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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (June 30, 2021)
SN Siuslaw News Siuslaw News NEWS & VIEWS THAT DEFINE OUR COMMUNITY VOL. 131, NO. 52 J UNE 30, 2021 F LORENCE , O REGON WEATHER Sunny afternoon with a high of 66 and a low of 57. Full forecast on A3 COMMUNITY WEDNESDAY EDITION | JUNE 30, 2021 | $1.00 THESIUSLAWNEWS.COM INVITES YOU TO OUR VIRTUAL AUCTION 2021 To be held over (4) weekends starting on Thursday June 24th and running through Sunday July 18th #1 NOON THURS JUNE 24– 7 PM 2021 SUNDAY JUNE 27 INVITES YOU TO AUCTION OUR VIRTUAL AUCTION AUCTION #2 NOON THURS JULY 1 - 7 PM SUNDAY JULY 4 th To be held over (4) weekends starting on THURS Thursday AUCTION #3 NOON JULY 8 June - 7 PM 24 SUNDAY JULY 11 th AUCTION #4 18 NOON THURS JULY 15 - 7 PM SUNDAY JULY 18 and running through Sunday July SPECIAL WINE AUCTION SATURDAY JUNE JULY 17 27 ; 7AM – 7PM AUCTION #1 NOON THURS JUNE 24– 7 PM SUNDAY AUCTION #2 NOON THURS JULY 1 - 7 PM SUNDAY JULY 4 More Details and SUNDAY to Register AUCTION #3 NOON For THURS JULY 8 - 7 PM JULY for 11 the Auction, Please go to Our Website www.theflorencerotary.org AUCTION #4 NOON THURS JULY 15 - 7 PM SUNDAY JULY 18 SPECIAL WINE AUCTION SATURDAY JULY 17 ; 7AM – 7PM ‘Oregon is 100 percent open for business’ Governor signs order to lift all remaining COVID-19 restrictions issued under emergency statutes By Chantelle Meyer Siuslaw News O n Friday, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown signed an executive order that lifts Oregon’s risk lev- el framework and all remaining COVID-19 health and safety restric- tions that have been issued under Oregon’s emergency statutes. This will be effective starting today, June 30. “We will lift the safety protocols we have relied on and reopen our economy,” Brown said. “That means WLAD, SVFR boards review phone poll no more statewide mask mandates in most settings, no required capac- ity limits and no required physical distancing. It means, effectively, Or- egon is 100 percent open for busi- ness.” The governor signed the recov- ery-focused executive order as the state neared its a 70 percent first dose adult vaccination rate. More than 2.3 million Oregonians have been vaccinated, and Brown said she was proud of the effort. “It is because of this success that we can move Oregon forward, and into the next chapter of this pan- demic. We are ready,” Brown said. As of Monday, the number of adult Oregonians needing vaccinations to reach the 70 percent threshold was 19,147, Oregon Health Authority reported. The seven-day running average is 7,352 doses per day. “We should all take pride in the work we have done to bring us to this moment. The efforts underway to close our vaccine equity gap and reach every Oregonian with infor- mation and a vaccine have definitely helped bring us this far. Thank you to all who are going the extra mile to vaccinate Oregonians,” Brown said. To help improve the vaccination rate, Oregon joined other states in creating an incentive campaign to encourage people to “Take Your Shot, Oregon.” The campaign sought to promote COVID-19 vaccinations and ended on June 27. Everyone who received at least one vaccination shot in Oregon was automatically entered, with the ex- ception of some state government employees and their families. See OPEN page 5A You can tell a tree by its fruit For More Details and to Register for the Auction, Please go Four board members to Our Website www.theflorencerotary.org depart Western Lane Fire & EMS Authority Flamenco dances into Florence INSIDE — A3 SPORTS Siuslaw wrestlers place at state INSIDE — B RECORDS Obituaries & response logs Inside — A2 TV GUIDE Inside — B3-B4 KIDS CORNER Activities for kids Inside — B5 CLASSIFIEDS Listings & notices Inside — B6 Western Lane Fire and EMS Authority (WLFEA), the admin- By Mark Brennan i s t r a t i v e branch of Siuslaw News the Siuslaw Valley Fire and Rescue (SVFR) and Western Lane Ambulance District (WLAD), held a combined board of directors meeting on June 24. The meeting began with all members of both boards in virtu- al attendance and a single public speaker on the agenda. During the public comments portion of the meeting, area res- ident R.J. Pilcher questioned the ability of WLFEA board members to remain objective in their deci- sions, as they have close contact and are personally familiar with the employees that would be under their supervision. As the agenda progressed, Ad- ministrative Manager Dina Mc- Clure gave a brief financial update before asking directors to authorize her to have access to account infor- mation for both organizations. See WLFEA page 7A /S IUSLAW N EWS @S IUSLAW N EWS T HE S IUSLAW N EWS . COM Story & Photos By Mark Brennan Siuslaw News Members of the Florence City Council and city staff met at Miller Park on Saturday morning to hon- or and recognize the work done by longtime committee volunteer Mi- chael Titmus. This included (lower photo, from left) Florence Public Works Director Mike Miller, City Coun- cilor Margaret Wisniewski, City Manager Erin Reynolds, commu- nity members Jeff Ashmead and Sherry Harvey, Mayor Joe Henry and City Councilor Sally Wantz. Titmus’ mother Beverly and his brother Chris were also in atten- dance at the event. Titmus, who passed away in April, served on the Florence Plan- ning Commission for a number of years prior to his most recent role as vice chair of Florence’s Envi- ronmental Management Advisory Committee (EMAC). As a prominent member of EMAC, Titmus was instrumental See TREE page 5A Mapleton schools put a cap on 2021, look forward to fall Board of Directors approves budget, contracts & summer schedule By Zeahna Young Siuslaw News FOLLOW US FOR THE LATEST NEWS : City honors legacy of committee member S IUSLAW N EWS 2 S ECTIONS | 16 P AGES C OPYRIGHT 2021 On June 16, Mapleton School District Board of Directors met for its final board meeting of the 2020- 21 school year. The evening began with a minor change to the agenda before the directors proceeded with the meet- ing. Soon after, Mapleton Superinten- dent Jodi O’Mara presented a slide show of Mapleton’s end of the year activities, because, as she said, “pic- tures are worth 1,000 words.” The slideshow included the high school Senior Walk through the courtyard of Mapleton Elementary, Graduation on June 12 and the ele- mentary school field day. The two days of activities in- cluded a special appearance from Salty the Sailor, the school’s mascot, who drove an ice cream truck with treats for the kids, volleyball, ulti- mate dodgeball, an obstacle course, a sponge race, a water balloon toss and a parachute. “It was a good time had by all, with a lot of laughs and a lot of smiles,” O’Mara said. “It was great way to end the school year, es- pecially such a crazy school year. There were some tears as the kids left, but we’re all really hoping for a normal school year next year.” After the slideshow, O’Mara gave an update on Transportation and Maintenance Director Randy Du- val’s behalf for summer projects. The list of work includes: asbestos abatement, new flooring installed, bathroom fixtures, custodial and IT closets, a new access road from the football field up to the track and more. O’Mara also talked about im- portant dates for the summer, in- cluding summer school and the re- lease of guidelines from the Oregon Department of Education on next school year. In addition, Mapleton will hold both the Kindergarten Kickoff and the August school board meeting on Aug. 18. Typically, the board does not hold a meeting in July. At that point, Director Michelle Holman proposed that the board consider in-person school board meetings starting in August. “I think it’s probably advisable that we start preparing ourselves to enter the world again,” she said. The remainder of the board was open to the idea as well, and O’Mara explained that provided COVID protocols were still in place and the meeting was still broadcast via the live stream, that was a possibility. Other important dates in- clude registration for all students, pre-K-12, on site from Aug. 23 to 25. See MAPLETON page 6A , e 4th for a barbeque th on m eu us M ry ths ast Milita n informational boo ra te Come join Ore gon Co Ve e! or m d an m. on, booths, raffl es 12:00 p.m to 4:00 p. om fr g in discounted admissi nn ru e b ill ay. s. The celebration w n throughout the d so er and special exhibit p er p 0 .0 $1 e b will Museum Admission
