw Harbor Master Tracey David gave commissioners a tour of the structures. In addition to leasing dry storage space to others, the port also uses the sheds for port vehicle and boat storage and to house the port’s maintenance operations. David addressed the myriad structural problems confronting INSIDE P Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Community . . . . . . . . . . . . . Library Tidings . . . . . . . . . . . Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B6 A3 A5 A4 Port of Siuslaw Harbor Master Tracey David (center) points out structural defects to port commissioners Terry Duman (left) and David Huntington in one of two port-owned storage sheds. B Y J ACK D AVIS Siuslaw News the 43-year-old corrugated steel sheds, including dry rot, roof damage, winter flooding of the exposed gravel floor and copious quantities of feces from nesting birds. Port Manager Steven Leskin proposed the port tear down the two aging structures and replace them with dry camping sites. According to Leskin, the storage sheds bring in approximately $20,000 in annual revenue. “We estimate that replac- ing the storage sheds with dry camping will be about a Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A2 Scoreboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . B4 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B Weather Data . . . . . . . . . . . A2 JACK DAVIS/SIUSLAW NEWS THIS WEEK ’ S TODAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY 48 36 47 40 50 45 51 44 WEATHER Full Forecast, A3 dollar to dollar replace- ment,” Leskin said. Leskin proposed moving the maintenance operations and port storage into the third blue storage building, cur- rently occupied by Vintage Blue Warehouse Estate Sales located at 80 Harbor St. Patricia Sapp acquired Vintage Blue Warehouse Estate Sales in December and is seeking to renew a one- year lease on the property. The prior lease expired January 1. After some lively discus- sion on possible maintenance, improvements and lease options, commissioners agreed to postpone the removal of the sheds and offer Sapp a one-year lease. In other business, President Ron Caputo summarized the results of the port manager annual performance evaluations completed by the commission- ers and port staff. With few exceptions, Leskin received positive ratings in all categories. S IUSLAW N EWS 2 S ECTIONS ❘ 24 P AGES C OPYRIGHT 2017 See PORT 7A CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM
