Local Disaster Prep held up as a statewide model, but local officials say there’s still work to be done.
Devastating earthquakes in Haiti and Chile, and subsequent relief efforts have grabbed the attention of local emergency officials. Fire and rescue responders have long known that if an earthquake happens along the 700-mile long Cascadia Subduction Zone happens, damage and destruction will stretch from Seattle to Medford and all along the Oregon Coast making it difficult to get help to stricken areas.
210 – “Are we going to be standing in line to take a number to get any resources coming in from FEMA? Yeah! We will be.”
Siuslaw Valley Fire Chief John Buchanan says local efforts to plan for such a disaster have been underway for several years.
211 – “But we’re still walking, we’re not running yet. That’s the issue. We need warehousing, we need warehousing for both sides of the bridge.”
Buchanan says the local plan has served as an example for other coastal communities. There’s a solid tsunami warning system in place; neighborhood groups are organized for a localized response; and officials have spent a lot of time trying to educate residents on the need to be personally prepared. An ongoing challenge, though, has been providing for relief efforts to bridge the gap between the onset of a wide-spread disaster and the arrival of outside help… something he says they continue to work on.
Springfield Mayor Sid Leiken (LY-kenn) announced yesterday he’s dropping out of the Fourth District Congressional race… and instead will seek the East Lane seat on the Lane County Commission. Leiken fined by the Oregon Ethics Commission last fall for unlawfully converting campaign money to personal use. He had been seeking the Republican nomination to challenge veteran lawmaker Peter DeFazio. Now he’s one of a half dozen candidates seeking the position held by Bill Dwyer who announced last year he would be retiring.
Forest Service officials opened the upper gate leading to the highest point on the Oregon Coast Range this week. That opens up public access to the summit of Mary’s Peak, midway between Corvallis and Waldport. Pam Gardner, Central Coast District Ranger for the Siuslaw National Forest said the mild winter meant a smaller snowfall and an earlier than usual opening. Hikers now have access to several popular trailheads, a campground and an observation point that offers views of the Pacific Ocean more than 40 miles away.
A new science lab, funded in part by voter approval two years ago of a bond measure, will be officially dedicated tomorrow morning at Lane Community College in Florence. Bob Purscelley says the ten A.M. ceremony will include brief comments by Lane President Mary Spilde (SPILL-dee) along with student demonstrations of the lab. The center’s new “SMART” classroom will also be on display.
Here is the latest Oregon news from The Associated Press
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - FBI agents have arrested a 49-year-old
Portland woman accused of engaging a 14-year-old Tennessee boy in
online sexual chats and trading explicit photos. Sallie Lawson
Fifield was arrested yesterday at her home on a warrant issued in
Tennessee. She is charged in a criminal complaint with enticement
and transferring obscene material.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - An Oregon man has been indicted on charges
of illegally using shell corporations to move $172 million to 50
countries. Federal prosecutors said Wednesday that Victor Kaganov
of Tigard was indicted on a charge of operating an unlicensed money
transmitting business that made more than 4,200 wire transactions.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - The Oregon Court of Appeals has overturned
the conviction of a man whom a police officer said had spent 10
seconds "doing something with the front of his pants" before
entering a southwest Portland convenience store. The court said the
officer's suspicions about the man's behavior weren't grounds to
stop him once he bought a soda and chips and walked away from the
store in July 2007. The man had a felony conviction on his record
and had a handgun in his pants.
ESTACADA, Ore. (AP) - What first appeared to be a car-bicycle
crash on Highway 224 near Estacada turned out to be a simple
bicycle crash. Oregon State Police say the rider, a 43-year-old
Estacada man, was found unconscious in the road last night next to
his bicycle. He was treated at Legacy Emanuel Hospital in Portland
and released early this morning. He was cited for biking under the
influence.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - A girl who was shot with a beanbag gun by
a Portland police was sentenced yesterday to year's probation for
resisting arrest. The girl was 12 years old last November when she
was shot by an officer responding to a report of suspected gang
members leaving a party and getting on a MAX train. KGW reports the
incident sparked and internal investigation of the officer.
(KGW)
FLORENCE, Ore. (AP) - The thousands of California sea lions that
crowded the central Oregon coast this winter have moved on. Sea
Lion Caves at Florence told The Oregonian that 30 or 40 of the
animals remained Tuesday with perhaps 100 in the area. Meanwhile
the number of sea lions is increasing again back at Pier 39 in San
Francisco where they disappeared last fall.
(The Oregonian)
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
TAKING A LOOK INTO COAST RADIO SPORTS:
College Baseball:
Oregon left a dozen base-runners stranded, falling to the Washington Huskies 5-3 in a non-conference game last night in Eugene. Danny Pulfer was three-for-four at the plate with one RBI for Oregon.
Pac Ten Basketball:
Oregon opens up their final week of regular season basketball ever at Mac Court in Eugene. The Ducks need to sweep the Washington schools to avoid an 8th or 9th place finish and the ‘play-in’ game at next week’s Pac Ten Tournament. They’ll host Washington tonight at seven… airtime on KCST is set for 6:30. Oregon State needs to win at least one of their final two games to avoid the bottom rung. They’ll host Washington State this evening, also at seven. Pregame on KCFM is set for 6:30.
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