Burglary suspects arrested

Two men have been arrested and police say they recovered a large amount of stolen property and several firearms.


21-year old George Reagan McKenzie (bottom left)and 20-year old George Woodworth, both of Florence, are accused of breaking into a 24th Street home while the occupants were away on vacation. The victims returned home Wednesday after being gone for 2 ½ weeks to find their home had been forcibly entered and ransacked. In addition to missing firearms, TVs, jewelry and other household items, one of the family cars was gone.

Police officers canvassed the neighborhood and were able to glean some suspect information that ultimately led them to two other residences… one in Coast Village near the victims home; the other on Oak Street near 35th. The stolen car was also recovered where it had been abandoned near the North Jetty. Florence police say additional information gathered at the two homes led them to more property they believe may have been stolen from homes outside the Florence city limits. Oregon State Police and the Lane County Sherriff’s office have been notified and investigation will continue. McKenzie and Woodworth are on their way to the Lane County Jail where they await charges… McKenzie is facing 32; Woodworth 19. Bail has not been set.

Yesterday’s burglary arrests were the result of some good old fashioned investigation according to public officials. Assistant Florence City Manager Jacque Betz said after taking the initial report, police immediately began working leads on the case. Three officers, Sergeant Harry Johnson, Shawn Morgan and Gabe Glowacki, were able to get descriptions and plate numbers of the suspects vehicles. Armed with that information, communications officer Angie Brog (brogue) was able to track down registered owner information, including addresses of the suspects.

Owners of a dozen Florence businesses were recognized yesterday for completing a small business development program. James Burke with the Lane Community College Small Business Development program organized and coordinated the monthly classes that also featured several hours of individual counseling. Chad Bogart with Absolute Bookkeeping Service said the class changed his ideas on how to market his business. Another Chad, Clements, said dental school taught him how to be a clinician but didn’t really equip him to operate his own practice. He called the experience – quote – “invaluable”. Burke says they’re currently seeking applicants for the next series of classes. Information is available at the Florence Area Chamber of Commerce Visitor Center.

Here is the latest Oregon news from The Associated Press

AZALEA, Ore. (AP) - The Douglas County sheriff's office has
identified two Middletown, Calif., men killed in a small plane
crash near the southern Oregon town of Azalea. KDRV says the men
killed Sunday evening were 66-year-old Thomas Bradley and
64-year-old Bernd Steffan. They were in a lightweight,
single-engine plane that crashed into a blackberry patch near a
private airstrip.

ASTORIA, Ore. (AP) - Buildings burned on Astoria's historic
waterfront have drawn the attention of thieves who pilfer from the
charred remains of a landmark local café while pieces of the
buildings fall into the river. The Daily Astorian reports demolition of the properties have been held up since the fires in December due to foreclosure proceedings, but the property manager has scheduled demolition work to begin in August. Authorities labeled the fire suspicious, but no arrests have been made.

SALEM, Ore. (AP) - A pair of Salem teenagers entered guilty
pleas to charges of murder, attempted murder and robbery stemming
from an August stabbing at a convenience store. Nineteen-year-old
Andy Huerta and 16-year-old Martin Covarrubias-Rivera made their
pleas yesterday in Marion County Circuit Court. Police say the two
teenagers robbed a Circle K convenience store of beer on Aug. 29,
then stabbed 68-year-old Austreberto Morales and Robert Marsh.
Morales died of his injuries.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - The Portland City Council has approved an
ordinance banning most plastic shopping bags at major grocery
stores and certain big-box stores. The rule approved Thursday will
take effect Oct. 15 and is designed to curb pollution. Mayor Sam
Adams proposed the ban after this year's legislative session did
not enact statewide restrictions.

TORONTO (AP) - Rajai Davis hit a tiebreaking double in the
eighth inning and the Toronto Blue Jays handed the Seattle Mariners
their 12th consecutive loss, 7-5 yesterday. Miguel Olivo erased a
5-1 deficit by hitting Seattle's first grand slam of the season in
the top of the eighth inning, but the Mariners couldn't add on.
It's Seattle longest losing streak since dropping 12 in a row from
Sept. 11-22, 2008.

SACRAMENTO, California (AP) - A 23-year-old Northern California
man who pleaded guilty to searching women's Facebook pages for
clues that allowed him to take over their email accounts and then
made nude pictures of them public is expected to be sentenced
today. Prosecutors say George Bronk violated the online privacy of
women in Oregon and 16 other states.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - A financing plan for the proposed new
Columbia River bridge between Oregon and Washington took a hit this
week when the Oregon treasurer's office suggested the expected
revenue from tolls was overestimated by some 15 percent to 25
percent. The project is a 50-50 venture between Oregon and
Washington.

MANKATO, Minn. (AP) - Minnesota authorities say an Oregon man is
one of two motorcyclists killed when they were struck by a pickup
truck. The State Patrol says 61-year-old Robert Austin of Canby
died in the Crash Wednesday on Highway 14 west of North Mankato.
Troopers say the teenage driver of the pickup fell asleep at the
wheel and drifted over the center line. The State Patrol says he
may face criminal charges.

TORONTO (AP) - The Mariners recalled right-hander Josh Lueke
from Triple-A Tacoma before yesterday's 7-5 loss to the Toronto Blue
Jays and optioned infielder Kyle Seager to Triple-A. Lueke made his
major league debut with the Mariners in April, going 1-1 with a
17.05 in eight relief appearances. Seager also debuted this month.
He appeared in seven games for Seattle, hitting .136.
BREMERTON, Wash. (AP) - U.S. Open qualifier Beau Hossler of
Mission Viejo, Calif., beat Connor Black of Katy, Texas, 5 and 4 on
Thursday to advance to the quarterfinals of U.S. Junior Amateur
Golf Championship. Jordan Spieth of Dallas, who won the 2009 title,
also advanced with a 2 and 1 victory against Canada's Wilson
Bateman. Spieth will take on Andrew Whalen of Ephrata, Wash., who
beat Taylor Moore of Edmond, Okla., 1 up.


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

Taking a look at Coast Radio Sports…

The Eugene Emeralds chances of winning the first half of the Northwest League and nailing down an automatic spot in a league playoff at the end of the season are growing slimmer. The Ems fell to the Vancouver Canadians 2-1 last night in Eugene. It was Eugene’s seventh loss in the last nine games and leaves them just one game ahead of Vancouver with four games remaining until the midpoint. Neither team had a stellar night as they combined for just seven hits between them. Canucks pitcher Justin Nicolino struck out nine and walked one in five innings of work for the win.

The Three Rivers Sandblasters hit the diamond in Corvallis this afternoon at two against the Grants Pass Nuggets. The winner plays tomorrow at three in Corvallis; the loser at 11, in the Corvallis Super Regional. The double-elimination, four-team tournament runs through Sunday in Corvallis.


For Florence and the Central Oregon Coast…

Partly sunny today with a high near 63 degrees, along with a north northeast wind seven to 17 miles an hour gusting to 30 miles an hour.
Partly cloudy tonight, with some patchy fog late, and a low around 47.
For the weekend… mostly sunny and 67 tomorrow after some patch morning fog. More of the same Sunday.

Mostly cloudy with a chance of showers Monday, mostly cloudy Tuesday and then partly sunny by Wednesday.

The marine forecast is showing a north marine wind ten to 15 knots gusting to 25 knots later in the day… High tide was at 6:17 this morning… low tide at 12:09 this afternoon.