Party on the Fourth of July
The traditional Independence Day activities are planned for Florence on the Fourth of July. Those include a rubber duck race in the Siuslaw River; watermelon and pie eating contests; and the community fireworks display from the Port of Siuslaw at dusk.
As many as 2-thousand rubber ducks will be launched in the Port’s commercial marina at one o’clock Monday afternoon. The first 41 to cross the finish line will win prizes ranging in value from $16 up to the top value of $600 for ticketholders who have the corresponding number of the winning ducks. That race is coordinated by Florence Kiwanis Club and they’ll be selling tickets near the boardwalk all weekend.
The pie and watermelon eating contests will also be staged at the same location around Noon on the fourth.
The day caps with the fireworks display beginning at dusk… around ten pm.
Nancy Pearson with the Florence Area Chamber of Commerce says the boardwalk will be a good place to watch.
Arts and economic development
The Florence Public Arts Committee met Monday morning. They talked about coordinating efforts with the Downtown Revitalization Team and the Florence Urban Renewal Agency.
City Manager Erin Reynolds said public art is important.
Erin Reynolds – “We’ve had the arts a part of our economy, a part of our Florence Community for quite a while. Officially started with the Florence Events Center as far as government’s interaction with the arts. And, it’s just continued to grow from that.”
Investing in public art is much more than just making things look nice. Reynolds says it can have a lasting effect.
Erin Reynolds – “It’s part of bringing attention and awareness to Florence for all of the things that make Florence unique and authentic and to maybe, hopefully make people want to come back again or maybe decide to move here and start a business hear and take a job here.”
The Public Arts Committee talked about placing sculpture in unexpected places and using existing items like trash containers, utility boxes and even a concrete staircase as ways to make Florence visually appealing and interesting.
Back to school
Classes at Siuslaw schools may have just ended this month, but already administrators are looking ahead to the next year. Superintendent designate Andy Grzeskowiak says he wants parents of students to mark their calendars.
Andy Gzreskowiak – “We’re going to run school registration in mid August. The elementary school is going to run August 16th through the 18th. The High School is going the 17th and the 18th. The Middle School is kind of going to be open in between to make sure that we catch everybody else. August 17th through the 19th, August 22nd to the 26th.”
Grzeskowiak says one of the biggest challenges administrative staff faces is keeping up to date on contact information for parents and guardians. That’s why the pre-registration dates are so important.
He had one other important date to keep in mind.
Andy Gzreskowiak – “First day of school is Wednesday, September 7th. We’re doing something a little different this year, starting on Wednesday and not on Tuesday.”
That’s right… classes begin on the Wednesday following Labor Day this year.
Local nursing scholarship to be awarded
A $3-thousand scholarship will be presented to one qualifying student at Lane Community College in Florence. The Arlis Ulman Health Careers Scholarship is intended for students in Florence enrolled in the nursing or pre-nursing curriculum.
The application deadline is coming soon… it’s Thursday, June 30th.
Arlis Ulman is a retired nurse who, along with her husband Dr. Richard Ulman, maintained a medical practice in Florence from 1955 to about 1990. She still lives in the community.
The scholarship is administered by the Western Lane Community Foundation and applications can be picked up at the LCC Florence Center.
Minimum wage increases to begin Friday
Small business owners in Oregon say they are worried about how the first of a series of minimum wage increases will affect both their profits and their employees.
Oregon’s minimum wage is set to jump Friday from $9.25 and hour to $9.75 in Lane County and other similar counties with a mix of urban and rural areas.
It’s the first of seven annual increases that will raise the minimum wage to $13.50 counties along the I-5 Corridor and the central and north coasts. The minimum would go to $14.75 in the Portland area and $12.50 in southwest and eastern Oregon.
Many businesses say the increased labor costs will likely be passed on to consumers… or jobs could be cut.
International delegation wraps up visit
A delegation of eight men and women from Wales wrapped up their weekend visit to Florence Monday morning with a visit to City Hall. Mike Mellors was one member of the…
Mike Mellors – “Rotarian Fellowship Exchange from a little town called Brekken, which is a one-horse town with about ten-thousand people.”
They spent the weekend touring the area and engaging in conversations with local Rotarians. Some of those conversations were about the history of Mellors’ homeland.
Mike Mellors – “We go back to about 1100 when Baron Newmarch was given the land by William the Conqueror and he built a castle to subjugate the Welsh. But, I’ve got a Welsh lass standing by me and she’s certainly never been subjugated.”
Mellors, along with Carol Herbert, said the exchange helps foster better international understandings and strengthens connections between members of a global organization.