What to do and how to pay for it?
The State of Oregon is offering to give away a Japanese dock that washed up on a beach near Newport last week. The only problem is that it could be less expensive to dismantle it and haul it away to a landfill. Oregon Parks and Recreation Safety Manager David Solomon said his agency received bids for both options last week and disposal turned out to be quite a bit less than towing it off the beach whole. Bids for either method have been quite high, he said, running into the tens of thousands of dollars. The state will be accepting bids… and ideas… through Wednesday on the best and least expensive way to remove the 66-foot long, seven-foot high concrete and steel structure that was ripped loose in last year’s Japanese tsunami.
The dilemma posed by the dock highlights the lack of a plan by officials on how to handle the rubble as it floats to American shores. The Japanese government estimates there could be as much as 1.5-million tons of debris floating around. Some U.S. experts think the bulk of it will never reach shore. But many of those same experts also said none of it would reach the U.S. before the end of this year.
In the past week, in addition to the dock, there have been several other items traced to the tsunami showing up along the Oregon Coast, including several metal floats found along the beach in the Florence area.
Funding Proposals for Siuslaw Sports
School administrators have developed three proposals for consideration by the School Board this week on how to fund sports at Siuslaw High School and Middle School. The board has grappled over the past few weeks on how best to spread a limited amount of funding over several different programs. Superintendent Jeff Davis has developed three options for consideration. All would restore funding for sports in the Middle School… something that has not been done for the past three years.
They would also fund all varsity high school sports equally, but not completely. Option #1 would use the amount already approved by the budget committee, but would require outside fundraising in the amount of $44-thousand. A second option would cost the district an additional $44-thousand… and require fundraising of $55-thousand. The third and final option would cost the district $225-thousand… 19-thousand less than already approved. But, it would also require outside fundraising of more than $58-thousand… nearly double what the Siuslaw Athletic Boosters provided this year.
The school board meets Wednesday evening, 6:30.
Port Commissioner Passes Away
She had only been on the Port of Siuslaw Commission a little over two years, but in that time Sally Owens earned a reputation as being a knowledgeable and active member of the panel. The lifelong resident of the Deadwood area passed away June 6th at the age of 63 after suffering with a longtime illness. Owens was originally appointed to a vacancy on the Commission in March 2010, then was elected to a four-year term last spring.
