2020
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SIUSLAW NEWS:
A LOOK B ACK AT 130 Y EARS
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WEDNESDAY EDITION | JULY 29, 2020 | $1.00
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Florence
officially has
18 cases of
COVID-19
Siuslaw News
NEWS &
VIEWS THAT
DEFINE OUR
COMMUNITY
VOL. 130, NO. 60
F LORENCE , O REGON
Businesses reopen
after testing,
deep cleaning
WEATHER
By Mark Brennan
Siuslaw News
The COVID pandemic has
clearly arrived in Florence.
Multiple businesses have closed
in the past week as a result of
COVID-19 exposure concerns
and to test employees for the
virus, including Dutch Bros.,
Hukilau, Lovejoy’s, Nosh and
1285 Restobar. As of today, all
have reopened.
The rolling effect of COVID-19
through the local food service in-
dustry in particular has prompted
restaurant owners to respond out
of concern for both the public
and employees — and avoid
the need for a longer shutdown
as Florence cycles through the
summer tourist season and Phase
Two of the state’s reopening.
There is currently no vaccine
for COVID-19 and testing of
individuals exhibiting symptoms
is the only way to determine who
has been infected. The need to
identify, test and — if a posi-
tive test is confirmed — isolate
infected individuals remains the
best mitigation protocol health
experts have been able to offer
the public at this point in the
pandemic.
As of press time on July 28, the
latest data posted by the Oregon
Health Authority (OHA) report-
ed 17,088 confirmed cases of
COVID-19, with statewide deaths
at totaling 289.
The OHA also reported that
“at least 381,718 tests have been
performed.”
See PANDEMIC page 6A
Maintaining
the crane
Sunny with a high
of 67 and a low
tonight of 48.
Full forecast on A3
MARK BRENNAN/SIUSLAW NEWS
I
nspectors from the State of Oregon were in town on Monday to check the status of the Port of Siu-
slaw’s North Pacific SWL 2500 Crane, located between ICM and MO’s restaurants. The crane is used
to load and unload fish, crab and equipment from the small fishing fleet that operates out of Florence.
According to port employee Jason Wagner, who put the crane through a series of maneuvers to show
its operational capabilities, the crane passed its annual inspection. No issues were noted.
COMMUNITY
Fire, EMS boards determine leadership, discuss strategic planning
By Jared Anderson
Siuslaw News
Siuslaw Valley Fire and Rescue
(SVFR), Western Lane Ambulance
District (WLAD) and Western Lane
Fire and EMS Authority (WLFEA)
held their monthly joining meeting
last Thursday, where board mem-
bers chose new leadership and dis-
cussed wildfire season, COVID-19
and the beginning of workshops to
bring final resolution to complicat-
ed issues, such as exploring the pros
and cons of potentially merging dis-
tricts some day and how each dis-
trict operates — now and into the
future as part of strategic planning.
The meeting began with boards
choosing officers. For WLAD, John
Murphey was chosen as president,
Cindy Russel vice president and
Mike Webb as treasurer.
For SVFR, Ned Hickson retained
his position as president, Jim Pali-
si was chosen as vice president and
Sam Spayd as treasurer.
For WLFEA, which is the admin-
istrative branch of both SVFR and
WLAD with two representatives
from each district comprising its
board, John Murphey was chosen as
president, Sam Spayd as vice presi-
dent and Russel as treasurer.
During the meeting, the finan-
cials for both districts were briefly
discussed, leading WLAD board
member Mike Webb to praise the
work of staff.
“I want to give a big pat on the
back for both [Operations Chief
Matt House] and [Office Manager
Dina McClure] for getting control of
wages and expenses — and partic-
ularly overtime — this year,” Webb
said.
WLAD board member Larry
Farnsworth, who had been working
with McClure on reports, agreed,
stating, “And the financials look bet-
ter each month.”
SVFR and WLAD Chief Michael
Schick then opened discussion on
three planned public workshops, the
first being an examination of PERS
(Public Employees Retirement Sys-
tem).
Previously, the boards heard from
a representative of Lane Council of
Governments on the program, “but
we’ve become a lot more intelligent
about what PERS is, and what it can
and can’t do,” Schick said. “We’d like
to have her come back to ask more
questions.”
The second workshop would be
the long-discussed strategic plan for
both districts. These plans would
cover many of the issues that both
boards have been discussing in
recent months — compensation for
See FIRE/EMS page 6A
LIFESTYLE
SVFR Battalion
Chief retires
INSIDE — B
RECORDS
Obituaries &
response logs
Inside — A2
New art to be ‘exposed’ in Historic Old Town
NEW: TV GUIDE
Public Art Committee selects next round
for ‘Art Exposed’ Rotating Gallery
Inside — B3-B4
KIDS CORNER
prompting changes in PAC mem-
bership, a publicly viewed conflict
between council members, and a
termination of funding for public
art from the Florence Urban Renew-
al Agency.
The public was highly engaged in
the later stages of PAC’s selection
of the mural located on the Central
Lincoln PUD Building at Spruce
Street and Highway 126, necessitat-
ing that the final meeting be moved
to the Florence Events Center to ac-
commodate the large crowd.
For some community members,
criticism was not only aimed at the
art selected for the mural, but also
the process which led to its selec-
tion. Ultimately, the mural was in-
stalled, with a decision being made
to hold PAC meetings at a time more
conducive to public participation
and transparency.
See ART page 5A
Activities for kids
Inside — B5
CLASSIFIEDS
Listings and notices
Inside — B6
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The City of Florence Public Art
Committee (PAC) met via telecon-
ference for its July meeting on Mon-
day at 5:30 p.m. There was renewed
energy among the committee since
its numbers were bolstered by new
members, who joined at the begin-
ning of the year.
Committee Chairperson Harlen
Springer opened the meeting and
introduced City Recorder and Eco-
nomic Development Coordinator
Kelli Weese, who reviewed with the
committee the COVID-19 protocols
which have been mandated by the
state and put in place by city staff.
These protocols can be viewed
By Mark Brennan
on
the city’s website to delineate the
Siuslaw News
process for different levels of public
participation during City of Flor-
COURTESY PHOTO
ence public meetings moving for-
“The Rusted Spire” by Christopher Knight will be on display at the ward.
edge of the Siuslaw River Interpretive Center on Bay Street in His-
The recent history of public art in
toric Old Town Florence as part of “Art Exposed.”
Florence has been at times volatile,
OCHS celebrates
National Mutt Day
INSIDE — A3
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“We’re next to the Bridge”
100 Hwy. 101
See all Florence Listings at cbcoast.com