School Board Meetings
Classes at area schools resume in just over two weeks, but school boards at Siuslaw and Mapleton have been at work most of the summer. Both boards will meet tomorrow, separately, for what will be the first meetings of the school year. In Florence, the Siuslaw board begins at 6:00 Wednesday in the District Office for a work session to discuss the board operating agreement and governance handbook. Both of those items form the framework under which they operate during the year. The regular session opens at 6:30 with the first action item, other than approving the agenda itself, is to choose the board chair and vice chair. The Siuslaw board is also slated to hear from Donie Danials, the maintenance supervisor, with a report on facility projects. The Mapleton School Board convenes at six Wednesday evening at the high school. They are also slated to select a chair and vice chair. Both meetings are open to the public and can be viewed remotely on each respective school district’s YouTube pages.
Rhododendron Theme Sought
The Florence Area Chamber of commerce has announced that they will be looking for the theme of the 2025 Rhododendron Festival. Each year ideas are collected from the public with one person chosen for their creativity. The theme’s winner will receive a $100 prize for their submission. Deadline for submissions is September 23rd. After the theme is chosen the chamber will then look to the public for a design of the 119th annual rhododendron Festival Logo. A form is available on the Florence Chamber website, florencechamber.com.
Realignment Progress
The Rhododendron Realignment project continues to progress. The section of street from Wildwinds to New Hope is closed to all traffic. City Manager Erin Reynolds says significant road work is being done on the southern portion of the project with a lot of repair to the underlayment of the road surface. The city expects to have heavy compacting equipment on site for the next several days which Reynolds says could be loud, especially to those who need to access the County transfer station or the Humane Society. Work is also continuing on the soil nail wall to reinforce the wall west of the roadway. Work is expected to be completed in the next several months.
Gardiner Man Arrested
A Gardiner man has been arrested and lodged in the Douglas County Jail on sex crime charges. On Saturday, Douglas County deputies were dispatched to a reported disturbance in the 70000-block of Highway 101 in Gardiner. After arriving, deputies determined there were no crimes committed during the disturbance. As deputies were preparing to leave, they learned information that a juvenile had previously reported to an adult that they had been the victim of sexual assault by 36-year-old Eric Thomas Cumming of Gardiner. Cumming is known to the victim. Deputies began investigating and developed probable cause for the arrest of Cumming. He was taken into custody and transported to the Douglas County Jail where he was lodged on charges of 10 counts each of Unlawful Sexual Penetration in the First Degree and Sexual Abuse in the First Degree. Cumming remains in custody at the Douglas County Jail.
