04 August 2015
Reduced fire danger doesn’t preclude need for caution
Temperatures moderated and the humidity rose, but that doesn’t mean firefighters are letting their guard down.
Fire Chief Jim Langborg said fire restrictions in the Siuslaw Valley have eased somewhat, but you still need to be careful.
Jim Langborg – “If you’ve got green grass in the city and you don’t have a tree canopy over you, you’re going to be fine cutting your grass. If you are in an unincorporated area where you’re in a wooded area and you’re trying to mow down or weed-whack cured grass; don’t want you to do that because obviously the potential for starting a fire is very high.”
While fire danger along the coast may have eased somewhat, things are still hot and dry inland and resources are limited.
Relay condensing 24 into 12
The American Cancer Society Relay for Life this weekend in Florence still aims to raise the same amount of money… the goal is $85-thousand. All of the popular activities will be there. But, says event co-chair Nicole Hundley, it will last only 12 hours. It starts at noon Saturday at Miller Park… and wraps up at midnight.
Nicole Hundley – “We’ve seen a decrease in overnight attendance; it gets a little breezy, gets a little cold; and so we thought a Saturday only event might be able to bring out more families, more of our working people.”
The opening ceremony and the “survivor” lap start it off again. There’ll be plenty of entertainment throughout the day and the evening and the food court will be open the entire time.
One popular item is making a return… The Elks Chicken Barbecue Dinner starts at four. At nine PM they’ll light the candles on hundreds of luminaria around the one-third mile path.
Nicole Hundley – “We will have our traditional memorial slide show as well. So if anybody has photos they would like to send to add to that they can get those to bob.evans@OPBC.com.”
Hundley says even though it formally ends at midnight Saturday, the Luminaria will remain lit all night long for anyone who wishes to continue walking.
Rhody groundbreaking set for Wednesday
Florence City Councilors will meet at City Hall tomorrow at ten AM for review of the 2010 airport master plan. The discussion is expected to include the types of projects that the Federal Aviation Administration will fund at the airport; along with the city’s policies, needs and potential funding options.
They’ll wrap up before noon because at 12:30 they have a date with a jackhammer on Rhododendron Drive at 11th Street.
It will be a groundbreaking for a project that will include rebuilding a section of Rhody Drive between ninth and Wildwinds.
Wildish Construction of Eugene was awarded the bid for just over $200-thousand that will eventually result in a complete overlay of the roughly three-quarters of a mile project.
A separate project that will add widened bike and walking lanes on each side will be completed next spring.
STEP to hear from experience guide
The fall Chinook salmon season is underway on the Siuslaw River, but anglers who also belong to the local Salmon Trout Enhancement Project will take a break from the river for their monthly meeting tomorrow.
The speaker during tomorrow’s meeting will be Jim Martin. Martin grew up on the Alsea River, learning to fish there and has been a fishing guide for 12 years. He is one of Cabela’s Pro Staff guides and has a – quote – “lifetime of experience” according to STEP spokesperson Becky Goehring.
The STEP meeting is seven PM Wednesday at the Elks Lodge, it’s open to the public.
Regional Arts Alliance Moving Downtown
An organization dedicated to the concept of economic development through the arts is moving to Old Town Florence this month. Bettie Edgerton says the Florence Regional Arts Alliance will be taking up residence at 120 Maple Street.
Bettie Edgerton – “When our lease was getting ready to be up, we started looking, and originally we really couldn’t find anything that was within our budget. And then this space became available and we thought, well, let’s just do it. It’s going to be a little bit more rent eventually. But, we feel that the increased participation and sales, etcetera will make up the difference.”
The first event hosted at the new facility will be Saturday evening at six with the monthly Spoken Word Poetry Contest.
Edgerton said FRAA is a non-profit organization with the mission of unifying and supporting the arts, enrich cultural life and stimulate economic vitality in the Florence area.
