City Survey Released to General Public
Yesterday the City of Florence began a survey of services and amenities that it would like the public to fill out. The survey takes about 15 minutes to complete and covers quality of life, economic impact and recreational and dining questions. Assistant City Manager Megan Messmer provided the council with information on the survey
“This Survey reviews livability and quality of life in Florence and covers a variety of services, some of them our partner agencies provide but most of them the city of Florence provides.”
The survey can be reached in several ways, one by going to the city’s website at ci.florence.us. where they will find a code.
“That qr code will take people to the general survey.”
Messmer also says that all of the parks in town and some other locations around the city will have cards or flyers that contain the code. Simply scan the code with your phone and it will take you to the survey. You have until July 1st to fill it out. The survey is intended to help identify areas that the city can improve in as well as give them information on the things that are successful.
Annexation Approved
At last night’s Florence City Council meeting the council unanimously approved the annexation of a 2.88 acre piece of property that contains the Heceta Beach Park just north of the Driftwood Shores. Lane county government requested the annexation so that the park could, in the future, provide such things as flushing toilets to the park. Lane County will continue to maintain the park. The addition of the property also include other city services such as police.
Child Welfare in Oregon
A new report released ranks Oregon in the bottom half of states, at 26th, in a new report on child well-being. The Annie E. Casey Foundation’s annual Kids Count data book measures how well states are supporting children and families in four categories: economic well-being, education, health and family and community. Head of the non profit Our Children Oregon, Jenifer Wagley, says one problem is classroom absenteeism, noting that 38 percent of Oregon kids are chronically absent from school – above the national average of 30 percent. She says there are many reasons for this.
“It’s everything from reliable transportation to unstable housing, food insecurity. Even overcrowded classrooms could make kids less likely to want to go, and school infrastructure.”
In the report, Oregon ranks lowest in education, at 43rd. It performs best in the health metric, at 12th. The report notes the state has decreased the number of children without health insurance to three percent.
Moshow the Cat Rapper
The rapper Moshow, who shot to fame after appearing in the Netflix series Cat People will once again visit the Oregon Coast Humane society to bring awareness to the importance of adopting a kitten or cat into a household. Moshow will be at the shelter from 1 to 3 pm Saturday. The OCHS will have kittens available for adoption and visitors are encouraged to bring pet related items or cash donations to help support the shelter animals. The Oregon Coast Humane Society is a nonprofit limited intake shelter that promotes a lifetime commitment to pets.
