SIUSLAW NEWS | SATURDAY, MARCH 6, 2021 | 3A
Community News
Travel Oregon’s Destination Ready awards $913,000 to projects across the state
T
he Oregon Tourism
Commission, dba Trav-
el Oregon, has awarded
$913,000 for the develop-
ment, enhancement and
stewardship of key visi-
tor experiences that are
COVID-19 appropriate, will
aid in economic recovery,
enhance local livability and
provide access to a diversi-
ty of explorers through the
Destination Ready program.
“These
‘Destination
Ready’ projects are crucial
in ensuring visitors and
Oregonians have access to
safe and enjoyable experi-
ences as we rebuild Oregon’s
tourism economy while
navigating the pandemic,”
said Todd Davidson, Travel
Oregon CEO. “Communi-
ties across the state rely on
tourism as an essential com-
ponent of their economic
fabric. These communities
need visitor-ready attrac-
tions and experiences that
continue to prioritize public
health measures and Travel
Oregon is excited to support
these local initiatives that
will play a significant role in
the state’s economic recov-
ery.”
Originally announced as a
$250,000 opportunity, Trav-
el Oregon received more
than $4 million in requests
through 135 applications.
In response to this high de-
mand, the agency reviewed
internal program dollars
Getting rid of 'Huh?'
for over 20 years
Call today to schedule
an appointment.
and reallocated resources to
increase the award amount
$913,000, which allowed
34 projects to be awarded
across the state.
Projects will be managed
by the agency’s Destination
Development team and
range from direct invest-
ments to more collaborative
projects, where staff will
work closely with awardees
through implementation.
One of the Destination
Ready program awardees
was the City of Florence,
which received $44,161 for
additional seating areas,
trash receptacles and bike
racks in Historic Old Town
Florence and along the Port
of Siuslaw’s Boardwalk. This
amount is the fourth largest
funded program, and the
second highest going to a
rural community.
Awards ranged from
$10,000 to $50,000.
The City of Florence was
awarded a grant to fund
additional amenities in
Historic Old Town and the
Port of Siuslaw Boardwalk.
Read the full release in-
dustry.traveloregon.com/
re s ou rc e s / n e w s - d e t ai l /
travel-oregons-destination-
ready-program-awards-
913000-to-projects-across-
the-state.
Travel Oregon works to
enhance visitors’ experienc-
es by providing information,
resources and trip planning
tools that inspire travel and
consistently convey the ex-
ceptional quality of Oregon.
The commission aims to
improve Oregonians’ qual-
ity of life by strengthening
the state’s tourism economy
that employs thousands of
Oregonians statewide.
Visit traveloregon.com to
learn more.
541.991.4475
V
HEARING
Scott C. Anderson, Au.D.
Steven G. Anderson, Au.D.
ASSOCIATES
E U
OT S
F
BEST O
E
of Florence
F LO E N C
R
HearingAssociatesofFlorence.com FLORENCE • 1901 Hwy 101, Ste A
Glass for Every Purpose
1780 Kingwood St. / P.O. Box 144
Florence, OR 97439
ccb#55030
541-997-8526
Fax 541-997-9132
Kitchen Klutter Staff would like to thank
our community for nominating us as one
of the BEST Gift Shops in 2020.
We are proud to serve you and
make your shopping experience fun.
..sooooo much more than a kitchen store.
Thank you for shopping local.
1258 Bay Street, Florence - 541-997-6060
As always, we are thankful to you all for your continued support.
We couldn’t do it without you.
We look forward to seeing you at the Tearoom.
195 Nopal St.
541-902-0502
Open Wed-Sat
11:00-5:00 pm
Hyak Awarded $1.6M to serve outlying rural Lane County
Results were made pub-
lic recently from the FCC’s
Rural Digital Opportunity
Fund, or the RDOF, a pro-
gram to help encourage the
development of high-speed
internet to rural parts of
America. Local technology
services and fiber internet
provider Hyak was award-
ed $1.6M to serve areas of
the Siuslaw region outside
of Florence and Mapleton,
such as North Fork Road,
Indian Creek, Swisshome,
Brickerville and Sweet Creek
Road. These areas are gener-
ally served by satellite only
today or limited DSL that no
longer meets the definition
of broadband.
According to Hyak COO
Neil Ecker, “This represents
a significant investment in
the outlying areas of Flor-
ence and Mapleton that we’re
excited to make. Federal sup-
port of these high-cost areas
means we’re now able to de-
liver our gigabit fiber inter-
net to some of the most ru-
a great solution for rural
America and our commu-
nity to create opportunities
for families that live in our
outlying areas,” said Rob-
ral portions of western Lane
County.”
Of the 386 qualified bid-
ders in the program, 180
entities were successful in
their bids. The largest win-
ner in the state of Oregon
was SpaceX through their
new StarLink satellite inter-
net service. Other winners
include Charter Spectrum,
CenturyLink and Frontier.
“The RDOF program is
bie Wright, CEO of Hyak.
“Access to quality internet
has become even more im-
portant with distance learn-
ing and remote work as the
current pandemic continues
to shape how our rural com-
munities can operate. We
want to help build a com-
munity where our kids can
choose to live and work here.
We can’t do that without nu-
merous factors, including af-
fordable housing and quality
internet.”
While the RDOF program
counts 554 locations in the
winning areas for Hyak, it
is estimated roughly 1,200
homes could have the op-
tion to connect to fiber as the
project continues.
“We have quite a bit of
work in front of us,” Wright
added. “We’re looking at
more than 80 miles of fiber
to be deployed with require-
ments to be built out to 40
percent within three years
and 100 percent in six years.
While we’d like to expedite
those timelines, some of
these areas are pretty remote
with some challenging as-
pects of their build.”
For more information, vis-
it https://hyak.co/rdof or call
the Hyak office at 541-902-
5101.
Oregon Pacific Bank lobbies reopen Monday, March 8
Due to the reduction
of new COVID-19 cas-
es throughout the state,
Oregon Pacific Bank will
re-open all branch Lob-
bies on Monday, March 8.
This includes the Florence
branch, 1365 Highway 101.
All persons visiting the
branch are asked to follow
health and safety guide-
lines set forth by the Cen-
ters for Disease Control
and Oregon Health Au-
thority.
Before entering a bank
location, visitors will be
greeted at the door from a
safe distance and asked, for
security reasons, to mo-
mentarily lower their mask
or face covering.
All persons are asked to
maintain a distance of six
or more feet and use the
social distancing discs on
the lobby floors to help
with proper spacing.
Masks (surgical masks)
or face coverings (cloth,
polypropylene, paper or
other covering that covers
the nose and the mouth
and that rests snugly above
the nose, below the mouth
and on the sides of the face)
are required for all persons
entering bank property.
If you do not have a
mask or face covering, Or-
egon Pacific Bank will pro-
vide you a disposable mask
before you enter the build-
ing.
• If you are unable to
wear a mask or face cov-
ering, we will ask that you
use alternative forms of
banking instead. To re-
quest
accommodation,
please give us a call at 541-
997-7121.
• Face shields are not
recognized as providing
adequate protection and
are not considered an ac-
ceptable alternative to a
mask or face covering.
All areas determined to
be “high touch” are regular-
ly disinfected by assigned
employees throughout the
day, including desks, door-
knobs, light switches, and
any other areas that expe-
rience frequent contact.
All restrooms are re-
stricted to employees only,
with no public restrooms
available.
Clients are encouraged
to use alternative banking
methods when possible,
including online and mo-
bile banking, drive-thru,
ATM or a virtual meeting
with their local banker.
To learn more, visit
www.opbc.com.
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FRIDAY
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.