424 More COVID-19 Cases; Power Goes Out North of Town; No Trick or Treat; Contests Still Going On

424 More COVID-19 Cases

Another very heavy day of coronavirus cases for the State of Oregon.  There were 424 new cases with Multnomah County hitting 110 in a single day.  There are now a total of 43,228 cases that have occurred in the state.  There were also 7 new deaths reported including one in Coos County, it is there first reported death from COVID-19.  In Lane County there were 34 new cases but none here in the Florence area.  Florence’s count remains at 31 and the county total is now 2,454.  No new deaths reported for Lane County.  The majority of cases are now primarily coming from two age groups: 11-20 and 21-30.  New case rates have been consistently above the targeted 5% rate and are currently at 6.5%.

Power Goes Out North of Town

A brief power outage affected the area near Heceta Beach Road yesterday afternoon.  Power went out to about 600 customers around 2:30 and was out for about 45 minutes.  Chris Chandler with Central Lincoln PUD said crews were dispatched to the area to attempt to locate the problem, but after a thorough search it was deemed possible that a tree branch could have been the likely culprit and after hitting lines may have landed on the ground.  Central Lincoln PUD re-energized the lines and power was returned to the area.  Central Lincoln PUD is replacing utility poles in the Heceta Beach/Rhododendron area, but was not the cause for the outage.

No Trick or Treat

Halloween is two days away and the Florence Area Chamber of Commerce has posted a graphic, reminding Old Town businesses that the annual Trick or Treat on Bay Street has been cancelled.  According to President and CEO of the Chamber, Bettina Hannigan said there is a business on Bay Street still promoting free candy on Halloween.  Hannigan did not disclose the business, but urged all businesses to observe the restrictions put in place by the Governor and the Oregon Health Authority.  While the coronavirus has not significantly impacted the Florence Community, it is still a threat.  The Chamber has offered alternatives to traditional Halloween activities on their web page, florencechamber.com

Contests Still Going On

The Florence chamber has also put out a reminder that there are still 2 chances for individuals to win cash.  Currently there are 2 promotions, one that is the LOGO contest for the 2021 Rhododendron festival which deadline is November 15 and a photo contest that ends on November 30.  Both contests have a prize of $250.00