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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (May 29, 2019)
8A | WEDNESDAY, MAY 29, 2019 | SIUSLAW NEWS UPGRADES from page 1A shore up every floor and wall in the hospital to en- sure both the immediate safety of our patients, visi- tors and caregivers should an earthquake strike and the continued operation of the hospital in the aftermath of such a disaster.” According to Peace Har- bor Emergency Manage- ment Coordinator and Manager of Facilities Pat Kirby, “It’s always been my fear that we wake up one morning and we’re going to be rushing to the hos- pital with an earthquake happening. What we have is a hospital that was built in 1989. It was about the same time the State of Ore- gon was starting to upgrade their building codes to meet more seismic resilience, taking after California and their earthquakes.” At the time, research on the Cascadia Subduction Zone was still in its infan- cy — lawmakers were re- acting to incidents such as the Loma Prieta, Calif., earthquake which killed 63 and caused $6 billion worth of damage. It wasn’t until research came in the late 1990s that the true dangers of Cascadia were known. “In 2001, the Oregon State Legislature started to build a program for build- ings to start to get upgrad- ed,” said Kirby. “The grants for the funding have been available since 2010. Every year they’ve offered grants for seismic upgrades for first responding police de- partments and public build- ings that would have a cer- tain volume of people, like schools. In 2013, we started getting on the bandwagon and realizing we needed to get the hospital upgraded.” The upgrades will not be campus wide, instead focus- ing on the main facility at 400 Ninth St. “The grant is only eligi- ble for special critical access hospitals, and clinics don’t count,” Kirby said. The upgrades, which are expected to begin in De- cember or January and will last until 2021, will focus on retrofitting footings in 47 locations within the hos- pital and placing new wall anchors in more than 50 lo- cations. “Work will be done in every department within the hospital,” Hawkins said. “We will make sure the con- struction plan is designed in a way to minimize the impact on delivery of care. We expect to continue to of- fer our full range of medical services throughout the du- ration of the project.” He added, “Any short- term inconvenience will be well worth it, given the criti- cal need for these potential- ly life-saving upgrades.” If a Cascadia event does occur in the interim, Kirby suspects there could be crit- ical damage to the facility. “It may not collapse, but it may be enough damage to the point where we may not be able to use the build- ing after an earthquake,” he said. “Earthquakes are hit and miss with the damage they cause, but there will probably be a lot of shak- Let me Showcase your property. In 2019 we will be celebrating the 80th anniversary of our business in Florence. It is time to express the appreciation and gratitude we feel, and have always felt, for the friendship, trust and loyalty of those who live in this community. It is your confi dence in us and your continued patronage that has made these 80 years such a pleasurable experience. Th ank you. Johnston Motor Company Since 1939 Brian Jagoe Principal Broker 541 999-1314 91 Windleaf Way – Beautiful .31 acre lot in the wonderful community of Heceta South. This is a great opportunity to build your dream home close to the beach. Seller is willing to carry, so bring us an offer and start planning your future in Flor- ence. $68,000. #2797-18615048 2150 Hwy. 101 • Florence (541) 997-3475 • 1-800-348-3475 & shoppe play buy stay 1749 Highway 101 • 541-997-1200 Keep it local. By Supporting Florence Regional Arts Alliance 120 Maple Street Florence, Oregon 97439 541-999-0859 AUTOMOTIVE EVENT CENTER Florence Events Center 715 Quince Street Florence, Oregon 97439 541-997-1994 FINANCIAL SERVICES Hoberg’s Complete Auto Repair 345 Hwy. 101 Florence, Oregon 97439 541-997-2413 Edward Jones-Andy Baber, AAMS Financial Advisor 1010 Highway 101 541-997-8755 Petersen Auto Detailing Florence, Oregon, 97439 541-999-6078 Oregon Pacific Bank 1355 Highway 101 Florence, Oregon 97439 541-997-7121 www.opbc.com CHAMBER Florence Area Chamber of Commerce 290 Hwy 101 Florence, Oregon 97439 541-997-3128 www.florencechamber.com CHARITABLE GIVING Salvation Army - Western Lane County PO Box 1041 Florence Or 97439 1-800-481-3280 CHURCH Cross Road Assembly of God 1380 10th St Florence, Oregon 97439 541-997-3533 Florence Church of Christ 1833 Tamarack St. Florence, Oregon 97439 541-997-3133 DENTURIST DentureMasters & Implant Center Dr. James Ridley,DDS 206 Nopal Street Florence, Oregon 97439 541-997-6226 Denture Services 524 Laurel Street Florence, Oregon 97439 541-997-6054 ESTATE SALES Cindy Wobbe Estate Sales 498 Hwy. 101 Florence OR 97439 541-999-0126 www.CindyWobbeEstates.com that scared me,” he said. In 2016, Kirby said Peace Harbor asked DOGAMI to reevaluate the area sur- rounding the hospital “so we can plan for it. It’s a tough decision to make if you have an earthquake and you have to evacuate the hospital, that’s a whole different ball- park than staying here to de- fend and keep operating … If we were in it, we wanted to know.” DOGAMI looked at a worst-case scenario — Cas- cadia level earthquake di- rectly off the coast during high tide with a storm. The hospital was still outside of the zone, resting in a geo- graphical sweet spot. “The river makes a big ‘S’ shape, but also at the same time there’s over a mile of flats and sand dunes out here off the river site,” Kirby said. “Unfortunately, [parts of] Greentrees and the Coast Guard station will get the big blunt of the tsuna- mi wave. It hits that, swirls around, then travels up the river. But the wave itself will pass us by because we’re on the backside of the ‘S.’” With the seismic up- grades and safety from a tsunami, Hawkins stated that Peace Harbor will be- come a vital part of disaster relief. “This will be a safe haven for our community to come and get care,” he said. “This will be a sanctuary for when people need us the most. We’ll be here.” Your Community Support ART ALLIANCE ing in this building that will cause quite a bit of damage.” However, major portions of Peace Harbor have al- ready been upgraded. “As we’ve done upgrades to the hospital in the [emer- gency and radiology de- partments], we took that opportunity to make sure we went back and seismi- cally upgraded those areas,” Kirby said. “We’ve had so many upgrades with all the new building codes added to it, which adds strength to the hospital as a whole, even though the hospital isn’t seismically upgraded. In my mind, I would think we would fare well in a smaller earthquake.” The one thing that Peace Harbor will likely not have to worry about is a tsunami. Early in the decade, the Or- egon Department of Geol- ogy and Mineral Industries (DOGAMI) began doing serious mapping on tsunami inundation scenarios. “They used a lot of re- sources and did some very good analysis up and down the coast,” Kirby said. “They spent quite a bit of time go- ing through the layout of the land: The ocean, the shelf, how far the fault is out there and the depth of water.” When the map was re- leased in 2013, Peace Har- bor was not listed in the tsunami zone, which Kirby found odd — the Siuslaw River is located just 100 feet from the hospital property. “We’re dang close, and FUNERAL CHAPEL Burns’s Riverside Chapel 2765 Kingwood St. Florence, Oregon 97439 541-997-3416 Dunes Memorial Chapel 2300 Frontage Road Reedsport, Oregon 97467 541-271-2822 GARBAGE & RECYCLING County Transfer & Recycling 85040 Hwy. 101 Florence, Oregon 97439 541-997-8233 HAIR SALON U R Worth It 1247 Bay St Florence Or 97439 541-997-7377 HEATING/SHEET METAL Florence Heating & Sheet Metal 1645 Kingwood St 541-997-2422 HUMANE SOCIETY Oregon Coast Humane Society 541-997-4277 Shelter 2840 Rhododendron Dr. Thrift Store 1193 Bay St. Local Businesses INSURANCE Abel Insurance Agency 875 Hwy 101 Florence, OR 97439 541-997-3466 www.abelinsuranceagency.com NEWSPAPERS Siuslaw News 148 Maple Street Florence, Oregon 97439 541-997-3441 www.thesiuslawnews.com PEST CONTROL Swanson’s Pest Management 1550 15th St #14 Florence, Oregon 97439 541-997-4027 PET GROOMING/BOARDING Aloha Pet Grooming 1751 12th Street Florence, Oregon 97439 541-997-2726 REAL ESTATE Coldwell Banker Coast Real Estate Lynnette Wikstrom, Broker 100 Hwy 101 Florence, Oregon 97439 541-999-0786 West Coast Real Estate Services, Inc. 1870 Hwy. 126, Suite A Florence, Oregon 97439 541-997-SOLD (7653) REC. VEHICLES SERV. & REPAIR Florence RV & Automotive Specialists 4390 Hwy 101 Florence, Oregon 97439 541-997-8287 www.FlorenceRV.com www.shoppelocal.biz RESTAURANT 1285 Restobar 1285 Bay St, Florence, Oregon 97439 (541) 902-8338 Bay View Bistro at Best Western 85625 Hwy 101 Florence Or 97439 541-997-7191 Bridgewater Ocean Fresh Fish House & Zebra Bar 1297 Bay Street Florence, OR 97439 (541) 997-1133 RETIREMENT LIVING The Shorewood 1451 Spruce St. Florence, Oregon 97439 (541) 997-8202 shorewoodsl.com SEAFOOD Krab Kettle 270 Hwy 101 Florence, Oregon 97439 541-997-8996 SEPTIC SERVICE Wally’s Septic Tank Pumping Inc. 541-997-8885 SHOES & CLOTHING Stitch & Sole 1377 Bay Street, Old Town Florence, Oregon 97439 541-997-7463 TIRES Les Schwab Tire Center 4325 Highway 101 Florence, Oregon, 97439 (541) 997-7178
