WLFEA Seeks Public Input
Western Lane Ambulance District and Siuslaw Fire & Rescue is looking toward the future and how their services would most benefit the region. They will soon be conducting a telephone survey to ask citizens about the future of fire and emergency services. Chief Michael Schick says the community’s participation is VERY important so the districts can better understand the community’s need and determine opinions and point of view on fire and ambulance services.
“We want to know what the public feels about this—what the citizens feel—and we don’t really have a good idea.”
Schick says feedback from the public is essential in planning for the future. He also knows that people don’t always answer their phone, and the polling company will leave a message with a call-back number. If you’d like to give your opinion, you can call them back and they will run through the poll with you. Western Lane Fire and EMS is looking for at least 300 individuals to participate.
Move to Moderate Risk
Lane County will be moving to a Moderate Risk level this week as numbers for the coronavirus continue to move lower, but according to numbers from the state Lane County was just a few thousand vaccinations away from the 65% needed to move to the low risk level. State numbers show that 6808 people need to get vaccinated before the move can be made. Jason Davis in a recent online update said Lane County is adding in the number of veterans and tribal individuals that have been vaccinated in Lane County and contends those numbers bring them even closer. So far the State has not seen fit to include those individuals. Friday’s move to a moderate level will allow restaurants and theaters to move to 50% capacity.
Vaccination Clinic
This Friday there will be another vaccination clinic for the Florence area at the Florence Events Center. This will be on a slightly smaller scale as the times will not begin until noon and go until 6 pm. City Manager Erin Reynolds says individuals can still sign up at lanecounty.org/vaxclinics, but walk-ups will also be welcome.
“They will be doing first shots, booster shots, Pfizer for anyone 12 years of age and older.”
Reynolds says there will also be a limited number of Johnson and Johnson vaccines for those preferring a single shot vaccine.
PPE Distribution
The City of Florence has announce that it will be doing another round of PPE distribution for businesses in Florence that employ less than 100 people. The supplies will consist of maske, gloves in 4 sizes, aerosol disinfectant spray, hand sanitizer and touchless thermometers. Businesses can sign up for the distribution at the city’s website ci.florence.or.us. the city has distributed over $135,000 in supplies since December impacting over 250 small businesses.
Cases Continue to Decline
The State continues to see drops in covid cases. This past week there was a 14% drop in cases and the state only reported 177 new cases total yesterday. Lane County had 20 cases to report. There are, however, still 17 people hospitalized. Peace Harbor Emergency department head, Dr. Willie Foster says cases continue to be severe, but are coming to a younger group of people. Severe cases are mostly among individuals with multiple health concerns. Florence did not have a new case to report and is at 247 individuals to date.
