Fire destroys home north of Florence
Firefighters had no option Saturday afternoon than to maintain a defensive posture as fire destroyed a home north of Florence. Siuslaw Valley Fire Chief John Buchanan said there were flames coming out of every window of the older double-wide manufactured home when firefighters arrived just after one-thirty pm. The home, on Lost Lane just off Highway 101 a mile north of Heceta Beach Road, was a total loss. Fire Marshall Sean Barrett said the owner of the home and her middle-school age daughter were not at home when neighbors saw smoke and flames. Firefighters spent about 90-minutes controlling the blaze and worked into the evening to investigate. Barrett said no definite cause has been determined yet, but he isolated the area of origin as being in the vicinity of the home’s electric furnace. The owner, Julie McFarlane, told firefighters she had insurance. Nobody was injured and Red Cross is assisting with temporary housing.
Officials in Seaside are trying to muster opposition to a recently imposed Oregon State Parks rule that could have ramifications in Florence. Each year at the end of the Hood to Coast Relay the Seaside Chamber of Commerce hosts a beer garden and vendors on the beach for participants. This year they had to pay ten percent of their $14-thousand proceeds to the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. Seaside Chamber Director Al Smiles called it a – quote – “sales tax” that reduced the money used for public programs in the community. Parks officials call it a fee for usage of the beach. One event in the Florence area utilizes the beach… Habitat for Humanity hosts a walk each fall from North Jetty to Driftwood shores… it could be subject to the same fee.
***Note*** Kate McBroom Redwine with Florence Habitat for Humanity says the 10% fee will not apply to the Florence Habitat for Humanity beachwalk as they only accept donations during the event and nothing is for sale. McBroom Redwine says the fee only applies to commercial and business uses on the beach, not charitable donations.
Implementation of a new rule regulating where motor vehicles can travel on National Forest land go into effect today. The old regulations allowed vehicle usage anywhere except where specifically prohibited. The new regulations reverse that standard and vehicles are only allowed to operate in designated areas. Siuslaw National Forest officials say most forest visitors won’t experience significant changes. All open forest roads remain legal, as do most secondary roads. Popular cross-country travel areas on the Oregon Dunes National Recreation remain open as well, but two popular Florence area locations for off-roaders are now off limits… Joshua Lane and the dunes near Collard Lake. Free maps detailing the new guidelines are available at all Forest Service offices and can be downloaded from the Siuslaw National Forest website.
The annual Coastal Cuisine Gala to benefit Florence Food Share has expanded and undergone a couple other changes this year. Previous events have been held on weekends, a time when it’s difficult for restaurants to participate. This year’s gala will be Tuesday night, April 20th at Three Rivers Casino. Organizer Bob MacDuffee said the move appears to have paid off… they have ten more exhibitors this year than last. A total of 32 different booths will be offering a taste of their specialty.
Here is the latest Oregon news from The Associated Press
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Republican Chris Dudley is a rookie
campaigner, but he's started his campaign for governor of Oregon
with a lead in raising money.
The latest campaign reports show that the former NBA player has
topped $1 million and leads all candidates in money raising. The
Democratic leader is former Gov. John Kitzhaber, who has also
raised more than $1 million.
Dudley is out-raising the other major Republican contender,
Allen Alley, by more than 2-1.
Dudley describes himself as a political outsider. He has tapped
a variety of sources, including fellow students from his Yale
years, Lake Oswego business associates and frequent contributors to
Oregon Republicans.
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) - Eugene residents are collecting signatures
for a ballot initiative to restrict the use of Tasers by police
officers.
Randy Prince, a teacher, says the initiative would allow police
to use Tasers only in situations where deadly force is justified.
Critics say the effort to classify Tasers as a deadly weapon
would hamstring police.
The Eugene Register-Guard reports that proponents need to
collect 12,062 signatures by July 15 to put the initiative to
Eugene voters in November.
A new report from the Eugene police department says officers are
now using Tasers more frequently than pepper spray when confronting
resistant people.
---
Information from: The Register-Guard,
http://www.registerguard.com
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - A federal council meeting this week in
Portland will decide where and how many salmon will be caught this
year on the West Coast.
The Pacific Fishery Management Council is expected to choose one
of three proposals to manage salmon fisheries in Washington, Oregon
and California when it meets Monday.
Experts will make adjustments to the plan and it should receive
final approval on Thursday.
Fishermen in Oregon and Washington could have a full season from
May to September. But they face possible quotas, such as banning
commercial coho fishing in Oregon because of declines in fish.
California probably will have a chinook salmon season after two
closed years because of low returns.
KALAMA, Wash. (AP) - A small airplane with fuel tank problems
made an emergency landing on Interstate 5 near Kalama in southwest
Washington on Saturday. The Oregonian reports nobody was injured in
the incident. Pilot Jeffery Edward Paulson of Portland landed the
small plane on the shoulder of I-5 around 10:30 a.m. One of the
wings extended onto the right lane, but traffic was light when the
plane landed. The 57-year-old pilot was flying a Stinson Model O
aircraft, a replica of a 1933-vintage aircraft.
SALEM, Ore. (AP) - Police say they used a stun gun to subdue a
40-year-old armed man holed up in a Salem-area apartment complex
Saturday. The Oregonian reports the incident ended after a
five-hour standoff that included a SWAT team surrounding an
apartment complex. Police were first called to the scene after
neighbors reported Erik C. Torfin was walking down a nearby streets
shooting a gun into the air, at the ground and at a bus shelter.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Forty-seven units in Portland's biggest
condo tower were auctioned off yesterday in a two-hour sales blitz.
The sales at South Waterfront's John Ross tower came at deep
discounts. The condos were listed for an average of $711,000 at the
height of the housing market. They sold yesterday for an average of
$316,000.
KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. (AP) - Klamath County School officials are
considering cutting the school week to four days in an effort that
would save the district $6.3 million annually. The Herald and News
reports that the shortened week is one of many money-saving measure
school officials are considering. But there's worries from the
Klamath Falls Association of Classified Employees, the union that
represents classified staff, such as teaching assistants, cooks,
custodians, secretaries and bus drivers, because one less day of
class means a day less of work.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - The Oregon Army National Guard's 41st
Infantry Brigade is returning from Iraq this week, and the 2,700
soldiers will be greeted by retired National Guardsman Scott McCrae
and a team of experts to ease their transition. McCrae took on the
duty of helping welcome the troops home after his own son, 1st Lt.
Erik McCrae, died in Iraq in 2004.
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) - Comedian Conan O'Brien opens his two-month
"Legally Prohibited From Being Funny on Television Tour" tonight
in Eugene. The former "Tonight" host is barred from appearing on
TV until September by terms of his $32 million exit from NBC.
O'Brien declined all interviews, but last week posted this on
Twitter: "Eugene Oregon Brace yourself for a towering tsunami of
dry, self-deprecating humor."
SALEM, Ore. (AP) - The fourth furlough day for Oregon state
workers is this Friday. Most government offices and agencies will
be closed. This is one of 10 Friday closures to save money in the
2009-2011 state budget.
TAKING A LOOK INTO COAST RADIO SPORTS:
Prep Baseball:
Well it wasn’t the weather this time… a lack of umpires prompted cancellation of a Siuslaw-Hidden Valley double header Saturday afternoon in Murphy. One of those games has been rescheduled for this afternoon in Florence at 4:30.
Prep Softball:
The Siuslaw Vikings swept the Taft Tigers in two games Saturday afternoon in Florence winning 3-2 and 3-1.
Track and Field:
The Siuslaw girls captured third place at the Springfield Twilight meet Friday evening, the boys were seventh. Samantha Pummer won the 3,000 meter; Alexis Reavis the shot put; and Seabre Church matched a previous personal record in the Javelin, winning it with a throw of 127-feet, 1-inch. Raelyn Robinson finished second in the 800 and the 15-hundred. For the Boys, Joe Campbell was second in the 3,000 with a personal best time of 9:02.6. Jacob Berkner was hard on his heels in third place.
College Baseball:
Number three ranked UCLA took two of three games from Oregon State over the weekend in Corvallis. OSU won the opener Friday night 4-1. Saturday’s game was a 3-1 loss to the Bruins in 16 innings. UCLA closed the weekend with an 8-2 victory yesterday. At Stanford, the Oregon Ducks claimed their first Pac-10 series victory since 1980…. They opened up with a 5-2 win over the number 22 Cardinal Friday night… then split a double-header Saturday, winning the opener 9-6 and dropping the nightcap 2-1.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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