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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (May 16, 2020)
SIUSLAW NEWS | SATURDAY, MAY 16, 2020 | 5A REP from page 1A contagious passengers in the middle of a global pandemic?” DeFazio wrote in his letter. “I appreciate that even in the ab- sence of leadership from the executive branch, many air- lines have voluntarily taken on measures to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 to pro- tect crewmembers and those who still need to travel during this health crisis. I urge you to continue to put health and well-being first.” The pandemic has been a major focus of the represen- tative for the past few months. His contributions to the latest version of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Se- curity (CARES) Act legislative support package were tailored to address concerns regarding medical workers, small busi- nesses, Native Peoples and lower-wage earners. DeFazio has given particu- lar focus to assuring workers in small businesses are receiv- ing the support envisioned when the CARES package was passed. SCHOOLS from page 1A “I never met Hyak before. I went to Hyak to ask them for help for this issue,” he said. “I went to them because they were the only company in town with the ability to fulfill the need I see, which would be students that are going to face a huge financial burden next year.” Rosinbaum stated that Hyak will be putting fiber op- tic candles throughout the re- gion with or without the help of the district. “One of the things we asked for initially was, ‘How fast could you get it done?’ — thinking we might need connectivity come Septem- ber,” he said. “The answer was, ‘Probably not much fast- “The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) has provid- ed Oregon’s small businesses a critical lifeline as they deal with the economic impacts of the coronavirus pandem- ic. But it was clear that more assistance to small business- es was needed,” DeFazio said. “With passage of this legislation, we’ll add more than $300 billion to the PPP, and I’m proud that we were able to secure $60 billion for small and mid-sized banks, credit unions and communi- ty-based lending institutions to ensure that unbanked and underserved businesses that have been pushed to the back of the line can access this vital program.” The safety of medical work- ers has also been a subject of heated discussion across the nation and there was some additional assistance added to this week’s third CARES in- stallment that included what DeFazio considered to be crit- ical. “While I believe even more funding is needed, I’m also pleased the bill includes $75 billion in relief to hospitals and healthcare providers to cover expenses or lost revenue attributable to COVID-19, and $25 billion to expand our nation’s COVID-19 testing capacity, $11 billion of which will go directly to states and localities to help them bol- ster testing shortfalls in their communities,” he said. “Wide- spread testing is the key to fighting this virus, reopening the economy and, above all else, protecting the health and wellbeing of Americans so that we can safely begin to re- sume our normal lives.” The latest relief package also secures $37 million for direct support to Oregonians working in the construction and fabrication sectors of the economy. DeFazio has also pushed back strongly against com- plaints from the Trump ad- ministration regarding the work done by the U.S. Postal Service. “Throughout the corona- virus pandemic, Americans and businesses around the country have depended on a reliable Postal Service, es- pecially customers in rural areas and seniors who count on six-day and door-to-door service for their mail and pre- scription medications,” said DeFazio. “Unfortunately, the COVID-19 crisis has threat- ened the survival of the USPS and placed its vital services for the millions who rely on it at risk. In any subsequent re- lief legislation, Congress must ensure that this vital agency has the financial security to continue its essential opera- tions.” DeFazio also recently received an important en- dorsement from Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants, in his primary bid. Nelson believes that many jobs were saved due to his work in this area. “I want voters in this dis- trict to know that the historic workers-first relief package that saved 2.1 million jobs is thanks to Congressman De- Fazio,” she said. “He was our first, loudest and most dedi- cated advocate in Congress.” DeFazio told Siuslaw News he is also concerned that mu- nicipalities facing reduced revenue from taxes garnered through room taxes and re- duced spending in their com- munities may be unable to provide basic services for their communities. “Today, our county gov- ernments are not only deal- ing with an unprecedented uptick in the demand for es- sential services but are doing so during an unprecedented economic downturn that has caused considerable hard- ship and growing shortfalls in tax revenue,” DeFazio said. “These realities place a strain on the budgets of our counties at a time when citizens need their support the most. Mov- ing forward, we must empow- er our local governments with greater flexibility to spend federal relief dollars as they see fit, including to help make up for the loss of expected tax revenues or other unexpected budget shortfalls.” For more information about DeFazio, visit defazio. house.gov. er than what we can do now, but we’ll see what we can do with a second crew.’ No mat- ter what we do here, Hyak is going to be building out their network. It just might not be more conducive to our stu- dents.” Ultimately, Rosinbaum said the goal was to educate students. “We’re more than likely going to see some form of continued distance learning going forward,” he said. “If we don’t have a way to com- municate with our students, I don’t see how we can educate. I don’t think this idea of send- ing work home and getting it back two days later is real- ly conducive to meeting the educational needs of our stu- dents going forward for the next year or two. … And if we’re not educating students, I’m not really sure what our purpose is.” The public comment on the possible deal was split, though all who that spoke at Wednesday’s meeting brought up concerns about the financial difficulties the district would face. One public commentator stated that it was important and honorable for the district to be considering connectiv- ity, but there were issues of equality. “If we’re going to give it free to some kids, and oth- ers are going to be paying, equality should be across the board,” they said. “It isn’t fair that some people have to be paying for their education while others are getting it for free. I think you need to be thinking about providing it across the board for the staff, because staff is paying for it. And there are staff members that are really tight budgeted as well.” Teacher Tamara Carpeni- to was concerned that if the budget shortfalls were too extreme, educators could lose their jobs. School bus driver James Neider, who is also the union president of classified staff at the district, said that teachers were seeing an overall drop off of kids working with their Chromebook laptop comput- ers. Members of the school board decided they needed more information before they made a decision. “I think it’s something we need to explore and talk about,” said Bob Sneddon. “I don’t see us jumping into this right this second. We’re in the information gathering stage. … I think distance learning is going to be with us for a long, long time. I think it is part of our role to explore that; how- ever, it’s an awful lot of money for the district to lay out over the five years. I don’t know if it is the school district’s re- sponsibility to foot that entire bill.” Fellow board member Su- zanne Mann-Heintz suggest- ed the district look for part- nerships on the project. “To me, it seems like if we want to have fiber optic cable, which is the way of the future as it’s more reliable than other sources, it’s got the speed and there are lots of advantages,” she said. “But I kind of feel like if we want to bring that into Florence areas where students live, there should be some partnerships involved. There are other municipal agencies that could benefit from having this available. … Maybe the City of Florence wants to jump in, maybe the hospital wants to jump in.” Regarding partnerships, Florence Councilor Joshua Greene, speaking on his own behalf and not for the city, stated that he loves the idea of fiber in the community, but agreed that the district should look for partnerships. “I think some of the things that have been said tonight, about possibly partnering with other entities, or find- ing other people to help less- en the financial burden is a worthwhile pursuit,” he said. “I would certainly not recom- mend throwing in the towel. I encourage you to work local- ly. Maybe the way you pres- ent this package, there might be a way to make it more attractive to other parties. I can’t speak on behalf of the city, but I would be happy to take it to them and champion the cause. But at the end of the day, that’s a decision that needs to be made by the city council, and there has to be a work session.” Rosinbaum stated that if there is a solution to the problem, it should be coming from state or federal govern- ments. “But we don’t sit on any of those boards. We sit on this board, and it’s a problem we’re going to have to deal with if nobody else does,” he said. Siuslaw School Board de- cided to hold a work session on the issue next Wednesday, and tasked the administra- tion with gathering as much information as possible. This could include getting feed- back from other entities that could provide internet. “The intermediate steps is, in essence, a request for in- formation,” Rosinbaum said. “The board defines the prob- lem, puts it out to companies to get a real quick overview of what they could and could not provide in the area. And we’ll see who is interested in even tackling the problem without going to a proposal or bid. Really, it’s a little more of an expanded process of what we did with Hyak. Can you prove the concept for us?” Another component for Wednesday’s work session will be the school’s budget. While Director of Finance and Operations Officer Kari Blake was able to provide a draft budget for the next year, there are still unknowns. “I want to be optimis- tic about this. I feel like the state, at least for the next year, will likely tap into rainy day funds,” she said. “Looking at their plans, they’re doing some shifting internally with ODE to save some money.” But the $3 million in re- serve funds that the school currently will most likely be slashed due to a number of factors. “People are feeling like the property tax collection is probably going to be down by a little bit,” she said, which would decrease revenue by around 2 percent. Both federal and state grant funding for specific programs will most likely be cut, and it’s still unknown how much state funding will be affected by the shutdowns — A state financial report is due out on May 20, which will give the district a better understand- ing of where they stand. “Essentially, while we have some reserves, I basically had to scrap $1 million out of the budget and we do not have those reserves any longer,” Blake said. “It’s almost a per- fect storm converging with- out knowing 100 percent of the feds and the state.” To contact the Siuslaw School District, visit siuslaw. k12.or.ur. Faith – Friendship - Fellowship – Fun CHURCH DIRECTORY To include your organization in this directory, please call us @ 541-997-3441 THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS 2705 Munsel Lake Rd, Services 10 AM Sunday All are welcome! 541-999-1979. Bishop Larry Farnsworth FOURSQUARE CHURCH 1624 Highway 101 (next to A&W) –- 997-6337 Pastor George Pagel – Something for the entire family. Sun. Services: 10:45 a.m., Wed. Bible Study 6pm-7pm Website:florence4square.com COMMUNITY BAPTIST CHURCH 4590 Hwy. 101, Across from Fred Meyer –- 997-7418 Sunday School, 9:30a.m. – Worship, 10:45 Wed. Prayer - 6:00 p.m. – Wed. Ministries 1-8 Grade 7 p.m. NEW LIFE LUTHERAN CHURCH, E.L.C.A. 21st & Spruce Street – 997-8113 Pastor Rachel Simonson – All are welcome Church leadership has decided to cancel all worship services (Wednesdays included) between now and the end of April. Sermons are on YouTube at https://youtu.be/jcTJVWp_6ps. www.florencenewlife Lutheran.org CROSS ROAD ASSEMBLY OF GOD Corner of 10th & Maple –997-3533 We will be live streaming from Facebook at 10am Sunday morning. Link to our website https://www.florencecrossroadag.org/church-online All other platforms will be update after the service. florencecrossroadag.org office@florencecrossroadag.org FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH - SBC 1935 25th St. – 997-7660 • Pastor, Ron Allen Services on Facebook live Sunday’s at 11:00 am Wednesday’s at 6:00 pm All Bible studies held at the church including Sunday morning, Thursday Ladies study, and Children’s Programs are suspended. Blessings on you and your family. PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF THE SIUSLAW 3996 N Hwy 101 997-7136 Traditional Worship Service 10:00 a.m. , Reverend Greg Wood Worship services and all group meetings in the church have been temporarily suspended at least until the end of March. Our 10am Sunday worship service will be available via Zoom using your phone, tablet or computer. Church members and friends will be called this week and given phone in/logon information. You can also call the church office for this information. All Welcome. Come as you are. RELIGIOUS SOCIETY OF FRIENDS (QUAKERS) “War is still not the answer.” FCNL FLORENCE CHRISTIAN CHURCH Since we meet in homes, we are taking a mindful pause. 2nd & Ivy – 997-2961 –Non-Denominational Call 997-4237 or 902-9511 for information. Services suspended this week. We will continue to meet as The Church through our Community RESURRECTION LUTHERAN CHURCH, Groups. We are working on options for you and will L.C.M.S. communicate that with you soon. Every Sun., Bible Class 9 a.m., Worship Service 10 a.m. 85294 Hwy. 101 S. – 997-8038 FLORENCE CHURCH OF CHRIST DVD of Weekly worship service available. Pre-Denominational (Romans 16:16) Pastor Randy Benscoter 1833 Tamarack Street (2 blocks east of Hwy. 101 on 18th St.) ST. ANDREW’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH Bible Study: Sunday 10 a.m.; Worship: Sunday 11 a.m. 2135 19th St. –- 997-6600 www.churchofchristflorence.org 8:30am, Tuesdays, Morning Prayer Sunday Services: 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. - Wed, 11 a.m. FLORENCE CHURCH OF THE NAZARENE Everyone Welcome – Come walk our Labyrinth. 12th and Nopal – 997-9020 Services will be available via YouTube. SAINT MARY, OUR LADY OF THE DUNES Follow the link at http://florencenaz.church/ CATHOLIC CHURCH 1.5 miles south of river on Hwy 101 – 997-2312 FLORENCE EVANGELICAL CHURCH COVID-19 Compliant Masses have been scheduled. 1318 Rhododendron Dr. • 541-997-2523 Please call our office for details. Sunday Service 11am ( Children Sunday School) Mid-Week Activities, all ages. FLORENCE SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST 4445 Hwy 101 (South of Fred Meyer) – 997-3951 Worship on Saturday 10:30 A.M. Adult/Children’s Sabbath School 9:15 A.M. FLORENCE UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST FELLOWSHIP 87738 Hwy 101 at Heceta Beach Road All are welcome to explore the answer. In lieu of our regular service, we will be videotaping the sermon and have it available from YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/ UC1h3s3lhuRKRCXNxbF8H3Nw). www.FlorenceUUF.org - (541) 997.2840 FLORENCE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH 2nd & Kingwood • (541) 997-6025 Link to Sunday services at www.florenceunitedmethodist.org or find us on Facebook. Give us a call 541-997-3441 to get us your updates or email to: mberg@thesiuslawnews.com Siuslaw News + Next week in the Siuslaw News, look for more infor- mation on the school dis- trict’s mobile food service, the state of online schooling and the length of the school year. TheSiuslawNews.com www.shoppelocal.biz