Forces of nature
Posted: Tuesday, Mar 9th, 2010
Local agencies team up to protect the Siuslaw River Estuary
A newly formed stakeholder group for the Siuslaw River Estuary Partnership project will assemble tomorrow to discuss ways of protecting and improving water quality as well as fish and wildlife habitat in the Siuslaw Estuary Watershed.
Largely funded by a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the project is ...more

City council suspends 2020 Comp Plan co-adoption
Posted: Tuesday, Mar 9th, 2010
A draft agreement with Heceta Water District also has been shelved.
Florence city councilors have directed staff to inform the Lane County Board of Commissioners they have suspended efforts to co-adopt Florence's 2020 Comprehensive Plan in response to what City Manager Bob Willoughby described as the commissioner's "paternalistic and condescending attitude" expressed in the adoption process.
In a sharply worded ...more

Intentional fires spark warning to residents
Posted: Tuesday, Mar 9th, 2010
Three intentionally set fires in the span of a month has Siuslaw Valley Fire Marshal Sean Barrett warning area residents and businesses to be on the lookout for suspicious activity.
On Jan. 24, firefighters responded to a call about two trash cans set on fire at Miller Park. Less than a month later, on Feb. 19, a bale of cardboard ...more

Showcase of fresh ideas Annual Home & Garden Show this weekend
Posted: Friday, Mar 5th, 2010
Kathy Anderson (above) of Orygon Home Center and staff from Cedar Works
Spas (right) set up displays yesterday in preparation for the opening of the annual Florence Home & Garden Show. The show continues today, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the Florence Events Center on Quince Street. Admission is $2 ...more

Jury to Bassett: not guilty
Posted: Friday, Mar 5th, 2010
After weeklong trial, former director of Siuslaw Outreach Services, Ethel Bassett, is acquitted of all agency theft charges.
After just over an hour of deliberations Thursday afternoon, a Lane County jury found former Siuslaw Outreach Services (SOS) Executive Director Ethel Bassett not guilty of charges she stole tens of thousands of dollars from the domestic violence advocacy agency she headed ...more

Open house — Public tours LCC’s latest addition
Posted: Friday, Mar 5th, 2010
Lane Community College (LCC) Florence Center held an open house Friday morning, allowing visitors to explore the new eight-station science lab, Smart classrooms and other building improvements.
"I suppose the biggest group I want to thank are the citizens of Lane County who generously supported our bond in November 2008 that allowed us to make this investment in the Florence ...more

Oregon outranks most states in number of children in foster care
Posted: Friday, Mar 5th, 2010
Last year the Oregon Department of Human Services (DHS) received a report of child abuse and neglect every eight minutes, totaling 67,885 suspected cases with 11,090 children -- half of whom were younger than 6 years old -- confirmed as victims of mistreatment.
These statistics and other findings are documented in the 2009 Child Welfare Data Book, which was released ...more

Hospital campaigns to upgrade imaging center
Posted: Tuesday, Mar 2nd, 2010
Remodel would include digital mammography and other new equipment at a cost of $600,000.
A Peace Harbor Hospital volunteer proposed a challenge this month for local women to donate to the hospital's capital campaign of raising $600,000 for digital mammography and ultrasound equipment.
"I want to issue a challenge to the women of Florence and the surrounding area to raise ...more

City council split on Old Town fireworks ban
Posted: Tuesday, Mar 2nd, 2010
Sticking point rests on boundaries for restrictions.
A proposed prohibition on legal, personal fireworks in Old Town stalled Monday night, when Florence city councilors could not agree on a boundary for the banned area.
Councilors had previously identified banning personal fireworks in Old Town as one of its top goals for 2010. Last year, the Port of Siuslaw banned fireworks ...more

Trial begins for former SOS director
Posted: Tuesday, Mar 2nd, 2010
The trial against a former Siuslaw Outreach Services (SOS) director accused of stealing tens of thousands of dollars from the local non-profit started Feb. 24.
Ethel Bassett, 61, has pleaded not guilty to charges she stole over a seven-year period from the domestic violence advocacy agency she headed for more than a decade. Bassett was fired by SOS in October ...more

Home & Garden Show delivers spring to FEC
Posted: Tuesday, Mar 2nd, 2010
The 14th annual Florence Home and Garden Show kicks off Friday, March 5, at the Florence Events Center and runs through Sunday, March 7. A packed facility that includes many new vendors and four returning nurseries has organizers predicting another "must see" show this year.
Both Laurel Bay Garden's Centerpiece design and the entry display created by Honeyman Nursery and ...more

Get up and dance
Posted: Tuesday, Mar 2nd, 2010
Florence Masons host night of music and Dance for Haiti.
Dance for Haiti, to be held March 3, promises an evening of good music and company. At the Three Rivers Casino and Hotel, the event starts at 4:30 through 7 p.m.
Music will be provided by the Robin DeVour Trio (from 4:30 to 5:15 p.m.) and the Standard Time Orchestra ...more

City voters to decide on fire annexation
Posted: Friday, Feb 26th, 2010
Public has until March 8 to review wording of ballot title.
Florence City Council, along with the Siuslaw Valley Fire and Rescue (SVF&R) Board of Directors, unanimously approved a set of resolutions Wednesday evening, Feb. 24, that will allow Florence voters to decide on whether the city should annex to the fire district.
Early last year, the SVF&R board approached ...more

Helping Troubled youth find work
Posted: Friday, Feb 26th, 2010
Local transitional facility hires vocational coordinator to assist older youth in
gaining job skills.
With the introduction of a vocational coordinator, Camp Florence continues to strengthen employment and educational opportunities for youthful offenders to gain job skills before returning to the community.
Located south of Florence, the 25-bed Oregon Youth Authority (OYA) transitional facility recently hired local resident Marc ...more

New report ranks Oregon’s healthiest counties
Posted: Friday, Feb 26th, 2010
Lane County residents are neither the healthiest nor the unhealthiest in Oregon, according to a national report released last week that ranks each state's counties based upon health outcomes and factors.
The University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation published the new report, "County Health Rankings," which reflects the overall health of counties across the ...more