City and HWD at impasse; Former SOS director indicted; gas prices drop locally; and the ocean floor rocks.

Water District and City at Impasse

Ongoing talks between the City of Florence and the Heceta Water District about who will provide water service to property that is annexed into the City appear to be at an end.
200 – “We’ve been trying since I got here three years ago to negotiate that IGA and we have not had much luck. And in fact, last week, apparently the Heceta Water District Board decided to start over for, I think now, the second or third time, where they’re going to present a new agreement.”

Florence City Manager Bob Willoughby said more than two years ago the city council adopted a policy of not withdrawing property from the water district as it’s annexed into the city.
202 -- "And that policy of not withdrawing not only assumed that we would have an IGA but it also assumed that the service provided by the water district would be an urban level of service that would provide the rougly equivalent water service for the roughly equivalent price and so those issues are up in the air."

Efforts to draft an ‘intergovernmental agreement’ that was acceptable to both sides stalled several months ago. To complicate matters, a recent rate hike by the water district would put the city in the position of having residents in newly annexed areas paying roughly twice as much for water as existing residents.
201 -- "And that to me indicates that we're not going to agree on an IGA any time soon and perhaps we need to rethink those policies and determine whether, when we annex property, we ought to provide the service or the water district."

The Florence City Council agreed. They directed Willoughby this week to begin drawing up draft policies for their consideration on formally withdrawing annexed properties from the district.

The former director of Siuslaw Outreach Services was arraigned yesterday in Lane County Circuit Court on four separate charges of Theft I. 61-year old Ethel Bassett entered pleas of ‘not-guilty’ on all four charges. Bassett’s employment with the Florence non-profit agency was terminated 11-months ago. Immediately following that, the interim director contacted Florence Police with allegations of missing money over a four-year period. Detective John Brejska initiated a criminal investigation with the assistance of the Oregon Department of Justice. An audit of the group’s books discovered a – quote – “substantial amount of money” missing from a fund for a court ordered abuse program. SOS board member Alex Koslov said they have continued to be able to provide support to the community in the past year and, in many cases, he added, they’ve been able to increase them.

The ocean floor off the Southern Oregon coast did a little rocking early this morning. The U.S. Geologic Siurvey reported a 4.0 magnitude quake about 225 miles west of Bandon shortly after two AM.

The average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline fell by four cents this week in Florence to $2.58. Oregon’s statewide average fell by two cents and remains above $2.70. In Eugene, the average price as measured by Triple-A of Oregon is down about a cent-and-a-half to $2.74, Triple-A spokesperson Marie Dodds says while west coast prices continue to drop, prices nationwide have surged… the national average went up by ten cents this past week to $2.58… matching Florence’s average.

TAKING A LOOK INTO COAST RADIO SPORTS:

Prep Volleyball:
The Siuslaw Vikings remain tied for second place in the Far West League after a four game victory last night at home over the Sutherlin Bulldogs. The Vikings won the fourth and deciding game 25-4. Seabre Church had 21 kills in the match to lead the way. Siuslaw, at 5-2 is tied with Brookings… the Bruins defeated South Umpqua last night in three… North Bend remains atop the standings, undefeated in league play at 7-0, they beat Douglas in three last night.

In the Sunset League, Coquille beat Reedsport last night 3-1. And in the Mountain West, the Sailors got by the Lakers in three games. Andrea Leclaire had 12 assists for Mapleton.

College Baseball:
The recruiting classes for both Oregon and Oregon State baseball have been heralded by Baseball Magazine. Annual rankings of incoming recruits were released yesterday with OSU coming in the 22nd best and Oregon is 24th. Oregon State welcomed 20 newcomers to fall camp. Oregon is beginning its second baseball season after a 28-year hiatus.