More bridge work to delay traffic - gas prices fall locally - Siuslaw Watershed Council wins recognition

More temporary restrictions over the Siuslaw River…

Traffic over the Siuslaw River bridge on Highway 101 will be restricted again over a two-week period next month. That’s if the weather cooperates. Candace Stich (stich) with O-DOT says crews will be working on grinding out and replacing the asphalt on the bridge approaches at each end. Beginning October Fifth and running through the Seventh. The following week, from the 11th through the 13th, crews will return for the third time to complete the deck resurfacing that originally began in August. That work was slated to be completed earlier this month, but rain on the final two days of the project delayed it. A third project, planned for overnight on the 14th, will require intermittent closures of both lanes of travel between eight pm and four am as the lift spans are realigned. Flaggers will regulate traffic across the bridge during all three projects and Stich says delays of no more than 20-minutes are anticipated. She also says the first two projects are weather dependent and may be rescheduled if conditions prevent the work.

A program that began 12 years ago in Mapleton with left-over seedlings was named the Cascade Pacific Resource Conservation and Development project of the year this week. The riparian restoration project, also known as the ‘native plant distribution’ organized by the Siuslaw Watershed Council is credited with providing native trees, shrubs and plants to revegetate as many as 50 acres each year since it began in 1998. Watershed Council spokesperson Liz Vollmer-Buhl says the lack of native vegetation along rivers and streams in the area was identified in the late 1990s as a limiting factor for salmon and watershed health. Since then, more than 375 landowners have participated in the program adding to the inventory of healthy streams, but also raising awareness.

Triple-A says the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline held steady around the country and in Oregon this past week. In Florence, however, it slipped down a penny a gallon this week to $2.80. That’s still eight cents higher than the national average, but 14-cents below the Oregon average price. Average prices in Eugene fell by two cents a gallon this week and stand at $2.94. Portland’s average held steady at $2.92.

The Coast Guard cutter Orcas is back home in Coos Bay after an extensive retrofit on the East Coast. The ship underwent $8.5 million in repairs in Baltimore, including an overhaul to its interior and wiring and two new generators. The cutter and its 16-person crew returned recently after a five-week trip through the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean, the Panama Canal and home via the Pacific.

Here is the latest Oregon news from The Associated Press

GRANTS PASS, Ore. (AP) - Police say a woman charged with robbing
a bank in Grants Pass stopped to pick up her children at school on
the way home. A witness description of the car and plates led to
the home of 37-year-old Erica F. Anderson, who was arrested after
returning from picking up her daughters at their elementary school.
Anderson and another suspect are charged with robbery and theft.

BOISE, Idaho (AP) - Idaho's U.S. senators today plan to
introduce a measure to lift Endangered Species Act protections from
wolves in Idaho and Montana, as well as portions of Washington,
Oregon and Utah. The bill is a response to a federal court order in
August that restored protections.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - A Portland architect has pleaded guilty to
downloading pornographic videos of children in a case that led to
investigations across the U.S. and in foreign countries. Paul
Pavlock pleaded guilty yesterday to 10 child porn counts and faces
a maximum of nine years in prison at sentencing Nov. 19.
Prosecutors say the case identified more than 85 suspects in 20
states and 19 foreign countries.

ALOHA, Ore. (AP) - The Washington County sheriff's office says a
deputy has shot and wounded a man who was trying to prevent an
arrest after a neighborhood fight in Aloha. When deputies tried to
arrest a 62-year-old man, the man resisted and other people in the
house attacked deputies. The sheriff's office says one of the
deputies shot a man who's at a hospital with a wound in the torso.
Two other people were arrested.

BEAVERTON, Ore. (AP) - Beaverton police say human remains have
been found in woods at the west end of the Sisters of St. Mary of
Oregon campus. A land surveyor marking trees wandered off a trail,
found the remains and then called police.The Washington County
Forensics Team and medical examiner responded. Identification and
cause of death are pending.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Paul Albertson first picked up the small
chunk of metal 30 years ago while rock hunting in southern Oregon.
He was told it was worthless nickel ore so he tossed it into a
coffee can with some arrowheads for the next three decades. Now
he's learned it's really a meteorite that's generating interest
from scientists around the world. A Portland State University
professor says it's "one of the rare types of iron."

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) - Oregon State Police who responded to a
pickup truck crash off a road near Noti found a dead deer
underneath the vehicle.
The Register-Guard reports an investigation determined two
Elmira men driving on IP Deeded Road Sept. 15 shot the deer, which
fell down an embankment. The men were backing the truck to the
road's edge to retrieve the deer when the pickup rolled on top of
the animal and into a tree.
Once the pickup was towed, a trooper noticed the deer had been
shot. One man was cited for taking a deer out of season and the
other for aiding in a wildlife violation.
---
DEPOE BAY, Ore. (AP) - The Depoe Bay Fire Department plans a
test Friday of a robotic lifeguard in the surf near Gleneden Beach
State Park.
The department says the robot known as EMILY is a
remote-controlled floatation device powered by an electric motor.
It's equipped with a speaker so the operator on the beach can give
instructions to the person being rescued.
The department says Emily was developed for the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration and the Navy and has been used in
the surf at Malibu, Calif.



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

TAKING A LOOK INTO COAST RADIO SPORTS:
Prep Volleyball:
The Siuslaw Vikings handled the visiting Taft Tigers in three games last night. Leigh Aurich recorded 15 assists, Kaitlyn Logan had seven kills. The Mapleton Sailors improved to four-and-one with a three-game victory over McKenzie last night. Shalea Ford had 11 kills and four aces, Andrea LeClaire had 25 assists and five aces. Reedsport downed Gold Beach in three games.

College Football:
While their blue practice field may add an amusing touch to the preparations for number three Boise State, the Oregon State Beavers are serious about the challenge they face in the Broncos.
215 – “The hardest thing about Boise is not the blue field, you know they are a very good football team and they have good players and they are well coached. But, it is all about the football.”

Oregon State head coach Mike Riley and his number 24 Beavers will visit the blue turf at Boise State Saturday. It will be the home opener for the Broncos who have won 56 consecutive regular-season games at home. Overall, the Broncos have a 16-game winning streak.