Rhody Fest to celebrate bridge - OSU Extension preserves - Fret Not when the music ends.

Rhody Festival to celebrate bridge…

The theme for the 104th Rhododendron Festival will be “Spanning the Years” with the three day event aimed at celebrating the Diamond Jubilee of the Siuslaw River Bridge. The Highway 101 span, designed by noted bridge engineer Conde McCulloch, opened 75 years ago. Over the years the profile of the double-arch bascule span has become closely associated with Florence. Grand Marshall this year: former Oregon Department of Transportation engineer Frank Nelson. For 17 years he managed the Bridge Preservation Engineering Team, overseeing a group of people who worked to preserve and protect all highway bridges in Oregon. But, Nelson holds a special affinity for the coastal bridges designed by McCulloch. He’s credited with saving the Big Creek Bridge from destruction and oversaw several restoration projects. One of his final jobs involved the design and specifications for the recently completed $3.5-million electrical and mechanical renovation of the Siuslaw bridge.

Fret not when this year’s Winter Folk Festival draws to a close… there’ll still be just a little bit more music. The festival officially opens this evening with the band Weavermania on stage at the Florence Events Center. Then tomorrow, beginning at 10:15, there’ll be a continual day of music, along with a wide variety of folk arts and crafts… even a pie contest followed by a ‘pie-by-the-slice-sale’. The Summer Song duo of Chad & Jeremy will be the headline performance tomorrow evening, then the Trail Band will be the final concert at the FEC, 3:30 Sunday afternoon. Organizers say there’ll be more music after that. The Fret Not Gospel Band plays what they describe as “boot-stomping old-time roots gospel”. They’ll be on stage at the FEC Sunday afternoon before the Trail Band. Then they’ll be featured at a free concert, Sunday evening, 7:30, at the Florence Church of the Nazarene.

A program aimed at helping eat local and healthy will be returning to Lane County on a limited basis. The OSU Extension Service Master Food Preserver program will offer periodic classes and web-based resources for people who want to grow and preserve locally produced food. The loss of Lane County funding for the program has meant most of Extension’s services have been eliminated. But, says Nellie Oehler (AY-ler), there are still volunteers who want to help out. She’s is a retired Extension faculty member and, also the volunteer who will oversee the program. Teaching others how to preserve food is important, she says. Home canned produce can make a “can make a significant difference” to many families. If you’re interested in learning how to can, pickle, make jam and freeze local produce check the extension service website or call 541-344-4885.

Here is the latest Oregon news from The Associated Press

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - A Multnomah County grand jury says two
Portland police officers' use of deadly force at an abandoned car
wash was justified. Sixty-seven-year-old Thomas Higginbotham was
shot and killed Jan. 2 in Portland. Officers Jason Lile and Larry
Wingfield responded to the former Lucky Car Wash after reports that
a man threatened a security guard.

KALISPELL, Mont. (AP) - A man with Oregon ties has pleaded not
guilty after a six-hour standoff at a Montana hotel in which he's
accused of barricading himself in a bathroom with a 17-year-old
boy. Thomas Mulligan appeared in court yesterday and denied charges
of criminal endangerment and kidnapping. He was being pursued for
an alleged Oregon parole violation.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - A Portland bikini barista says she
followed a man who stole her tips onto a bus and demanded he give
the money back. Molly Karvinen tells KATU-TV the man first offered
her "a couple of bucks" but she demanded the rest of the estimated $60
as stunned passengers watched. The driver told her to take the dispute
elsewhere. KATU says police are looking for the man.

SALEM, Ore. (AP) - State officials say Oregon residents saved
$800,000 last year under a new law requiring insurers to lower
premiums if a customer's credit score improves. The Oregon
Insurance Division says more than 8,000 customers took advantage of
the new state law, saving about $100 per request. The Oregonian
says the law gives customers the right each year to ask for their
homeowners or auto insurance policies to be based on their credit
history.

ST. HELENS, Ore. (AP) - The Columbia County district attorney's
office says a grand jury will issue its findings this afternoon
involving Daniel A. Butts. The 21-year-old is accused of killing
Rainier Police Chief Ralph Painter in a Jan. 5 shootout. The grand
jury completed hearing testimony yesterday.

GOLDENDALE, Wash. (AP) - The Bonneville Power Administration is
proposing a 28-mile high voltage transmission line that would cross
the Columbia River between The Dalles, Ore., and a substation near
Goldendale. Critics fear the impacts of 250-foot tall towers on the scenic area.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

TAKING A LOOK INTO COAST RADIO SPORTS:

Siuslaw wrestlers fell, 43-31, to North Bend last night in a Far West Dual meet in Florence. Four Vikings came away with individual victories. At 145 pounds Jaden Jones went the distance for a 15-8 decision. Jessie Koontz won by pin in the 2nd round at 171; At 215 Sonny Tupua won by pin in the third round; and at 285, Aaron Te’o ended it early in the first round with a pin. Siuslaw will be at the Reedsport Invitational tomorrow.

Prep basketball tonight will feature the Siuslaw Vikings at home against the North Bend Bulldogs. The girls tip off at six; the boys face the number seven ranked Bulldogs at 7:30. Airtime on Coast Radio Sports is set for 5:45. Mapleton is at home this evening for Mountain West League basketball against Triangle Lake and, in the Sunset League, Reedsport will be in Coquille.

It’s Civil War basketball tomorrow afternoon in Corvallis when the Oregon Ducks and the OSU Beavers square off at three. The pregame shows on KCST and KCFM begin at 2:30.