11th Chainsaw Carving Championships begin today…
It’ll be more than just chainsaw carving this year, there’ll also be a pair of Lumberjack Shows and a corvette show at the 11th annual Oregon Divisional Chainsaw Sculpting Championships in Reedsport. 51 pro and semi-pro carvers are signed up and began carving early this morning. Each day will conclude with a daily auction of sculptures created during the 10:45 AM ‘quick carve’ events. The overall them is “Outdoor Life” and each contestant has until Sunday morning to complete their main sculpture. The Corvette show begins at ten Saturday; the Lumberjack Shows will be that day as well, the first at 12:30, the second at 3:30. They’ll feature eight different events… five with ‘racing axes’, two motorized event; one featuring ‘stock’ saws, the other with modified or ‘hot’ saws. Each show will conclude with a birling or log-rolling contest. The weekend wraps up Sunday afternoon with judging results at one, followed by an auction of the pieces created over the four days.
It’s operated steadily for 116 years, but the days of the distinctive red and white beacon at the mouth of the Umpqua River could be numbered. The U.S. Coast Guard is surveying mariners to determine if the Umpqua Lighthouse is necessary for navigation. If not, the two-ton lenses could go dark, be dismantled and shipped off to a museum. The light’s distinctive red flash can be seen from as far away as 20-miles. Residents in Western Douglas County are mounting a campaign to keep it lit. An estimated 15-thousand people visit the lighthouse each year.
The City of Florence is collecting organic yard debris this Saturday. It’s the monthly third Saturday yard debris dropoff event and runs from nine until two at the north end of the airport. Wendy Farley says they accept residential debris from anyone in or out of the city. There’s a five-dollar per pickup load charge. Farley says acceptable items include grass trimmings, shrub prunings and limbs. They won’t accept construction materials, dirt, rock, sod or stumps. Last year Florence collected more than 2000 cubic yards of debris that was ground and used locally as ground cover.
A member of the Oregon Health Insurance Reform Advisory Committee will be presenting an overview of that process today at noon. Rick Rebel has been active in health care reform in Oregon since 1987. Rebel has testified before several government panels and has worked on developing some of Oregon’s health insurance reform legislation. He’ll address the Florence Area Chamber of Commerce noon forum today at Best Western Pier Point Inn… it’s open to the public.
Here is the latest Oregon news from The Associated Press
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Challenger Ron Maurer has conceded to
incumbent Susan Castillo in the race for Oregon superintendent of
public instruction.
Last week, the secretary of state's office said final vote
tallies from Oregon's county clerks showed Democrat Castillo had
gathered more votes in the May 18 primary than she needed to avoid
a runoff in the nonpartisan race.
State figures show she got 50.02 percent of the vote.
Maurer is a Republican state representative from Grants Pass. He
said Wednesday it was time to end his effort, particularly because
he couldn't afford a statewide recount that might cost as much as
$125,000. He says the close race means Oregonians are looking for
more dramatic changes in the schools system.
Castillo says the voters want her "out there fighting to
protect the quality of public education."
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Foul weather has again halted attempts to
bring down the body of a British Columbia man who fell to his death
during a climb of Mount Hood. Authorities say 58-year-old Robert
Wiebe of Langley was in a party of five climbers that ran into bad
weather Tuesday at about 9,500 feet. Members of the group noticed
Wiebe was no longer visible and found he had fallen. Wiebe died
before a rescue helicopter got to him.
EVERETT, Wash. (AP) - The Warrenton, Ore., police chief says a
notorious Washington state teen burglar may be a suspect in a
string of crimes in the small town.
Police in the northwest Oregon town are investigating a boat
theft, an attempted plane theft and a car theft that happened
within hours of each other on June 1.
The Herald newspaper of Everett, Wash., reports the crimes may
be the work of 19-year-old Colton Harris-Moore.
Officials are analyzing fingerprints taken from a boat stolen
from Ilwaco, Wash., and found tied up to a pier in Warrenton.
Harris-Moore has been on the run since April 2008, when he
escaped from a group home south of Seattle where he was serving a
3-year sentence for burglaries on Camano Island.
He has been suspected of breaking into homes and business in
five Washington counties, British Columbia and Idaho.
ONTARIO, Ore. (AP) - The Snake River Correctional Institution in
Ontario, Ore., has ended a lockdown and returned to normal
operations. Spokeswoman Jill Curtis says the lockdown that ended
last night went into effect Monday, with all visits canceled, after
staffers foiled an escape attempt. The prison has said Oregon State
Police are investigating the attempt but no other details are
available. The prison houses nearly 3,000 male inmates.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Oregon's third-largest political party
says it's going to pull off what the secretary of state's office
says would be the state's first online-only primary. Linda Williams
of the Independent Party of Oregon says the primary will begin
sometime in July and last for two weeks. She says party members
will receive an identification number in the mail that they can use
to log in and vote. The Independent Party has 77 candidates seeking
its nomination, including Democratic candidate for governor John
Kitzhaber.
SALEM, Ore. (AP) - Oregon State Police say a 16-year-old boy is
reported in critical condition at a Portland hospital after a state
trooper used a stun gun on him during a drug investigation in
Salem. Lt. Gregg Hastings says State Police SWAT team members
encountered the boy early yesterday during a multi-agency narcotics
investigation. Hastings says the boy "physically resisted"
efforts to arrest him.
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) - The Eugene School Board has voted to sell,
lease or trade historic Civic Stadium. The Register-Guard reports
the YMCA and the group Save Civic Stadium are seeking to take over
the 72-year-old ballpark to develop the 10-acre property with a new
community center and sports fields, and make it a home for
professional soccer, entertainment and recreation.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
TAKING A LOOK INTO COAST RADIO SPORTS:
American Legion Baseball:
Salem’s Post 9 Highwaymen jumped to an early lead last night in Florence and turned that into a 10-3 win over the Three Rivers Sandblasters. Three Rivers tied the game at 3-all in the fourth, but was unable to contain the bats of the Highwaymen who went on to post 17 hits in all. Jesse Pratt garnered the win on the mound, Michael Bennett was tagged with the loss. The Sandblasters are back on the diamond at home Saturday evening against Corvallis’ Richey’s Market.
The Pac-10 has invited the University of Utah to become the conference's 12th member. The Pac-10 extended the invitation yesterday. Utah is now in the Mountain West Conference. The move comes two days after Texas, Oklahoma and three other Big 12 schools rejected such offers. Colorado accepted an invitation last week to join the conference.
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