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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 5, 2020)
E BR RS 2020 COAST REAL ESTATE 541-505-1180 Text or Call 541-997-7777 Offi ce 800-999-5343 Toll Free EA CEL SN WEDNESDAY EDITION | AUGUST 5, 2020 | $1.00 “Your goals are my top priority. Let’s get together!” S SIU THESIUSLAWNEWS.COM W 1890 AW NE L S AT I N G 1 30 Y Alva Bracey, Broker SIUSLAW NEWS: A LOOK B ACK AT 130 Y EARS Alva@CBCoast.com 100 Hwy. 101 Florence, OR 97439 http://www.cbcoast.com/alva-bracey INSIDE — A7 Oregonians could start to receive unemployment benefits while they wait SALEM–The Oregon Employ- ment Department today an- nounced that it has found a way to pay benefits to thousands of Oregonians who are out of work due to COVID-19 while they wait for their claim, or “Benefits While You Wait.” This applies to Oregonians who are waiting for their claim to be reviewed by an adjudicator to de- termine whether they are eligible for regular unemployment or the Pandemic Unemployment Assis- tance (PUA) program. “We are confident this group of Oregonians are eligible for benefits because they lost their job due to COVID-19, we just don’t know which program they are eligible for yet,” said Employment Department Acting Director David Gerstenfeld. “We have found a workaround that will allow us to pay benefits while their claims are being reviewed by an adjudicator. We are grateful we have figured out a way to do this because Oregonians have been waiting too long.” The Employment Department is proactively notifying claimants who have been identified to fall into this group via email and robo calls. Strict laws governing unemploy- ment insurance to prevent fraud and provide people due process re- quire that each claim be reviewed. The Employment Department estimates that tens of thousands of Oregonians whose claims are in adjudication may be eligible for PUA if they are not eligible for reg- ular unemployment. This pool of Oregonians could begin receiving “Benefits While You Wait.” The department will contact people who may be able to receive “Benefits While You Wait” over the next several weeks. See BENEFITS page 6A Siuslaw News NEWS & VIEWS THAT DEFINE OUR COMMUNITY VOL. 130, NO. 62 F LORENCE , O REGON WEATHER Rich Hopkins, PADI Master Instructor at Eugene Skin Divers Supply, works to certify dive students at Woahink Lake on Saturday. (Photo by Mark Brennan/Siuslaw News) Diving for debris Partly cloudy with a high of 65 and a low tonight of 55. Full forecast on A3 COMMUNITY Divers clean up Woahink, learn underwater conservation By Lena Felt Siuslaw News F ive years ago, while scuba diving in one of his favorite lakes, diving instructor Rich Hopkins was bothered by an un- sightly object that didn’t belong among the aquatic plants and ani- mals — an old reclining chair. This wasn’t the first time he had seen such debris laying at the bot- tom of Woahink Lake near Flor- ence, but Hopkins didn’t know how to remove and dispose of it at the time. That was until he found out about Project AWARE, a non- profit organization committed to cleaning up the world’s oceans and waterways using a citi- zen-science program called Dive Against Debris. The program em- powers scuba divers to remove marine debris from the ocean and waterways and report data on the types, quantities and locations of materials collected. While training a group of stu- dent Dive Master Candidates in Woahink Lake in 2016, Hopkins had his students map out any de- bris they came across while doing an underwater dive site mapping project that documented the lake landscape and underwater features. Hopkins then organized a com- munity event in partnership with Dive Against Debris to remove 16 of the most challenging marine debris items in the lake. With the help of his colleagues at Eugene Skin Divers Supply and communi- ty volunteers, 637 pieces of debris, weighing a total of 3,195 pounds, were removed from the lake. Coast Guard reaches 230th birthday INSIDE — A3 LIFESTYLE See DIVE page 8A Multiple vehicles struck in hit & run rampage Reckless driver sends at least one person to hospital By Jared Anderson Siuslaw News A Californian man with a sto- len pickup reportedly engaged in multiple hit-and-runs on Saturday as he drove recklessly up Highway 101, according to Oregon State Po- lice (OSP). Kevin Simpson, 47, of Eureka, was charged in the incident and told OSP that he believed he had struck 26 different vehicles. No motive has been released. OSP is requesting information from witnesses to the reckless driving, as well as from those who were struck. People are encour- aged to contact the OSP Southern Command Center at 541-269-5000 and leave information for Trooper Douglas Laird. The incident began the morn- ing of Aug. 1 as the Coos Bay Po- lice Department received the first calls about a Dodge 1500 pickup striking multiple vehicles through- out the city as it traveled recklessly north on Highway 101. At 10:37 a.m., OSP received a call from a driver who was waiting See HIT-&-RUN page 6A Blueberry season begins INSIDE — B RECORDS Obituaries & response logs Inside — A2 NEW: TV GUIDE Inside — B3-B4 Sami the Sea Lion returns for summer fun KIDS CORNER The Florence Area Chamber of Commerce and its members welcome shoppers to come find the socially-distanced, proper- ly-masked, Sami the Sea Lion in businesses all over town. July 31 marked the return of the fuzzy pinniped, this time with a COVID-19 mask and a summer- time bow in her fur. The six-inch plush sea lions are provided by the event’s main sponsor, Sea Lion Caves. Based on last winter’s successful Sea Lion on A Shelf trail, shoppers can venture to any of nearly 30 participating Chamber member’s businesses and get their passports stamped when they spot Sami. A minimum of 15 stamps are neces- COURTESY PHOTO sary to enter for a chance to win Sami the Sea Lion is again on display at local businesses — this time wearing a mask but still ready to be spotted by the community. valuable prizes. CLASSIFIEDS x x x 'ĂŝŶ ĂŶƵŶĚĞƌƐƚĂŶĚŝŶŐŽĨŚŽǁDĞĚŝĐĂƌĞǁŽƌŬƐ͘ Learn ƚŚĞĚŝīĞƌĞŶĐĞďĞƚǁĞĞŶDĞĚŝĐĂƌĞĚǀĂŶƚĂŐĞĂŶĚDĞĚŝĐĂƌĞ^ƵƉƉůĞŵĞŶƚƉůĂŶƐ͘ ŝƐĐŽǀĞƌŚŽǁDĞĚŝĐĂƌĞWƌĞƐĐƌŝƉƟŽŶƌƵŐWůĂŶƐǁŽƌŬ͘ See SEA LION page 6A Listings and notices Inside — B6 FOLLOW US FOR THE LATEST NEWS : /S IUSLAW N EWS @S IUSLAW N EWS T HE S IUSLAW N EWS . COM S IUSLAW N EWS 2 S ECTIONS | 16 P AGES C OPYRIGHT 2020 >ĞĂƌŶŚŽǁƚŽĮŶĚƚŚĞďĞƐƚDĞĚŝĐĂƌĞƉůĂŶĨŽƌLJŽƵ͘ “Sami is back in time to have some summer fun,” says Betti- na Hannigan, president and CEO of the Florence Area Chamber of Commerce. “This summer we’re calling it ‘The Social Distancing Search for Sami’ and it is spon- sored by Sea Lion Caves.” All participating businesses are following social distancing and masking guidelines. Some busi- nesses, due to reduced hours, will post a code word in their shop window, in lieu of a stamp, when they are closed. “From July 31 to Labor Day, we will have nearly 30 Chamber mem- bers with a plush little Sami the Sea Lion hidden within in plain sight for customers to find,” says Hannigan. Activities for kids Inside — B5 ,ĞůƉŝŶŐKƌĞŐŽŶŝĂŶƐ^ŝŶĐĞϭϵϵϲ ϭϵϯϮWŝŶĞ^ƚ^ƵŝƚĞ-ϲ &ůŽƌĞŶĐĞ͕KZ͘ϵϳϰϯϵ ĂŶĂĂŶĞ/ŶƐƵƌĂŶĐĞŝƐŶŽƚĐŽŶŶĞĐƚĞĚǁŝƚŚŽƌĞŶĚŽƌƐĞĚďLJƚŚĞhŶŝƚĞĚ^ƚĂƚĞƐŐŽǀĞƌŶŵĞŶƚŽƌƚŚĞĨĞĚĞƌĂůDĞĚŝĐĂƌĞƉƌŽŐƌĂŵ͘