Retired Colonel Sets Sights on District 4
This morning a retired Air Force Colonel and long time Oregon resident has thrown her hat in the ring for the 4th district congressional seat. Monique DeSpain served 30 years in the armed forces serving as a lawyer in the Judge Advocate General’s corp. She says the challenges facing Oregon and our country at large are too great to stand by and says she is uniquely qualified to serve in congress. As a practicing lawyer in Eugene she says she has seen the effects of the newly enacted measure 110 that decriminalized small amounts of illegal narcotics paired with an open border and she wants to bring common sense to Washington.
“We have real threats right here in our communities. I am sick and tired of seeing and knowing our elected officials, most of them career politicians, are ignoring the threats and making us even more vulnerable with their poor policies.”
DeSpain says public safety is a big issue that needs to be addressed encompassing homelessness, addiction, crime and a secure border. She would like to see more transparency in government. You can listen to the full interview on the coast radio website.
STEM Parade
Students at Siuslaw Elementary will participate in a parade of sorts. Kindergarten students at the school have been designing balloon “floats” as part of their ‘science, technology, engineering and math’ or STEM curriculum. They will be showing them off during a parade on Oak Street Friday afternoon at 1:15. The high school marching band will join them as they parade on Oak Street from the Middle School to the District Office. Spectators are asked not to park on Oak Street that day as it will obstruct the view of the parade.
Celebrating the Impact of the Arts
A recent unveiling of the findings of a study on the impact of the arts revealed the economic impact of the arts in Florence. The Arts and Economic Prosperity 6 group shared the findings with the community at the Florence Events Center on November 8th. Harlan Springer with the Oregon Arts Commission says it is the first time such a study was done and it shows the significant contribution the Arts makes locally. According to their findings the arts produce 7.3 million dollars annually, provides 118 jobs and 35,000 volunteer hours. The study also reveals that most of the impact is provided by local audiences with only 15% of audiences coming from outside the area. However non-local spending per person is double that when you factor in lodging and personal spending.
Sheriff’s Office Phone Briefly Down
For the second time in recent months the non-emergency number for the Lane County Sheriff’s Office was inoperative. The incident happened in the 10 O’clock hour yesterday morning and was repaired quickly. Information from the sheriff’s office had reported the line was back in service just after noon yesterday. No details were available on the reason for the outage. The previous outage was on August 7th.
Business After Hours
This evening the Empowered Living and Wellness Center located at 138 Maple Street will be hosting a business after hours. Refreshments will be provided. The event will begin at 5 pm and last until 6:30.