Special Traffic Enforcement Planned
Beginning Monday and lasting through the 13th of February the Florence Police Department will be participating in a traffic enforcement blitz to insure that individuals are properly wearing their seatbelts and are correctly using their child car seats. The FPD has received dedicated funds for this specific purpose from the USDOT National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The purpose is to bring awareness to the dangers of individuals when they are not properly restrained in a vehicle. Last month the FPD participated in a DUII enforcement campaign. Their next DUII campaign will be on Super Bowl Sunday, February 13th.
New COVID-19 Numbers
18 more individuals were reported to having COVID-19 in the Florence area. There have been 211 cases reported in the last two weeks and the numbers are not expected to come down at least for the next 2 weeks. Florence has seen steady increases in numbers since the Omicron Variant has become the dominant variant across the U.S. Along with the increasing numbers more and more residents are getting vaccinated according to Lane County Public Health numbers. Jason Davis had already reported that the 97439 zip code was one of the highest vaccinated zip codes in Lane County. The county is still seeing record high numbers of cases per 100,000 with 1,359.6.
Booster Goal Not Being Met
The Oregon Health Authority is reporting that it will likely not make the goal of 1 million booster doses by the end of the month which was the goal set by Governor Kate Brown. The total as of yesterday is below 500,000 with just over 3 days left. Oregon is still seeing extreme numbers of new cases with 7,871 reported yesterday. With the new cases the OHA is also reporting dwindling numbers of hospital beds. Numbers increased by 69 yesterday and there were 14 additional ICU beds used from the previous day.
Highway 101 Work North of Newport
Travelers heading north on Highway 101 should be aware of possible delays as the Oregon Department of Transportation is beginning work on the road in the Newport area. Winter weather has damaged portions of the roadway north of Newport and ODOT will ongoing through about Tuesday of next week if weather allows for paving to be completed.
LCOG Issues Scam Warning
The Lane Council of Governments has issued a statement regarding the possibility of a scam that is circulating. Individuals are apparently posing as LCOG staff in order to obtain personal information from individuals. The call comes in form of a person saying they are conducting a survey. There have even been reports of door to door responses. LCOG is not participating in any surveys and will not call to ask someone to participate in one. If you have been contacted by someone making the claim contact local police.
