More Coastal Corrals
Executive Director of the Florence Area Chamber of Commerce says there will be more Coastal Corrals in the future. About 300 people participated in Friday’s event with a focus on the economic impact the coronavirus has had on small business. Hannigan says that Salem’s focus on small business included a definition of businesses that only employ about 3-5 hundred people, which would eliminate all but two local entities, Three Rivers Casino Resort and Peace Harbor Hospital. She says that recovery will be very difficult for some and impossible for others.
“I’m very, very concerned that we’re going to lose a significant amount of business along the coast.”
A concern for many business owners that participated in the corral was the CAT tax that was recently instituted. Sidebar conversations during the one hour event discussed the negative effect the tax has already had with businesses that currently have no revenue, but have a tax bill before them. Overall Hannigan says it was a good start of a conversation and hopes that lasting relationships between the coast and its legislators can continue.
Drinking Water Week
We have learned from the coronavirus pandemic the importance of things like toilet paper and our food supply, luckily one of the things that has not been affected during this time period is drinking water. All this week the city of Florence is celebrating National Drinking water week. Mike Miller with Florence Public Works emphasized the critical role water plays. He reminds us that we can’t afford to take clean, safe water for granted. Miller says the city is committed to delivering high quality water that is safe, reliable and cost effective. More information on Drinking Water Week can be found at the city’s website ci.florence.or.us/publicworks.
One Year Under His Belt
West Lane Fire and EMS Chief Michael Schick is celebrating his one year anniversary at the helm. WLFEA is the new acronym for the Intergovernmental Authority that has been in place since October. Schick says the last year has been everything he had hoped for coming to Florence.
“I’ve been just utterly amazed with the quality of people on the ambulance district and with the fire department. Everyone does great work.”
Schick says this year has been a whirlwind with the addition of a pandemic to go along with regular operations, but he loves the area and plans for a long stay.
Machine to Disinfect Masks
The University of Oregon installed a machine yesterday that can decontaminate N95 respirators used by healthcare workers on the front line allowing the mask to be used up to 20 times. the unit was supplied by the federal government and will be housed on the UofO campus. The supply of N95 masks has increased in recent weeks, but the addition of the decontamination instrument will help in extending the supply of PPE across the state. The machine utilizes airtight containers and uses vaporized hydrogen peroxide for sterilization.
One New Case for Lane County
Lane County added one more case of COVID-19 for a total of 55. The latest case is a man in his 20’s from outside the Eugene/Springfield area. He is currently resting at home and is medically stable. Across the state they have added a new number to the tally of cases. 2,759 is the number of cases including presumptive cases which includes cases that have not had a confirmed positive test, but are showing COVID like symptoms and have been in contact with a confirmed case. 2,745 is the actual number of confirmed cases around the state with over 63 thousand test conducted.
A reminder that the brush and tree removal project along Highway 126 east of the tunnel is still ongoing. Traffic is limited at times to one direction during the hours of 8am and 5 pm. The Project was expected to be completed yesterday.
