11 August 2014
15th Relay for Life in the Books
Heavy, sustained winds, Friday afternoon and evening caused the crowd for the 15th Florence Relay for Life at Miller Park to be lighter than usual. The fund-raising wasn’t light however, as the tally collected by Saturday afternoon exceeded $81-thousand.
That was about ten thousand short of the official goal set by organizers. But, they are hopeful donations will continue to come in through the end of this month.
One very bright spot was a new feature: the Mr. Relay pageant. It featured ten men in drag, soliciting donations.
It worked. They accounted for more than $20-thousand of the total. The highest individual fundraiser was Ron Green who brought in just shy of six-thousand. Eric Tanikawa was a close second with 54-hundred.
Once the sun went down Friday and winds subsided, the crowd began to build again as the approximately 18-hundred Luminaria were lighted in honor and memory of cancer patients. They lined both sides of the one-third mile walking path well into the early morning hours of Saturday.
The top collecting team out of 28 was the Oregon Pacific Bank squad…. $15,086.
Siuslaw Considering 2015 Food Service Change
The Siuslaw School board will take up the discussion this week on whether or not to continue contracting with a multi-national company for food service; or taking it all “in-house”.
Finance director Kari Blake will lay out the process for converting to “self-operating” food services Wednesday night when the board meets. Currently the schools contract with Chartwells to provide meals using school district facilities.
A final decision on whether or not to provide food service management within the district is expected next month. If the board decides to go that route, Chartwells would continue through the coming school year until June of 2015.
The school board meets Wednesday, 6:30 at the district office on Oak Street.
Highway 101 Delays to the North begin in September
A 14-mile stretch of Highway 101 between Sutton Lake and Bray’s Point will be getting a makeover next year. But before that there are three slides in the stretch that will be getting fixes.
The Oregon Department of Transportation recently awarded a $990-thousand contract to Wildish Standard Paving of Eugene to repair a slide near Bray’s Point at the northern end of the project.
Two other locations near Heceta Head, where the pavement is “slumping”, will get repairs during the four month project.
Traffic will be reduced to one-lane in each area with estimated 20-minute delays while the work is being done.
It’s being done in preparation for a major pavement overlay project planned for the Sutton Lake to Cook’s Chasm stretch in 2015.
The following year, a major restoration of the historic rock wall just north of Sea Lion Caves will begin.
Early Cardiac Intervention Makes Difference
Medical experts say rapid intervention when it comes to cardiac emergencies can make all the difference in the world.
It made all the difference in four separate events in the Florence area last month.
Western Lane Ambulance District Paramedic Matt House said emergency medics had four cardiac arrest “saves” in July, one of the highest rates anyone can recall. All of the patients were ultimately transferred to higher care facilities and released from the hospital.
House said early CPR and rapid defibrillation efforts can boost long-term survival rates to 30%.
That’s why, he says, the ambulance district has been investing in advanced training for medical staff. Seven of the district paramedics are certified as “Critical Care Paramedics” allowing them to provide a higher level of care.
