Child Welfare-Oregon
Oregon sits at 26th in a new ranking of states based on child well-being. The Annie E. Casey Foundation has released its annual KIDS COUNT data book, which measures states in four areas: economic well-being, education, health and family and community. Jenifer Wagley, head of Our Children Oregon, says the state has improved in a lot of measures, such as a decrease of children in poverty.
“Then on the other hand, Oregon is still right in the middle of the pack when it comes to rankings against all the other states and we’ve got some real places that need attention, including our education system and supporting our families better when it comes to economic well-being.”
Data for the report is from 2020, the first year of the pandemic. It finds that there’s been an increase across the nation in the number of children and teens experiencing anxiety and depression. Wagley calls it a “youth mental health pandemic,” and notes numbers are higher in Oregon than the national average.
PAC – New Art
At this month’s Public Art Committee meeting on August 22nd. The committee will be holding a discussion about the art and the selections that have been made for the Outdoor Art Gallery program. The PAC reviewed the initial applications at their July 25th meeting. Public Art Exposed is currently located at 5 locations in Old Town with 3 more locations to be added including the Veteran’s Memorial Park and the Florence Area Chamber of Commerce.
Wreaths Across America
The Exhibit of Wreaths Across America is coming to Florence the mobile exhibit is a 48 foot exhibit with a screening room whose goal is to educate the youth about service and sacrifice, but is also to share stories of patriotism and love of country. Wreaths Across America Mobile exhibit will be hosted by the Oregon Coast Military Museum and will be co-hosted by the Oregon Dunes chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. The date is August 27 and will be from 10 am until 4pm. There will be a special pinning ceremony for Vietnam Veterans at 1pm.
ODOT Work Schedule
ODOT has released information about a series of Road projects that will be commencing this week. Many of the locations are out of the area, but people traveling should know that the ODOT project is an extensive one and will be occurring around many of the connecting towns. Cottage Grove, Junction City, Eugene, Creswell, Harrisburg, and Veneta will all have ongoing work including repaving, bridge and tunnel repair. If you are traveling this week take a moment to check out tripcheck.com for closures and delays.
