28 September 2015
Scaled back Public Works Headquarters to begin next spring
Florence’s Public Works department will be making a move sometime next year. Public Works Director Mike Miller said a new facility is in the works for the business park just north of the airport.
Mike Miller – “We’re hoping to actually break ground and start in the spring, building a new facility, corner of 27th and Kingwood. It’ll be towards the back side, towards the airport more.”
The first phase will be cost approximately $1.4-million. The original plans were quite extensive… and carried an expensive price tag.
Mike Miller – “Five, five and a half million. So, it’s significantly less, it’s a start. It will actually get us out of the old police station on Spruce.”
Miller says they’ll start with a large maintenance building that will likely have temporary office space built in. Eventually, a separate Public Works office building may be added.
Port Commission to begin recruitment process
The Port of Siuslaw Commission will hold a special meeting early next week following the announcement that district manager Bob Forsythe will be stepping down later this year. Commission President Ron Caputo says they’ll talk about their options;
Ron Caputo – “and go over the job description. As soon as we come up with that we are going to go ahead and post the job. It will probably be within a week that we will do that.”
Is there an internal candidate already working for the port that might meet the qualifications?
Ron Caputo – “I don’t think so. There could be. I’d really like to see someone local apply because I really like to deal with people that I know.”
Forsythe submitted his resignation Thursday, giving Commissioners up to 90-days notice that he would be stepping down.
Gray Wolf delisting to be discussed in Florence
The first of two meetings to take testimony on the possibility of removing the Gray Wolf from the Oregon list of endangered species will be held next week in Florence.
The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission will meet at Driftwood Shores Friday, October 9th.
The Commission will hear an informational briefing on the proposal from staff members beginning at 8 AM.
The meeting has garnered the attention of wolf advocates who want the state to keep them on the list and continue strong protections. Members of several conservation groups, including Oregon Wild and Cascadia Wildlands, intend to testify at the Florence hearing.
A second meeting is scheduled for November in Salem. The commission is expected to render a final decision on the proposal at that time.
LCC sponsors free rides
Lane Community College in Florence is sponsoring a free ride on the Rhody Express all this week.
Classes at LCC begin today.
The Rhody Express offers a regular route around Florence from ten AM to six PM, Monday through Friday. The hourly routes start and end at Grocery Outlet. The south route connects Old Town, the Casino and several stops with those on the north route that loops out to Bi-Mart, Fred Meyer and LCC.
Fire season turns to burning season
Fire season may be winding down, but fire-weary Oregonians are likely to see more smoke over Western Oregon in the next few weeks.
More than 200-thousand acres of private timberland, all of it recently logged, will be burned in an effort to prevent future wildfires and provide prime habitat for young trees.
Doug Grafe is the chief of the Oregon Department of Forestry’s Forest Protection Division.
He says prescribed burning minimizes the chance of devastating fires in the summer. By burning debris after a thinning operation if wildfire does strike, it won’t cause as much damage and will be safer and easier to fight.
Grafe says he would like to see twice as much acreage burned.
Some landowners are lighting fires this week; others will have to wait until more rain has fallen… possibly as late as November.
