Election Results - DeFazio visits - Gas 2.83 - Rhody kickoff

Voters have their say…

Siuslaw School Board Chair Tammy Butler will hold on to her position for another four years. She edged challenger Rob Spooner 1,692 to 1,231 votes in yesterday’s election. Just under 36-percent of Lane County’s registered voters weighed in yesterday… that’s about nine percent more than two years ago. In addition to the School Board race, there were several other local contested positions on the ballot.

For the first time in more than 50-years voters inside Florence City Limits had a say in who would be on the board of Siuslaw Valley Fire and Rescue. They appear to have chosen a challenger, Cindy Spinner, over long time incumbent Bill Mead. 63-votes separate the two… Spinner with 1375, Mead with 1312.

In the Heceta Water District incumbent Jerry Nordin has defeated Chuck Gesik 354 to 311. Two incumbents will return to their ‘at large’ positions on the Lane Community College Board of Directors: Rosie Pryor gathered 70-percent of the vote over William Gehling; Tony McCown downed Doug Nelson by a margin of 58 to 41 percent.

One other contested race on the ballot actually wasn’t on the ballot. Nobody filed for position four on the Port of Siuslaw Commission. Three write-in candidates campaigned; John Murphey, Bianca Hein and Bill Fleenor. All we know so far is that 1,083 write-in votes were cast. Election workers won’t begin tallying them until later this week and the results could take until next week.

More than a hundred people, mostly senior citizens, crowded into a meeting room at the Florence Events Center yesterday morning to hear Fourth District Congressman Peter DeFazio talk about his views on things in Washington. The Springfield Democrat targets senior citizens for his day-time Town Hall Meetings and says he crafts a message specifically for them. The message yesterday: leave Medicare alone and balance the budget faster than a proposal made by Republican Congressman Paul Ryan.
DeFazio -- “The Republican Ryan budget, which privatizes Medicare, slashes the Oregon Health Plan, cuts other programs important to middle income families doesn’t propose to balance the budget until 2040. I think that’s too long. I think we can do it within ten but we’re going to need a balanced budget amendment to drive congress to make the tough decisions.”

DeFazio spent the afternoon on the central coast. Following the Florence Town Hall he spoke to local Rotarians, then headed to an afternoon Town Hall in Reedsport.

Retail gas prices continue to creep downward. Prices across the board dipped by about a penny a gallon for regular unleaded this past week… the national average, as measured by Triple-A, is now at $3.94… Oregon’s statewide average is $3.96 and in Florence it backed off a penny to $3.83 a gallon. Crude Oil is trading at about $96 a barrel, down from $103 a week ago and a recent high of $113 earlier this month. Marie Dodds with Triple-A says there are some concerns that the Mississippi flooding could restrict the flow of gas. The area is home to 11 oil refineries that produce about 13-percent of the total U.S. capacity.

Despite cloudy skies the finishing touches are being put on “Spanning the Years”… the 104th Rhododendron Festival. The unofficial kickoff is this afternoon when the Davis Shows Northwest Carnival opens in Old Town. The Chamber of Commerce will talk festival at tomorrow’s monthly Noon Forum at Driftwood Shores. The official beginning of the festival is set for seven pm Friday on the stage of the Florence Events Center when five Senior Court Princesses vie for the crown of Queen Rhododendra. Tickets are still available for the Queen’s Coronation and Scholarship Pageant… $12 for adults at the FEC.

Here is the latest Oregon news from The Associated Press

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - The latest results show a $548 million
bond package to pay for repairs to every school in Portland is
heading for defeat. The Oregonian reports the schools bond package
was defeated. But voters approved a separate property tax hike to
keep teachers. Eugene voters rejected a temporary income tax for
schools. Backers say it would have raised $17 million over a
four-year period.

SALEM, Ore. (AP) - Oregon State Police say a 69-year old man who
collapsed near the steps of the Oregon State Capitol building in
Salem died of an apparent heart attack. Troopers at the building
were alerted yesterday morning when they heard a woman yell that
someone had fallen on the sidewalk. Troopers said they would
release his name by Wednesday, after his family was notified.

SALEM, Ore. (AP) - Oregon wildlife managers have captured and
killed a wolf in the northeastern corner of the state to control
attacks on livestock. Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife wolf
coordinator Russ Morgan said yesterday that killing the young male
will reduce the food needed by the Imnaha pack and biologists hope
it will discourage the pack from preying on cattle in the area.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - An Oregon man who calls himself the
nation's largest broker of licenses for medical marijuana has
pleaded guilty to reduced tax-evasion charges. Paul Stanford, the
50-year-old founder of the Hemp and Cannabis Foundation, was
charged in March with failing to file personal income taxes in 2008
and 2009. He was sentenced to 18 months' probation plus community
service.

SALEM, Ore. (AP) - A judge today will question an Oregon inmate
on death row who has asked to waive the rest of his appeals process
and die of a lethal injection. Judge Joseph Guimond will hold a
hearing in the Marion County Courthouse, where 49-year-old Gary
Haugen will answer 29 questions that Guimond will use to judge
Haugen's competency. Prosecutors are seeking a July 28 date for
death by lethal injection. Haugen was already in prison on a 1981
murder charge when he and another prisoner were convicted of the
2003 murder of a fellow inmate.

SALEM, Ore. (AP) - The Oregon Senate will debate a measure today
that urges Congress to continue federal funding for timber
counties. The bill asks for reauthorization of the Secure Rural
Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000. Timber
counties in Oregon rely on federal payments to replace revenue that
has declined as fish and wildlife protections, such as limited
logging, have increased.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Wind power companies facing a springtime
shutdown to accommodate a surge of hydropower in the Northwest say
the region's main power manager has a conflict of interest, using
authority over transmission lines to protect its business
interests. The assertion from the American Wind Energy Association
follows the Bonneville Power's announcement last week that it plans
to curtail wind power because of a surplus of energy from
hydroelectric dams. Such a shutdown could cost Northwest wind
developers millions in tax credits.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Cold case detectives have arrested a
transient suspected of killing a man 17 years ago in Portland.
Sixty-two-year-old Raymond Lee Johnson was found dead in his home
in 1994. Police reopened the case last year and developed
information that led to the arrest of 40-year-old Terry Lavell
Haynes when he was spotted last night in Portland.

SALEM, Ore. (AP) - Wart removal and breast reduction surgery
will no longer be covered by Oregon state workers' health plans by
2012. The Public Employees' Benefit Board has voted to exclude a
number of treatments from coverage to save $5 million. Other
treatments no longer covered include varicose vein stripping and
bunionectomy.

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

TAKING A LOOK INTO COAST RADIO SPORTS:

Oregon Baseball Coach George Horton believes his Ducks need to win out over their final nine games if they want to have a shot at getting picked up for the post-season. They started that trek off on the right foot last night at PK Park, blanking the Gonzaga Bulldogs 6-nothing in a non-league contest. The two teams meet again this afternoon in Eugene.

Siuslaw Softball is on the schedule tomorrow in Central Oregon when they travel to Prineville to face the Crook County Cowgirls in OSAA “play-in” action. The Cowgirls are 18-7 overall, and on a 12 game winning streak. The Vikings are 12-13 and wrapped up the regular season at home with a win over North Bend Monday night. Tomorrow’s game gets underway at five.

Game time has been set for the Viking baseball “Play-In” game Friday at home against the North Valley Knights… First pitch is set for 4:30.