Election Results

Lane county election results for Siuslaw School District had two contested seats position number 4 was Maureen Miltenberger  defeated Brian Lacouture 2173-1996 and position number 6 Kady Sneddon defeated Larry Martindale and Jesse Butler with 2040 votes.  Western lane Ambulance board had three seats uncontested with Vanessa Buss, Mike Webb and Adam Holbrook and the same with Siuslaw Valley Fire and Rescue with Laurie Heppel and Tim Mendolia both taking seats on the board.  The port also had 3 uncontested seats Rob Ward, Mike Buckwald and Bill Meyer retaining seat.

Mask Update

Yesterday the Oregon Health Authority revised their guidelines on mask wearing.  Concerns on how vaccination status would be determined has caused the change.  Mask guidelines must continue to be followed in businesses that require mask wearing even for fully vaccinated individuals.  State requirements are still saying that individuals should continue to wear mask except in certain situations such as an individual work space, while alone in a personal vehicle unless interacting with someone in a situation like a drive thru or gas station.  Health care settings and correctional facilities are also still required to wear masks if you are fully vaccinated.  The OHA is still not recommending face shields due to their limited effect of blocking the release of spray that can go around the shield from outside sources.  Shields are not allowed on public transportation or in transportation hubs.  Masks are not required for fully vaccinated individuals in most outdoor setting except where large crowds gather such as sporting events, festivals, and graduation ceremonies.  A business can allow fully vaccinated individuals to go mask-less if they have a policy in place of checking for vaccination status.  The new guidelines also allow for businesses to institute stricter policies should they so decide.

Vaccination Percentage Rates

Lincoln and Washington counties have been added to the list of counties that have reached the 65% rate of vaccination and will move to the lowest risk category for COVID-19 infections.  Lane County is currently in the 60 percentile and could reach the goal later this week.   Lane County needs just over 10,000 vaccinations to meet the goal.  There were 29 new cases reported yesterday by Lane County Public Health with the daily average dropping to 39 per day over the past 7 days.  This is the lowest rate since the first week of April. Statewide there were 484 new cases reported.  Statewide vaccination rates continue to drop with the seven day average dropping another 3,000 to 26,901.

Show to Cover Vaccine Concerns

Peace Health is partnering with Lane County Public health as it launches a new interactive broadcast designed to offer community members free access to an MD, nurse practitioner, or specialist nurses to discuss questions and address fears about the COVID-19 vaccine.  The broadcast will be hosted by LCPH’s Jason Davis and will feature a different medical provider for each session.  The first session will take place this evening from 7 to 8 pm.  Beginning next week the sessions will be each Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday evening.  Each broadcast will be on the Lane County Government Facebook page.