Interim Chief Chosen
It came down to availability. That in a nutshell is what led to the decision to choose one candidate over the other to take over as the interim chief for the Siuslaw Valley Fire and Rescue/ Western Lane Ambulance District. According to Ned Hickson who was on the steering committee that reviewed the candidates said they were faced with two excellent candidates.
“The hard part for us was kind of deciding which was the best fit. They both brought a lot of really great things to the table.”
In the end the decision was made to recommend Steve Abel to the position.
“Ultimately we just felt Steve also is a really great fit personality wise, he also has a terrific plan for how to get a permanent chief in place and a vetting system for that would involve community members and board members in that decision making process.”
The other candidate, Michael Hansen, is currently under contract with Oak Ridge Fire Department and also has a consulting business. The board felt that his limited availability would not suit the needs of the department.
City to Consider Banning Plastic Bags
The City of Florence Environmental Management Committee is seeking public input on the potential elimination of single use plastic bags and instead encouraging the use of reusable bags. Under consideration for elimination will be grocery store type bags, and not produce bags, trash bags, or paper bags. EMAC has developed a survey online which includes an opportunity to include comments. They will be accepting survey responses until November 1st. The city has already banned the use of some Styrofoam containers such as those used for carry out foods in restaurants. A link to the survey can be found on coast Radio’s website and facebook page. The next meeting of EMAC is tomorrow at 6pm at the Florence event center.
https://goo.gl/forms/1Na4FUuaiM0MTKmu2
Festival of Books
The Florence Festival of Books featured over 75 authors and publishers on Saturday. Several of the authors said the event, as of the noon hour, was not as busy as previous years, but the afternoon saw an increase in visitors. Books ranged the gamut from fiction to historical, children’s books to romance novels, and how to books.
Wine and Chowder Walk
This weekend is the 2018 Wine and Chowder Walk put on by the Florence Area Chamber of Commerce. The Wine trail will begin Saturday at 2 pm and continue until 5 and then on Sunday the Chowder Trail will begin at noon and run until 4 pm. This year they are adding a clamming clinic with Mike Bones. The clinic is free (donations requested) and you can call the Chamber for reservations, you will, however, need a license and your own digging equipment.