Siuslaw Awards Results
Last night’s Siuslaw Awards at the Florence Event Center was attended by a full house of chamber member businesses. Awards were presented in several categories with the Stu Johnston business of the Year Award as the final award of the evening. The award this year went to 1285 Restobar. Owner Kurt Hargens accepted the award on behalf of the staff that he said was dedicated to making customers feel welcome. The Florence First Citizen Award went to Former Siuslaw Publisher Jenna Bartlett for her work with charities and support for the community. Other winners included Oregon Pacific Bank for excellence in customer service, Innovation is everything went to The Playhouse. Heart on their sleeve award to Florence Shipping Solutions. Profound Difference award went to the Boys and Girls Club and director Vanessa Buss also received the Life Preserver Award. Bold New Business went to the Human Bean. The Audience was also officially introduced to recent Siuslaw High School Graduate Cate Waggoner as Florence’s Future First Citizen. Cate will be heading to Oregon State University in the fall to study medicine.
Hepatitis Day
World Hepatitis Day is this Sunday the 28th, and for the Oregon Health Authority, it’s an opportunity to promote its plan to eliminate hepatitis across the state. Released in March, the plan includes major goals and strategies to limit the spread of hepatitis A, B and C over the next six years. It’s gotten new attention after 24-hundred patients in Oregon hospitals were potentially exposed to hepatitis and H-I-V earlier this month. Concerns are high, but Doctor Dean Sidelinger – Oregon’s state health officer – says people should be aware of the threats of hepatitis, but not anxious.
“In day-to-day times, people should feel safe and confident in going to the doctor. The risk of exposure to these viruses is extremely low in most cases.”
Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver, and contagious viruses are among the causes. Doctor Sidelinger says he’s confident Oregon has the technology and resources to fully eliminate the threat. While many people may have heard of hepatitis, they may not fully understand how prevalent it is in their communities. According to O-H-A data, the proportion of chronic hepatitis C cases among people in their 20s tripled between 2010 and 2019. Doctor Sidelinger says there’s a good chance most Oregonians know someone who is affected by chronic hepatitis.
“It can seem out of the blue to be talking about hepatitis and [a] hepatitis awareness day, but this is a disease that affects many individuals. But the good news is, everyone can take steps to protect themselves.”
The O-H-A says you can help prevent the spread of hepatitis by washing hands and fresh produce, staying current on vaccinations, avoiding sharing needles, and getting tested regularly. These tips and more are part of the state’s plan to eliminate hepatitis by 2030.
Gas Prices
Oregon is just one of many states that is seeing lower prices at the pump. Marie Dodds with AAA Oregon says the trend is nationwide. The exception is the Midwest where a refinery power outage caused a spike in prices. Here in Oregon the price of a gallon of regular gas dropped 4 cents to $3.96 a gallon. Florence followed the state trend by dropping to $3.68 on average. Dodds says demands for gas has tapered since the 4th of July holiday and says the scorching heat and wildfires may have contributed to the lackluster sales of fuel. Dodds also says that barring any natural disasters, she does not see the price moving upward in the near future.