School year shortened. Police and fire to patrol fireworks Sunday; Bridge lighting planned.

Teachers approve school year shortening

Classes will start as originally scheduled this fall on September 7th, but instead of students getting out for the year on June 15th, the last day of school will be June Ninth. Teachers approved a change in the contract for the coming year to shrink the number of instructional days by four, from 177 to 173. The change came because of a $504-thousand shortfall in state revenues. All four days will come at the expense of classroom time. Administrators had hoped to only reduce the school year by two and eliminate two of the eight in-service days for teacher preparation. But… according to Siuslaw Education Association president Tim Dodson, the hope is that additional federal funds will be provided to offset a portion of the shortfall. If so, then replacement days can be added back at the end of the year. In addition to chopping school days, Siuslaw will set aside less money this year for an expected future retirement fund shortfall. The Siuslaw School Board will meet July 14th to ratify the school year changes.

Florence police, along with Siuslaw Valley firefighters, will be monitoring fireworks use in Old Town Florence this Sunday evening during the Fourth of July celebration. Assistant Florence City Manager Jacque Morgan says the recent enactment of an ordinance prohibiting any fireworks use on public land in the Old Town district means teams of firefighters and police will be looking primarily to educate the public. Florence Mayor Phil Brubaker says the goals is to create a safe place to celebrate. Morgan added that signs will be posted on Port of Siuslaw Property and other areas reminding of the prohibition. She didn’t eliminate the possibility that fireworks might be seized.

Fireworks won’t be the only things lighting up the sky Sunday evening. Just prior to the public fireworks display from the barge in the Siuslaw River, a switch will be flipped a bit downstream on lights at each end of the bridge, and beneath it. The lights are part of the $5.3-million, 18-month renovation of the Highway 101 Siuslaw River Bridge nearing completion. Assistant project manager Steve Templin says part of that project was restoring an original feature to the bridge: interior lighting of the pylons on each end. Templin said an additional component, lighting the dolphins beneath the bridge, were a joint effort by the City of Florence and Lane County. Templin said a special ceremony will be held at 9:45 July 4th to highlight the changes.

Here is the latest Oregon news from The Associated Press

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Court documents show the father of a
missing 7-year-old Oregon boy wants to divorce the boy's
stepmother. Kaine Horman is the father of Kyron Horman, who
disappeared from his Portland school on June 4. His wife, Terri,
said she last saw Kyron after taking him to his school's science
fair.

SYDNEY (AP) - American surgeon Jayant Patel has been convicted
of manslaughter in the deaths of three former patients in
Australia. A U.S. Magistrate Judge in 2008 ordered that the
60-year-old Patel be sent from Oregon to Australia to stand trial.
An Australian jury returned a guilty verdict today against the
Indian-born doctor and U.S. citizen who worked in an Australian
hospital between 2003 and 2005.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - State environmental regulators have
offered three new options for closing Oregon's only coal-fired
power plant to cut down on smog in the Columbia Gorge. Portland
General Electric says each of the options would cost more money or
close the plant earlier than proposed by the utility.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - A seafood watchdog group is warning
consumers to not eat Oregon salmon because there are too few
chinook originating from California's Sacramento River. But Oregon
Salmon Commission executive director Nancy Fitzpatrick calls the
recommendation to avoid wild-caught Oregon salmon irresponsible.

SALEM, Ore. (AP) - Sponsors of ballot measures have until Friday
to submit the needed petition signatures to qualify for the Nov. 2
general election. Oregon voters are likely to decide this fall
whether to set up dispensaries for medical marijuana and set
minimum terms for repeat felony sex offenders and drunken drivers.

KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. (AP) - A man accused of fatally shooting two
people at a Klamath Falls apartment is back in jail following a
stay at the Oregon State Hospital in Salem. Matthew Avina-Norris
was sent to the mental hospital for treatment after he was deemed
unfit to stand trial. An official report on his status is pending.

BANDON, Ore. (AP) - The Port of Bandon is asking anglers to toss
their fish guts and other leftovers from fish cleaning into the
trash, not the water. The World newspaper reports that the Port has
put out garbage cans at fish cleaning stations. Port general
manager Gina Dearth says the waste can become a source of water
pollution.

HILLSBORO, Ore. (AP) - Police arrested five animal-rights
activists who blocked traffic near the Oregon National Primate
Research Center. The five were booked into a Hillsboro jail
yesterday afternoon after they were arrested for obstructing
traffic. Roughly 50 people took part in the protest.

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

TAKING A LOOK INTO COAST RADIO SPORTS:American Legion Baseball:

The skid continues for the Three Rivers Sandblasters. They fell last night in a 12-run shutout to the Doc Stewarts in Roseburg. The Docs put up ten hits on the night while Three Rivers managed three. Josh Graham picked up the win for Roseburg… Ricky Ballentine the loss.

Northwest League Baseball:

Keyvius Sampson gave up his first runs of the season, allowing a three-run homerun in the first inning to Boise’s Richard Jones. The Eugene Emeralds responded with one run in the bottom of the first frame, tied it in the second but gave up the lead two more times on the night with the Hawks eventually coming out on top 5-4. Boise holds a 3-oh advantage in the current five game series, the two teams meet again tonight.

Community:

Registration for the inaugural Florence Rotary Club ‘Cool at the Coast’ golf tournament is now open. The tourney is set for July 31st at Ocean Dunes Golf links with proceeds supporting the club’s Polio Plus project and high school scholarships. Entry deadline is July 15th and information is available at Ocean Dunes.