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$22024 Friday, November 8,

OUR OFFICE WILL BE CLOSED Monday November 11, 2024 in observation of Veteran's Day

Weekender

Downtown Trick-or-Treating a Sweet Success Hundreds of costumed kiddos braved gray and drizzly conditions to participate in the annual Coos Bay Downtown Association’s Trick-or-Treat this Halloween. Dozens of participating businesses, from the boardwalk down to Front Street, donned the distinctive orange flyer in their window and handed out candy to a veritable parade of creeps and characters.

Steve Pre Mural

s Jennie's Shoe So-It-Goes Coffeehouse

Coos Art Museum City Subs

Good Tats

Time Bomb

Exploding Whale Memorial Celebration, Mermaids and More!

For the World

It’s that time of year again, when the community of Florence and exploding-whale lovers across the globe memorialize the famous whale occurrence. It happened one fateful afternoon on the shores of Florence, Oregon, fifty-four years ago, November 12,1970. The public 54th Anniversary Exploding Whale Memorial Celebration is happening Sunday, November 10th from twelve noon to 4 pm at Homegrown Public House and Brewery, 294 Laurel Street in historic Florence Old Town. The celebration is free, family friendly, open house style, a little quirky, very artsy and a lotta fun. Some may wonder why the town celebrates such a debacle that occurred over five decades ago. Event organizer, and co-owner of Homegrown Public House & Brewery, Elaine McMillan, explains, "We have a tiny committee of community members that find true joy in planning this affair. We feel that to remember something that went so wrong can make

an ongoing positive difference in our small coastal community. The celebration brings levity during a darker, quieter time of year. Our exploding whale has become legendary world-wide and there have been countless reports of others learning from

the plan gone wrong. So we consider this celebration cultural, historical and fun, which makes for sort of a magic trifecta!" Come out to meet a mermaid or two, representatives from marine and nature based agen-

cies and get an autograph from Paul Linnman, the KATU news anchorman who reported brilliantly on the exploding whale fifty-four years ago! At 3:45 pm there will be a public toast to the whale and the event will end shortly

thereafter. All are encouraged to bring small offerings and mementos to place at the artful alter to the whale at Homegrown. The Exploding Whale continues on page 3

The Importance of the Flu Shot; A crucial reminder BY BECKY CRANE

of Coos Bay Submitted Column

I remember feeling like I was in a movie. In a small room adjacent to the Emergency Room, waiting while doctors

worked to save my son from the flu-nothing I ever thought could take him from me. But it did. In the span of a weekend, my otherwise healthy, athletic 16-year-old boy went from having a sore throat to having his lungs fill with blood

and ultimately die from cardiac arrest due to sepsis and Influenza B. It was a Friday afternoon and our family, especially Blake, was excited for a planned get-away to the mountains. Blake came home from school reporting that he didn’t feel well and slept the entire car ride. The next morning, Blake had a severe sore throat, so we took him to the local ER in hopes of

getting him on antibiotics if needed. The doctor tested him for strep throat, but when got a negative result simply told us that “he must have a virus… put him to bed and keep him hydrated!” As that night progressed, Blake began describing pain in his back, and woke having trouble breathing, a symptom that his dad and I thought was from a pulled muscle or back

strain. We ultimately headed home early, and Blake walked himself straight to his bed. Hours later he started throwing up blood and we rushed him to the ER. His condition was deteriorating so quickly that they couldn’t get an oxygen level for him. Ultimately, he was intubated and doctors wanted to move him to a larger hospital. His lungs were filled with blood, and they couldn’t say why. Just as the flight crew arrived, Blake went into cardiac arrest. I can’t express how devastating it was when the doctor came in to tell my husband and I that Blake wasn’t going to make it. Her next question was—"had he been vaccinated with the flu shot this year?” Despite having gotten our flu shots every year up until then, I had to admit that no, this year he hadn’t been vaccinated. It was not a conscious choice but lost in the shuffle of everyday life that we all have to navigate. It simply fell through the Flu Shot continues on page 3

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