Hannigan Receives Kudos
Florence Area Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Bettina Hannigan’s leadership is being lauded by the chamber’s board of Directors. Hannigan has recently returned from Washington DC where she officially graduated from a year long virtual course dealing with childhood education and development through k-12 and higher education and direct workforce development. It was a significant and important developmental tool given that the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted some important developmental times for young people that will soon be entering the workforce. Board Chair Al Rojas said of Hannigan that her hard work and focus shows her commitment to the Florence community. Hannigan says she valued the experience and that Florence is in a unique position due to its size.
“It’s been a real interesting adventure, I’ve learned a lot. Of course being a small town we don’t have the resources that a lot of the big metro areas have, but I do believe that we were able to harvest some really powerful information that we could bring back here to help benefit our little Florence community.”
Hannigan currently sits on the Oregon State Chamber as president-elect
Kiwanis Flags
The city is celebrating Coast Guard Day today and the Florence Kiwanis is putting out the flags in honor of the 232nd year of service. Recent placement of flags around Florence has resulted in several flags being stolen. The Florence Kiwanis club is asking that the community be vigilant and report anyone taking flags from their stations.
Commissioners Seek Public Testimony
The Lane County Board of Commissioners are set to take public testimony next week on a proposal to send a 5-year tax levy to voters this fall. If approved, the levy would raise a total of $31-million over the life of the levy. That money would be used to pay for improvements of parks, trails, water access, water quality and natural areas at Lane County Parks. The public hearing will be held in the Lane County Public Service Building Tuesday, August 9th at 1:30 PM. An online link is available at the county’s website that allows residents to participate virtually. The levy proposal is part of a master plan approved by commissioners four years ago to “re-invigorate and revitalize targeted parks.”
PeaceHealth Ranks #1
PeaceHealth hospital system, which includes Peace Harbor hospital in Florence has been ranked #1 by the Portland Business Journal’s list of Healthiest Employers for Oregon for organizations with 5000 or more employees. It is the sixth consecutive year they have been honored for encouraging the health and wellness of its employees, ranking in the top three since 2018.
COVID-19 Cases
There have been 21 more cases of COVID-19 added to the Florence numbers in the past week. There have now been 1873 cases overall since the pandemic began. After nearly three weeks of moderate numbers across the state, the OHA reported 2182 cases yesterday, the most for a single day since early June.
