October 19, 2012
Write In Candidate Declares for City Council
Joe Henry said it was not an easy decision. But the independent mortgage broker decided a couple of weeks ago, since nobody else would do it, he would throw his hat in the ring for a position on the Florence City Council.
Joe Henry – “We have a city of 9,000 people and nobody’d even be on the ballot so, I’ve wrestled with it for two or three months; talked myself in and out of it a couple of times, Simply because no one else chose to run I thought I would step up to the plate, do my civic duty and if I am elected I’ll serve my term on the council.”
There are two council positions on the ballot in the November 6th election. Only one drew an official candidate, that’s Joshua Greene. That left the other one with a large blank space.
Henry is asking voters to write his name on the ballot… Joseph Lynn Henry Sr. Elections officials say it doesn’t have to be exact, but close enough that a four-member panel that reviews all write-ins can determine the voters’ intent.
Ballots Headed for the Post Office
Nearly 212-thousand ballots for registered voters in Lane County are being prepared today and are expected to go out in the mail. Lane County Clerk Cheryl Betschart says a mail processing company in Portland is finishing up insertion of the ballots and secrecy envelopes. Once that task is done, they’ll be trucked to the Lane County mail processing center for distribution.
Betschart says if the ballots don’t reach Springfield by 6:30 this evening, they’ll be transferred to secure storage at the Lane County Elections Division and held until Monday. If all goes according to plan though, many voters in Lane County could see ballots in their mailboxes as early as tomorrow. She said if you believe you’re registered to vote and you don’t receive an envelope by Wednesday, you should contact her office.
Shake Out
It was a tale of two sectors when it came to yesterday’s Great Oregon Shakeout. For the past several weeks residents have been coached on how to “drop, cover and hold” in the event they feel the earth moving. Everyone was encouraged to do just that at 10:18 yesterday morning. Locally, participation was high in the public sector with schools and government offices, as well as some private professional offices participating. But, in many retail establishments around town yesterday, people continued doing what they normally did. Schools took the occasion to as a “teachable moment” as students dropped to the floor, slipped beneath tables and desks and held for a moment. At Siuslaw Elementary and Middle Schools, they then filed out of the building for a fire drill.
Hazardous Waste Drop Off
Residents can drop off up to 35 gallons of household hazardous waste each today or tomorrow at the Lane County Waste Transfer Site on Rhododendron Drive. The goal is to encourage people to clean out their cupboards, closets and garages of things that you just should not dump in the garbage. Chad Ficek with Lane County Waste Management says check the labels… anything that is marked as flammable, corrosive, poison or dangerous can be dropped off between noon and five today at the transfer site, or tomorrow between eight am and two pm.
