Parking Summit brings diverse group - hunger in Oregon - Community Thanksgiving - snow?

Parking summit draws diverse interests …

Conflicting complaints about recent parking enforcement efforts in Old Town Florence prompted Florence City Manager Bob Willoughby to hold two meetings last week to hear from a variety of people.
200 – “We had business owners, people who live in the area that has parking restrictions, shoppers, people that own property in that area.”

The meetings, last Wednesday, accomplished two purposes according to Willoughby. The first was to help everyone understand that there are several different viewpoints. While a property owner may feel one way about enforcement, it’s not necessarily the same thought that a tenant business owner, an apartment dweller or a shopper may have.
201 – “And to understand that whatever we did to promote the interests of one group was at the expense of another group and I think that came across at the meeting.”

Willoughby’s other objective was to come away with some sort of idea or ideas about what to do next, if anything.
202 – “I think there were several things that seemed to have a lot of support, so, if we’re going to look to make some changes I think we should focus on those things that had unanimous or near unanimous support.”

One of those… working on how to handle RV parking. While a great number of visitors come to Old Town in recreational vehicles, they can take up several parking spaces. Willoughby says there seems to be a consensus for controlling RV Parking, but the group plans on getting together again with the intention of possibly formulating some policy suggestions for the City Council.

National Weather Service forecasters are saying the coldest fall storm so far this season could arrive over Western Oregon later this week. It’s projected to move into coastal areas during the day tomorrow bringing heavy rain and winds gusting as high as 50-miles an hour. Snow levels are also expected to drop dramatically by late Wednesday, falling below pass elevations in the Cascades. Snow levels could reach as low as 15-hundred feet by this weekend. Officials say motorists should be prepared for winter driving conditions and plan your travel carefully during the second half of this week.

Hunger levels in Oregon continue to hover far higher than the national average. According to the 2009 hunger report released this week by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Oregon remains among the top-five hungriest states in the nation. It’s estimated that just under 14-percent of Oregon households; roughly half-a-million residents; deal with food insecurity in one form or another. Half of those deal with “very low” food security which means they cut or skipped meals, sometimes for whole days, because they lack resources for food. Florence Food Share is the local food box pantry that provides assistance for an estimated 600 households each month in Western Lane County.

Organizers of next week’s Community Thanksgiving Dinner say they’ve signed up enough volunteers to help prepare and serve the meal, as well as clean up after. Now all they need are people to eat. Last year they served about 200 people between noon and two pm on Thanksgiving Day. This year’s meal will be served in a new location, the Church of the Nazarene on Nopal and 12th Street. There’s no charge for dinner and Rivers Cities Taxi will be providing free rides to an from during the meal.

Here is the latest Oregon news from The Associated Press

PENDLETON, Ore. (AP) - The wreckage of a light plane with one
person aboard has been found about 34 miles southeast of Pendleton,
Ore., on the Umatilla Indian Reservation. Umatilla County Emergency
Management officials say the pilot is dead. Authorities say the
plane took off Sunday morning from the Walla Walla, Wash., regional
airport bound for the town of Enterprise in Eastern Oregon. The
pilot was not immediately identified.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - An Oregon man was critically injured when
his car crashed into a house after he sped away from a police
officer trying to make a traffic stop. Police say 32-year-old Shane
Dailey of the Milwaukie area suffered life-threatening injuries in
the crash shortly before 11 p.m. Sunday. Nobody inside the house
was hurt.

BEND, Ore. (AP) - Authorities investigating the disappearance of
a 48-year-old Bend woman say they've found a black and white
sweater believed to belong to Lori Blaylock. Marion County
sheriff's spokesman Don Thomson says the sweater was placed under a
tree and covered with forest debris. Blaylock was reported missing
Nov. 2.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - A federal civil rights lawsuit has been
filed in the case of an Oregon third grader whose mother says he
was handcuffed by a police officer after the child's teacher locked
him out of class without supervision. The suit claims excessive
force, false imprisonment and discrimination. It names a Gresham
officer, and three Highland Elementary staff members -- and the
Gresham-Barlow School District, which declined comment.

SALEM, Ore. (AP) - The defense is expected to open its case
today in the of an Oregon man and his son accused of a 2008 bank
bombing in Woodburn that killed two police officers. The
prosecution rested its case last week against Bruce Turnidge and
his son, Joshua, who have implicated each other.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - An 81-year-old Portland man has been
sentenced to a year's confinement for collecting Social Security,
food stamp and Medicare benefits in the name of his dead brother. A
federal judge also ordered Lafayette Keaton to repay the government
money he stole - more than $139,000.

GRANTS PASS, Ore. (AP) - Final unofficial votes give Democratic
state Sen. Alan Bates the win in his cliffhanger race and Democrats
narrow control of the Oregon state Senate. Results posted by
Jackson County gave Bates a 274-vote margin out of nearly 49,000
votes.

DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) - Ford Motor Co. says its first
all-electric car -- the Focus Electric -- will begin selling in
select U.S. cities late next year. Portland is among the 19 cities
chosen by Ford, based on sales trends for hybrids and the ability
of local utilities to handle the extra electricity demand.

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

TAKING A LOOK INTO COAST RADIO SPORTS:

Athlete of the Week:

Siuslaw Football Standout Peter Carroll is Coast Radio Sports’ Athlete of the Week. Playing as a tight end, the Viking Junior caught two passes, one for a touchdown in Siuslaw’s playoff victory over La Grande. From the defensive backfield, Carroll was part of several key defensive plays, recovering one fumble and forcing one quarterback sack. Honorable Mention to Siuslaw sophomore place kicker Ryan Smith, who converted on six of seven point-after attempts in the same game.