Council Becomes 5; Local Businessman Being Investigated Dies; Coastal Weather Warnings; No New Florence COVID-19 Cases; OCHS Provides Microchipping

Council Becomes 5

Last night’s special meeting of the Florence City Council was held to determine which of the potential candidates would take the vacant seat on the council.  6 interviews were conducted and after some deliberation this evening a vote was taken.  Three of the candidates that received votes were former mayoral candidate and local businesswoman Jo Beaudreau and write in candidate Margaret Wisniewski and Joel Marks,  The first vote was split with 2 in favor of Wisniewski and one for Beaudreau and one for Marks.  Kelly Weese recorded the final vote after more deliberations.

“Councilor Meyer has voted for Ms. Margaret Wisniewski, councilor Wantz has voted for Ms. Jo Beaudreau, councilor Woodbury has voted for Ms. Margaret Wisniewski, and Mayor Henry as voted for Ms. Margaret Wisniewski.  So we have three votes for Ms. Margaret Wisniewski and one vote for Ms. Jo Beaudreau.”

The council will formerly welcome Wisniewski with a swearing in at the next scheduled City Council Meeting tentatively scheduled for January 25.

Local Businessman Being Investigated Dies

The Florence police department had recently been investigating charges of possible theft and criminal mistreatment after they were alerted by Adult and Protective services that a suspect identified as Florence businessman Bret Feingold had allegedly withdrew funds from an elderly male that he was caring for and had a friendship with.  FPD worked with the Department of Justice’s financial fraud investigators and found credible evidence that a crime had been committed.  Feingold was arrested on November 18, of 2020 for Aggravated Theft 1 and Criminal Mistreatment 1 and was cited and released.  He was to be arraigned on January 6, 2021.  At approximately 12:45 on January 6 Florence Police received a report of a gunshot victim at 1525 12th Street.  Upon arrival they found Feingold deceased from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.  Feingold had operated Coast Computer services at a suite at that location.

Coastal Weather Warnings

A high wind warning is out for the central Oregon Coast.  Steady winds with gusts of up to 65 mph are expected through about 2am Wednesday morning.  high waters are expected to also be an issue through at least Wednesday evening and travelers should be on the lookout for debris in the roadways including trees, tree limbs and  mud and rocks in some areas.  The coastal flood advisory goes until 4pm tomorrow.

No New Florence COVID-19 Cases

No new coronavirus cases were reported for the Florence area yesterday as the county added 61 new cases.  There were also 3 new deaths reported for Lane County: a 51 year old man who tested positive on December 28, an 88 year old Lane County Man who tested positive on December 23, and a 57 year old Lane County woman who tested positive on December 18.  All three individuals had underlying health conditions.  That brings the Lane County Death toll to 100.  The state reported a total of 939 new cases.  It is unclear how many, if any are of the newly discovered, more contagious form of COVID-19.  The State total is now at 126,607 cases with 1,613 deaths.

OCHS Provides Microchipping

The Oregon Coast Humane Society will be performing a microchip clinic for pets in the OCHS parking lot on 2840 Rhododendron drive on Saturday, January 30th.  OCHS Executive Director, Charles Brown says they are asking for a $20 donation, but no one will be turned away if they are unable to pay.  Microchip data can be used to locate a pet’s owner in the case of the animal being lost.  Chips go on a national database and there are no additional fees for updating the chip’s information should a pet owner move.