17 August 2015
It may look like a duck and quack like a duck, but that doesn’t mean it is one.
Florence Police Chief Tom Turner is concerned about the reported behavior of several people driving retired police vehicles.
Tom Turner – “That’s been a concern of mine for a little bit here. We’ve had a couple of… uh, everything from facebook to other reports about some of the misbehavior. They look like retired police cars.”
There is nothing illegal about driving a retired police car. But when the driver acts like a law enforcement officer or simply leads someone else to believe he or she is… that crosses a line.
Tom Turner – “Call the police department and tell us about it. The other thing I also encourage is to get the license number because that was very beneficial to us. That’s going to be huge in tracking that down.”
If you are suspicious, don’t hesitate to ask for identification. Turner encourages residents to call his office if they suspect something going on.
Kindergarten space doubles at Siuslaw
The number of students in kindergarten this year at Siuslaw is expected to be about the same as past years. But, administrators had to double the amount of space provided for them. Principal Mike Harkelroad says that’s because the 100 or students will be staying all day.
Mike Harkelroad – “That’s typically been the number… about a hundred students per year, give or take five or ten on either side of that; which puts us at about four classes. And since the students will be staying all day this year, we are out of classrooms in the main building so we had to add space outside.”
They won’t literally be outside… A new building on the north end of the Elementary School was recently completed. It will house the kinders.
Parents and their students will have two chances to tour the new facility. The first one will be tomorrow morning from nine am to noon. The second will be Thursday, August 27th. The school will host a hot dog feed and open house for new kindergartners and their families that evening.
Disaster drill to test capacity
Emergency responders will be testing their skills Wednesday when they stage a mock disaster at Siuslaw High School. In addition to practicing the response in the field, the real test is intended to be at Peace Harbor Medical Center. That’s where the Emergency Department will mobilize to handle not only a surge in trauma patients, but also a crowd of actors simulating the crush of family and community members.
A few “victims” for the drill are still needed. It begins at eight AM on the 19th.
Administrators at both the medical center and the hospital want to stress that normal operations at both facilities will continue to operate as planned that day.
Crab season ends on a downward note
The commercial Dungeness Crab harvest off Oregon waters was the lowest this year in 14 years. The season began in December and ended Friday. During that period commercial fishers landed just over 8-million pounds of the tasty crustacean.
Newport was the top port for landings with 2.5-million pounds, followed by Astoria and Charleston.
This year’s take was slightly more than half of last year’s 14.2 million pounds and well below the ten year average of 19.3 million.
Hugh Link with the Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission said over the weekend that the crab fishery is “cyclical” and he added that crabbers are hoping for an upturn when the new season begins later this year.
Lane County Parks begins master plan process
A series of open house meetings this fall will give Lane County residents a voice in the future of management of parks.
Lane County Parks is embarking on the first update of the 20-year Parks Master Plan since 1980. The plan will identify strategic investments in parks and open space throughout Lane County.
A draft plan has been prepared… it’s available online at the county’s website and printed copies are also available for review at public libraries around the County, including in Florence.
Five public meetings will be held to allow the community to provide feedback and ask questions about the draft plan. The first one will be September Tenth in Florence at City Hall. Others are planned for Veneta, Eugene, Leaburg, and Cottage Grove.
