Former Florence resident gets 25-years; Wounded Warrior bike ride begins in Florence; Build community and go camping.

Former Florence Resident gets quarter-century…

An Army veteran who claimed he suffered from post-traumatic stress despite never seeing combat has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for shooting a neighbor in front of the man's wife and 3-year-old child. Jarrod William Pardun (PAR'-dun) of Creswell pleaded guilty to murder Wednesday in Lane County Circuit Court in Eugene. Chief Deputy District Attorney Patty Perlow says 29-year old Pardun pleaded guilty after a mental examination found he was not suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Pardun was arrested in July after calling 911 and saying he had shot 59-year-old Steven Thurston. Court records indicate that Thurston had yelled at Pardun for speeding through their neighborhood. Pardun went home for a shotgun and shot Thurston in his front yard, where he was assembling a toy for his daughter.

A pair of former soldiers from Akron, Ohio decided to ride bicycles across America to raise money and awareness for the Wounded Warrior Project. Andrew Finley and Robert Messenger will begin their 4260-mile long trip today in Florence. They hope to wrap up by the end of August in Yorktown, Virginia. Both riders served in the military and deployed in support of Iraqi Freedom. While neither saw direct combat action, they said they saw first-hand the ‘enormous sacrifices’ made on a daily basis. Donors can go to their website… www.ride4thewounded.com. That’s with the number 4.

Registration is open for what organizers are calling a “dynamic gathering of nonprofit, community service organizations and business groups from the Florence Area. Sponsored by the Ford Family Foundation, the Community Collaborations Program is hosting a five hour session on Friday, June 18th at St. Mary’s Catholic Church. It will focus on ways for groups to come together and build community vitality, develop connections between groups and explore possible collaborations. It runs from Nine AM to Two PM that day and lunch is included. There’s no cost to attend, but registration must be made by June 11th. Contact Betty Egerton (EGG-ur-tun) at Siuslaw Outreach Services for more information.

Despite what the weather may look like, one of the major camping holidays of the year is coming up. Memorial Day Weekend is the traditional start of the summer outdoor season and campsite reservations at popular campgrounds are often booked weeks in advance. Reservations Northwest handles the online and telephone booking system for Oregon State Parks. Call Center manager Sheri Miller says there are “still some pretty good options out there”. She said bookings made by five pm today can reserve sites as early as Saturday at several locations. Information is available on the Oregon State Parks website.

Here is the latest Oregon news from The Associated Press

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Incumbent Democrat Susan Castillo is
clinging to a dwindling margin to stay out of a runoff election for
Oregon superintendent of public instruction. With fewer than 6,000
ballots left to be counted statewide, the tally yesterday gave
Castillo 50.04 percent. That's lower than her margin after the
primary election last week by four-hundreths of a percent.

COQUILLE, Ore. (AP) - A Coos County man has been sentenced to
life in prison for strangling and sexually abusing his ex-wife's
sister. The World newspaper reports that Patrick Lee Horath gave no
explanation or apology at this week's sentencing for the 2009
slaying of Jayme Austin. He had pleaded guilty to murder and sex
abuse.

AVALON, Wis. (AP) - A man who left his career as a civil enginer
to walk across the U.S. says he's doing it just for fun. During a
stop in Wisconsin, Matt Green said he isn't looking to break a
record or draw attention to a particular cause. The 30-year-old
Virginia native began his walk in Rockaway Beach, N.Y., and hopes
to eventually make it to Rockaway Beach, Ore., just over 3,000
miles to the west.
GRESHAM, Ore. (AP) - A man who witnessed robbers taking cell
phones from an AT&T store in Gresham followed them outside and
fired two shots at the getaway car in an attempt to shoot out the
tires. The robbers got away Tuesday, but police did arrest the
armed witness, 48-year-old Roger L. Witter of Gresham on suspicion
of unlawful use of a weapon and reckless endangerment. Witter tells
The Oregonian that he was just trying to help.

CLATSKANIE, Ore. (AP) - A former Clatskanie (CLATS'-skuh-NY')
police officer has been sentenced to 180 days in jail for stealing
the prescription medications Vicodin and OxyContin from Clatskanie
homes. Oregon Attorney General John Kroger said yesterday that
35-year-old Joseph Lee Harrison pleaded guilty in Columbia County
Circuit Court to two counts of burglary and one count of official
misconduct. Harrison was arrested last summer.

MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) - Oregon State Police say more than 500 small
marijuana plants have been found during a traffic stop near
Medford. Lt. Kelly Collins says troopers stopped a Ford pickup
truck at about 2 a.m. Tuesday on Interstate 5 for speeding. The
troopers saw hundreds of growing marijuana plants in the pickup bed
and the back passenger seat -- and 565 plants were eventually
seized. Two men in their 20s have been arrested in the case.

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

TAKING A LOOK INTO COAST RADIO SPORTS:
Prep Baseball:
The Sisters Outlaws used the ‘small ball’ to grab an early one run lead in the first inning yesterday afternoon at Siuslaw High School, but then the Vikings came to the plate and used what has become one of their strengths in the late season… the long ball… as Hagen Holmes came to the plate with two on.
219 – “And that ball hit well into left field, over the left fielder and all the way to the fence. One run across, two runs will score and Holmes will go in standing up with a two RBI double and your Vikings take the lead.”

That‘s Wayne Sharpe with the call. Siuslaw scored nine runs on seven hits in the bottom of the first for a lead they wouldn’t yield… hanging on for a 9-4 victory. Kevin Warren was four-for-four at the plate, Trevor Roberts picked up the win at the plate. They’ll travel to Scappoose tomorrow for a quarter-final playoff game.

College Baseball:
Another Civil War Baseball game yesterday, another one-run victory for the Oregon State Beavers as they upset number 21 ranked Oregon 2-1 in non-league action at Portland’s PGE Park.