Fire options explored; Quand resigns; Ice Machine grant the final piece; Habitat breaks ground on #17.

Officials have considered fire service options…

Florence residents will most likely get to vote on whether to annex their property into the Siuslaw Valley Fire District in May. But what if they say no? A combined Fire District-City of Florence task force has been working on options over the past two years. The preferred: a combination of annexation, plus a temporary five-year reduction in property tax rates for the fire district and the city. Residents outside the city would see their tax rate go down by 67-cents and people in the city would have their municipal rate reduced by 39-cents, but that would be offset by an additional fire levy of 87-cents per thousand. If voters say no, it would most likely lead to a renegotiation of the existing contract between the city and the district, with the current rates going up over a five year period to nearly triple the current amount. In the absence of additional tax revenue that would mean the city would be forced to make reductions in other General Fund expenditures, primarily police and parks.

Dunes City will begin the process of finding a replacement for Rob Quandt. He was elected to the Dunes City Council in 2008 but submitted his resignation this week, saying he could – quote – “no longer justify the volunteer time”. Quandt also resigned from his position as the chair of the Dunes City Road Commission. While in that post he helped obtain a $100-thousand stimulus grant for road maintenance last year. Qualified electors in Dunes City can apply for the vacancy… whoever is selected would serve through the end of this year. The remaining two years of Quandt’s term would then be filled by someone selected this fall at the polls.

Port of Siuslaw Commissioners got good news Wednesday night. Lane County awarded a $79-thousand economic development grant to pay for the final pieces of the ice machine. The money would pay for a catwalk around the upper portion of the facility, along with an augur and float dock that will allow fishing vessels to access it. After four years, the new machine was installed last year but the Siuslaw Fisherman’s Association ran out of money to finish it.

Florence Habitat for Humanity will break ground tomorrow on their 17th project in the Florence area. The two o’clock ceremony at Keener Place… just off Airport Road near the old Booster Senior Center, will kick off construction of a four-bedroom home for the Libby Rodriguez family. Keener Place will eventually become home to nine more families. The property was obtained from the City of Florence in a land swap last year. Site development was financed by a grant from the Meyer Memorial Trust.

The Oregon Senate followed the example of the House and passed legislation this week banning oil exploration within the state’s three miles of territorial waters. That ban would extend for ten years. State Senator Joanne Verger, from Coos Bay, said offshore drilling is a threat to commercial fishing and tourism. The bill goes to the Governor’s desk for his approval.

Here is the latest Oregon news from The Associated Press

SALEM, Ore. (AP) - Democrats controlling the Oregon Legislature
have laid out plans to patch the state's budget. It's the last
major chore in front of lawmakers before they can go home next week
from a February special session. The Democrats backed two tax
increases that voters approved last month. But they still have
budget problems because revenues have come up short of estimates.
The budget plan says elementary and secondary schools will get $6
billion they were allocated in 2009.

WASHINGTON (AP) - A dozen lawmakers from California and Oregon
are calling on Sen. Dianne Feinstein to withdraw her proposal to
divert more water from the California delta for farming. The group
of Democratic lawmakers say in a letter released yesterday that
Feinstein's proposal would push salmon and steelhead populations
closer to extinction in the two states.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - The U.S. Justice Department has opened a
civil rights inquiry into the fatal shooting of an unarmed black
man by a white police officer in Portland. The preliminary inquiry
into the shooting of Aaron Campbell was announced yesterday. The
25-year-old was shot in the back on Jan. 29 while emerging from an
apartment with his hands over his head.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - An American Indian tribal officer may not
be an Oregon police officer, at least the way state law defines the
role. The Oregon Court of Appeals has thrown out convictions
against a Jefferson County man for attempting to elude an officer
and resisting arrest in 2005 after he was stopped by an officer for
the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Portland Mayor Sam Adams, Police
Commissioner Dan Saltzman and representatives of Portland's
African-American community are holding a news conference this
morning at 9:30 to ask for a Justice Department civil rights
investigation into the shooting of Aaron Campbell. The department
has already opened a preliminary inquiry into the Jan. 29 shooting
of the unarmed black man by a white police officer. The officer
believed Campbell was reaching for a gun.

GRESHAM, Ore. (AP) - Gresham police say a language barrier has
slowed their investigation into a death at a home. Police went to
the home last night on a relative's request to check on the welfare
of a man. They found him dead in a chair. A resident of the home
was detained and questioned with the help of an interpreter.

BEND, Ore. (AP) - A man accused of setting fire to an Oregon
Transportation Department building in Bend is being held on $2
million bail at the Deschutes County Jail. Police arrested Preston
Jacob Berman yesterday after he was released from St. Charles
Medical Center where he was taken Monday for a mental evaluation.
Police say Berman apparently acted alone and started the fire at
multiple points.

SALEM, Ore. (AP) - Salem police arrested two 20-year-olds
accused of starting the three-alarm fire that destroyed an
abandoned building at the Fairview Training Center, the former
institution for the developmentally disabled. A tip led to the
arrest yesterday of Wesley Kirk and Robert Riggi, both of Keizer,
on arson charges. KGW reports the two told police they thought it
might be humorous to imply a "ghost" started the fire because of
stories the building was haunted.
(with information from KGW, Statesman Journal)

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) - Oregon's star tailback LaMichael James left
jail after finalizing details of a court-approved release agreement
that allowed him to be freed without posting bail. The 20-year-old
had been in the Lane County Jail since early Wednesday, following
his arrest on domestic violence charges. A woman told police that
James choked her during an argument and pushed her to the ground.
James pleaded not guilty.

ROSEBURG, Ore. (AP) - An Oregon man who pleaded guilty to
possessing child pornography has been sentenced to 10 years in
federal prison. The case against 42-year-old Michael Hays of
Winston arose from an undercover investigation into the
distribution of child pornography. Agents examining Hays' computer
discovered more than 16,000 still images of child pornography and
more than 300 videos.

KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. (AP) - Two Klamath Falls men accused of
assaulting relatives with a bat and a club during an argument are
scheduled to be in court Monday for preliminary hearings. Leland
and Timothy Nicholson both pleaded not guilty at their Feb. 3
arraignments.

DURKEE, Ore. (AP) - The Ash Grove Cement plant in Durkee is back
to full employment after temporarily laying off 67 workers in
December. A company vice president told the Baker City Herald that
17 workers returned two weeks ago to prepare for restarting the
plant. The other 48 came back this week. Demand for cement remains
sluggish, but the company says inventories have been depleted
enough to justify calling workers back.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

TAKING A LOOK INTO COAST RADIO SPORTS:
Prep Basketball:
Kenny Smith scored 27 points, but the Mapleton Sailors fell by ten, 67 – 57, to the Mohawk Indians last night in a Mountain West League Playoff. The win gave the Indians a guaranteed spot in the OSAA 1A Boys playoffs. The Sailors will face McKenzie tomorrow afternoon at 1:30 in Harrisburg for the third and final playoff spot.
Pac Ten Basketball:
Roeland Schaftenaar (ROO-lonn SHOFF-teh-narr) tied a season high with 22 points and the Oregon State Men upended the Pac-Ten Leading Cal Golden Bears 80 – 64 last night in Corvallis. The Beavers have now won four of their last six games. In Eugene, the Oregon Ducks fell to the Stanford Cardinal 72 – 65. It was Stanford’s first Pac-Ten win on the road this season. The Ducks will host Cal tomorrow at three o’clock with a 2:30 airtime on KCST. Oregon State will host Stanford at noon… airtime on KCFM at 11:30. For the women last night, Cal slipped past Oregon State 66 – 62 for the Beavers 12th straight loss. Oregon fell to Number Two ranked Stanford 104 – 60.
Prep Basketball Again…
On the schedule this evening, Siuslaw will be in Winston for Far West League Basketball against the Douglas Trojans… the girls at six, the boys right after. Airtime on Coast Radio Sports is at 5:45.