1 May 2014
Enjoy it while you can…
Temperatures along the coast today are expected to be about 30-degrees cooler than yesterday. That’s when highs reached well into the 90s.
Florence was one of the hottest places in the state with an official high temperature of 91 degrees. Temperatures remained in the 80s well into the evening hours before dropping only slightly overnight.
By comparison, yesterday’s high in Eugene was only 82-degrees.
The heat was facilitated by a high pressure ridge that camped out over the central coast beginning Tuesday. Forecasters say it will likely “rapidly dissipate” today, bringing cooler and moister air on shore.
Things will likely remain warm in the coast range and the Willamette Valley, but by the end of today the National Weather Service is predicting more clouds and cooler temperatures.
Volunteers Sought for Oregon Dunes Triathlon
The second running, biking and swimming of the Oregon Dunes Triathlon is just over a week away. Dunes City Administrator Fred Hilden said entries are ahead of where they were last year at this time.
Fred Hilden – “Last year we had 53 participants, this year we have 157. So we’re at three times the number of registered participants.”
Hilden came into this second year with high expectations, but so far things are better than he hoped.
Fred Hilden – “Exceeding my expectations to a certain degree. It seems like there’s more interest out there. There’s a wider spread interest in doing this kind of event it doesn’t seem to matter who we talk to about the event.”
The May tenth triathlon starts at East Woahink Day Use area and ends on the dunes at Honeyman State Park. In between entrants will swim 1500 meters; bike 40 kilometers and finish with a ten-k run. Hilden says volunteers are still needed for many positions. You can find more information and even sign up at Oregon-dunes-triathlon-dot-com.
Summer Time Driving Costs
The national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline held steady this past week at $3.69. At the same time, the statewide average, as measured by Triple-A, increased by three cents to $3.88.
In Florence, the average price jumped by a nickel in the past week to $3.77 a gallon.
That’s 27 cents higher than it was at this time last year, but within days of the First of May, prices had jumped by about 30-cents on average and held steady until late June. Prices eroded slowly over the summer before reaching a late-fall low near $3.30 a gallon.
Home Repairs Now Can Save Money in the Future
Spring and nice weather often signals a return to working outdoors, getting the lawn and landscaping into order.
But it’s also a very good time to take care of some of those home maintenance issues that could wind up costing you big time later.
Karl Newman with the Northwest Insurance Council says those can lead to expensive repairs that are not covered by your homeowners insurance.
Newman says homeowners policies are designed to protect you from sudden and accidental losses like a fire, a windstorm or theft.
Water damage from a leaky roof that started with loose shingles; or settling of the home that started with a cracked foundation aren’t going to be covered.
Newman says the best thing you can do is talk to your homeowners insurance agent about what is and what is not covered… and take care of those small problems now before they can grow into something too large for you to handle.
