Lane County Continues To Spike in COVID-19 Cases
Despite strong warnings and strict guidelines put forth by the state Lane County continues to be a hotbed for COVID-19 infections. Lane County added 47 new cases yesterday and grew to a week-long high of 175 cases considered infectious. The new cases puts the county just barely behind Multnomah and Washington counties as the leading contributors to new cases in the state. If there is any good news from the latest statistics is that the Florence area has not seen an increase in cases this week. Reports from the Oregon Health Authority say that a large part of the service industry is most affected by the coronavirus which makes up a significant portion of the Florence work force along with health care workers who are also more at risk. The last two cases in Florence were related to a family from friends in the Portland area, but since then no new cases. Around the state there were 382 new confirmed cases yesterday and the death toll rose to 539 with the addition of two new deaths. 31,865 cases have now been confirmed in Oregon since the beginning of the pandemic.
Local Residents Recognized
A little good new…Travel Lane County has come up with a list of individuals in seven categories and awarded the top people in each category. Two Florence residents made the list. In the field of community leadership Travel Lane County recognized local businesswoman Marianne Brisbane for her work establishing businesses and then continuing to support them even after selling them. Marianne currently runs Hostel 101 in Florence and has even considered opening another one according to Travel Lane County’s release. The second Florence resident to receive an award is Harlan Springer. Harlan was awarded the Florence Tourism Ambassador and he was quick to recognize the Arts community for their role in attracting visitors to the community and making the city a true “arts destination.”
Meet the Candidates
Tomorrow from 2 until 4 pm at the Florence Events Center there will be a gathering of candidate running for different offices locally, regionally, and around the State. The event will feature non-partisan city council candidates as well as Dick Anderson for Oregon State Senate, Boomer Wright for district 9 House of Representatives, Alek Skarlatos for U.S. Congress and JoRae Perkins for U.S. Senate. The event is open to the public and the FEC will be adhering to the OHA guidelines for best practices of social distancing, so wear your masks.
Holiday Farm Fire Update
Authorities say the Holiday Farm fire is about 35% contained. High winds did little to strengthen the firs yesterday and about an inch of rain fell after the winds died down according to the Oregon Department of Forestry. ODF says road hazards continue to be an issue on highway 126 east of Springfield, but ODOT road crews are making progress removing hazard trees and large debris from the road surface. The McKenzie Highway remains closed from milepost 28 to milepost 38. ODF says they hope to have the entire fire contained by the 29th of September.
