The Community will celebrate once and future first citizens next week…
It’s been a Florence tradition for nearly 60 years. The community honors an individual who, through their actions and service, has helped improve our town. Last year’s Florence First Citizen was Jenna Bartlett. She and several previous honorees lead this year’s effort. (Jenna Bartlett) – “I think it’s important to celebrate people who go above and beyond in our community. They can be quietly working behind the scenes. Many of them do. They care about our community and want to see it be a wonderful place.” Two nominees are on the program for next Tuesday at the Florence Events Center. Carol Bennett is a longtime member of Soroptimist International. She has worked tirelessly over the years on several projects, but is most known for her efforts on behalf of the Community Christmas Basket Project. Steve Skidmore took over the lead role at Siuslaw Public Library 48 years ago. He was instrumental in the library’s success over the years, even since retiring several years ago. Skidmore has volunteered thousands of hours in the community with Florence Rotary, Siuslaw Outreach Services, and Siuslaw Pioneer Museum in addition to his church, St. Andrews Episcopal. In addition to the First Citizen award, Florence’s Future First Citizen will also be announced on Tuesday at the Florence Events Center. We’ll focus on the half dozen high school seniors on Monday. The First Citizen lunch, by the way, is sold out.
UPS cuts daily flight to Florence
Haven’t heard the UPS Airplane coming and going from the Florence Airport recently? That’s because the parcel delivery service no longer makes routine pickups here. But, the service is still available according to staff at Florence Shipping Solution, who said if they receive an Air parcel for UPS, they notify them and an immediate pickup is scheduled to take it to the Eugene Airport, even on Saturday. There was no information as to why UPS discontinued the Florence Flights.
Homeowners urged to get ready for fire season
Oregon had a record-breaking 1.9 million acres of wildland burned last year, the most in 30 years. That was also 18 times greater than the amount burned in 2023, that’s according to Lincoln County Sheriff Adam Shanks. The destruction for 2025 has already begun with the devastating fires in Southern California with more than 800-thousand acres blackened already. Shanks says this is the time of year to learn about wildfire on the Oregon Coast and get your home ready before the property surrounding your home dries out. First of all, have an emergency plan with an evacuation checklist and be aware of the different levels of evacuation and what they mean. Make sure your home address is clearly visible from your street or road, document your possessions and build a 72-hour kit for your family and don’t forget supplies for your pets. Clear a defensible space around your home and if you burn in your backyard, use safe practices or consider another way to dispose of the material. Finally, he suggests that residents prepare financially for a disaster.
Another forum announced for School Board candidates
A third chance to meet most of the candidates vying for one of three seats on the ballot for the Siuslaw School Board is coming up in a couple weeks. Thursday, May 8th the Florence City Club will host a forum featuring them. Speaking for the City Club Lea Patten stressed that it will not be a debate but candidates will discuss why he or she should be on the board followed by Q & A. Patten said five of the six candidates have agreed to come. Only Dennis King has not. The forum is May 8th, 1:30 pm at Siuslaw Public Library. Doors open at 12:15.
