SN THESIUSLAWNEWS.COM | WEDNESDAY EDITION | NOVEMBER 3, 2021 | $1.00 Find Your Perfect RV Rental! RVshare connects millions of renters to the perfect RV rental and provides a safe, secure booking experience. Start Planning the Road Trip of a Lifetime rentrvusa.com/siuslaw Siuslaw News Siuslaw News NEWS & VIEWS THAT DEFINE OUR COMMUNITY VOL. 131, NO. 88 N OV . 3, 2021 F LORENCE , O REGON Nov. 2 Special Election Development adds 12 new homes to Florence Readers looking for results from the Nov. 2 Special Election in Lane County will find them online now at www.The SiuslawNews.com. Results were made public last night beginning at 8 p.m., after the paper’s print deadline, and will be in Saturday’s print edition of the Siuslaw News. Lane County Elections will continue to provide updates on the results until all ballots are processed. DevNW’s Keener Place begins occupancy WEATHER Clouds and rain with a high of 63 and a low of 54. Full forecast on A3 COMMUNITY MARK BRENNAN/SIUSLAW NEWS DevNW has officially opened Keener Place, 1424 Airport Road, for occupancy, bringing 12 “cottage cluster” style homes to Florence and creating affordable housing with a community land trust. By Mark Brennan Siuslaw News Empty Bowls returns for 25th annual event INSIDE — A3 A local housing project will pro- vide brand-new housing for 12 families in the heart of Florence. DevNW’s development, located at 1424 Airport Road, was recently completed and is in the process of being fully occupied. DevNW is a nonprofit that was created in 2019 when Neighbor- hood Economic Development Cor- poration (NEDCO) and Willamette Neighborhood Housing Services (WNHS) united to better help Or- egon communities in the long term with housing and community living standards issues. Together, the two organizations have 60 years of experience in housing related matters. Basically, DevNW helps people find and own or renovate homes, start small busi- nesses, revitalize neighborhoods and achieve other overarching life goals. One of DevNWs primary mis- sions is to facilitate access to af- fordable housing and to provide other pathways to homeownership for more moderate income earners, which is fully aligned with the Air- port Road Project. Luis Mendoza coordinated many aspects of the housing project and provided an update as most fami- lies whom purchased homes have already taken up residence or are in the process of moving in. “DevNW’s development of 12 new Community Land Trust (CLT) homes, known as Keener Place Cottages, was built in partnership See HOUSING page 6A SPORTS Halloween 2021 'a real treat' Siuslaw claims wins in three sports INSIDE — B Events all over town allowed trick-or-treaters a renewed opportunity to dress up, meet with friends and get candy this weekend. Whether going door to door to area homes and businesses, stopping by several trunk or treats or visiting the 10 organizations participating in the Kiwanis Drive- Thru Trick or Treat, area youth got a real bounty this year. The festivities continue this week with Siuslaw News’ annual Halloween Costume Contest. People can submit via thesiuslawnews.secondstreetapp.com/SNHalloween 2021/ for the chance to win a $50 gift card. See more pictures on page 5A. RECORDS Obituaries & response logs Inside — A2 TV GUIDE Dunes City Planning adds another public hearing By Mark Brennan Siuslaw News The October Dunes City Council meeting originally scheduled for Oct. 28 was can- celled due to a lack of quorum, but the Planning Commission meeting also scheduled for that evening took place, with a full room of individuals in at- tendance and others watching through TV and online. A proposed change to Dunes City Code, in the form of Or- dinance 255, brought the group together. The issue of whether to even hold the meeting was a subject of debate leading up to the meet- ing and was the first subject dis- cussed, as there were a number of citizens who objected to holding the public meeting during what many consider to be a dangerous time with COVID-19 still active in the community. See DUNES page 6A Inside — B3-B4 KIDS CORNER Activities for kids Inside — B5 Lane County announces Pediatric COVID-19 Vaccination Clinics for kids 5-11 CLASSIFIEDS Pending final federal and state approval, local providers & Lane County ready to go 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 S IUSLAW N EWS 2 S ECTIONS | 18 P AGES C OPYRIGHT 2021 In anticipation of full federal and state approval later this week for the Pfizer pediatric COVID-19 vac- cine for children aged 5 to 11 years of age, Lane County Public Health (LCPH) is announcing information for parents and guardians. Over the past few months, Lane County has been working with local pediatric and family care practices, pharmacies, community-based or- ganizations and schools to develop a comprehensive strategy to meet the demand for pediatric vaccinations in the first few weeks of availability. LCPH estimates that Lane Coun- ty is home to approximately 25,000 children aged 5 to 11. While national surveys suggest that about one third of parents will seek vaccinations for newly eligible children as soon as possible, the Lane County pediatric partnership has developed capacity to meet a demand of 40 percent — approximately 10,000 kids — within the first several weeks of eligibility. “Pediatric offices remain the best place to seek regular vaccinations,” said Dr. Patrick Luedtke, Lane County’s Public Health Officer, “and I’m so impressed by the ef- forts that pediatric and family care practices have implemented to pro- vide vaccinations rapidly, including evening and weekend hours. But we recognize that not every parent will be able to access vaccinations this way, so we’ve worked with oth- er providers, including pharma- cies, and we’ve developed our own operational capacity through our COVID-19 Emergency Operations Center.” Lane County has designed multi- ple clinic models to meet individual needs: • Indoor clinics at the Lane Events Center Auditorium that will ultimately have the capacity for over 400 children per day; • School-based clinics in part- nership with Lane Education Ser- vices District and Lane County’s 16 school districts operating in the afternoons and evenings following regular school dismissal; and • Community-led pediatric clin- ics in partnership with our commu- nity-based organization partners to ensure vaccine equity. Understanding Medicare Plans ns Enroll En roll in the right Medicare plan for your need needs. ds. “We’ve developed a strategy to fully vaccinate nearly 4,000 kids before the end of 2021,” said Dr. Jocelyn Warren, Lane County’s Public Health Administrator. “As this group of younger kids becomes eligible for vaccinations, we intend to provide an added level of atten- tion and care in our operations. Our incredible staff and many of our volunteer Community Immunity Corps that provided mass vaccina- tions earlier this year are now ready to serve the children and families of Lane County. We’re so grateful for the incredible outpouring of volun- teerism that continues to power our community wide efforts to protect all from COVID-19.” See VACCINE page 5A Dana Dane e Insurance Services es Free Consulta�ons & Enrollment Gain an understanding of how Medicare works. Learn the difference between Medicare Advantage and Medicare Supplement plans. Discover how Medicare Prescrip�on Drug Plans work. 1932 Pine St Suite B-6 Florence, OR. 97439 541 1- 7-1410 1-997 7- 0 Dana Dane Insurance is not connected with or endorsed by the United States ates governme government en nt or the e f fede federal ra al Medic Medicare ca are progra program am .