Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Mental Health Care Changes Cause Concern
When the news started to become public that PeaceHealth was going to be closing the doors on their mental health counseling service in Florence there were concerns that it would mean less access to that type of care. But, says the PeaceHealth VP for Medical Affairs that’s far from the truth.
Dr. Sherry Catlin says yes, PeaceHealth Counseling Service will be closing, but mental health therapists will be moved to the primary care clinics where they’ll work side-by-side with other care providers. For those with chronic, long term needs, the offerings from another local provider, Options Counseling, will be beefed up; and Lane County will be expanding some services through establishment of a local Federal Quality Health Center.
To allay some of the fears the Florence Area Coordinating Council will host a forum tomorrow with a panel including Catlin, Shelly Morris from Options and Al Levine from Lane County. FACC President Karen Earnshaw said the it’s intended to ‘clear the air’.
Karen Earnshaw — ” We felt we needed to set all the questions at ease and let people understand that, you know, there is a plan.”
That forum is at Siuslaw Public Library tomorrow from nine until 11.
Surfrider Foundation Reaches Out
Area residents are being invited to “fall in the water” a week from Saturday. The Siuslaw Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation will be hosting the event at Honeyman State Park to celebrate the change in the seasons and encourage everyone to get out and enjoy the environment. Amber Tucker says it starts at 9:30, Saturday September 22nd.
Amber Tucker — “Definitely a family event. The walk or run is on the trail and it starts at East Whoahink and over to the amphitheater at Honeyman State Park and back. So, it’s a two-mile exactly.”
Following the two-mile walk-run will be a short half-mile paddle in the lake. Breakfast at 11 will be served to participants and then at noon there’ll be other educational events and demos. Tucker says it’s $15 for adults, half that for kids under 16.
Amber Tucker — “You can go to our Siuslaw chapter website which is Oregon.surfrider.org/siuslaw and register online.”
There’s also a family rate… $30.
Gas Prices ease by two cents
The average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline actually fell in Florence by two cents this week, but it’s still at a record high for this time of year. Oregon’s average, as measured by triple-a, increased by a penny in the last week… it’s at $4.04. That’s 20-cents a gallon more than the national average which held steady. Marie Dodds with Triple-A says now that the summer driving season is “in the rear view mirror” prices appear to be leveling off.
Columbus Day Storm 50 years later
The opening of the newest exhibit at the Oregon History Museum in Portland is still a month away, but it bears mentioning. It’s called “The Mightiest Wind” and is a retrospective of the historic Columbus Day Storm that hit Oregon October 12th, 1962.
Hurricane force winds struck the Oregon Coast that night. They were measured in excess of 145 miles an hour. Nearly 50 fatalities were recorded from the storm and it forced portions of Oregon to rebuild their power distribution systems from the ground up. Some locations went without electricity for several weeks. “The Mightiest Wind” will transport visitors to the museum back to 1962 with large scale exhibits and artifacts.
The museum is located in Downtown Portland. A list of current exhibits, as well as the address and directions to the museum, can be found at www.ohs.org.
