FEC Volunteer of the Year Dies
Local Volunteer and friend to the community Leah Goodwin passed away on Friday. She was a professional stage manager for stage and screen in California and came to Florence to be with family after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. When she first arrived in Florence Leah worked at Siuslaw Outreach Services and according to friends was not ready to get involved in community theater, but that quickly changed according to her friend Annie Schmitd who says Leah soon fell in love with the local theater scene and began working on productions where she became a longstanding stage manager at the Florence Event Center. More recently Leah was honored as the FEC’s volunteer of the year. On Friday Leah suffered a severe asthma attack that led to cardiac arrest. She will be greatly missed by the Florence community. Leah Goodwin was 55 years old.
Deep Quake Off Florence Coast
A 5.3 magnitude quake was reported off the coast of Florence yesterday morning according the United States Geological Survey. The quake was due west of Florence along the Blanco Fracture Zone and struck just after 7am. The USGS reports that it was about 230 miles west of Coos Bay and at a depth of approximately 7 miles. No damage was reported as a result of the quake and no watches or warnings were issued. The area to the south of yesterday’s quake has been quite active in the past5 days and the USGS reiterates that this kind of activity is quite normal from time to time.
City Celebrates 125th
Bay Street in Florence was bustling on Friday evening as throngs of people came to Old Town to celebrate the city’s 125th anniversary. Mayor Joe Henry was on hand for the festivities.
“It’s awesome! it’s just really fun to be out here I’m just so proud of the city of Florence.”
The city also hosted the Oregon Mayors conference and many of them joined the celebration that evening. Bay Street was lined with booths that offered information about local volunteer organizations as well as activities for kids and adults alike. Live music and free BJ’s Ice Cream was available. When asked about the next 125 years Mayor Henry said he hoped to be around for it.
