December 12, 2012
Relay Relocating…
After more than a decade at Miller Park, the annual Cancer Society Relay for Life will likely relocate next year. Event coordinator Karen Earnshaw says they’re seeking approval from the Siuslaw School District to hold the event at Hans Peterson Memorial Field.
Karen Earnshaw – “It is a much better location in that it is more in the open, it is not near, you know, residential so much.”
Neighborhood concerns aren’t the only reasons for the switch. Moving to the football field and high school track could signal a significant cost savings.
Karen Earnshaw – “We will more than likely not have to rent a stage which would be, you know, the majority of our costs to put on the event.”
Earnshaw says she has the support of school administrators. She’ll make a formal request in front of the school board this evening.
Karen Earnshaw – “We’ve gone over the plan and think that it will accommodate everything Relay for Life needs and we believe that we can do it and leave the track in as good if not better shape than when we found it.”
Next year’s Relay for Life is set for August 9th and 10th.
Strong odor leads to pot investigation
A Florence man is under investigation for unlawful possession and delivery of marijuana after police confiscated several dozen marijuana plants growing in his home over the weekend. Florence Police contacted Mark L. Stanchfield at his 18th street home Saturday after they received reports of a strong odor. Police Lieutenant John Pitcher says Stanchfield does have a valid Oregon Medical Marijuana card that allows him to possess a small amount of mature and immature plants. But, says Pitcher, there were more than four times the allowable number and the address was not registered as a valid “grow location” under state law.
Stanchfield is also under investigation following a similar encounter with Lane County Sheriff’s deputies in September at a residence on Lorane Highway southwest of Eugene. The Lane County District Attorney is handling both cases.
Average Price of Gas Continues to Drop
The average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline in Florence is at the lowest level so far this year. Prices ebbed by a nickel a gallon and are at $3.29 on average, the lowest price since Christmas of last year. Marie Dodds with Triple A says the statewide average also fell to the lowest point of the year, it’s at $3.37. Florence’s average price continues to track below the national average which is at $3.33. Dodds says motorists in Hawaii continue to pay the highest prices in the nation, at $4.01 a gallon on average. Missouri’s average price is the lowest at $3.03.
Lane Restrictions on 126
Drivers on Highway 126 east of Florence should expect delays today and tomorrow as a contractor works on a culvert repair project beneath the Cushman Railroad Bridge. Flaggers will confine travel to one lane in the area around the clock until noon tomorrow. Drivers should expect ten to 20 minute delays.