OR 58 Accident Claims Life of Florence Resident
A multi-vehicle crash early this morning on Oregon Highway 58 claimed the life of a Florence woman. Ellen Fiske, 52 of Florence suffered fatal injuries when she crossed over the center line and struck a Peterbilt commercial vehicle operated by Travis Murphy of Klamath Falls near milepost 26 at approximately 1:06 am. The accident closed the highway for nearly 2 hours with an additional 5 hours of restricted use. Oregon State Police were assisted by the Lowell Fire Department and the Oregon Department of Transportation
No COVID-19 Cases Tuesday
There were no new cases of COVID-19 reported for the Florence area on Tuesday. And the number of cases for Lane County was only 128. Over the past 7 weeks there have been slight decreases in cases both locally, in the county and across the state. In early September Lane County was experiencing daily cases averaging 300 cases per day with a spike in the second week of September of 330 cases daily. There were 4 deaths reported for Lane County yesterday. Across the state there were 44 new deaths associated with the coronavirus and 1,650 new cases. The Oregon Health Authority is reporting that it is still vaccinating about 7 thousand people per day, but the number reflects about half of those are third dose and booster dose numbers.
Flu Season Coming
October is officially the beginning of Flu season and unlike last year the OHA is projecting a much heavier number of flu cases. Last year’s numbers were directly affected by the practices in place due to the pandemic, but more individuals are gathering and there is less physical distancing. According to the OHA the biggest contributor to flu spread is school aged children. Flu vaccines are available to children as young as 6 months old. According to the Oregon Health Authority release Flu and COVID-19 shots can be given at the same time.
Preparing for Winter Storms
Recent rains remind us that the winter storm season is arriving and that could mean downed trees and power outages for some of the coastal residents. Public works director Mike Miller encourages individuals to get ahead of the storm by preparing for the potential of bad weather.
“Having your three days worth of emergency supplies whether that’s food or water, toiletries, prescriptions, those type of things”
Miller says we are fortunate that things like the power grid are pretty stable here along the coast, but when storms come there is still the potential for damages and loss of power.
“There could be a time that we are without power for an extended period and we’re not talking one or two hours we’re talking 12 hours, a day or multiple days just depending on the severity of the storm.”
Miller also says to check your gutters. Clogged gutters can potentially cause damaged to siding and even your foundation.
Florence Inspired Dune Movie
City Lights Cinemas is preparing for the release of the new Dune movie. Dune was a science fiction series of novels released in the mid 60’s by author Frank Herbert and inspired by his time here along the central Oregon Coast. The new movie will take a different direction than the 1984 David Lynch movie starring Kyle MacLachlan and Patrick Stewart. The cinemas is planning a mini documentary to be played in conjunction with the new release on October 22nd . on Saturday the 23rd they will have the Oregon Dunes Restoration Project followed by a live book and film club on Sunday hosted by Meg Spencer with Siuslaw Public Library.
