6 January 2015
2015 Florence City Council Gets to Work
When members of the new Florence City Council met last month to discuss how they would take care of business in the coming year, one thing they discussed was to move the start times of future meetings an hour earlier.
Larry Patterson – “We’ll be moving those meetings to begin at six o’clock which may make that a little bit more convenient for all parties and not so late in the evening if we have a longer agenda.”
City Manager Larry Patterson said another change will be to allow staff and officials to respond to issues raised during the public comments portion of the meeting. Previous councils have made it clear they would hear comments and then respond at a later date.
Larry Patterson — “If people have questions, and we have time, council may ask staff to address those questions if we have an answer or if there’s any misinformation we’ll try and correct that. And sometimes a citizen may not have all the facts and if it goes without comment a lot of times that misconception can become a reality.”
Councilors met last night for their first meeting… they also laid out the plans for finding a new permanent city manager.
State of the County
Lane County Commission Chair Pat Farr delivered his “State of the County” address last night in Eugene. Farr praised the hiring last spring of Administrator Steve Mokrohiskey, calling it the “right decision”.
Farr also said he was fiercely disappointed about the failure of the federal government to approve any additional payments to rural, timber-dependent counties in the coming year.
In his address, delivered mainly to other elected officials and county employees, Farr predicted a return to uncertainty in public safety staffing… including the potential loss of 24-hour sheriff deputy patrols.
More drunken drivers cited over New Year
Oregon State Police troopers ticketed more drivers for driving under the influence on the state’s highways over the New Year’s Holiday period this year.
The increase was just over 27-percent.
This year’s tally between 6 pm New Year’s Eve through Midnight New Year’s Day was 37 cited drivers as compared to 29 last year.
Troopers also responded to 35 crashes during the same time period, two of them involving at least one fatality.
Full day kindergarten will have lasting impact
Siuslaw Elementary principal Mike Harkelrode is excited about the prospects of having all-day kindergarten beginning next fall. It’s traditionally been a half-day; but last year’s legislature approved the concept… and additional funding… for schools.
Harkelrode says the expansion may not have an immediate impact, but it will be a lasting one.
Mike Harkelrode – “Like so much in education I think it will be a delayed impact. It’s going to help our students each year. I think our teachers are going to be seeing more and more capabilities with the students who are coming with them because they’ve had the foundational skills necessary to succeed at the next level.”
Harkelrode, along with 97J Superintendent Ethel Angal will talk more in depth about all-day Kindergarten tomorrow from four to six on KCST’s monthly audio newsmagazine Our Town.
Gas prices continue fall in the new year
Already at recent-record low prices, the average cash price for a gallon of regular gas in Florence fell another ten cents in the past week.
Drivers in Florence are paying $2.43 this week; that’s a penny less than the Oregon statewide average price as measured by Triple-A.
The national average price fell eight cents in the past week… it’s at $2.19.
The falling prices, credited to a dramatic plunge in crude-oil prices, have contributed to the lowest prices since May 2009.
