Schools losing four days; suspect still sought in shotgun blast; state closure set for friday

Siuslaw to likely lose four school days….

Siuslaw School Board members last night approved a plan that would cut four school days off the end of next year and reduce professional staffing at the Elementary and Primary School by two full time equivalent employees. Administrators have the option of cutting one counselor and one teaching position, or eliminating two teaching spots. The move came at the end of a two-and-a-half-hour work session where board members heard from principals, teachers, and classified employees. Julia Tousley-Ritt presented a letter signed by teachers in the lower grades protesting the loss of the two positions, saying the cuts were unfair. Later in the meeting, Board member Deena Mitchell addressed Tousley-Ritt’s claim and pointed out the high school and middle school already absorbed staffing reductions this year. The staff reduction and loss of instructional days will make up just over half of a $504-thousand shortfall. The rest will come by reducing this year’s share of the reserve intended to pay off a $1.3-million retirement fund gap that will be due in 2012. By reducing the set-aside now, it only increases the amount the district will have to reserve over the next two years. The teacher’s union has to ratify the four day reduction. They’re expected to vote tomorrow with the results released Thursday morning. If they reject the proposal, an additional three teachers could face layoffs.

Oregon State Police continue to search for Victor Glen Caron, a 46 year old man wanted in connection with a shotgun blast that seriously injured a 27-year old Florence mother in the early morning hours of Sunday. Caron is considered a suspect in the shooting of Roxanna Merchant and the clubbing of 26-year old Jason Emerson following a dispute at Caron’s home on Green Gate Road about one AM Sunday. Merchant’s four-year old son was present at the time but was not injured. Police had been seeking Caron’s housemate, 40-year old Tanya Mintey, but have since said she is no longer sought in connection with the incident. Merchant is at RiverBend Hospital in Springfield where she is receiving treatment for her wounds. Sources have said she underwent abdominal surgery late Sunday and, at one time, there was some fear that she may lose an arm because of the shooting.

06-15-10 7,8,9 AM; Noon; 5,6 PM
RBS

There were no injuries and six people were assisted to safety by a ground crew from the Umpqua River Coast Guard Station yesterday after a 21-foot boat ran aground near Winchester Point. A 47-foot motor lifeboat stood by during the rescue, but was unable to move in because the water was too shallow. The boat became grounded just before ten AM Monday and was being swamped by incoming surf. It was left to be recovered by a salvage operator.

Most state offices, including DMV outlets, will be closed Friday as 26,500 state employees take the day off without pay because of budget reductions ordered by the governor last year. June 18th is the fifth of ten closure dates that were scheduled at the beginning of the current biennium. Oregon Department of Administrative Services Director Scott Harra says each closure days reduce payroll costs by an estimated $2-million. Harra said online services at DMV and Fish & Wildlife will still be available and essential state employees will remain on duty that day.

Here is the latest Oregon news from The Associated Press

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Authorities overseeing one of the largest
search-and-rescue operations in state history say a missing
7-year-old Portland boy likely didn't simply walk away from school
when he disappeared June 4. Multnomah County Sheriff's Capt. Jason
Gates says the massive search for Kyron Horman has been scaled
back, but it continues as a criminal investigation. Kyron
disappeared after a science fair at his elementary school.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Classes are ending today at Skyline School
in Portland with one second-grader noticeably absent. Schools
spokesman Matt Shelby says the disappearance of 7-year-old Kyron
Horman on June 4 cast a pall over the final days of school for the
300 students. As the search for Kyron scales down and the
investigation continues, a candlelight vigil is set for 7:00
tonight in the Sunset Presbyterian Church Sanctuary.

SALEM, Ore. (AP) - A Marion County judge has sentenced a former
Silverton teacher to 40 years in prison for sexually abusing a boy.
Forty-seven-year-old Susan Alderson pleaded guilty in February. Now
in his 20s, the victim was never a student of Alderson's. At her
sentencing, Alderson said she was remorseful and ready to be
accountable for her actions.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - News organizations have asked a Portland
judge to make public more than 1,000 files on suspected child
molesters, records a jury used in April when it found the Boy
Scouts of America liable for $20 million in damages. The documents
were introduced as evidence in the case involving Kerry Lewis.
Yesterday, the judge promised to "get a decision out as fast as I
can."

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Oregon's new law and tougher rules to
ensure closer scrutiny of psychiatric drugs given to children in
foster care takes effect July 1. The change follows a November 2007
investigation by The Oregonian that found children in foster care
were prescribed powerful psychiatric medications at four times the
rate of other children covered by Medicaid. A state audit the next
year found one in five children in foster care was prescribed at
least one psychiatric medication.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Portland police say they seized 10 pounds
of heroin worth up to $1.5 million believed to have been
transported to Oregon from Arizona. Police said yesterday that last
week's seizure resulted from an investigation that began with a tip
two months ago. Police believe the heroin could have been used to
make more than 72,000 separate illegal drug sales on the street in
the Portland area.

RAINIER, Ore. (AP) - An Oregon wildlife center says a 5-year-old
bald eagle injured by bird shot and found on a beach near Rainier
in late April has been set free. The bird's release on Saturday
near Astoria follows six weeks of rehabilitation at the Wildlife
Center of the North Coast. The bird was hit by multiple BBs in her
head, neck, body and both wings. One BB left her blind in her left
eye.

SALEM, Ore. (AP) - The body of a unidentified man has been found
in the same area along the Willamette River in Salem where a
swimmer was reported missing. The Polk County Sheriff's Office
responded to a water rescue call near Riverfront Park in Salem on
Sunday after a report that a man who had been swimming was seen
going underwater and did not resurface. Deputies said a dive team
located a body just before noon yesterday.

ONTARIO, Ore. (AP) - An Oregon Corrections Department
spokeswoman says staffers at Snake River Correctional Institution
have foiled an escape attempt at the Ontario prison. Spokeswoman
Jennifer Black says the prison was locked down with all visits
canceled after the incident on Sunday. Oregon State Police are
investigating the escape attempt but no other details have been
made available. The prison houses nearly 3,000 male inmates.

SALEM, Ore. (AP) - A Marion County judge has sentenced a former
Silverton teacher to 40 years in prison for sexually abusing a boy.
Judge Joseph Ochoa yesterday gave 47-year-old Susan Alderson
consecutive sentences for rape, sodomy and sexual abuse. She
pleaded guilty in February. The victim, now in his 20s, was never
one of Alderson's students. Court documents say he reported the
abuse in May 2009. She was arrested a month later.

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

TAKING A LOOK INTO COAST RADIO SPORTS:

Offering what organizers call stunning views of the Pacific Ocean through the mature forest, the eighth annual Cape Mountain Trail Run is set to play out this weekend. Race day registration opens at eight AM Saturday at the Horse Creek Trailhead just off Highway 101 north of Florence. The ten mile loop course has an elevation change of 1,850 feet and can be extremely challenging. The high point is near the summit of Cape Mountain, the site of a 1930’s fire lookout. The $40 entry fees benefit the Siuslaw High School Track and Field program