SIUSLAW NEWS | SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2021 | 3A
Community News
16
OF OREGON’S COUNTIES IMPROVE IN
COVID-19 RISK LEVEL
SALEM—Oregon Gov. Kate COVID-19 spread — extreme risk, nesses reopen and we start to get
• C h u r c h e s , S y n a g o g u e s , is smaller..
Brown announced this week that 16
counties improved in risk level, with
10 of those improving from extreme
risk.
“For the second time in a row, we
are seeing great progress in stopping
the spread of COVID-19 across Or-
egon and saving lives,” Brown said.
“Oregonians continue to step up
and make smart choices.”
County risk levels under the
state’s public health framework aim
to reduce transmission and pro-
tect Oregonians from COVID-19.
The framework uses four different
risk levels for counties based on
high risk, moderate risk, and lower
risk—and assigns health and safety
measures for each level.
Effective Feb. 26 through March
11, there will be five counties in the
extreme risk level, 11 at high risk,
10 at moderate risk, and 10 at lower
risk. Lane County joins those able
to reintroduce certain activities, in-
cluding in-person dining at restau-
rants and the reopening of commu-
nity center.
“While these county movements
are welcome news, we must contin-
ue to take seriously health and safety
measures, especially as more busi-
out more,” Brown continued. “As we
see infection rates going down and
vaccinations ramping up, now is
not the time to let down our guard.
Continue to wear your masks, keep
physical distance and avoid indoor
gatherings.”
Here are a few highlights and how
they affect businesses and activities:
• Bars, Restaurants, Breweries
and Wineries may now allow indoor
dining, though takeout and outdoor
dining is still recommended. Indoor
capacity may not exceed 25 percent
maximum occupancy or 50 people,
whichever is smaller.
Mosques and Funeral Homes now
have an indoor capacity of 25 per-
cent occupancy or 150 people total,
whichever is smaller. Outdoor can
have up to 200 people.
• Indoor Gyms, Fitness Centers
and Indoor Pools may have a capac-
ity of 25 percent occupancy or 50
people total, whichever is smaller.
Indoor full-contact sports are pro-
hibited.
• Long-Term Care Centers may
have inside and outside visitation.
• Museums and Theaters may
have a maximum 25 percent occu-
pancy or 50 people total, whichever
• Offices are still advised to work
remotely if possible.
• Social and At-Home Gatherings
indoor may have a maximum of six
people, with only two households
recommended. Outdoor gatherings
can expand to up to eight people.
Oregon Health Authority will
examine and publish county data
weekly. County risk levels will be
reassigned every two weeks. The
next assignment of risk levels will be
announced March 9 and take effect
March 12.
For more info, visit coronavirus.
oregon.gov.
Siuslaw students get modified Winter Music Festival Kiwanis Kids Concert
had been cancelled, save — the Kiwanis Kids Concert.
The annual three-day fes-
for the one element that
launched the three-day mu- tival that draws hundreds
sical tradition 20 years ago from across western states
offers bluegrass, new and
traditional folk, and Ameri-
cana music by Grammy and
other award winners, and
nationally touring groups.
The festival has included
music performance work-
shops, on-site jam sessions,
an artisan fair, and great
food and drink.
Crystell Wise
But a key foundation of
Broker, SRS, SRES
the festival concept was the
541 991-9487 9700 Bernhardt Creek Rd – Country estate
brainchild of Rachel Pear-
along Sweet Creek in Mapleton! Features two
son, who in the year 2000,
homes, gardens, fruit trees, barn, and private
along with Lis Farm and the
dock. Main home is 3230 sqft with an infi nity pool
and large wrap-around decks. The cabin comes
late Anne Rule, staged the
fully furnished and is 940 sqft. $989,000. #3121-
very first Kids Concerts.
20170603
Pearson, a self-professed
“band mom” and music afi-
1749 Highway 101 • 541-997-1200
cionado, has worked tireless-
ly every year so schoolkids
can experience live music at
the Florence Events Center.
The event became the Ki-
wanis Kids Concerts in 2019
when the Florence Kiwanis
Club adopted the event as
Presenting Sponsor.
In a normal year, it is at-
tended by more than 1000
area grade schoolers, teach-
ers, and chaperones in the
FEC Main Stage.
This year, a virtual Winter
What would have been
the 19th consecutive Flor-
ence Winter Music Festival,
scheduled for Jan. 29 to 31,
Let me Showcase your property.
Music Festival Kids Con-
cert took place Feb. 25 for
Siuslaw School District’s
K-5 students. The event was
produced by Pearson for
Florence Arts Culture & En-
tertainment (FACE, former-
ly Friends of the Florence
Events Center) and spon-
sored by a contribution from
the Florence Kiwanis Club.
Award-winning Ameri-
cana musicians, Greg Blake
and Annie Savage, per-
formed live from Ames,
Iowa, with a bit of prere-
corded music to back them
up.
Blake and Savage are fes-
tival favorites and have per-
formed at previous Winter
Music Festivals.
They brought an energetic
and educational show, full of
fun and participatory learn-
ing.
According to Pearson,
“Kids in the Siuslaw region
face many challenges, espe-
cially in the COVID age, but
opportunities for arts edu-
cation awakens children to
a wider world and broader
thinking often limited in ru-
ral communities.”
Studies have shown that
with music instruction, stu-
dents have been shown to
COURTESY PHOTO
Musicians Annie Savage and Greg Blake play a virtu-
al concert for local students.
be less aggressive and more
engaged in school. Teaching
through the arts motivates
children and increases their
aptitude for learning.
“Music enhances the
learning process and nour-
ishes their integrated senso-
ry, attention, cognitive, emo-
tional and motor capacities;
and that enhances all other
learning. That’s why FACE
is continuing this tradition
this year,” Pearson said.
School district tech spe-
cialist Chris Rowbotham
brought the live event to the
“hybrid school” setting, with
some students in classrooms
and others participating
from home.
“Chris did an amazing
job at getting the technical
side of FACE’s 2021 ‘Living
Voices: Ellis Island’ proj-
ect streamed effectively to
eighth graders on Feb. 4. It
was also a live/partially pre-
recorded presentation, so we
have that experience to draw
upon,” Pearson explained.
The Florence Winter Mu-
sic Festival is produced by
the 501(c)3 nonprofit FACE,
an all-volunteer member-
ship organization that helps
fund capital improvements
and performance grants at
the FEC.
For more info about
FACE, its many events, or
how to join or volunteer,
contact Pearson at 541-997-
1994.
NO
S
INATE US
M
EST OF
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B
F LO E N C
R
City Lights Cinemas presents ‘third time’s the charm’
Lending history an oppor-
tunity to prove the old adage,
“the third time’s the charm,”
City Lights Cinemas, 1930
Highway 101, will reopen its
doors to the public on Friday,
March 5, with Disney’s highly
anticipated family film “Raya
and the Last Dragon” leading
the marquee.
The theater learned on Feb.
25 that the state government
has revised their guidance
and lifted the concession ban
that made reopening next to
impossible.
“We are pleased that the
state has lifted a ban which,
once restaurants were al-
lowed to resume indoor din-
ing, made no logical sense.
Oregon now joins the other
50 states in giving theaters a
chance to survive the latest
shutdowns,” said Michael Fal-
ter, co-owner of City Lights
Cinemas.
The safety of patrons and
staff remain the theater’s our
No. 1 priority, according to
Education Director Jared An-
derson.
“That means all moviego-
ers should don their favorite
and most comfortable masks
before entering the business,”
he said. “Concession purchas-
es are encouraged, yet we ask
patrons to keep their masks
on while watching a film
when not eating or drinking
for prolonged periods if other
parties are present.”
Also on the reopening
slate is “Nomadland,” this
year’s best-reviewed film and
a shoo-in for multiple Oscar
nominations, including for
Frances McDormand’s reve-
latory lead performance as a
woman who loses everything
and journeys through the
American West to find her-
self.
Finally, City Lights is set
to feature “Chaos Walking,”
a science fiction thriller star-
ring Tom Holland, Mads
Mikkelsen and Daisy Rid-
ley, about a dystopian future
where there are no women
— and all living creatures can
hear each other’s thoughts.
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Alex Grady, Director of
Operations, and more re-
cently known in Florence as
“the man in the butter suit”
during Curbside Concession
days, has urged the owners to
maintain those popcorn pop-
ping evenings due to popular
demand.
“Not only does the butter
suit keep me warm during
inclement weather, but we’re
all warmed by the generosity
of Florence’s City Lights fans,”
he said.
Curbside Concessions will
continue Friday and Saturday
nights from 4 to 7 p.m. Op-
erations resume for in-person
moviegoing with strict limits
on audience size on March 5.
Advance tickets are recom-
mended.
Visit citylightscinemas.com.
WEDNESDAY THURSDAY
MARCH 3
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FRIDAY
MARCH 4
MARCH 5
Showers
Showers
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Health is our #1 Priority!
At Shervin’s we are taking extra precaution in order to ensure that our customers and staff are kept safe
and healthy during this quickly changing situation.
1 Car Sanitation – All cars are wiped down with a sanitizer before and aft er the service. We wipe down
any areas in the interior where employees have touched, such as door handles, the steering wheel, keys,
shift ers and power window panels.
2 Hand Sanitation- Our staff will continue to wash their hands throughout the day and change gloves
aft er each car they service.
3 Give Customers Options- We will pick up and deliver your vehicle to your home. You may also drop
your key in our secure mailbox for drop-off s to avoid or minimize contact.
4 Employee Illness is Serious- We are encouraging employees
not to shake hands. We are practicing “personal distancing” and
encouraging employees to stay home if they feel under the weather.
5 Wipe Down High Touch Points- We wipe/spray counters, credit
card machines, door handles, phone handles, kitchen areas, and
chair arms and tables in waiting area multiple times a day.
We continue to be focused and committed to working with each
of you to ensure we continue to meet and exceed your expecta-
tions. We are here for you. 
We thank you for your business and more importantly, your
friendship. Please be safe and exercise extra precaution during this
challenging time.