Dunes City Mayor, Robert Forsythe Passes
Former port manager and Mayor of Dunes City Robert Forsythe has passed away, Forsythe had recently been taken off life support after an illness. He had been Mayor of Dunes City since 2017. Prayers and condolences go out to his wife Cindy and to all of his friends and family.
School District Plans to Lift Mask Restrictions After Spring Break
The Siuslaw School District has released information on when parents and students and staff can expect an end to masking in the schools. Superintendent Andy Grzeskowiak has sent a letter to all individuals involved that after the completion of Spring break on March 31st students and staff will be able to choose if they wish to continue wearing masks. Grzeskowiak says over the next several weeks the School board will be working with the administration, staff and families to safely determine the best course of action moving forward. Grzeskowiak did offer one caveat: plans change, and he is asking for patience and flexibility during this period until all details are worked out.
“With there having been so many plan changes thrown at us, and again the last set of plans and guidance was just issued 10 days ago, while I would like to have a set of rules that are very firm I can’t say that the state wouldn’t give us something else.”
The superintendent reiterated that until the last day of March the current rules are very much in place and as it stands there would still be mandatory masking for the buses, because of federal rules. The Oregon health Authority has given school the responsibility to make the final decisions but a release from the Oregon Health Authority on Monday is looking at the end of mask requirements no later than March 31st and could possibly be sooner for all indoor public spaces. The biggest concern the OHA is offering is the number of hospitalizations that are still occurring. According to OHA Health Officer Dr. Dean Sidelinger cases were down 40% in just the past week.
Weekend COVID-19 Cases
18 cases of COVID-19 were registered in Lane County over the weekend. These are some of the lowest numbers for a weekend in several weeks. COVID-19 numbers for Lane County continue to drop steadily with a nearly 30% drop in the past week. Cases per 100,000 dropped again to 602 and 727.4 for a 7 day period. Lane county’s total for the three days was 776 making for a light weekend in comparison to the past several weeks.
OHA Numbers
Oregon Health Authority number have been falling too with 7,928 reported for the weekend totals. There are however still more than 1,000 patients in Oregon hospitals with COVID-19 complications. The bed availability however is rising to 11% from 5.6 percent last week.
Chamber Seminar
Tomorrow is the last day before the Florence Area Chamber of Commerce’s “Turning Anxiety Into Peace” seminar. The chamber is reporting nearly 500 registrants from around the state, but all are welcome. In addition Three Rivers Casino is hosting a free watch party for the event. it is tomorrow at noon and is 10$ for chamber members and $25 dollars for non-chamber members. Information is available at florencechamber.com.
City Projects
City Manager says the Safe Routes to School project funded by ODOT is completed. The next project to near completion is the 9th street water line and repaving from Kingwood to Rhododendron. Reynolds says they are just waiting for the weather to complete the paving. Weather, not only in Florence but in Eugene has to be just right in order to proceed. The city will notify the public in time to prepare for the project.
