Economic Development; Gas Prices; Camping Plans?; Memorial Day

Economic Development Moves Ahead Slowly

The state of economic development is sometimes an arduous project.  With revision Florence on the table // the future of the 101 corridor is being planned and execution is waiting on some additional funding.  In the meantime, there are still about 22 local commercial buildings vacant in town, although that is down from about 38 properties 2 years ago.  During that time several property owners took advantage of a façade upgrade grant.  Kelli Weiss, City Recorder, says it might be something they will consider again.

“We’ve had a lot of interest in doing another facade improvement program.  But with Revision Florence and some Public Art, we haven’t quite got there yet.”

Weiss says it may be a case of getting Revision Florence finished before property owners feel the pressure to tidy up their buildings.

Memorial Gas Prices

After several weeks of declines, retail gas prices are moving up in many markets ahead of the Memorial Day holiday weekend. Marie Dodd with AAA says it’s due in part to rising demand and higher crude oil prices. For the week, the national average for regular unleaded rose two cents to $2.36 a gallon, while Oregon’s average holds at $2.73.  Here in Florence the price has been dancing a little between 2.40 and 2.49 a gallon.  Nationwide AAA predicts that more than 39 million Americans will be traveling this holiday weekend and about 88 percent of them will be driving.  They expect drivers will pay the highest gas prices since 2015.  For those fuel conscious drivers there are a couple of things that you can do to keep your fuel consumption down.  1) Reducing excessive weight stored in your vehicle, 2) using your cruise control, 3) checking your tire pressure, 4) making necessary repairs to your vehicle, 5) and minimizing the use of your air conditioning.  Each contributes a small amounts of savings, but together will help you see a significant change in your fuel use.

Plannin a Camping Trip?

If you are thinking about using this memorial weekend to do some camping, the Oregon Department of Forestry says there are a few important tips you should know.  First, make sure that the area you plan to camp has no restrictions to campfires.  This can be done by visiting  Oregon Dot Gov slash ODF and follow the links.  Or a portable camp stove is a safe option.  If you do choose to burn avoid fires near your tent, vehicle, shrubs, trees and low hanging branches.  The campfire should have at least a 5 foot perimeter of just soil.  And circle your fire with rocks.  Also, don’t let your fire get too big.  A fire can quickly get out of control and spread if you do not have a handle on it.  Don’t leave your fire unattended.  Fires left abandoned even for a short period can become raging infernos.  Do not use flammable liquids to start or reignite a fire.  Keep Tools nearby and burn only wood.  Out of control campfires can be costly and more than that…Deadly.

 Memorial Day Ceremony

Monday is Memorial Day.  A day we honor the servicemen and women who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom.  As a point of remembrance the VFW post 3232 will be performing a ceremony at the Elks Lodge at 10 a.m., followed by a joint ceremony at noon, with the American Legion, at the Veteran’s Wall on Bay St.  Including the Laying of a Wreath on the Siuslaw River by the United States Coast Guard.