Rain Does Not Dampen Parade; Affordable Housing = Health; School Board to Meet; Port Commissioners Meeting

Rainy Day Parade

It was billed as a rain or shine event and rain it did for the annual Veteran’s Day parade in historic Old Town.  The streets were lined with spectators as the rain failed to dampen the spirits of watchers and participators.  Even the Rhody Cruisers showed up in full force with their shiny expensive classic autos.  Curb side bystanders waved flags in a show of solidarity for our nations veterans.  Specifically being honored for their service were the members of the forgotten war.  The Korean Conflict.  By the end of the parade the crowd was drenched but spirits were high.  Oregon Coast Military Museum Director Cal Applebee says the entry list was big.

”The reality of it was that I think it was one of the largest parades we’ve had.  I don’t know what the exact entry count was but the museum was entry number 12 but by the time we went through parade route and started back to staging there were still entries pulling out going on to the parade route so that was just phenomenal.”

Applebee said he thought the weather might have had a slight effect on the turnout but that there were plenty of people there to cheer on the veterans.

Housing and Health Issues

Affordable housing has become an issue in Florence and according to reports out it can also be a health issue.  Research released in the JAMA Network shows that affordable housing can actually improve health outcomes for patients and lower costs for the public.  Last year, health-care organizations, advocates for homeless populations and local government teamed up in Portland for the “Housing is Health” initiative. Rebecca Ramsay is head of Housecall Providers, part of CareOregon, one of the organizations partnering on this effort. She says the housing affordability crisis is hurting low-income people especially hard.

“They either have to spend so much on their housing that they have very little to nothing left for their other needs, including health care, or they end up with the inability to secure stable housing. So they end up either couch surfing or moving between transitional housing, shelters, or in the worst case, they end up on the street.”

The research in JAMA cites studies connecting housing insecurity to a wide variety of health issues, including asthma, depression, and the toxic effects of lead exposure. It also finds that about half of health care costs are attributable to five-percent of the population – the overwhelming majority of whom are poor or housing insecure.  Florence is currently looking at ways to increase affordable housing for workers in lower wage categories

School Board Meeting

The November meeting for the Siuslaw School Board will continue to look at updates regarding the school’s student drug policy, student conduct, and public solicitation in District facilities.  The policy changes and additions are in their first reading and some changes could possibly come from this meeting.  Some of the policy changes were prompted by complaints from parents in the spring about how the school treats some athletes in regards to their behavior.  There were also question raised about dress code and preferential treatment.  The school board meeting is this Wednesday at the district offices on Oak Street at 6:30 p.m.

Port Commissioner Meeting

The port of Siuslaw will also conduct their commission meeting on Wednesday evening at 7p.m.  On the agenda is an update on the erosion repair project and a revision of the Port Manager Job Description along with the status of the recruitment process for a new port manager.