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NEWS &
VIEWS THAT
DEFINE OUR
COMMUNITY
VOL. 131, NO. 11
F ebruary 6, 2021
F loreNce , o regoN
Go online today https://rebrand.ly/BestOfFlorence2020 to nominate!
New community multi-purpose
center planned for region
By Chantelle Meyer
Siuslaw News
On Thursday, Lane County an-
nounced the opening of COVID-19
vaccination preregistration. People
can go to www.cognitoforms.com/
LaneCountyCOVID/COVID-
19VaccinePreregistration in English
and www.cognitoforms.com/Lane
CountyCOVID/COVID19Vaccine
PreregistrationSpanish en Español
to fill out the form.
Shortly after, the Lane County
Government website went down,
partly due to the volume of people
wanting to access the form.
“We continue to experience tech-
nical difficulties on our website, but
the preregistration form is work-
ing,” Lane County reported on its
social media pages.
While vaccine availability re-
mains limited even among those
that are currently eligible, the
preregistration form will help Lane
County get people scheduled to re-
ceive the vaccine. This will depend
on eligibility and when supply is
available.
Information collected using the
preregistration form will allow
vaccinating health care partners
to contact people to schedule an
appointment when vaccine is avail-
able for your phase/group eligibil-
ity. People will then be contacted
through either the phone or email
information provided on the form.
Each week, Lane County will
send an email with updates about
who is getting vaccinated in order.
For more information COVID-19
locally, visit lanecounty.org/corona
virus.
WEATHER
Rain showers with a
high of 49 and a low
of 40.
Full forecast on A3
COMMUNITY
Chamber names
holiday winner
INSIDE — A3
LIFESTYLE
Sailors prepare for
sports season
INSIDE — B
The former Hans Petersen Field on Quince Street below the Florence Events Center may see new life
as a new community and recreation center for the Siuslaw Region.
Regional community & recreation center still in initial stages
Story & Photos
By Mark Brennan
Siuslaw News
Major development plans for
underutilized residential and com-
mercially zoned properties in the
area continue to be announced and
approved by the City of Florence ,
including a large, multi-family res-
idential development application
approved for Rhododendron Drive
and 35th Street, as well as an ex-
pansive, mixed-use motel complex
in the initial stages of development
on a 40-acre parcel across from the
Florence Events Center (FEC) on
Quince Street.
Both of these projects will re-
quire solid financing and commu-
nity support to succeed, as will the
most recent major development
announced by local entrepreneurs:
the Siuslaw Regional Community
EMS responds to high-profile emergency calls
RECORDS
and Recreation Center (SRCRC).
The project is being proposed
by area residents Graham Ross
and Kurt Vander Bogart, who have
been working together developing
the framework and vision for the
multi-use facility to be located at
the former Hans Petersen Field on
Quince Street, below the FEC.
“We plan to offer sustainable,
health-related quality of life to the
Siuslaw community, accomplished
through the coordination of a
multi-faceted community project
by building the Siuslaw Regional
Recreation Center, which will be
named The Hans Petersen Recre-
ation Center,” Ross said in an in-
terview with Siuslaw News. “It will
include the Siuslaw Regional Com-
munity Center and restoration of
the Siuslaw Regional Aquatic Cen-
ter [in Mapleton].”
The recreation center will even-
tually house many tenants, includ-
ing a public market offering a vari-
ety of products and services from
low-price leased spaces.
The two developers hope to have
fresh produce, baked goods, art,
crafts, wine and beer available for
purchase, primarily obtained from
local businesses and farms.
“All the revenue generated by the
market at SRCRC flows directly
back into sustaining the Recreation
Center, Community Center and
Aquatic Center,” said Ross. “The
Siuslaw Vision will be assisting us
in reaching out to the Siuslaw com-
munity to define what residents
want in their rec center, communi-
ty center and aquatic center.”
Additionally, each of the cen-
ters will be dynamic, varying their
offerings based on the changing
needs of the community.
See CENTER page 5A
Mapleton begins ‘careful
phasing in’ of on-site learning
Elementary students to arrive back on
campus as early as Feb. 10
@S iuSlaw N ewS
T he S iuSlaw N ewS . com
S iuSlaw N ewS
2 S ectioNS | 18 P ageS
c oPyright 2021
It was a busy day on Wednesday
as Siuslaw Valley Fire and Rescue
(SVFR) got a call-out first thing
in the morning and stayed active
throughout the day.
Starting at 6:25 a.m. on Feb. 3,
SVFR responded to reports of a
fire at Goodwill, 1310 Highway
101 in Florence.
SVFR personnel were joined
at the scene by members of both
Western Lane Ambulance District
(WLAD) and Florence Police De-
partment, according to Fire/EMS
Y
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Chief Michael Schick.
“The first crews on scene found
a small fire on the loading dock
at the rear of the building, which
appeared to have started direct-
ly behind a semi-trailer that was
parked against the dock,” Schick
said. “The fire was quickly extin-
guished with minimal damage
noted to the exterior of the build-
ing. A small amount of smoke did
enter the warehouse storage area
in the building requiring ventila-
tion fans to be used and no inju-
ries were reported.”
The central location of the
See EMS page 5A
...
lateSt NewS :
s a
t
By Mark Brennan
Siuslaw News
follow uS for the
it u
NED HICKSON/SIUSLAW NEWS
A mid-day accident on Highway 101 across from McDonald’s
prompted the highway’s closure for 40 minutes Wednesday.
Vis
Listings and public
notices
Inside — B5
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CLASSIFIEDS
The Mapleton School District
Board of Directors met for a work
session on Feb. 3 with District
Superintendent Jodi O’Mara and
Mapleton High School Principal
Brenda Moyer. The meeting de-
tailed O’Mara’s plans to reopen
the school district under guidance
from Ready Schools, Safe Learners.
With the current plan, Maple-
ton Elementary School will be able
to have on-site student instruction
beginning this Wednesday, Feb.
10.
Districts across the state will be
able to reopen schools to students
depending on COVID-19 case
metrics in their county. Accord-
ing to Ready Schools, Safe Learn-
ers guidance, counties must have
a positive COVID-19 case rate
between 200 and 350 people per
100,000 to allow for an elementary
on-site and hybrid transition.
For the two weeks ending Jan.
30, Lane County had a positive
...to
Activities and
comics every
Saturday
Inside — B4
ibrary.or
iuslawL
www.S 97-31 32
541-9
SIDE SHOW
case rate of 222.5, which is below
the 283.5 rate from the previous
period.
“That’s a significant drop,”
O’Mara said. “It’s nice to see that
the metrics are trending down.”
In addition, it means that Ma-
pleton can bring students back to
campus.
“The county case rate puts us in
the elementary on-site and hybrid
transition model. What that means
is, we prioritize careful phasing in
of on-site or hybrid for elementa-
ry students, starting with younger
students and adding additional
grades over time,” O’Mara said.
The district has been teaching
students in comprehensive dis-
tance learning (CDL) since last
March. At the end of 2020, it began
to bring students to campus for
short periods of time under limited
in-person instruction (LIPI). Now,
a majority of the students will be
able to attend in-person by the end
of next month, as long as county
metrics allow.
See MAPLETON page 7A
OUT
CHECK S.)
(WE EVEN GAME
BOARD
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By Chantelle Meyer
Siuslaw News
rd
aboa
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Climb
readin
ad!
the real
railro
Obituaries &
emergency
response logs
Inside — A2
Framing
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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,