Siuslaw Awards
The Florence area business community celebrated the contributions of business during a very difficult time. The Florence Area Chamber of Commerce chose to use several different categories for their annual Siuslaw Awards that highlighted the resilience, determination and caring through what has been a difficult and unique period for Florence. The awards began with recognizing the Future First Citizen Jessica South which had been announced earlier this summer and then recognized Steve Olienyk as First Citizen recognizing his contributions to the community. The Grace under Fire award was presented to Darlings Marina and RV Resort. The Pivot Forward award went to City Lights Cinemas. The Brave New Business award was Boba Flo. Young Entrepreneur was given to Kristen Goodman of the Wildflower Montessori School. Community Impact to Florence Habitat for Humanity. Safeguarding One Another to Three Rivers Casino Resort. Helping Hearts went to the Soup Brigade/Good Deed Project. There were a couple of special recognitions including the Phoenix Rising award presented to Oregon Pacific Bank and Dave Cox accepted the Unsung Heroes award for all of the frontline workers that continued to work through the worst of the pandemic in order to ensure others had food and services. The chamber Board of Directors also recognized their President and CEO Bettina Hannigan for her direction during the pandemic. Finally the Stu Johnston Business of the Year Award went to the Boys and Girls Club of Western Lane County.
COVID-19 Numbers Rise
The COVID-19 Case count for the Florence Area increased by 3 yesterday bringing the all time total to 292 cases. Lane County reported 50 new cases and the state of Oregon reported 539 cases. The Oregon Health Authority says the number of hospital beds associated with the coronavirus also increased yesterday by 18 and there are now 39 individuals in the ICU. According to OHA data lane county is experiencing a 2.9% positivity rate among individuals tested for COVID-19 and rate of spread is considered moderate in the county. Infections in Umatilla and Josephine County are considered widespread.
Rabies Warning
Lane County’s senior Public Health Officer Dr. Patrick Luedtke is warning individuals to make sure your pets are vaccinated for rabies. Lane County has experienced its 4th case of rabies in bats this year which Luedtke says is unusual. While the latest case is a Eugene case, he says it is important that humans and pets should stay clear of bats and be aware that their feeding times are in the hour before through the hour after dusk. Luedtke warns that bats are a critical part of the ecosystem and should not be targeted or proactively killed.
