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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (July 17, 2021)
THESIUSLAWNEWS.COM | SATURDAY EDITION | JULY 17, 2021 | $1.00 SN RN L ANE E T S E W AMBULANCE $65 Join LifeMed Today! WesternLaneAmbulance.com or Call 541-997-9614 Siuslaw News Siuslaw News NEWS & VIEWS THAT DEFINE OUR COMMUNITY VOL. 131, NO. 57 J ULY 17, 2021 F LORENCE , O REGON WEATHER Partly sunny with a high of 64 and a low of 50. Full forecast on A3 COMMUNITY Power of Florence takes place today INSIDE — A3 SPORTS Cheerleaders raise funds INSIDE — B Community Voices INSIDE — A7-A8 RECORDS ‘Until the need isn’t there anymore’ Lane County, partners provide drive-thru vaccine clinic Story & Photo By Reina Harwood Siuslaw News On July 10, Lane County Pub- lic Health held its second drive- through vaccine clinic at Siuslaw Middle School. The first was held in June. According to officials from Lane County Public Health’s COVID-19 Mobile Vaccine Team, 13 people were vaccinated that day. As of July 15, Oregon Health Authority (OHA) recorded 10,170 people in the Florence area who have had at least one vaccine shot thus far. Around 12 volunteers from a cohort of organizations and Lane County Search and Rescue gathered to help make it happen. The drive-through vaccine clinic is targeted to all communities along the Oregon Coast and is a state- wide event, according to Nancy Berge with The Arc Lane County’s Families Connected. The agencies in Lane County who helped organize and volunteer at the clinic included the Autism Society of Oregon, Oregon Family Support Network, Early Childhood CARES, The Arc and Families Connected. The drive-through clinic will proceed every three weeks “until the need isn’t there anymore,” said Berge. The following event will be at the end of the month on Saturday, July 30, from 11 to 2 p.m., again at Siu- slaw Middle School, 2525 Oak St. Berge said the drive-through sys- tem was intentional to accommo- date mobility and behavioral cir- cumstances, allowing all people the opportunity to get vaccinated from inside their vehicles. Further, a Lat- inx Spanish speaker was present at Transportation, Planning meet By Mark Brennan Siuslaw News Inside — A2 SIDE SHOW Inside — B4 CLASSIFIEDS Listings & public notices Inside — B5 FOLLOW US FOR THE LATEST NEWS : /S IUSLAW N EWS @S IUSLAW N EWS T HE S IUSLAW N EWS . COM Multiple agencies have partnered with Lane County Public Health’s COVID-19 Mobile Vaccine Team to bring a drive-through clinic to Siuslaw Middle School every three weeks. the clinic for translation. “The premise of creating this event was to reach rural as well as marginalized communities in the coastal area,” Berge said. “Families can then access and eliminate any barriers they may have.” The COVID-19 Mobile Vaccine Team said the vaccines available at the clinics are the Johnson & John- son single-dose and Pfizer, which requires a second shot. All ages over 12 are eligible with walk-ins welcome and pre-regis- tration is not required. Lane Coun- ty Public Health provides the vac- cine regardless of immigration or insurance status. Other clinics in the Lane County region continue to offer COVID-19 vaccines. To schedule an appointment, visit lanecounty.org/vaxclinics. See CLINIC page 6A By George Henry/Coast Radio With Chantelle Meyer/ Siuslaw News On Thursday, Lane County Pub- lic Health (LCPH) began to alert the community about an outbreak of COVID-19 at Spruce Point As- sisted Living and Memory Care in Florence. “Currently, we have 19 residents and six staff members who have tested positive via rapid antigen test,” LCPH Public Information Officer Jason Davis said. See COVID page 6A City Committees hold Lane County invites input meetings in July on Climate Action Plan Obituaries & emer- gency response logs Activities and comics Spruce Point reports outbreak S IUSLAW N EWS 2 S ECTIONS | 18 P AGES C OPYRIGHT 2021 As the Florence City Council pre- pares to return to in-person public meetings next week, both the Plan- ning Commission (PC) and the Transportation Advisory Commit- tee (TAC) met virtually this week, while the Public Art Committee (PAC) cancelled its meeting sched- uled for July 12. All Transportation Committee members were in attendance at the July 8 regular meeting as City Senior Planner Roxanne Johnston facilitated a discussion which pri- marily reviewed the suggestions be- ing made to amend the committee’s workplan. During her review and follow- ing the limited reports from TAC Sub-Committees, Johnston raised one traffic-related issue which had risen to the level where some type of action was being considered. “We have been asked to address safety at intersections, line of sight so to speak, that include overgrown vegetation. As you know, as you drive around town there are times when you can’t see around the cor- ner. That’s an issue, a code enforce- ment issue,” she said. “The thought was, if we raise awareness, we could work through all of that and get some of these lots cleared up, and maybe we can create some educa- tional flyers for that.” Josh Haring, one of the lon- gest serving members of the TAC, agreed. “What we were thinking was a letter that might go out and just let them (residents) know what is go- ing on, this is what the code says. So, it needs to be cut back and if not, the code says you can be fined for it,” he said. Among the committee members, there seemed to be a consensus that this was a reasonable step for TAC to take and the discussion moved forward. Next, at Haring’s urging, the issue of transportation provided to some local assisted living facilities was discussed. See COMMITTEES page 6A By Mark Brennan Siuslaw News Lane County is currently in the process of developing a long-term Climate Action Plan (CAP). One of the central components of the final draft, which will be presented to county commissioners for consid- eration, is public engagement. The Lane County Commission- ers have decided to include the public in many steps of the process and, to that end, the county has set up a Climate Advisory Committee (CAC) to coordinate the different parts of the plan to engage the pub- lic. These include an online survey and a series of virtual meetings to discuss various aspect of the multi- pronged approach needed to ad- dress the many issues related to de- veloping a CAP. The second of these virtual meet- ings took place on Tuesday evening and focused on energy used in buildings and renewables. The for- mat for the forums is casual, with participants sharing observations, anecdotes and thoughts on the des- ignated subject. Mark Nystrom is the Climate Strategist for Lane County and he is coordinating not only the virtual meetings but the overall develop- ment of the CAP. “I was really happy with the way the meeting came together. There were a lot of great ideas shared and I really appreciated the comments of so many concerned residents that are willing to talk about all of the issues related to greenhouse gas emissions,” Nystrom said. One of the programs which was mentioned as a potential model for increasing the number of homes with some form of renewable en- ergy was spearheaded by Central Lincoln Public Utility District in 2019. This program offered low- cost installation of solar panels for CLPUD customers to supplement their purchase of electricity. Once publicized, the program was em- braced by area residents and all of the available solar units were claimed. “We hear so much bad news about climate change, so we need to grab onto these kinds of inspi- rational stories and see if we can See PLAN page 5A COAST REAL ESTATE 83764 CLEAR LAKE RD WOAHINK LAKEFRONT RANCH: Surround yourself w/ unri- valed privacy on crown jewel of Woahink’s Summerbell Arm. Unique 30-acre ranch property available for first time in 60 years. 3400 SF 2-story mid-century modern home, custom-de- signed to sustain family of 8, sits in park-like setting. Brimming w/ vertical grain cabinetry, built-in storage, & lake views from every room. 1300 SF guest home up the lane. The history of the ranch lives on in 2 barns & 3 fenced pastures. Once-in- a-lifetime opportunity. $1,794,000 #12183 MLS#21202774 83879 HIGHWAY 101 Pristine Woahink Lakefront home w/easy lake access and new boat dock. Warm and inviting home w/ well thought out floor plan. Spacious living room w/ propane fireplace, slider to deck. Kitchen is designed to please any cook w/ custom cabinets, tile counters, gas cook top. Primary suite has a large closet, two person tub, and shower. Custom hardwood floors, vaulted ceilings and a custom gas masonry fireplace in the living room. Significant recent updating! Don’t pass up this pristine home. $699,000 #12182 MLS#21612624 397 KINGWOOD STREET Kingwood Bungalow - 2 bedroom & 2 bath located near Old Town. Cute and cozy - fenced yard with covered deck, flower & garden beds, chicken coop. This home has a country kitchen, soaking tub, propane fireplace, and extra room for office, den, or craft room. Better hurry, because it won’t last long! $329,000 #12219 MLS#21670230 3561 JAKE MANN LANE Nice views of the ocean, river, Old Town District & golf course. Watch fireworks from your back deck. One owner custom built 2007 home. Open floorplan w/vaulted ceilings, skylights. Greatroom, fireplace, hickory flooring. Gourmet kitchen: gas stovetop, dbl ovens, Corian counters. Master suite: Lg view window, vaulted ceiling, jetted tub & walk-in shower with private deck access. Additional upper suite. Lower level has a media rm, bedroom, full bath. Oversized 4 car garage. Don’t miss this one! $689,000 #12184 MLS#21235686 541-997-7777 “We’re next to the Bridge” 100 Hwy. 101 See all Florence Listings at cbcoast.com