Safety and Privacy Tantamount at Siuslaw Schools
A recent incident on an activity bus returning from a JV football game caused the delay of the bus returning to Siuslaw High School, because law enforcement had to be notified and the bus had to wait until police arrived. On the return trip from a game in La Pine, a student made a statement of self harm and harm to others. It was unclear as to whether it was a verbal threat or an online statement. According to Siuslaw School superintendent, Andy Grzeskowiak, any threats from, or towards, students is taken seriously. In a recent Our Town interview Grzeskowiak explained why not everyone may be aware of the details of such an event.
“Any of those details make the student identifiable. And so when we identify a student for a discipline concern or a mental health concern or some other academic piece then we end up violating the Federal Educating Rights Privacy Act.”
Law enforcement also has a privacy concern during an investigation, and will not give out information until the investigation is completed. Siuslaw High School Principal Kerri Tatum says student safety was the ultimate goal during this incident.
“We ensured student safety and everywhere along the line throughout last week, that was our main goal.”
Tatum says within minutes the school district, Lane County Sheriff’s department and Florence police were notified about the incident. According to Superintendent Grzeskowiak every student on the bus was encouraged to call and notify their parents, two students, without cell phones declined.
ReVision Florence
The Revision Florence project continues to move forward as four lanes and the center lane of Highway 101 have been paved. Drivers are asked to be patient as striping has not yet occurred on the northbound portion of the highway. Crews are expected to be out this evening as they finish up the work week. Curb work was ongoing yesterday during the day as additional utility lines were buried in preparation for concrete. ODOT is hoping that the weather will continue to cooperate, but the chance of rain returns to the forecast for next week. According to ODOT construction updates night work is expected to continue through the month of November with a project completion date set for January.
Gas Prices Steady
Gasoline prices have remained steady, but high, for the past ten days without further increases. California refineries have been at the center of the price increases as they recover from maintenance issues during their return to winter blend fuels. California refineries are capable of processing 1.9 million barrels a day of crude oil, but have been below capacity since September. The last week of October refineries were at 83 percent of capacity, which was the lowest rate since September 2017. The average price of a gallon of regular gas in Florence stands at $3.16 a gallon.
