Ocean Issues Forum set for Florence; watch for property tax scam; trees and shrubs to benefit cultural exchange.

Exploring diverse perspectives on marine issues…

The Third Annual Siuslaw Watershed Council Ocean Issues Forum will be presented next week in Florence. Coordinator Liz Vollmer-Buhl says it will focus on two specific topics.
205 – “We try to have diverse regional and local experts present on the topics. We’ve explored in the first year marine reserves and we’ve had an update on marine reserves every year since.”

Commercial Fisher and co-chair of the Cape Perpetua Marine Reserves Community Team, Al Pazar, will be one of two presenters. A four-member panel addressing the Oregon Territorial Sea Plan is also scheduled.
206 – “One from the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development and then one from Eco-Trust; Nick Furman from the Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission and Pete Stauffer from Surfrider Foundation.”

Wrapping up the evening, all six speakers will combine for a moderated panel discussion. They’ll respond to questions from audience members. The Ocean Issues Forum is set for next Wednesday, March 31st from six to nine at the Florence Events Center.

It can be attractive… you open your mail and find a letter from an official sounding source that offers to reduce your property tax.. To make it even more convincing, there’s a form with an official-sounding title and even a threat to impose a late-fee if you don’t return it immediately with a payment. The Oregon Attorney General’s office says it’s a scam. The letters, with misleading titles like “2010 Property Tax Reduction” have been showing up in mailboxes around the state. Some have also made an appearance in the Florence area. Florence Police Chief Maury Sanders said a close examination reveals no phone number, no email address, and no other way to contact the sender except through a mail-box in California. Sanders urges people who may have received this or other similar scams to discard them or contact police.

How does a bare root fruit tree aid international exchange? Well, members of the Florence-Yamagata Friendship Association say by buying a tree from them you can help fund this year’s delegation to Yamagata City in Japan. The trip is set for the end of July and just over a half-dozen Siuslaw High School sophomores and juniors will be making the trip along with chaperones. Each participant pays part of their own way, but the group also relies heavily on fund raising. Each year they offer a one-time sale of bare-root trees and shrubs for $5 each. This year’s sale is set for April 10th and 11th and will be on South Loftus Road, a mile south of Florence.

Here is the latest Oregon news from The Associated Press

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Portland police say three people have been
detained after shots were fired last night inside the Lloyd Center
mall. Witnesses tell KPTV that rival gang members were gathered
outside one store when a fight broke out. The witnesses say a young
man fired several rounds. No injuries have been reported. Police
say they recovered two handguns.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - A lawyer for the Portland police officer
who fatally shot a knife-wielding transient in a park says the
officer has answered all the questions detectives asked him about
the shooting. Fifty-eight-year-old Jackie Collins was killed Monday
afternoon at Hoyt Arboretum. The Oregonian reports that attorney
Whitney Boise says 13-year veteran Officer Jason Walters talked
with detectives for about an hour yesterday.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - A psychologist testifying in a $14 million
lawsuit against the Boy Scouts of America says the Scouts put boys
at risk by hiding information about child molesters among troop
leaders. A noted expert on child sex abuse told a Multnomah County
Circuit Court jury yesterday that the Boy Scouts showed a reckless
indifference by not sharing the information with parents and
authorities.

ASTORIA, Ore. (AP) - The former director of the Wintercross
Foundation has been ordered to repay the art charity more than $2
million. The Oregon Attorney General's Office said yesterday the
foundation sustained heavy losses and was virtually insolvent
because director Ann Ellis invested irresponsibly. A judge's order
bars Ellis from ever again serving as the director of a charity.

SALEM, Ore. (AP) - The Oregon Transportation Department reminds
motorists that studded tires should be off their vehicles by April
1. The department also encourages drivers to consider other types
of traction tires or with studded tires on their vehicles in Oregon after the deadline could be fined $190.

SPRINGFIELD, Ore. (AP) - The two FBI agents trying to explain
their jobs to a crowd of 61 first- through fifth-graders faced a
barrage of questions -- Is the CIA going to come? Do you have a
bomb squad? How much money do you make? Is that gun loaded?
Eugene-based agents yesterday talked to the children at the
Willamalane Park and Recreation District's Whodunit camp.

CORVALLIS, Ore. (AP) - Oregon State University officials
initially decided not to comment on the rumor regarding basketball
coach Craig Robinson - figuring it was too preposterous.
But the message has now become so widely circulated that the
school is publicly calling it false.
The e-mail is often sent with subject lines such as "Stimulus
money ... One Job Saved" or "Stimulus Does Work."
It claims Robinson, President Obama's brother-in-law, was on the
brink of getting fired after the Beavers got off to a slow start,
but was bailed out when the U.S. government provided the university
with $17 million in specially designated stimulus money.
Athletic director Bob De Carolis told the Gazette-Times
newspaper he's been getting "50 e-mails a day" from people
wanting to know if the rumor is true. He says it's not.
---
Information from: Gazette-Times, http://www.gtconnect.com


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

TAKING A LOOK INTO COAST RADIO SPORTS:
Prep Softball:
Rebekah Kirby threw seven strikeouts in six innings and Kasey Strenke went four-for-four at the plate yesterday and the Siuslaw Vikings cruised to a 12-1 win over Waldport. Strenke nearly hit for the cycle with two singles, a double and a triple. She also accounted for three RBI, scored twice and stole one base.

College Baseball:
Adalberto Santos hit his third home run of the season and Ryan Gorton threw five scoreless innings as the number 17 ranked Oregon State Beavers easily downed Southern Utah 11-1 at Goss Stadium in Corvallis. Oregon State is now 15-and-3, they’ve won nine straight. The Beavers open up their final non-conference series of the year tomorrow against Long Beach State.