Council can’t agree on Old Town fireworks ban
A proposed ordinance to ban legal fireworks in a large portion of Old Town Florence stalled last night. The Florence City Council couldn’t agree on just which areas to apply the ban to. Councilor Alan Burns felt the widespread ban infringed on private property rights. He wanted to limit it to just Port of Siuslaw Property such as the Boardwalk and parking lots. Councilor Sue Roberts said it’s an overall safety problem every Fourth of July and supported a prohibition in a wider geographic area. She says the city needs to do something to keep it safe when revelers converge on Old Town.
205 – “The Fourth of July is one of our big drinking holidays and we’ve seen them down there and I just don’t think that drunks and fireworks are compatible.”
Jay Cable lives and owns a business inside the affected area. He says there are already adequate laws in place that need to be enforced.
206 – “And I understand the problem. But the problem isn’t the legal fireworks, it’s not all the fireworks. It’s the illegal fireworks.”
Not only would enforcement ultimately cost less, he says it makes more sense.
207 – “I think banning all fireworks, fireworks that are legal, is similar to closing down Highway 101 because there’s a few people that speed,”
Councilors appeared to agree that they all supported a ban, but they couldn’t come to agreement on what area it should apply to. They directed city staff to come up with a revised proposal for them to consider at their next meeting.
Florence city councilors heard a report last night about efforts to gain Lane County approval of the 20-20 comprehensive plan as it applies to unincorporated areas inside the Urban Growth Boundary. The State recognized the plan nearly a decade ago, but the Lane County Commission rejected their own staff and Lane County Planning Commission recommendations last week and ordered the City to make further revisions. Even though they’re not directly related, Commissioners tied approval in part to creation of an intergovernmental agreement between the city and the Heceta Water District. Mayor Phil Brubaker summarized the council’s frustrations with both processes. They want no more staff time or efforts spent on either.
208 – “I’ll leave that up to them, they can seek their own counsel and direction on that as far as I’m concerned. But in the meantime, all of the IGA proposals that we’ve previously submitted to the water district should be withdrawn and that we should direct staff to spend no more time on that until further notice.”
There is an existing 1988 plan in place for the U-G-B. City officials may just leave that in place even though it’s outdated.
If you talk on the cell phone while you’re driving… and you don’t have an approved ‘hands-free’ device… you’re more likely to be cited. Oregon State Police say they stepped up enforcement of the law that went into effect January First banning use of a cell phone for talking or texting by drivers. During January Troopers issued 41 citations statewide. In February that number nearly doubled at 72. Those figures don’t include citations issued by local and county law enforcement. Breaking the state’s cell phone law is a class D violation with a minimum base fine of $142.
Dunes City is accepting applications for the vacant City Council position formerly filled by Rob Quandt. Candidates must be a registered voter in Dunes City and must apply no later than March 30.
Here is the latest Oregon news from The Associated Press
ROSEBURG, Ore. (AP) - A Douglas County sheriff's spokeswoman
says an overdue Roseburg family has been found in the Burnt
Mountain area. Spokeswoman Andrea Zielinski said Tuesday morning
that the family is OK. Authorities searched part of the Umpqua
National Forest after Daniel and Melissa Magness and their
4-year-old son, Jared, failed to return home Sunday afternoon.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Two relatives who wiped out the savings
and sold the home of an 83-year-old Portland woman have each been
sentenced to a year and a day in prison. Virginia Ann Kuehn and
Kathleen Sue Jingling were sentenced Monday after pleading no
contest to charges of criminal mistreatment and theft. Prosecutors
say they believed Evelyn Roth was going to die, so they sold her
home and car, emptied her accounts and pocketed the money.
TUALATIN, Ore. (AP) - Oregon's unemployment figures for January
are being released Tuesday by the state Employment Department. The
state's jobless rate has been around 11 percent for the past few
months, and officials are hoping for signs of economic recovery.
COOS BAY, Ore. (AP) - Hindering prosecution charges have been
filed against the wife of a man charged in the Bandon, Ore., deaths
of his mother and her boyfriend. Jessica Morris appeared in court
Monday after she, her husband, Gabriel Morris, and their 4-year-old
daughter were taken into custody last week in Virginia. Gabriel
Morris is charged with aggravated murder in the Feb. 8 shooting
deaths of his mother, 62-year-old Robin Anstey, and 48-year-old
Robert Kennelly Jr.
TUALATIN, Ore. (AP) - The Oregon Employment Department today
announces the jobless figure for January. Officials are looking for
signs of economic recovery. The state unemployment rate has been
around 11 percent the past few months.
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) - A Portland man is suing the owner of a
Eugene hotel, saying he injured his back escaping from a stuck
elevator. Gregory Grant is seeking $320,000 in the lawsuit filed
last week in Lane County Circuit Court. The Register-Guard reports
employees at the Hilton had him jump from the roof of the elevator
that became stuck between floors in February of 2008.
(Register Guard)
TOLLGATE, Ore. (AP) - Union County officials say searchers have
found the body of a 13-year-old Washington state boy who
disappeared while on a cross-country ski trip in northeastern
Oregon. The sheriff's office says the body of Nathan Cain of Walla
Walla, Wash., was discovered just before noon yesterday nearly two
miles from where he was last seen on Saturday.
LAKE OSWEGO, Ore. (AP) - The fight between two bald eagles was
so loud and sounded so painful that nearby homeowner Teresa Dir
called 911. A short time later, police in the Portland suburb of
Lake Oswego and Oregon State Police used leather gloves and a heavy
blanket to capture the loser. The bird was lying under a
rhododendron bush. The other eagle flew off.
TAKING A LOOK INTO COAST RADIO SPORTS:
Prep Wrestling:
The Reedsport Braves brought home the second place team trophy from last weekend’s OSAA 3A State Wrestling Tournament. The Braves had two individual state champions, Bobby Short at 135 pounds and Andrew Orr at 160. Seven other Reedsport grapplers came home with hardware.
Athlete of the Week:
Siuslaw Wrestling standout Jacob Graber is Coast Radio Sports’ Athlete of the Week. The Viking grappler brought home the 2nd place medal in the 125 pound weight class from the OSAA 4A State Wrestling Meet. Graber won four matches, two by pin, on his way to helping the Vikings to 17th place out of 38 teams. Honorable mention is given to 215 pound rookie wrestler Sonny Tupua, who won three matches, two against ranked opponents, finishing 5th place in his division on his first appearance at the state meet.
On The Schedule:
It’s the second opening of Oregon’s P-K Park this evening in Eugene. The field is the same, but the stadium itself is now complete. The Ducks open the Pac-Ten baseball schedule against the Washington Huskies tonight in the first game of a two-game series.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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