Weekly COVID Number at 28
The weekly total is in for Florence COVID-19 numbers and the number is 28. Since last Thursday there was an influx of COVID-19 that brought the all time total for the Florence Area to 1684 individuals with the coronavirus. It is unclear as to where the majority of cases occurred, due to the decreased attention given the virus from both the Lane County Public Health and the Oregon Health Authority. There was no indication as to whether the cases were randomly spread throughout the community or centered in one or more locations. There were early reports last week of one of the long term care facilities having an outbreak, but that was not confirmed by either health officials or media sources. Lane County added 150 new cases yesterday while the state said there were 1478 new cases from Tuesday to Wednesday of this week. Hospitalizations were up at 298 for the day with a decrease of 6 in the ICU with 24 patients currently receiving care.
Port Commissioners weigh in on Close of Chinook Season
Two of the Port of Siuslaw commissioners have spoken out about the coming closing of the fall Chinook season on the Siuslaw river. The Oregon Department of fish and Wildlife has decided that there are not enough fish coming up the river to spawn and it is important to give the season a break in order to help reestablish the number for the river. Board Chair Terry Duman says the port itself will see less revenue from campground and moorage, but still sees a positive for river crabbing and ocean salmon. Duman also says ODFW needs to invest in hatchery infrastructure to support the rivers to ease the burden. Commissioner Bill Meyer said that anyone who has seen the line of trailers parked along the roads from the port to highway 126 knows the importance of the fishing season. Meyer says he is not willing to go so far as second guessing the ODFW, but hopes that the decision they have made is the right one. Port manager David Huntington is hopeful that campground revenue can be made up by tourism visitors.
School Board Passes Budget
Joined by parents, teachers and community members both online and in person, the Siuslaw School District Board of Directors passed all action items on last night’s agenda. All seven board members were in attendance. The 2022-23 budget of $33,659,663 passed with a six to one majority. The school district also plans the procurement of a second handicapped accessible school bus using ESSER funds. ESSER funds (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Funds) are U.S. Government emergency stimulus funds provided to schools to address the pandemic’s impacts on education. The motion passed six to one. The Board also unanimously approved: the expenditure of additional funds received after last year’s budget adoption; a new language arts curriculum, and corresponding curriculum and textbooks; and a senate bill that gives the district the ability to administer naloxone, a medication given as a nasal spray designed to reverse the effects of opioid drugs. As the meeting closed, each board member had a personal message for the graduates of Siuslaw High School. The meeting will be live-streamed on the district’s YouTube channel: : https://bit.ly/SiuslawBoardMeeting