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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (April 7, 2021)
SN Siuslaw News Siuslaw News NEWS & VIEWS THAT DEFINE OUR COMMUNITY WEDNESDAY EDITION | APRIL 7, 2021 | $1.00 THESIUSLAWNEWS.COM YOUR #1 LOCAL YARD, GARDEN, AND LANDSCAPE EXPERTS! WE’RE GLAD TO GET YOU GROWING! 32 YEARS 88493 Hwy. 101 Florence Open 7 days a week Senior Discount Every Tuesday 997-5973 Hopping to it VOL. 131, NO. 28 A PRIL 7, 2021 F LORENCE , O REGON WEATHER T Cloudy with a high of 50 and a low of 42. Full forecast on A3 COMMUNITY Photos By Mark Brennan Siuslaw News Mapleton sets sail with new mural INSIDE — A3 LIFESTYLE he Rotary Club of Florence’s Interact Club at Siuslaw High School devised a way to bring Easter baskets to children, even during the COVID-19 pandemic. Last week, 12 high school students, led by Interact Club President Brea Blan- kenship and Community Service Chair Cate Waggoner, worked with employees at Oregon Pacific Bank to stuff 300 bags with over 3,000 Easter eggs with candy and prizes. The students invited the Easter Bunny to join them at Siuslaw Middle School on Saturday morning to hand out Easter Egg Baskets. The Easter Bunny greeted children as they arrived. Approximately 80 local children drove through with their parents to receive the eggs. In addition, nine children received golden eggs with golden tickets. They were able to take their tickets to Siuslaw Outreach Services to redeem for prizes like bicycles, basketball hoops, a mini drone, a tabletop foosball game, stuffed animals, a kite, magic set and more. Interact students distributed the remaining eggs to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Western Lane County, Siuslaw Outreach Services, Florence Food Share and Oregon Pacific Bank. Council approves Benedick annexation County to remain City of Florence extends COVID-19 State of Emergency By Mark Brennan Siuslaw News Siuslaw is District Champions INSIDE — B RECORDS Obituaries & response logs Inside — A2 TV GUIDE Inside — B3-B4 The Florence City Council met for a regularly scheduled evening meeting on Monday, April 5. All councilors were in atten- dance virtually for the meeting, which once again centered around discussion and consideration of an annexation request from Ben- edick Holdings, LLC. However, the meeting began with Mayor Joe Henry first issuing an official proclamation designating April as Child Abuse Prevention Month. Siuslaw School District Board member Suzanne Mann-Heintz spoke briefly about the issue after Henry read the proclamation into the record. “I would like to remind every- one to look for the pinwheel gar- dens that will be coming up all over town,” Mann-Heintz said. “The pinwheel is a symbol of a safe, happy childhood and also reminds everyone that a con- nected child is a protected child — and everyone has a part to play in reducing child abuse and ne- glect,” Mann Heintz said. Henry then announced the appointment of Wayne Sharpe and David Peden to the Florence Urban Renewal Agency Budget Committee and of Jeff Archam- beau to the City Budget Commit- tee before turning the council’s collective attention to Florence Planning Director Wendy Farley- Campbell to talk about the prop- erty, a 49-acre parcel off Rhodo- dendron Drive. The petition for annexation has been a main point of interest on the council’s agenda for the past few months. Some opponents to the annexation have mounted a public information campaign prompting more than 250 letters and public statements in opposi- tion to the annexation. Dozens of yard signs denounc- ing the annexation have sprouted up along Rhododendron Drive and other side streets in the area of the proposed annexation, with a group of residents opposed to the annexation retaining legal counsel to represent them in their opposition. See ANNEX page 7A KIDS CORNER Activities for kids Inside — B5 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 Boards discuss future, finances of WLFEA By Mark Brennan Siuslaw News S IUSLAW N EWS 2 S ECTIONS | 16 P AGES C OPYRIGHT 2021 The combined boards of Siuslaw Valley Fire and Rescue (SVFR) and the Western Lane Ambulance Dis- trict (WLAD), collectively known as Western Lane Fire & EMS Au- thority (WLFEA), met virtually on March 25. There were a number of tense moments in the meeting, primar- ily due to the concerns and pub- lic positions voiced by WLAD Director Larry Farnsworth, who believes the economic model un- der which the ambulance district operates is unsustainable. This position has been a stick- ing point at recent meetings, in- cluding arguments for and against Farnsworth’s position during pub- lic comments. During the meeting, Interna- tional Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) Local 851 President Mi- chael Caven, who represents mem- bers of both WLAD and SVFR, directed his comments specifically towards Farnsworth’s public posi- tion opposed to the latest contract agreement negotiated between the union and the district. “I cannot remain silent follow- ing the paid advertisement made by a member of this body,” said Caven, referring to a full-page ad taken out in the March 17 edition of Siuslaw News that included, among other things, salary and benefit information. “We saw Di- rector Farnsworth take out an ad that attacked district leadership, fellow directors, the union and our members after he was unable to sway the bargaining team or his fellow directors to pass draconian cuts to avoid what he sees as a fi- nancial crisis. It is unfortunate the director felt the need to take out an advertisement to spread misin- formation. This break in decorum was unnecessary and disappoint- ing.” Following the public comment period, the meeting continued. Fire/EMS Chief Michael Schick in- troduced new full-time employee Mackenzie Jeffcott, who has been working at the district for two years previously to her promotion to full time. See BOARDS page 6A Enroll in the right Medicare plan for your needs. x x x Gain an understanding of how Medicare works. Learn ƚŚĞĚŝīĞƌĞŶĐĞďĞƚǁĞĞŶDĞĚŝĐĂƌĞĚǀĂŶƚĂŐĞĂŶĚDĞĚŝĐĂƌĞ^ƵƉƉůĞŵĞŶƚƉůĂŶƐ͘ ŝƐĐŽǀĞƌŚŽǁDĞĚŝĐĂƌĞWƌĞƐĐƌŝƉƟŽŶƌƵŐWůĂŶƐǁŽƌŬ͘ at low-risk level despite rise in COVID-19 cases By Chantelle Meyer Siuslaw News On Tuesday, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown announced that positive cases of the novel coronavirus are increasing statewide. With that in mind, four counties are in a two-week caution period for facing backward movement with case counts. Lane County just moved down to “low risk” of community transmission on March 26, so will remain there through the caution period. According to the governor’s office, “Counties that reduced their COVID-19 spread enough to move down in risk level in the previous two-week period, but see their numbers go back up in the next two-week period, are given a two- week caution period to re-focus efforts to drive down creeping case numbers and give local businesses additional certainty on their plans for operating.” Lane County Public Health (LCPH) Public Information Of- ficer Jason Davis said the county was notified of 35 positive cases on Monday and 116 cases over weekend, bringing the county total to 10,998 total cases. “That dovetails with the increase we saw last week with numerous days in double-digit cases,” he said. “We are seeing a significant increase in our overall cases.” See COUNTY page 6A Helping Oregonians Since 1996 1932 Pine St Suite B-6 Florence, OR. 97439 ĂŶĂĂŶĞ/ŶƐƵƌĂŶĐĞŝƐŶŽƚĐŽŶŶĞĐƚĞĚǁŝƚŚŽƌĞŶĚŽƌƐĞĚďLJƚŚĞhŶŝƚĞĚ^ƚĂƚĞƐŐŽǀĞƌŶŵĞŶƚŽƌƚŚĞĨĞĚĞƌĂůDĞĚŝĐĂƌĞƉƌŽŐƌĂŵ͘