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SN THESIUSLAWNEWS.COM WEDNESDAY EDITION | JANUARY 27, 2021 | $1.00 CROW KIDS BUILD DIORAMAS I NSIDE — B Siuslaw News WLAD Florence City Council seats Wisniewski, appoints committees consults on City also extends local ‘State of Emergency’ due to COVID-19 • Planning Commission: Eric Hauptman, Phil Tarvin and Sandy Young • Transportation Committee: Ste- phen Raley and Gary Trevisan • Florence Urban Renewal Agency (FURA): Ron Caputo, Dave Braley and Robert Ward The agenda for the remainder of the meeting was focused on updates on city activities in the form of four resolutions, including a third exten- tinue to be responsive to this ongoing crisis and recovery efforts, the City of Florence needs to be able to continue full Florence City Council to amend some of its regular busi- was on hand for the first time ness, emergency, employment and in four months as newly appointed intergovernmental practices to meet City Councilor Margaret Wisniews- the day to day needs of this ongoing ki took the Oath of Office at the reg- emergency response and recovery ularly scheduled city council meet- efforts. At the writing of this staff re- ing on Monday, Jan. 25. port, the City of Florence, as part of The oath was administered by Lane County, remains categorized as City Recorder Kelli Weese follow- an Extreme Risk county.” ing Wisniewski’s se- Reynolds has con- lection earlier this sistently updated the month to join the “We had many, many qualified applicants and we council and the pub- council, by a 3-1 vote, only had so many positions. If you were not selected lic on the status of the to fill the seat vacated for one, you were not categorically denied that city as it relates to Ore- last October by Geral- gon Gov. Kate Brown’s position — there were just not enough positions.” dine Prociw. restrictions and man- — Florence Mayor Joe Henry dates. On Monday, Mayor Joe Henry then released his se- she detailed the need lections for the many for the declaration, as open positions on various commit- sion of the existing state of emergen- well as the continued consistent mes- tees and commissions. cy in Florence, along with an exten- saging that all decisions made by city • Budget Committee: Leonard sion of the City of Florence Utility staff are directly aligned with county Larson and Ron Hildenbrand Relief Program. guidance. • Community & Economic Devel- City Manager Erin Reynolds asked “The declaration will give us eligi- opment Committee: Brian Holmes, for approval of two Resolutions re- bility to receive funds for COVID-19 Jonathan Bailey and Jeff Ashmead lated to those programs. The first, response and support from national, • Environmental Management which would update the COVID-19 state, county and now city disaster Advisory Committee (EMAC): Lau- State of Emergency order in place in funding. It will also allow us to get re- rie Green, Lisa Walter-Sedlacek, An- Florence with slightly different lan- imbursed for FEMA-related expendi- thony Cavarno and Erick Oshel guage and effective dates, would be tures that have been deemed as meet- • Public Art Committee: Serena extended to March 1. ing the criteria for COVID response,” Appel, Dayle Murphy and Maggie Resolution No. 2, Series 2021, Reynolds said. Bagon states in part the following: “To con- See COUNCIL page 6A Board announces ‘unexpected’ resignation By Chantelle Meyer Siuslaw News Editor’s Note: This story contains several shortened links for further reading that must be entered exactly as written into the search bar of an internet browser. All the linked webpages are from ver- ified sources. RECORDS Obituaries & response logs Inside — A2 TV GUIDE Inside — B3-B4 KIDS CORNER Activities for kids Inside — A7 CLASSIFIEDS Listings & 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 2021 The Oregon Department of Education (OED) and Ore- gon Health Authority (OHA) released their newest update to Ready Schools, Safe Learn- ers on Jan. 19. This is the framework the state’s school districts are following as they educate students through comprehensive distance learning, limited in-person instruction and the eventual return to campus. The reopening of schools was the main component of the new update, prompted by Oregon Gov. Kate Brown in December. As part of her statement, the governor said, “It is my hope that more Oregon schools, es- pecially elementary schools, will transition to in-person instruction by Feb. 15.” See SCHOOLS page 5A OCHS seeks next executive director By Mark Brennan Siuslaw News MARK BRENNAN/SIUSLAW NEWS Florence received its first ice flurries this winter with the arrival of sever- al hailstorms earlier this week. Low temperatures increased the likelihood of slick, icy roads, though the phenomenon disappeared with little incident. For road conditions, people are encouraged to check Oregon Department of Transportation’s tripcheck.com. Y L O P O - E C N E On Sale F L O R $ 9 Modeled after the world famous board game, Florence-Opoly is customized to our great city. Fun for the whole family! Siuslaw News • 148 Maple Street • Old Town Florence or call 541-997-3441 24. each 9 The Oregon Coast Humane Society (OCHS) continues to have difficulty keeping the role of execu- tive director filled, with the organization’s latest hire for that position, Charles Brown, resigned unexpect- edly on Jan. 18. Brown is the second executive director to resign from OCHS in the past 12 months. These resignations have added to a rocky ten- ure at the humane society that began three years ago amid accusations of illegal board appointments by for- mer volunteers and board members. In a very brief statement to the Siuslaw News, OCHS Board President Shauna Robbers said, “We learned of Charles Brown’s resig- nation by email on Jan. 18. We were surprised, con- fused and disappointed by his sudden and unexpected decision.” See OCHS page 8A D\ P +LJKZ WUKXQWHUFR ZZZ Football begins for Siuslaw Vikings INSIDE — B Hail or High Water ͘͘͘ Ready Schools, Safe Learners provides info on reopening ͕ LIFESTYLE Ăƚ FRAA cares for senior residents INSIDE — A3 ŝƚƵ Ɛ COMMUNITY The Western Lane Am- bulance District (WLAD) Board of Directors met for a special session Jan. 20 to discuss topics related to the district’s future financial status. The meeting was primarily devoted to determining the best approach to convey to voters the need to support a replacement for the district’s tax levy currently in place, which is the primary funding component for WLAD. Fire/EMS Chief Mi- chael Schick facilitated the meeting, which was chaired by Board President John Murphey. A presentation from the Public Affairs Council (PAC) was the main element of the meeting as Patrick Sieng, Director of Strategic Partnerships, shared his company’s proposal with directors. See WLAD page 5A sŝƐ Rain showers with a high of 47 and a low of 40. Full forecast on A3 By Mark Brennan Siuslaw News ŝƐĐ ŚŽ ŽǀĞƌ ŵĞ ǀ ŝŶƚĞ ŝŶƚĂ ƌŝŽ ŐĞĐů ƌƐ͕Ă Žƚ ŶĚ ŚŝŶŐ ĐŽ ͕Ă ŽŬ ŶƟ ŝĞƐ͊ ƋƵ ĞƐ WEATHER ͘͘͘ƚŽ Ě A local option levy ibrary.or iuslawL www.S 97-313 2 541-9 By Mark Brennan Siuslaw News VOL. 131, NO. 8 J ANUARY 27, 2021 F LORENCE , O REGON OUT CHECK S.) (WE EVEN GAME BOARD g NEWS & VIEWS THAT DEFINE OUR COMMUNITY rd aboa g Climb readin ad! the real railro Siuslaw News Framing es Fram ence Quality Custom of Flor • Mirrors s • Needlework • Watercolors Shadowboxe Photography Oils • 43 97-20 G 541-9 101, Suite Hwy. 2285 OR 97439 Florence,
