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Third time around
Siuslaw News
‘Circles in the Sand’
returns to Florence
NEWS &
VIEWS THAT
DEFINE OUR
COMMUNITY
VOL. 130, NO. 84
F LORENCE , O REGON
Story & Photos
By Mark Brennan
Siuslaw News
WEATHER
T
his fall has proven to be as
difficult as the unsettled
spring and summer, caused
by a combination of COVID-19,
social and political unrest and the
uncertainty of the upcoming U.S.
Presidential Election.
However, there was a respite on
Saturday as Denny Dyke and his
team of sand artists from the Ban-
don-based non-profit group, Cir-
cles in the Sand, came to Florence to
create one of their temporary sand
and beach creations for residents
and visitors to the area to enjoy.
Dyke is the originator and driv-
ing artistic force behind Circles in
the Sand and approaches each proj-
People prepare to embark on a journey through Denny Dyke’s Cir-
cles in the Sand labyrinth at Driftwood Shores on Saturday, Oct. 17.
ect, or drawing, as a different canvas
to be imagined and executed at the
time of the event.
He does not prepare the design of
his “labyrinths,” as he refers to his
work, before arriving and counts
on his intuition and the conditions
of the sand and ocean to determine
the design for that day.
Each labyrinth is unique and will
disappear with the incoming tide.
In Florence, Dyke selected a
beach near Driftwood Shores.
The process begins with Dyke se-
lecting a starting point, which will
become the “Dedication Circle,”
from which the elaborately flowing
See SAND page 9A
Lane County named to Oregon’s ‘If we ever needed this, we need it now’
Soroptimists plan ahead for the annual
coronavirus watch list
Christmas Food Basket Giveaway
Meanwhile, neighboring Douglas County
calls on residents to curtail the spread
By Chantelle Meyer
Siuslaw News
By Damien Sherwood
On Oct. 16, Or-
Brown stated that
& Mark Brennan
egon Gov. Kate
the Oregon Health
Siuslaw News
Brown placed Lane
Authority (OHA) is
County on the state’s
working with Lane
COVID-19 watch list for the first County Public Health to address
time following a two-week increase the county’s increase in communi-
in confirmed or suspected cases in ty spread, which she attributed in
the county.
part to social gatherings.
Benton, Clatsop, Malheur and
“There is no question that the
Umatilla counties are also currently spread of COVID-19 in Lane
on the list.
County is connected — to a degree
According to the Brown, pres- — to student social activities,” said
ence on the watch list does not Brown, referring to cases which
indicate that the county is being originated from students attend-
moved back to Phase I and is only a ing the University of Oregon in
precautionary measure intended to Eugene. “Social gatherings, like
help policymakers and COVID-19 off-campus parties, are incredibly
response teams to prioritize re- dangerous and spread this disease.
sources and assistance to counties Let me be clear, though: it will take
that are seeing the broadest spread the entire county working together
of COVID-19.
to bring these COVID-19 numbers
The assistance offered to a par- under control. Once COVID-19 is
ticular county depends on the as- spreading in the community, small
sessment of its needs, often includ- family get-togethers can also lead
ing epidemiological assistance and to dozens of infections.”
staffing support.
See COVID page 6A
Soroptimist International of
Florence members are a small but
mighty group. At just 12 active
members, they are wrapping up
their annual rose sale this Friday
and looking ahead to the winter
months.
The group’s largest event is the
free Christmas Food Basket Give-
away, which will be held Saturday,
Dec. 19, at Siuslaw Middle School,
2525 Oak St., from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
However, just like every other
event in 2020, this year is going to
look a little different.
“First of all, we’re only going to
do food there,” said event coordi-
nator Carol Bennett. “We are not
doing any toys.”
The event is normally accompa-
nied by a toy giveaway, usually held
at the Florence Church of the Naz-
arene.
“It’s impossible to do toys under
COVID,” Bennett said, citing both
the number of Soroptimists and the
current guidelines surrounding do-
nations and sanitizing options.
She added that she knew of other
groups in town who are still work-
ing on the toy side, but further de-
tails aren’t yet available.
It also clears up the Soroptimists’
schedules to focus on providing
Christmas dinners to hundreds of
families this December.
“We normally prepare for 400
to 425 households,” Bennett said.
“We’re going to plan on buying food
for 500 families this year.”
Coupled with an increase in food
costs, she estimated that the Sorop-
timists will need to spend an addi-
tional $10,000 over previous years.
“I’ve talked to a lot of people
about this, and they’ve all said, ‘If
we ever needed this, we need it
now,’” Bennett said.
The Soroptimists are working on
a letter of solicitation that will go
out to people who have supported
the Basket Giveaway in the past.
“We get a lot of support,” Bennett
said. “This is a generous community.”
See BASKETS page 6A
Partly sunny with a
high of 58 and a low
tonight of 41.
Full forecast on A3
COMMUNITY
Knights of Columbus
hands out boxes
INSIDE — A3
LIFESTYLE
Women’s March
makes statement
INSIDE — B
RECORDS
Obituaries &
response logs
Inside — A2
NEW: TV GUIDE
Inside — B3-B4
KIDS CORNER
Activities for kids
Inside — A7
CLASSIFIEDS
Listings and notices
Inside — B6
FOLLOW US FOR THE
Florence Council delays 35th and Rhododendron PUD decision
By Mark Brennan
Siuslaw News
Johnston, with Planning Director
Wendy FarleyCampbell providing
additional details and observa-
tions to councilors.
The properties under discussion
are located on 9.28 acres at the
northeast corner of the intersec-
tion of Rhododendron Drive and
35th Street. The proposal includes
plans to construct 31 detached
single-family residences, 49 sin-
gle-family attached residences and
46 multi-family units. Amenities
to support this PUD include a pa-
vilion, picnic areas, seating, a chil-
dren’s play area, walking trails, dog
park and pocket garden.
Access to the development is
proposed via a private internal
drive with two entrances from
Rhododendron Drive alleyways
providing rear access to sin-
gle-family attached unit garages
and lanes providing access to sin-
gle-family detached units.
See DEVELOPMENT page 8A
/S IUSLAW N EWS
@S IUSLAW N EWS
T HE S IUSLAW N EWS . COM
S IUSLAW N EWS
2 S ECTIONS | 20 P AGES
C OPYRIGHT 2020
The Florence City Council Reg-
ular Session was brought to order
remotely on Oct. 19 by Mayor Joe
Henry at 5:30 p.m., joining coun-
cilors Joshua Greene, Ron Priesler
and Woody Woodbury, who at-
tended via teleconference.
One vacancy remains on the
council and will be filled by the
newly elected council in January.
Monday’s meeting primarily fo-
cused on issues related to the Rho-
dodendron Drive Planned Unit
Development (PUD) but began
with the Pledge of Allegiance and
the issuance of a Proclamation rec-
ognizing October as National Arts
and Humanities Month.
The Rhododendron PUD appli-
cation process, and the decisions
of the Planning Committee which
reviewed the application, were re-
capped by Senior Planner Roxanne
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