23 October 2015
Air quality testing reveals no toxins
No toxins have been found, but PeaceHealth officials closed the Family Medicine Clinic next to the hospital this week because of an odor.
Workers at the clinic, also known as the “390-building”, noticed the smell Wednesday. Fearing for safety, most appointments were cancelled that day. PeaceHealth Spokesperson Kat Rannow said the clinic was closed yesterday and will remain closed until they can ensure it is safe.
Patients will be directed across the parking lot to the “380” building where the Walk-In Clinic is housed until that is done.
Rannow said firefighters did air quality tests Thursday and found no obvious toxins. Further testing and investigation will continue.
Rannow did not describe the odor, and officials did not speculate as to the cause.
Active shooter training coming to students
Parents of students at Siuslaw Schools will be hearing more about the ALICE concept of responding to school shooters.
The Siuslaw School Board listened to Florence Police Lieutenant John Pitcher Wednesday night about the concept. ALICE is an acronym that stands for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, and Evacuate. It gives students, teachers and other staff members an easy to remember and easy to follow response should they be faced with an armed subject in the school.
Because it involves actively resisting… or “countering” an intruder, school officials want to make sure parents are informed of the training process at every step.
School Board Chair Tammy Butler said the presentation was met with “overwhelming” support from board members. She said the district will be holding parent information meetings in the coming weeks and “age appropriate” student education drills will likely begin in coming weeks.
General election offers no issues for Western Lane County
Haven’t received your ballot yet for the November 3rd election?
If you live in Western Lane County, you won’t get one because there is nothing to decide.
Often there are few items on the general election ballot in odd-numbered years.
Voters in the central county have a few money measures they’re voting on this month. Lane County Clerk Cheryl Betschart says if they haven’t received a ballot yet and they believe they are registered, they should call her office immediately.
Voters in Western Lane County will have plenty of things to help decide in coming months… The presidential primaries will be on the May ballot; as will a special primary for Governor.
Old Town Senior housing proposal advancing
Developers of a planned senior housing facility on the site of the former high school football field in Old Town Florence were scheduled to be in town yesterday.
Christoper Looney with Paradigm Properties NorthWest said they had a “pre-development” meeting with the city’s planning department.
The facility is expected to have 56 assisted living apartments; 24 “memory care” housing units and about a dozen independent living cottages, most with a view of the Siuslaw River estuary.
Looney said the building design and site plan is “basically complete”. His company will take information from yesterday’s meeting to finalize them and prepare the land-use application.
When it’s submitted to the city for approval, the public will be able to see them.
Oregon Dunes NRA selects three signs for display
New signs going up next summer on the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area will encourage visitors to protect the natural resources they find while they enjoy recreating. The signs will depict the rolling dunes along with sensitive plants and bird species… and carry the message: “Restoring the Dunes for Future Generations”.
The signs were designed by area fourth graders. Three versions were selected from about 50 entries. Mapleton Fourth Grader Hannah Smoldt; Siuslaw student Kristen Lynn Wall; and Peyton Mesa from Reedsport will have their signs displayed.
Dave Thompson, interpretive specialist with the Oregon Dunes NRA, said all 50 entries captured the message of protecting resources on the dunes.