Fleenor finishes reversal, announced reelection bid; Central Lincoln PUD phone systems helps find outages; and 2010 Rhody Court and Theme

Fleenor completes his reversal… says he will run

The field of candidates for West Lane County Commissioner is getting crowded. Several weeks after he said he would not seek reelection, the incumbent, Mapleton resident Bill Fleenor, announced yesterday he had changed his mind and would indeed seek office once again. Fleenor credited a groundswell of – quote – “hundreds of West Lane Citizens” who lobbied him to reconsider his earlier decision. One of his strong points, say supporters, has been the close contact he keeps with constituents. In the past 2 ½ years Fleenor has held more than 150 town hall meetings around Western Lane County. One reason for his reluctance to run had been time. Fleenor said he expected to be elected chair of the Commission next year and it would be difficult enough to balance the time requirements of that job with that of representing his district, let alone running a reelection campaign. Partly due to his earlier announcement to not seek the office, the field of candidates has been filling up. Lane Community College professor Anselmo Villanueva was the first in the race, followed by former LCC Board Chair Jay Boseviech and current LCC Board Member Tony McGown. The deadline for filing for the May 18th Primary is March Ninth.

Just over a year ago Central Lincoln PUD completed the installation of a new phone system aimed at making it easier for residents to report outages. Engineering Supervisor Matt Boshaw says one strength of the system is its capacity.
210 – “All of the customers in Central Lincoln’s territory could call simultaneously and they wouldn’t get a busy signal.”

Boshaw says that capacity helps them track down the source and location of any possible outage.
211 – “The more people that call in, if it’s an isolated area, it really helps us to identify the point of the interruption and that helps us to find the, more directly, the cause.”

Extensive tree trimming work, along with built-in redundancy in the system has reduced the number and severity of outages over recent years, but even so, the lights still go out occasionally. When that happens, Boshaw says just pick up the phone.
212 – “1-866 – 484-3783. It’s a 24-hour a day, seven day a week number no matter what time you call in for an outage.”

Central Lincoln PUD will be the highlighted topic on this afternoon’s KCST Community Forum

The Florence Area Chamber of Commerce will introduce the senior court and the theme of the upcoming 103rd Annual Rhododendron Festival today at noon during their monthly forum. The 2010 festival is set for May 21st through the 23rd. The Chamber meets at Tavolo Restaurant at Sandpines Golf… it’s open to the public.

Taking a look at Coast Radio Sports…

A total of 11 Siuslaw Vikings were recognized this week by Far West League Football Coaches for their outstanding work on the gridiron this season. John Duman, a Senior, was honored on both sides of the line of scrimmage, earning first team honors as a Center as well as a Linebacker. Other ‘first team’ selections: Sonny Tupua for Running Back, Trevor Roberts as a Wide Receiver; Aaron Teo on the Offensive Line; and Jacob Holloway on the Defensive Line. Second team honors went to Quarterback John Johnson; receiver Eric Tipler; Jorge Loza (HOR-hay LOW-zuh) was tabbed on the defensive line; and offensive lineman Neal Larson was also selected. Honorable Mention went to two Vikings… Sam Reavis in the backfield and Dylan Alameda on the O-line. The Vikings, 4-6 overall, ended the season at 3-2 in Far West League play in third place.