Summer's coming, but will it stay? Rare beauty... and horror (if you're a fly). Students exposed to water safety

Wet and cool versus warm and dry… what to expect.

Forecasters say there’s good news… and there’s bad news when it comes to the weather. KEZI Chief Meteorologist Justin Stapleton says summer is on the verge, but it may not last long.
205 – “Yes it will arrive. The short answer to that is that I think we’re going to have a condensed version of summer this year because we’ve been in such a strong La Nina pattern.”

Stapleton says we’re in for a very good weekend coming up, with highs along the coast forecast to be in the lower 70s. But we’ll settle back into a cool and cloudy cycle beginning Monday that could last through the rest of the month.
207 – “My guess is that by Fourth of July I think we can pretty much call a very good truce on mother nature and she will put an end to all this cold stuff. However, just a guess, call it a weatherman’s hunch here, I think we’re going to see a condensed summer so we just get July and August and then by September we’re slowly starting to getting back into a kind of a wet pattern again.”

A series of high pressure ridges offshore typically bring drier weather in the springtime. Stapleton says they are out there… they just haven’t become strong enough to force their way onshore yet. He says they will make it here for at least most of the summer.

The Darlingtonia… also known as the “Cobra Lily” or “Pitcher Plant” is one of those unique features of nature that combines rare beauty with horror… that horror only comes however if you happen to be an insect. You see, Darlingtonia Californica consists of yellowish green hooded leaves that form hollow tubes, ten to 20 inches high. Nectar inside the tube attracts insects which become trapped and eventually decompose releasing nitrogen which then feeds the plant. The Darlingtonia State Natural Site, five miles north of Florence, is the only location in the Oregon State Park system dedicated to the protection of a single species. The plant, associated to lilies and orchids, also produces what park manager Mike Rivers says is a distinctive and beautiful flower… that is in abundance right now.
201 – “They’re really neat. Yeah, they… spectacular plant itself and the flower is really neat too, and so, they’re kind of like the rhododendrons, they’re a real treat.”

Rivers says the drive is a short one… and the flowers are easily accessible from the site’s parking area.

Fifth graders from Siuslaw and Mapleton Schools will spend two hours at the lake tomorrow morning. No, they’re not going swimming. They’ll be at East Woahink Day Use Area for the annual Western Lane Ambulance Water Safety Program. Paramedic Al Kreitz says he came up with the idea several years ago after responding to a drowning call. The goal is to prepare students for the summer season and make them aware of the dangers of being on the water… and staying safe. There’ll be a series of demonstrations for students and the morning will end with a life water rescue demo by a coast guard helicopter. Several other agencies are participating, including the American Red Cross, Oregon State Parks, Oregon State Police and Siuslaw Valley Fire and Rescue.

Here is the latest Oregon news from The Associated Press

WILSONVILLE, Ore. (AP) - Oregon prison officials say a
41-year-old inmate serving time for theft has been found dead in
her single-person cell at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility in
Wilsonville. A Corrections Department spokeswoman says prison
workers were unable to resuscitate Shelly Resnick after she was
found Tuesday. Oregon State Police and the county medical examiner
are investigating.

SALEM, Ore. (AP) - An Oregon legislative committee has advanced
a bill that would create a health insurance exchange, paving the
way for a vote of the full House. The House Health Care Committee
approved the bill on a 5-3 vote yesterday without changing it.
Republican co-chair Jim Thompson joined all four committee
Democrats supporting the bill. The Senate passed the bill in April.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - A state commission says at least 34
patients died last year at Oregon hospitals as a result of
preventable mistakes. The Oregonian reports the latest figures from
the Oregon Patient Safety Commission show no change from 2009, when
the same number of patients died after medical errors. In 10 of
those cases, doctors operated on the wrong body part or the wrong
patient or performed the wrong procedure. Surgical teams
accidentally left objects inside their patients 18 times.

TUALATIN, Ore. (AP) - A black bear that wandered onto a field
next to a Portland-area elementary school has been tranquilized and
removed. Students who arrived at Tualatin Elementary School before
classes were canceled due to the bear stayed indoors yesterday and
studied what a district spokeswoman called a "bear curriculum."
The bear was tranquilized and was to be relocated.

OREGON CITY, Ore. (AP) - A doctor has testified that an Oregon
couple charged with criminal mistreatment in their baby's medical
care told him they would not seek medical treatment for the child,
even if she faced death. Dr. Thomas Valvano is a pediatric child
abuse expert who testified yesterday in the trial of Timothy and
Rebecca Wyland. The couple's church relies on faith healing.
Valvano said the couple cited their religious convictions as the
reason for their stance.

SALEM, Ore. (AP) - Four state managers have been cleared of
wrongdoing in the handling of an Oregon Department of Energy
contract. State officials said yesterday that the four will not be
disciplined and should return to work today. The employees have
been on paid leave while the state investigated the $200,000
contract awarded to a Seattle firm.

GASTON, Ore. (AP) - Rural firefighters and concerned neighbors
have rescued an aged horse that got trapped in a muddy creek in a
Yamhill County pasture. Fire officials say neighbors and 10
firefighters wrapped fire hoses around the roughly 30-year-old
horse and pulled it to safety yesterday. They say a veterinarian
treating the horse on-scene was optimistic late last night that it
would survive.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - The State Board of Higher Education is
expected to approve tuition hikes tomorrow for Oregon's seven state
universities that average 7.5 percent for full-time undergraduates
who are state residents. The average annual cost of tuition and
fees will rise to more than $7,600.

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) - The Eugene School Board has voted down all
three proposals for Civic Stadium and will re-start in its search
for a buyer or tenant for the historic property. The proposals
included a shopping center development, new recreation center and
renovating the ballpark. The shopping center plan would have
brought the district the most money but was opposed by many
residents who want to save the stadium.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - The high level of the Columbia River has
forced the Navy to change plans for the Rose Festival fleet in
Portland. The Oregonian reports the destroyer Shoup won't fit under
the Steel Bridge, so it's being replaced by the frigate Ingraham,
which is about 20 feet shorter. Both vessels are based at Everett.

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

Taking a look at Coast Radio Sports…

For the 12th time in program history the Oregon State baseball team is in the post season. It’s the sixth postseason appearance for the Beavers in the last seven years and the third straight year. Oregon State will host one of 16 regional tournaments in the NCAA tournament, beginning with Georgia against Creighton tomorrow afternoon at one. Oregon State and Arkansas-Little Rock meet at six. The winner of the double-elimination tournament will advance to one of eight ‘super-regionals’ for a ‘best-of-three’ chance to advance to the College World Series in Omaha later this month.

Advance ticket sales have wrapped up for tomorrow night’s inaugural Viking Recognition and Sports Banquet at Siuslaw High School. $12 tickets for the Prime Rib dinner prepared by the Siuslaw Culinary Arts Program will be available at the Door. Coast Radio’s Sports Club, along with the Siuslaw Athletic Boosters will be honoring the Athletes of the Week from the past school year… and will announce the Athletes of the Year. Doors open at 6:30 in the mall at Siuslaw High School.