Changing the World…
A group of science students at Siuslaw Middle School have taken on a challenge. Their objective, says teacher Andy Marohl, is simple… they only have to change the world.
Andy Marohl – “Students had to come up with a topic that they could do, basically an experiment on to change the world. So the topic they chose was single-use plastic bags.”
Sponsored by the Siemens Corporation, the exercise challenges students to create an awareness campaign around an issue. Then, try to change behavior or attitudes. It started Friday with a school-wide assembly as 8th graders Celie Mans, Sean Burns and Nikki Lanius (LONN-ee-uss) talked about alternatives to the bags that never break down in the environment. With the help of local retailers, the three also made an offer.
Andy Marohl – “Kids will bring in single-use plastic bags and we’re going to give them reusable bags. We’re going to have a grade-level competition. And the, we’re also going to create a huge long chain of bags and see how much plastic we actually collect.”
The results of the exercise will be submitted for judging.
Andy Marohl – “The students can win a $10,000 savings bond, each one of the, plus a discovery trip to Alaska.”
Marohl says they send in their final application March 15th.
Lineman in Fair Condition
A lineman with Central Lincoln PUD was listed in Fair Condition with severe burns to both his hands Friday afternoon at Portland’s Legacy Emanuel Burn Center. The identity of the man, who works on a line crew based in Florence, was not released by PUD, citing privacy concerns. But the spokesperson did say the man had only been with the PUD a short time and had recently moved to Florence from out of state.
He was working on top of a pole in Northern Coos County Thursday afternoon when he came in contact with a 72-hundred volt line that left him hanging upside down by his safety harness. Other crew members were able to lower him to the ground where he was attended to by medics.
Confluence and Oysters
The annual Confluence Beer, wine, seafood and music festival gets underway this Friday afternoon in downtown Reedsport. And when it does, it will offer a wide variety of local fare in addition to the music. One centerpiece of the offerings, according to Dee Dee Murphey, will be local oysters grown near Winchester Bay. Murphey says they’re raised on ropes in the jetty triangle where the Umpqua River meets the Pacific Ocean, resulting in a ‘salty-sweet’ flavor that’s best served up raw. There will be several other food offerings this year as well as the festival moves from Gardiner to the Reedsport Community Center.
Taking a look at Coast Radio Sports…
The Douglas Trojans won the Far West Wrestling District Title in their own gym Saturday evening. The Trojans had 241 points to 213 for North Bend, 204 for Sutherlin. The Vikings were fourth with 171, but claimed district titles at two weight classes… the Tupua Brothers, Sonny at 220 and Peter at 285, brought home the hardware.
There were four second place finishes for the Vikings: Edwin Vasquez at 113; Hayden Miles at 152; Jesse Kuntz at 170 and Jacob Holloway at 285. Rounding out the eight finalists that will advance to the regional meet against the Skyline League this Saturday will be Luke Carroll, 3rd at 140; and Travis Dahlberg finished fourth, also at 140.
Far West Basketball
Ashley Cole sank a three-pointer late in the first quarter to give the Lady Vikings the lead, which they held on to for a 50-37 win over the North Bend Bulldogs Friday night. In other Far West contests, Brookings-Harbor fell to South Umpqua in overtime, 55-52 and Sutherlin remains undefeated with a 53-21 win over Douglas.
For the Boys, North Bend ran past the Siuslaw Vikings 74-47; Douglas fell to Sutherlin 61-27; and Brookings beat South Umpqua 59 – 52.