12 August 2015
Sonshine Kids closing September 4th
Increasing costs and “unmanageable” accounts receivable are to blame for the closure of the Sonshine Kids Preschool at the end of this month. The congregation of the Seventh-day Adventist Church voted over the weekend to close the preschool by September 4th.
The closure does not affect the church’s elementary school, the Sonshine Christian School.
Pastor Andy Wittenberg blamed operational cost increases, primarily the requirement to provide health insurance, on the closure. It was a “painful decision” according to Wittenberg who said the final day of operation will be Friday, September 4th unless parents of students are able to find other arrangements before that date.
The closure of Sonshine Kids brings to three the number of child care and preschool facilities that have closed in recent months.
One preschool… ABC… has since reopened under new ownership.
Cost of driving drops in Florence
The national average price for a gallon of regular gas has dropped by 20 cents in the past four weeks. In Oregon it has steadily declined by 13 cents a gallon; but in Florence, it held steady until two days ago.
And when it fell, it fell quickly, dropping by ten cents a gallon on average in a 24-hour period.
Florence’s average cash price this week is $2.88. That’s 14 cents below the Oregon average price, but 29 cents higher than the national average.
Marie Dodds with Triple-A of Oregon says lower crude oil prices and strong refinery runs are getting the credit for the lower prices overall. She said pump prices will continue to fall leading up to Labor Day.
California remains the highest price market with an average price of $3.58 a gallon… Oregon is sixth highest and the lowest average price is in South Carolina… $2.19.
Library to unveil historic photos
A dozen restored historic photos of the Mapleton area will be presented to the public next week during a special open house at the Mapleton Branch of the Siuslaw Public Library.
The 12 photos were recently restored and enlarged by The Archives, Photo Restoration Specialists, in Florence. They were selected from the collections of the Siuslaw Pioneer Museum and the Lane County Historical Museum.
The cost of the restoration was funded largely by a grant from the Lane County Cultural Coalition. The photos will unveiled during a special open house at the Mapleton Branch Library Thursday, August 20th. They’ll remain there on semi-permanent display.
Field of Dreams set for Miller Park September 19th
The annual Drive In Movie at Miller Park will be making a return next month.
Coast Radio has offered the free movie as a listener promotion and as a way to assist the Boys and Girls Club of Western Lane County with fund raising.
The club provides traffic control for the night as well as accepts donations during the showing. They also operate the concessions.
This year’s movie will be “Field of Dreams” from 1989 starring Kevin Costner and James Earl Jones.
Show time will be eight PM on Saturday, September 19th; rain or shine.
Scammers impersonating officers on the phone
The Lane County Sheriff’s office is reporting once again that area residents have been reporting calls from someone claiming to be from the Sheriff’s office and demanding payment for an outstanding warrant.
Sergeant Carrie Carver says the caller uses the names of actual Sheriff’s Office employees. They claim to have a warrant, or that the intended victim has missed jury duty, and the person is subject to immediate arrest.
There is a way to make it all stop according to the caller… All they need to do is purchase a “green dot money pack” from a local retailer and when the alleged officer calls back, they can pay their fine over the phone.
You can also make it stop by simply hanging up.
Carver says officers do not call people to collect fines over the phone. The green dot money packs are used because they are untraceable.
