Two die in crash; Florence Cinemas Close; Lane County Jail opens additional space

Two Killed South of Florence…

Highway 101, four miles south of Florence was closed for four-and-a-half hours Friday as police investigated a crash that killed two Florence-area men. 18-year old Montana Max Oetken (OTT-ken) was driving northbound near Sand Dunes Frontier when, according to police, his 1985 Nissan pickup lost control and skidded crosswise across the centerline. He and his passenger, 38-year old Bryan Robert Goodwin died after the truck collided with a southbound GMC pickup driven by Dennis D. Jackson of Fairview, Oregon. The 61-year old Jackson and his passenger, 71-year old Jeanette M. Right of Tigard, were treated at Peace Harbor Hospital for non-life threatening injuries. Oregon State Trooper Justin Goldsmith did not say what may have caused Oetken to lose control. Traffic was routed around the scene on Canary and Clear Lake Roads during the investigation.

The last movie on the big screen at Florence Cinemas was more than a week ago. Patrick Campbell with Campbell Commercial Real Estate says it’s his hope that another operator can be found to lease and operate the theater. Campbell says they were able to strike a deal with the previous tenant to leave everything in place…
211 – “… seats, projectors, screens, speaker equipment. We’ve even made arrangements with the concession area that, since it’s all leased with a company out of California, to keep that in place for 60 to 90 days.”

Campbell admits he knows more about commercial real estate than operating a theater but thought he had a good grasp of the basics.
210 – “I know it takes a lot of marketing, it takes getting good shows in and having a personal community relationship with the people of the city that you’re in.”

Campbell is working with City of Florence officials to try and land a tenant that will operate the theater.

The Lane County Jail opened up two medium security dormitories over the weekend, expanding capacity there by 84 beds. They were initially closed 14-months ago because of a lack of funding. Captain Doug Hooley said even with the additional capacity, they’re operating at a much lower level than before. A 72-bed housing unit remains closed, as do 89 of 122 beds in the Community Corrections Center. The 100-bed Forest Work Camp is also closed. Hooley said they estimate a 70-percent reduction in capacity based releases with the 84 new beds. But, he noted, they’re still expecting to let an estimated 38-hundred prisoners out early… at least 200 of those, he says, will be considered a high risk for being a danger to the community.

TAKING A LOOK INTO COAST RADIO SPORTS:
Northwest League Baseball:
The Eugene Emeralds bring a three-game losing streak home with them tonight when they open up a five game home stand against the Tri-City Dust Devils. The Ems wrapped up an extended road trip over the weekend with a pair of losses to the Spokane Indians. Friday, the Indians scored seven runs in the second inning and Eugene never recovered, losing 9-5. Saturday night it was another big inning for Spokane that made the difference… this one an eight-run eighth inning… as the Indians came out on top 10-7.