Bridge foulup snarls traffic for the second Monday in a row…
For the second Monday in a row, Highway 101 through downtown Florence and south of the river came to a grinding halt because of the Siuslaw River bridge. This time, operators opened the drawbridge just after noon to allow a boat to pass through. While lowering the spans, something went wrong. Oregon Department of Transportation spokesman Rick Little said they’re not sure, but it was possibly a motor that failed, leaving the draw bridge stuck partially in the ‘up’ position. By the time crews were able to manually lower the bridge and lock it down just over an hour later, the traffic had backed up in both directions nearly two miles. The traffic jam cleared out quickly once the road reopened with most of the congestion relieved within 30-minutes. The Siuslaw Bridge recently underwent a $5.3-million electrical and mechanical renovation to replace and update the equipment that is used to raise and lower the bridge. Little said it was too early to tell exactly what happened.
Fourth District Congressman Peter DeFazio was in Florence yesterday for a town hall meeting. About 75-people showed up to talk to the Springfield Democrat. He said while people still have plenty of questions, this year’s town halls are a little less passionate than they were at this time last year.
209 – “People are very concerned. I mean… it’s not all… last year was all focused on health care. This year the focus is on the economy, putting people back to work, jobs, which can your do, and the deficit. People are concerned about the pile of debt.”
While he talked, there was a person in a chicken suit standing in the back of the room holding a sign that chastised DeFazio for not agreeing to a series of debates hosted by his Republican opponent. Art Robinson scheduled seven of the events where the two would square off one-on-one and debate in the style of Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas. DeFazio says he would rather focus on debates sponsored by third parties with a neutral format that allows voters a chance to participate.
210 – “He has fake debates which are campaign events. I’ve accepted four. I hope he’s got the guts to show up.”
DeFazio has skipped the first two “Lincoln-Douglas” debates hosted by Robinson and says he’ll miss the other five as well. Robinson says he’ll participate in both forms.
A 28-year old Coquille man has been indicted by a Coos County grand jury for the murder of then 15-year old Leah Freeman in 2000. Nicholas McGufin was arrested and booked yesterday on $2-million bail. The teen was last seen June 28th, 2000 after leaving a girlfriend’s house at about nine pm to walk home. Her body was found five weeks later, dumped in the forest outside of town. McGuffin was Freeman’s boyfriend at the time. He had been questioned by police after the murder, but the investigation soon went cold. Coos County authorities announced in January of this year that they were reviving the case.
Here is the latest Oregon news from The Associated Press
TIGARD, Ore. (AP) - Police in the Portland suburb of Tigard are
investigating a suspicious death after a woman's body was spotted
behind City Hall. The body was located in a creek after a report
about 2 p.m. Monday from a passerby who was walking through Fanno
Creek Park. KGW-TV reports the man who discovered the body said it
was that of a fully clothed woman, face down in the creek. No other
details were immediately available.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Authorities say human remains have been
found on Mount Hood, and an expedition is planned this week to see
whether they are of two climbers missing since December. Katie
Nolan of Portland and Anthony Vietta of Longview, Wash., were among
a party of three attempting to climb the mountain on Dec. 11. The
body of the third member of the party, Luke Gullberg of Des Moines,
Wash., was located the next day.
McMINNVILLE, Ore. (AP) - Authorities now say 24 McMinnville High
School football players were sent to the hospital from a training
camp with a condition that caused intense pain and swelling in
their arm muscles. Officials had earlier said that 19 students had
been treated for the condition last week. The McMinnville School
District superintendent says 13 of the 24 students were admitted to
the hospital; 11 were treated and released.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Two federal agencies have set deadlines
for overdue evaluations of the state's water quality standards for
toxic chemicals that harm threatened and endangered species.
Northwest Environmental Advocates says a consent decree has been
reached in its lawsuit over the issue. U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service will complete its evaluation by June 2012 and NOAA
Fisheries Service will finish its work by the end of next year.
CORVALLIS, Ore. (AP) - An Oregon State University offensive
lineman has been thrown off the team after police say they found
him naked and drunk in a stranger's home and had to use stun guns
to take him into custody early Sunday. Corvallis police say
officers ordered Tyler Patrick Thomas of Kalispell, Mont., to get
on the ground but that Thomas instead dropped into a three-point
stance like a football player and lunged at the officers. At that
point, police say, two officers fired their stun guns.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - The Forest Service says materials used to
apply sealant to a log building spontaneously caught fire,
destroying the Wallowa Mountains visitors center at Enterprise. No
one was injured in the July 11 fire but about 90 workers lost their
offices. National Forest spokeswoman Judy Wing says the agency
hasn't decided on a long-term replacement.
TUALATIN, Ore. (AP) - Police are investigating how a
skateboarder was struck by a TriMet commuter train near a platform
at Tualatin yesterday. The 28-year-old man, Justin Leonard, was
flown to Legacy Emanuel Hospital in Portland where today he's
reported in serious condition.
SALEM, Ore. (AP) - The Garmin satellite navigation company plans
to add as many as 200 more workers for a new call center at Salem
where it already employs about 230 people. General manager Gloria
Sukraw tells The Statesman Journal it planned to have as many as 50
people in a temporary work space in time for the holidays. The
center will answer questions from customers about Garmin GPS
products.
HELENA, Mont. (AP) - A 34-year-old Pennsylvania man suspected of
leaving a stolen car at a Montana auto dealership and taking a
pickup truck has been arrested in Oregon after crashing the truck.
Brian J. McCarthy was arrested Sunday in Rogue River after backing
the truck into a fence and trying to flee from officers.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
TAKING A LOOK INTO COAST RADIO SPORTS:
Northwest League Baseball:
Eugene starter Matt Hardy walked off the mound after the fifth inning with nine strikeouts and allowing only five hits… and a one-nothing lead. All that changed quickly in the bottom of the sixth inning when two relievers faced ten Spokane batters without recording an out and the Indians cruised to a 13-2 win last night. Spokane ripped Eugene for eight runs in the sixth, then added five more in the eighth inning to take a 3-1 lead in the five-game series that ends tonight in Spokane.
Prep Sports…
The schedules are set for prep football in the area. The Reedsport Braves open up the season September Third in Tillamook against the Knappa Loggers. Things get underway a week later for the Mapleton Sailors and Siuslaw Vikings… the Sailors open up the 2010 season at home on Friday, September Tenth against the Falls City Mountaineers… Siuslaw will host a familiar opponent at home that same evening, the Junction City Tigers. Season tickets for Viking football, by the way, go on sale September First.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment