Power of Florence pulls it off; Dunes City tentatively agrees to waive building permit fees

Power of Florence pulls it off…

Weeds were pulled, hot dogs were sold, pets were groomed, and a lot of cars were washed. The first ever Power of Florence, a day in which everyone was encouraged to volunteer to do something for someone, was a huge success. The day was the brain-child of 11-year old Kaylee Graham who suggested it earlier this year, then embarked on a several months-long mission to spread the word and get as many people as possible involved. Two of the events involved sprucing up city parks. City officials and volunteers converged on the 18th Street Pocket Park and the Rolling Dunes park on 35th street to pull weeds and spread bark. Similar activities were conducted along 9th street where volunteers pulled scotch broom; and weeds were pulled at Siuslaw Elementary School. Nearly a dozen events took place at the Grocery Outlet Parking lot including five separate activities on behalf of the Florence Area Humane Society. One of the physically largest projects was organized by Citizens Democracy Watch of Florence… they conducted a cleanup of a six-mile long stretch of Highway 126. In the ‘small but mighty’ category, five-year old Mo Wondra sold lemonade for about two hours on Bay Street and despite the cool and cloudy weather raised nearly $900 dollars for the Trevor Denning Fund. Denning is the Florence teen who was paralyzed following an ATV crash last month.

Dunes City officials agreed last week to forego collection of building permit fees for a remodel and construction project aimed at making the home of Trevor Denning wheel chair accessible. The approval was tentative and informal however, because the matter wasn’t on the official agenda for the meeting. Denning was injured in an ATV crash last month, suffering a spinal injury that left him paralyzed from the waist down. A group of volunteers want to remodel his family’s home and build an addition to accommodate his life in a wheel chair. They asked Dunes City to waive building permit fees for the project. The Dunes City Council met Thursday night and a majority of the council supported the plan. They’ll have it on their agenda in August for final and formal approval.

The Florence City Council will evaluate the job performance of the municipal judge this evening. A special executive session of the council is set for 6:30 this evening when they’ll hold the annual assessment of Judge Rick Brissendon. Later, during the public portion of the meeting they’ll decide any possible changes to his employment contract. Also on tap for the council this evening, awarding a contract for the second phase of a sewer extension project from 22nd street to 43rd along Oak.

Here is the latest Oregon news from The Associated Press

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) - A 20-year-old Eugene man has surrendered
after a 4-hour standoff with police. The Eugene Register-Guard
reports Derek Chin was arrested Saturday following the standoff
which began after he allegedly assaulted his girlfriend. Police
spokeswoman Melinda McLaughlin says Chin had access to a shotgun
inside his apartment and had threatened to harm himself.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - The Oregon State Medical Examiner's office
says it will study Monday the human remains found in a heavily
forested Portland butte over the weekend. The remains are thought
to be that of missing Portland girl Yashanee Vaughn, who was last
seen March 19. A 16-year-old boyfriend has been charged with murder
in her death. Authorities allege Parrish Bennette Jr. fatally shot
14-year-old Vaughn and then hid her body. She was reported missing
by her mother in March.

SALEM, Ore. (AP) - The two top state workers' unions in Oregon
are set to hold a second joint bargaining session Monday with
representatives of Gov. John Kitzhaber. They're hoping to break a
deadlock about furloughs, health care and pay increases. The
Statesman Journal says Kitzhaber wants state employees to pay 5
percent of their health care premiums as part of the new contract
for the 2011-13 biennium.

SALEM, Ore. (AP) - The ousted attorneys of an Oregon death row
inmate have asked the state Supreme Court to overrule a judge's
order that they no longer represent their client. Twice-convicted
murderer Gary Haugen tells The Salem Statesman Journal that his
attorneys lied to the presiding judge during Thursday's hearing
when they said they wouldn't issue more filings in the case. Haugen
has asked to die, but his attorneys have so far prevented his
execution.

AZALEA, Ore. (AP) - Federal authorities are investigating a
fatal plane crash in Douglas County. Sheriff's deputies say the
crash last night killed two men from California who were in a
lightweight, single-engine plane that left a private airstrip in
Azalea. The plane crashed about 200 yards from the runway, shortly
after takeoff. The cause of the crash is under investigation by
federal officials

SEATTLE (AP) - Matt Harrison continued Texas' nearly perfect
pitching, allowing just one run in 7-and-two-thirds innings, Mitch
Moreland hit a three-run homer and the Rangers won their 11th game
in a row with a 3-1 victory over the Seattle Mariners yesterday.
The Rangers' winning streak is the longest in baseball since
Philadelphia's 11-game streak last September. The Mariners have
lost nine in a row.

MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) - Authorities say an Ashland man found on the
roof of a police substation was trying to break in. The Medford
Mail Tribune reports 32-year-old Michael Martin faces burglary,
trespassing and criminal mischief charges after police found him
early Saturday morning. Deputy Medford Police Chief Corey Falls
says the office has nothing of value inside.

WASHINGTON (AP) - An Oregon congressman is among 10 Democrats up for re-election in 2012 who are targeted by ads paid for by a conservative group linked with Republican strategist Karl Rove. The Crossroads GPS ads target Kurt Schrader and the other Democrats on tax and spending issues.

BEND, Ore. (AP) - A Bend veterinarian has performed life-saving
CPR on an injured bald eagle that was under anesthesia during
physical therapy. The eagle nicknamed "Patriot" was found in June
suffering, among other injuries, a dislocated shoulder and
paralyzed right leg. If the bird's foot doesn't improve in the next
three weeks, veterinarian Jeff Cooney says he could be forced to
euthanize him

MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) - The number of staffed forest fire lookouts
keeps dwindling in Oregon, Washington and California as technology
replaces human eyes. The Medford Mail Tribune reports that of
Oregon's 1,000 lookout sites, fewer than 20 percent have structures
and 106 are staffed. The number is smaller in Washington state
where only 30 lookouts are staffed. California has 50 staffed
lookouts out of nearly 200 buildings available.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Japan's victory over the USA in the
Women's World Cup final yesterday certainly didn't dampen the pride
that the University of Portland has for the women's national team
-- particularly former Pilots Megan Rapinoe and Stephanie Cox. Both
were on the Pilots team that won the NCAA championship in 2005.
About 100 people joined the Pilots on campus to watch the match,
while another booster viewing party was held at a pub in Portland.

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

Taking a look at Coast Radio Sports…

After dominating the first 30-days of play in the Northwest League the Eugene Emeralds have fallen on hard times. But they still hold the best record in the league at 22-8; three games ahead of the Vancouver Canadians. The Ems have lost four of their last five games. They started the weekend with a 4-3 win over the Tri-City Dust Devils, but then fell twice more, 1-3 Saturday, and 1-4 Sunday afternoon. The Ems continue their road trip today when they begin the first half of a split series against Vancouver.

Post season play for the Three Rivers Sandblasters is in doubt once again despite winning two of three games over the weekend. It appeared last week that they would finish no lower than 5th place in Zone III play because of roster enrollment violations by Salem’s Post 9. The Highwaymen appealed to the national American Legion Baseball authorities and were successful in reversing an earlier ruling at the state level. That means Post-9 is back in the hunt. The ‘Blasters were on the diamond at home Friday where they downed the Albany Rockets 9-6. Three Rivers then split a pair of games against the Withnell Dodgers Saturday, winning the opener 14-8 and losing the nightcap 9-5.

The Sandblasters had four victories taken away from them last week because they used an ineligible player. They’re now at two-and-ten on the season in sixth place. They’re scheduled for a makeup game at home this afternoon against Corvallis.


For Florence and the Central Oregon Coast

Mostly cloudy skies again today, along with a chance of showers and a high near 65 degrees.

Cloudy skies continue overnight along with a 40-percent chance of showers and thunderstorms… tonight’s low around 53.

Tomorrow… a 20-percent chance of morning showers along with cloudy skies and gradual clearing through the day… a high near 62 degrees.

Mostly cloudy skies with a chance of rain or drizzle on Wednesday, partly sunny with a chance of showers Thursday, then partly sunny with a chance of drizzle on Friday.

The marine forecast is calling for a north marine wind five to ten knots rising to ten or 15 knots and gusting to 20 today…. Then becoming north at ten to 15 knots after midnight. Low tide… 9:51 this morning. High tide at 4:14 this afternoon.