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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (May 5, 2021)
SN 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 Siuslaw News Siuslaw News WEDNESDAY EDITION | MAY 5, 2021 | $1.00 THESIUSLAWNEWS.COM 997-5973 ‘Extreme risk’ doesn’t deter crowds from Florence NEWS & VIEWS THAT DEFINE OUR COMMUNITY VOL. 131, NO. 36 M AY 5, 2021 F LORENCE , O REGON WEATHER By Mark Brennan & Chantelle Meyer Siuslaw News Mostly cloudy with a high of 66 and a low of 49. Full forecast on A3 COMMUNITY PHOTOS BY MARK BRENNAN/ SIUSLAW NEWS Ladies of the Elks donate books INSIDE — A5 SPORTS Visitors to Historic Old Town Florence had the chance to dine in a new outdoor eating lane thanks to high-visibility barriers the City of Florence placed in front of six restaurants, including (clockwise from top left) 1285 Restobar, Beachcomber and Nosh Eatery. Additionally, uptown restaurant Fresh Harvest Café (courtesy photo) completed paving a 1,500-square-foot patio in time for reduced dining options under Lane County’s current designation of “extreme risk” for community spread of COVID-19, which the county reentered on April 30. Restaurants adapt L to restrictions in time for sunny weekend Vikings compete at track meet INSIDE — B RECORDS Obituaries & response logs Inside — A2-A3 TV GUIDE 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 ties. Under extreme risk, restaurants are unable to seat patrons inside and must therefore limit their service to outdoor dining or takeout. Despite concerns presented by a workplace where many are un- masked while eating, Historic Old Town Florence was inundated by visitors. Many seemed undeterred Mapleton elects to have families opt in to standardized testing City cancels Reverse Rhody Days Parade April meeting updates March resolution By Mark Brennan Siuslaw News S IUSLAW N EWS 2 S ECTIONS | 16 P AGES C OPYRIGHT 2021 The Florence City Council was busy on Monday, May 3, as coun- cilors participated in three meet- ings during the day. Two of the meetings were related to a Solid Waste Haulers Rate Review process undertaken annually to determine what, if any, increase in rates paid would be appropriate to pass on to customers, effective July 1. The first meeting took the form of a work session, led primarily by Planning Director Wendy Farley- Campbell, the city staff ex-officio representative for the Environmen- tal Management Advisory Com- mittee (EMAC), which has adviso- ry responsibilities for the council. The meeting was held that morning and, as most city meet- ings are, was shown on a livestream available to the public. Councilors were welcomed by City Manager Erin Reynolds, who provided a brief overview of the work to be accomplished and then turned the presentation over to FarleyCampbell. The city’s planning director first reviewed the history of the rate review process as well as the dif- ferent types of solid waste and the different size and holding capacity of containers used by haulers to re- move and transfer solid waste. The financial materials scruti- nized were provided by the two solid waste haulers authorized to operate in Florence: Central Coast Disposal and County Transfer and Recycling. Chris Bell from Bell and Asso- ciates, hired as a consultant by the city in auditing and interpreting the financial date submitted by the two private haulers, assisted with the explanation of the process un- dertaken by FarleyCampbell. “I am very thankful that over the last few years Wendy has asked me to assist the city with the rate review for the haulers. I’ll say this, you guys have two haulers that pro- vide great services and they have See CITY page 7A By Chantelle Meyer Siuslaw News The Mapleton School District Board of Directors met for its monthly meeting on April 21. Be- sides updates on Lane County’s elevated risk level for community spread of COVID-19, the board discussed high school graduation, the return of preschool in-person instruction and standardized test- ing. Mapleton Superintendent Jodi O’Mara informed the board that graduation is planned for Satur- day, June 12, for Mapleton High School seniors. Whether or not the ceremony is held in person will depend on Lane County’s COVID-19 risk levels. “If we remain in high risk, or even go down to moderate or low, we be- lieve we could still have in-person graduation,” O’Mara said. Oregon Department of Educa- tion (ODE) has been communicat- ing with Mapleton and other Lane County school districts about grad- Enroll in the right Medicare plan for your needs. x x x by the governor’s latest announce- ment reducing indoor restaurant seating, among other restrictions. The changing nature of the COVID situation has been a chal- lenge for workers, in some cases making it nearly impossible for them to pay their bills and keep their See EATERIES page 6A Florence council deliberates on Solid Waste Haulers Rate Review Inside — B3-B4 KIDS CORNER ast Friday, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown again raised the danger level in Lane County from high risk to extreme risk of community spread of COVID-19. This shift has creat- ed numerous difficulties for local restaurateurs and their employees, which have borne the brunt of dras- tic fluctuations in allowable activi- Gain an understanding of how Medicare works. Learn ƚŚĞĚŝīĞƌĞŶĐĞďĞƚǁĞĞŶDĞĚŝĐĂƌĞĚǀĂŶƚĂŐĞĂŶĚDĞĚŝĐĂƌĞ^ƵƉƉůĞŵĞŶƚƉůĂŶƐ͘ ŝƐĐŽǀĞƌŚŽǁDĞĚŝĐĂƌĞWƌĞƐĐƌŝƉƟŽŶƌƵŐWůĂŶƐǁŽƌŬ͘ uation ceremonies and where they fall in county health metrics. “What we’re planning is to have a graduation ceremony in person; whether that’s outside or inside will be dependent upon our county risk level,” O’Mara said. ODE recommends planning to hold graduations outside. This would allow for greater site occu- pancy, with numbers determined by the county’s risk level as deter- mined by the Oregon Health Au- thority. According to O’Mara, Mapleton will plan for outdoors, with an in- door ceremony option dependent on weather. “It’s a lot safer,” she added. “We would be able to do that and have more people on site and in person if we did it outside.” On the other side of the spec- trum of Mapleton students, the district was able to bring preschool students back to campus for the first time since the COVID-19 pan- demic began more than a year ago. See MAPLETON page 6A Helping Oregonians Since 1996 1932 Pine St Suite B-6 Florence, OR. 97439 ĂŶĂĂŶĞ/ŶƐƵƌĂŶĐĞŝƐŶŽƚĐŽŶŶĞĐƚĞĚǁŝƚŚŽƌĞŶĚŽƌƐĞĚďLJƚŚĞhŶŝƚĞĚ^ƚĂƚĞƐŐŽǀĞƌŶŵĞŶƚŽƌƚŚĞĨĞĚĞƌĂůDĞĚŝĐĂƌĞƉƌŽŐƌĂŵ͘