3 July 2013
Sacrifice for the Community… Our Town this afternoon
It’s easy to volunteer and get involved in the community when all you have to give up is your time.
But for 19 wildland firefighters and their families in Arizona, they gave up much more than their time this week.
Several members of the firefighting community in the Florence area said they cried when they heard the news about the deaths Sunday afternoon of 19 members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots in Yarnell, Arizona.
One of those who cried was Dave Beck. He has more than three-decades of experience fighting forest fires in the west… most of that with the U.S. Forest Service but also as a volunteer with Siuslaw Valley Fire.
Beck will talk about his feelings, and the feelings of others who felt the impact of what has become the largest wildland tragedy in the U.S. since the 1930s. That’s this afternoon on KCST’s Our Town from four to six pm. The program will also include conversations with others in the community who routinely get involved in one way or another, including 13 year old Kaylee Graham who is organizing her third annual “Power of Florence” day of volunteering that is coming up July 20th.
Fire Leaves Two Homeless
The home and everything in it was a total loss, but Steven Scott and his grandmother, 81-year old Katherine Nixon, were relatively unharmed after fire tore through a Highway 126 home early yesterday morning.
Siuslaw Valley Fire Chief John Buchanan said the fire, eight miles east of Florence, started shortly after midnight Monday when Nixon, who requires oxygen, lit a cigarette. The spark ignited the tubing on her bed and, fed by the oxygen, spread quickly.
She called for help and Scott carried her out of the house and called 911.
Buchanan said by the time crews arrived a few minutes later, flames were shooting from every window and doorway in the concrete block home.
Nixon was slightly injured by the flames and was treated at the scene by medics. The Red Cross responded and was assisting the grandmother and grandson.
Fill Up Before Leaving Florence
The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline fell by six cents in Florence this past week. It’s now at $3.63… 13 cents less than the Oregon statewide average as measured by Triple-A.
The nationwide average price dropped by 7 cents this past week and stands today at $3.48.
Marie Dodds with Triple A says prices overall have come down over the past two weeks… just in time for one of the largest driving holiday weekend of the year.
Travelers headed to other parts of Oregon this weekend may want to fill up before heading out. The average price in Portland is $3.76… in Eugene and Bend it’s $3.72… and in Medford and Ashland the average price is $3.74.
Ducks, Watermelon and Fireworks
It’s time for the Fourth in Florence. Fundraising efforts are still underway for the community fireworks display, but the rockets-red-glare and the bombs-bursting-in-air will be fired from the barge in the middle of the Siuslaw River at ten PM tomorrow night.
That will be capstone on a day of festivities… mostly in Historic Old Town Florence… for the holiday.
At noon, an estimated 2,000 rubber ducks will splash down in the middle of the Siuslaw River and head for the finish line in the Kiwanis Great American Duck Race. 28 winners will come away with prizes in the event that benefits scholarships and community activities.
The Chamber of Commerce and Old Town Merchants will host the annual watermelon and pie eating contests again this year. They’ll be at a new location this year… in front of the Silver Sand Dollar next to BJ’s Ice Cream. Registration begins at 12:30.
