7 May 2013
Sense of the Common Variety…
When firefighters arrived on the scene of what they were told was a house fire south of Florence early Saturday morning the scene was confusion. Danny Keevy of Drain, along with a friend and the friend’s son were planning on beginning to remodel a vacant house across from Foglio Trucking just off Highway 101.
It was six AM so the friend’s son built a warming fire in the carport. It quickly spread so the friend used an excavator to knock down the carport and try to pull it away from the house. That just made it worse according to Siuslaw Valley Fire Marshall Sean Barrett.
But that wasn’t all. Barrett said as firefighters arrived the blaze spread to a 120-foot Douglas fir. So, the equipment operator grabbed his power saw and cut the flaming tree down on top of the house.
Barrett said firefighters weren’t sure what they were facing when they initially arrived, but quickly figured it out… even if it was too late to save the structure valued at $38-thousand. The names of the excavator operator and his son were not available.
Hot and dry weather raised fire danger
Wildfire managers in the region and across the state had their hands full with hot and dry weather this past weekend.
Locally, a small blaze of about 500 square feet didn’t cause any damage, but firefighters say it had the potential to be worse. It was reported Saturday morning just after 11 on Oak Street near the Sandpines Golf maintenance shop. Investigators say it was definitely man-caused.
Mary Ellen Holley with the “Keep Oregon Green Association” said wildfire prevention is an individual responsibility. She pointed out that if you don’t take precautions and a fire gets out of hand… you could be charged for the cost of extinguishing the blaze.
Local officials point out that while open burning in the rest of Lane County has been shut down, it is still an option in Dunes City and unincorporated areas of Western Lane County between ten am and four pm only.
Two-fer tonight at City Hall
Residents will have a chance to have their voices heard by two public bodies at the same time this evening in Florence. A rare joint meeting of the Florence and Lane County Planning Commissions will be held to take testimony on proposed amendments to Florence’s Comprehensive Plan.
Those changes are designed to help implement suggestions made by the Siuslaw Watershed Partnership after a four year process. The end result will be additional protections for riparian areas, wetlands and the aquifer in general.
Changes to Florence’s Comp-Plan must be approved by both the county and the city planning commissions so officials teamed up to hold one hearing this evening, seven pm at City Hall.
Those changes must also be approved by the City Council and the County Board of Commissioners… that hearing will come at a later date.
Check the back of that ballot
The official count was 209,834. That’s how many ballots were mailed out in Lane County last week.
County Clerk and Elections Supervisor Cheryl Betschart said yesterday voters need to remember to turn their ballot over and check the back before returning it. Once it’s been returned, it can’t be amended or recast.
Betschart also said if you have not received a ballot for the May 21st election, but believe that you should have, you can go to www.oregonvotes.gov to check your registration status… or call the Lane County Elections office in Eugene.
