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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 11, 2021)
2A | SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2021 | SIUSLAW NEWS On The Record Oregon reports 2,437 new COVID-19 cases, 21 new deaths There are 21 new COVID-19 related deaths in Oregon, raising the state’s death toll to 3,394, the Oregon Health Authority reported Thursday evening. Oregon Health Authority (OHA) reported 2,437 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19, bringing the state total to 294,392. OHA’s most recent update on COVID-19 breakthrough cases, released today, found that 80.7% of the 13,798 reported COVID-19 cases between Aug. 29 and Sept. 4 occurred in people who were unvaccinated. There were 2,657 breakthrough cases, accounting for 19.3% of the week’s cases. As of Thursday, Lane County reported 22,372 confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19, with 106 people hospitalized and 133 in intensive care. There are 841 people in the county consid- ered infectious. In the 97439 zip code, there are 541 confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19. As of Thursday, 2,658,741 peo- ple in Oregon have had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 2,423,777 people have completed a COVID-19 vaccine series. To learn more about COVID-19 and vaccination efforts in Oregon, visit healthoregon.org/coronavi- rus and covidvaccine.oregon.gov, as well as lanecounty.org/corona- virus and lanecounty.org/vaxclin- ics. LOCAL VACCINE CLINICS SCHEDULED A free drive through vaccination clinic will be held on Saturday, Sept. 11, from 1 to 3 p.m., at Siuslaw Middle School, 2525 Oak St. in Flor- ence. Walk up vaccina- tions will also be avail- able. The clinic will be offering the Pfizer vaccine for ages 12 and older, and the Johnson & Johnson vaccine for ages 18 and older. Appointments are not required to receive a vaccination, but, if de- sired, an appointment can be scheduled at www.Lan- eCounty.org/VaxClinics. COVID-19 vaccinations center at 541-682-1380. are available regardless This clinic is a collabora- tion with Lane County Public Health and The ARC of Lane County. The clinic is free and open to all people living in the central coast area. For Siuslaw residents who can’t make it to a clinic or pharmacy of- fering this no cost vac- cine, Lane County Pub- lic Health can also help with transportation or of immigration status or arrange for in-home vac- health insurance. cinations. Contact them at For questions or concerns 541-682-1380. about the vaccine, contact In addition, The City of Lane County’s COVID call Florence and Lane County Public Health are hosting a COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic on Thursday, Sept. 16, from noon to 5 p.m. at the Florence Events Center, 715 Quince St. Appointments can be scheduled online, but are not necessary. The clin- ic will be a walk-through clinic and have Pfizer and Moderna 1st, 2nd, and 3rd doses, as well as Johnson & Johnson single doses. Full details on the clin- ic, how to schedule an appointment, and infor- mation on receiving third doses can be found at www. lanecounty.org/vaxclinics. Space #2 in the Old Hospital on 12th Street C elebrating over 30 Years in Real Estate LOCALLY OWNED AND OPERATED • RESIDENTIAL • LAND • COMMERCIAL • PROPERTY MANAGEMENT • Agencies conduct missing person investigation at Devils Churn On Thursday, Sept. 9, at approximately 2 p.m., Or- egon State Police Troopers and emergency personnel responded to a call for a subject who had fallen into the ocean at Devils Churn, a U.S. Forest Service Day Use Park, located on High- way 101 near milepost 167. Preliminary investiga- tion revealed Steve Allen, 67, of Walnut Creek, Calif., attempted to jump across Devils Churn and fell into the ocean. Fellow visitors attempted to rescue Allen, but were unable to retrieve him from the water. Allen was last observed by rescue agencies unre- sponsive prior to losing sight of him. The U.S. Coast Guard and other responding agen- cies suspended their search at approximately 6:40 p.m. Allen is presumed to be de- ceased. Oregon State Police was assisted by Lincoln County Sheriff ’s Office, Newport Fire Department, Yachats Fire and Rescue and the U.S. Coast Guard. ‘Remembering Madison’ with Daughters of the American Revolution Joel Marks, retired adjunct history professor of the OLLI program at Southern Ore- gon University, will present another enlightening pro- gram for the Oregon Dunes Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. The Friday, Sept. 24, meet- ing will feature the U.S.’s most diminutive president, founding Father James Mad- ison. Though he was only 5’4” tall and weighed a mere 100 pounds, Madison craft- ed the basic framework and guiding principles and is recognized as the of father of our Constitution. Did you know, if you have a Madison in your purse or wallet, it is a very rare $5,000 bill. Some are still in circula- tion; a bill in very good con- dition went for more than $100,000 at an auction in 2010. Constitution Week is rec- ognized Sept. 17 to 23. This observance was initiated in 1955 by DAR and signed into law in 1956. “There are two documents of paramount importance to American history: the Dec- laration of Independence, which forged our nation- al identity, and the United States Constitution, which set forth the framework for the federal government that functions to this day,” said DAR President General Denise Doring VanBuren. “While Independence Day is a well-recognized and be- loved national holiday, fewer people know about Consti- tution Week, an annual com- memoration of the living document that upholds and protects the freedoms central to our American way of life.” The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution Oregon Dunes Chapter meets monthly Sep- tember through May. The DAR, with more than a mil- lion members, is a non-polit- ical, volunteer women’s ser- vice organization dedicated Celebration of Life Anthony Edward Villis 9/6/1926 – 3/18/2021 Please Come Join all of Tony’s friends September 17 at 4:00 pm at The Firehouse Restaurant in Florence. We will be viewing his sculptures and toasting to this special man… Please R.S.V.P., required no later than 9/15 by 5:00 pm. Contacts: Linda McPhedran – 541-997-5397 Mary Lou Brown – 541-902-7674 Michael Ksen – 541-997-4206 or 760-333-8815 Thank you….let’s not forget Tony…. to keeping America strong by promoting patriotism, preserving history and sup- porting education programs. The public is invited to at- tend and learn more about the fourth president of the U.S. To attend, contact Chap- ter Registrar Karen Childs at 541- 997-7154 for details. 1870 Hwy. 126, Suite A • PO Box 3040, Florence, OR JIM HOBERG Broker/Owner • • • 541.997.7653 Fax: 541.997.7654 VISIT US ONLINE AT WWW . JIMHOBERG . COM TheSiuslawNews.com Wildlife habitat improvements benefit future developments Some of the well-known benefits of wetlands include buffering from flooding and storm surges, providing excellent habitat for wildlife, improving water quality, providing recreation opportunities and storing carbon. Many years ago, wetlands all over the world were commonly drained, filled and built up for humans at the expense of wildlife and waterways. We now know that wetlands are crucial to a healthy environ- ment and our economy. Estuaries, where ocean tides mix salt water with fresh water, are especially important for fish and other wildlife. It’s expensive to restore those wetlands. Mitigation banking is one way to offset the costs while balancing conservation, development and property rights in a responsible and sustainable way. Dr. Alex Gonyaw, Senior Fish Biologist of the Klamath Tribes explains, “Mitigation banks [are] where we make “deposits” of restored habitat land from which we can make “withdrawals” when projects im- pact or disturb wetland areas.” This is just what was done on the Siuslaw River at Cushman, where nearly 150 acres of wetlands were diked and drained in the 1940’s to use for pasture. Beginning around 2000, Don Wilbur and his family began Oregon’s first estuarine mitigation bank. Many agencies and scientists were involved, and helped develop Oregon’s rules for estuary mitigation. Wilbur Island Mitigation Bank received its final approval in 2012. Now the whole island, approximately 300 acres, is providing prime habitat for coho as well as steelhead, osprey, ducks, eelgrass & other wild- life while making developments in the Florence and surrounding areas more viable. The benefits for the environment are many: Restoration happens in advance of impacts, so the water quality, fish, other wildlife and climate are already benefitting from it. It emphasizes the best available science and focuses on results. A large project consolidates resources to allow large areas of permanently-protected habitat, with far more benefits than a small patchwork of projects. For a developer, mitigation reduces uncertainty, design and con- struction costs, agency oversight and permit processing time. It maxi- mizes use of the developable property, and transfers all responsibility for protection and monitoring to the mitigation banker. In cases where a special species or habitat would be impacted, mit- igation would not be approved; it is only used to replace similar or less valuable marshes. On the Siuslaw as well as in most areas of the country, estuarine wetlands have been disproportionately impacted, so this miti- gation may also be allowed to replace some freshwater wetlands. Having invested decades of care and $1 million, the Mitigation Bank is now ready for the next owner, and has vast, long-term income poten- tial. The land protections are guaranteed forever, and also allow other low-impact activities such as education, camping, and duck hunting under certain conditions. This is an opportunity of a lifetime that will benefit generations to come. More information can be found at donwilbur.com/services-offered.