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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 28, 2021)
SN THESIUSLAWNEWS.COM | SATURDAY EDITION | AUGUST 28, 2021 | $1.00 INSIDE Today’s Issue LANE FLORENCE CENTER We’re back! FALL 2021 REGISTRATION OPENS AUG 31 C ONTINUING E D U C AT I O N ONSITE CLASSES START SEPT 27 REGISTER AT CE.LANECC.EDU OR CALL 541.997.8444 FOR ASSISTANCE Siuslaw News Siuslaw News Lane County issues new COVID-19 guidance NEWS & VIEWS THAT DEFINE OUR COMMUNITY Gov. Brown adds back outdoor mask mandate VOL. 131, NO. 69 A UGUST 28, 2021 F LORENCE , O REGON By Damien Sherwood For the Siuslaw News WEATHER Sunshine with a high of 68 and a low of 51. Full forecast on A3 COMMUNITY Last Saturday, Lane County re- leased updated guidance in an effort to fight the recent rise in COVID-19 cases. As well as the usual recommen- dations to wear masks indoors or when six-foot distances cannot be Dunes City hears about water, council considers masks By Mark Brennan Siuslaw News Rally supports “For the People” Act INSIDE — A3 SPORTS Sailors start six-man football INSIDE — B RECORDS Obituaries & emergency response logs Inside — A5 SIDE SHOW Activities and comics every Saturday Inside — B4 CLASSIFIEDS Listings and 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 S IUSLAW N EWS 2 S ECTIONS | 20 P AGES C OPYRIGHT 2021 Dunes City Council met on Aug. 25 for its regular meeting with all councilors in attendance at Dunes City Hall. The council met in per- son on the room’s dais with only two members, councilors Susan Snow and Robert Orr, wearing masks. The issue was raised near the end of the meeting, when Orr asked the group to act in some way to ac- knowledge and meet state restric- tions on public gatherings which require attendees to wear a mask. “I would like to suggest we do one of three things: that we all wear masks, partly as an example to our students and partly for safety pur- poses. I know there are some that are uncomfortable with that, so my second suggestion is spreading ourselves around the room again. [Third,] I think we should hold Zoom meetings, for those that are concerned and want to remain safe,” Orr said. The response from other coun- cilors was not supportive and the issue was not officially acted upon, although Councilor Duke Wells re- peated his position that he would not wear a mask, regardless of cur- rent mandates. He was joined in his refusal to heed mandates by Coun- cilor Tom Mallon and Mayor Robert Forsythe. The three all stated their objec- tions to mask wearing, with Wells agreeing to Orr’s request for social distancing but refusing to wear a mask. “It’s just how I was raised and who I am. I just feel like I have been lied to,” he said. “I also keep thinking the narrative from the CDC keeps changing to fit political stuff, that’s just how I feeI. I got a shot and I didn’t want too, and I haven’t worn a mask and I’m not going to.” Snow was the most supportive of following the current executive or- ders regarding masking, social dis- tancing and abiding by recommen- dations from the Oregon Health Authority, which is the basis for Or- egon Gov. Kate Brown’s most recent mandates. See DC page 8A maintained outdoors, emergency recommendations call on business- es, organizations and employers to take immediate action to limit on- going community spread and de- fend the county’s dwindling hospital capacity. The Lane County Board of Coun- ty Commissioners discussed the health advisory on Aug. 24 and vot- ed unanimously to officially take up the weekend’s recommendations. However, commissioners did not go as far as to call for a mandate. Public health officials described the health landscape to commis- sioners, reporting that 65 percent of all ICU beds are occupied by COVID patients and that daily case rates were in the triple digits. Lane County’s guidance came just a day after Gov. Kate Brown took steps to curb the statewide rise of COVID cases by requiring Oregon health care workers and K-12 teach- ers and educators to be fully vacci- nated by Oct. 18. Only medical or religious exemp- tions apply. Meanwhile, hundreds of national guardsmen have been deployed to help fill roles as frontline healthcare workers struggle to meet demand. Oregon is now averaging more than 2,000 new confirmed and pre- sumptive cases of COVID-19 each day. As of Aug. 20, more than a quar- ter-million Oregonians have con- tracted COVID-19. Brown also announced new state- wide outdoor mask requirements on Aug. 24, which went into effect Friday. See COVID page 6A One pandemic financial lifeline continues, another ends U.S. government extends halt on student loan payments, concludes temporary federal unemployment benefits By Reina Harwood Siuslaw News On Aug. 6, the Biden Harris Administration announced an extended moratorium on feder- al student loan payments, which was scheduled to expire at the end of September. Now that has been moved to Jan. 31, 2022. About one in six adults and one in three young adults have students loans, U.S. President Joe Biden stat- ed in a press release. “The pause has been a critical lifeline so they don’t have to choose between paying for basic necessi- ties or their student loan during the pandemic that upended their lives,” he said. In total, around 44 million Americans owe more than $1.71 trillion in student loan debt, ac- cording to the 2021 Student Loan Hero report. The federal administration’s de- cision on the extension was placed to offer the U.S. Department of Education and borrowers spare time to prioritize other expenses to reduce loan defaults, with an additional approach to “economic recovery,” the president added. According to Federal Student Aid, an office of the U.S. Depart- ment of Education, the exten- sion entails several relief mea- sures for eligible loans. The first See BENEFITS page 6A Florence approves mural, street closures in special session By Mark Brennan Siuslaw News The Florence City Council met on Aug. 23 for a special session primarily dedicated to the consid- eration of a request for approval of a mural on the east side of Love- joy’s Restaurant and Tea Room and Restaurant and two decisions related to street closures. There were no public comments at the Monday meeting, as Flor- ence Mayor Joe Henry had asked during the Aug. 16 council meet- ing that no comments be allowed due to the designation of this meeting as a “special” session. The majority of the meeting was geared towards a presenta- tion and discussion of Resolution 29, Series 2021, asking the council for approval to place a mural in Historic Old Town Florence. The application process included prior approval by the Florence Planning Commission which forwarded their approval to the council. During the meeting, there were public hearings for the mural ap- plication and the road closures but there was no opposition to the items. The appli- cation for the mural was filed by Heather Burnem, the owner of Love- joy’s, 185 No- pal Street. The proposed mural at Lovejoy’s Restaurant and The staff Tea Room on Nopal Street may need modifica- p r e s e n t a t i o n tions before final approval. regarding the request was made by Planning Houses of Parliament, Portcullis Director Wendy FarleyCampbell, House, Westminster Bridge, the who said the subject property is river Thames and the iconic dou- located near the southwest inter- ble decker red buses.” The Florence City Code that section of Nopal and First streets regulates murals has a number and faces the Port of Siuslaw park- of strict criteria that must be met ing lot. before approval is given, and Far- “The applicant proposes an ap- leyCampbell reviewed the process proximately 960-square-foot mu- her department went through to ral painted directly on the south assure the application was meet- wall of the building containing ing all of those criteria. Lovejoy’s Restaurant and Tea- The majority of these require- room,” she said. “The south wall ments were properly met, but the of the restaurant immediately fac- issue of when a mural becomes es a retail building and the mural more of a sign than an image is to consist of a scene of London, See MEETING page 9A England, specifically Big Ben, The Football team receives partial program clearance for vaccinated athletes On Aug. 22, the Siuslaw School District notified the district’s stu- dents, staff and families that one or more people on the Siuslaw High School football team have test- ed positive for COVID-19. This prompted a two-week suspension of the program. Screening testing for vaccinated players of the Siuslaw High School football team took place Thursday, Aug. 26, at Siuslaw High School. Vaccinated players were asked to bring their vaccination card or other medical documentation for record keeping. After a negative BinaxNOW Rapid Test, vaccinated players and coaches could again schedule on- campus conditioning and other related football activities. A new schedule was not announced as of press time. With the long duration of some variants, vaccinated athletes did not need to isolate, but should continue to monitor for the onset of symptoms related to COVID-19 for the next several days. See ATHLETES page 7A C elebrating Over 30 Years in Real Estate LOCALLY OWNED AND OPERATED JIM HOBERG Broker/Owner 1870 Hwy. 126, Suite A • PO Box 3040, Florence, OR
