Florence revising business license code; Mapleton Ranger District Compound for Sale; Gas prices inch up locally.
11 December 2013
Roads OK in Florence… but don’t look to the east.
Road conditions in the Coast Range and interior portions of the state continue to be treacherous; prompting cancellation of school in many Western Oregon communities again today.
Jodi O’Mara – “It’s quite a winter wonderland up here. Very different from what you see in Florence.”
Mapleton Superintendent of Schools Jodi O’Mara says students there will have the day off once again. She and the district’s transportation supervisor have been monitoring road conditions on bus routes and they continue to be choked.
Jodi O’Mara – “Even on snow routes it’s packed ice and not a safe situation for us to bring our kids to school.”
Students in Mapleton have not been in class since last Thursday. So far though, they haven’t missed enough classroom time to require any additions to the school year.
Up to the minute weather related school closure information can be found at Flash Alert Eugene.
Business License Code Rewrite
Come January it will finally be legal to host a dance in Florence on Sundays.
That’s just one of the-decades old requirements in the city’s business license code that will be eliminated in a “cleanup” of old and sometimes confusing language.
Mayor Nola Xavier said the council accepted recommendations put forward this week by the city manager and finance director to revamp the code.
One possibility that was discussed and rejected was that of a two-year license.
Xavier said the council felt it would be a burden businesses as well as city staff.
Revisions to the code will be formally presented to the council after the first of the year.
Mapleton Ranger District Compound Up for Sale
An 18-acre parcel of land with two homes; an office building; three warehouses and a garage will go up for sale in an on-line liquidation auction that began last week.
The former headquarters of the Mapleton Ranger District also contains plenty of history.
It is open for inspection today until three pm; then again Saturday from ten to three.
Siuslaw National Forest supervisor Jerry Ingersoll said the property is considered to be surplus and will be disposed of… “as-is” to the highest bidder, as long as that bid is above the minimum of $100-thousand.
The Mapleton District was formed in 1920 and for much of that time the “upper compound” on Highway 36, a mile north of Mapleton, served as the headquarters.
The online sale closes January 4th. More information can be had by calling the Siuslaw National Forest headquarters in Corvallis.
Gas Prices
The average cash price for a gallon of regular gasoline jumped up a nickel in Florence in the past week to $3.15.
That’s 11 cents below the national average of $3.26 and 14 cents less than the Oregon average of $3.29 as measured by Triple-A of Oregon.
