COVID-19 Numbers Continue to be Lower; 101 Drilling Rig Accident; Committee Trainings; Council Work Session

101 Drilling Rig Accident

A Man was injured when the drill rig he was operating fell 150 feet to the ocean floor on Friday.  The rig was doing repair work on a damaged section of roadway on Highway 101 near Bob’s Creek when footing gave way and the rig plummeted.  Crews that were on scene responded quickly to get the man to safety.  Siuslaw Valley Fire and Rescue and Western Lane Ambulance responded and the man was transported to Peace Health Medical center.  His condition is unknown.  The Oregon Department of Transportation reported that a containment wall was failing at milepost 170.5 and immediate repair was needed.  Crews are installing metal pilings into the side of the cliff to shore up the  road and keep it from shifting. There is currently one lane of traffic in the area as crews work to repair the roadway and reinstall railings.

COVID-19 Numbers Continue to be Lower

There have been an additional 2 new cases of the coronavirus reported in Florence bringing the total to 156.  There were 124 new cases over the same 3 day period for Lane County continuing the slight downturn in COVID-19 infections.  Sunday the Oregon Health Authority reported a new low of just 254 cases.  What’s more is that there were no new deaths reported.  Hospitalization cases were also down, but there were three additional cases admitted into intensive care.  Administered doses of the vaccine continue climb with the over 80 population.  To date there have been 677,194 doses administered.  Over the weekend number fell well below the targeted 12,000 per day statewide that Governor Kate Brown had set for a goal with less than 7,300 over the previous two days.

 

Committee Trainings

It is a new season for committees in Florence and over the next several weeks new and existing committee members will be going through training on Public meeting procedures as well as information concerning city policies and Ethics law.  The city’s Environmental Management Advisory Committee is the next in line to receive the training in a virtual meeting that will be held tomorrow evening beginning at 6pm.  The training is administered by city recorder Kelli Weese.  EMAC will also appoint new committee chairs.

Council Work Session

The Florence city Council will meet virtually on Thursday for a special work session.  The session will begin at 9 am and will focus on the work plan for the 2021-2023 budget.  The city will also get a status update on the previous work plan.