8 May 2014
Rhody Royalty Crowned
Queen Rhododendra Katrina Greenlief and King of the Coast Derek Kennedy will reign over the 107th annual Rhododendron Festival next week.
The pair were selected from a pool of five girls and five boys, all seniors at Siuslaw or Mapleton High Schools, last night during the Rhody Showcase at the Florence Events Center.
It was a standing room only crowd at the FEC for the ‘multi-media’ show.
Judging was based on participation in court events, pin sales and public speaking.
Queen Katrina is the daughter of James and Sandra Greenlief. She has played varsity volleyball throughout high school and says she loves performing music. She plans on attending the University of Great Falls in Montana and hopes to eventually return to Florence to teach.
King Derek is the youngest son of Kurt and Vickie Kennedy and is not the first Rhody Royalty in the family. His sister Emalee was Queen Rhododendra 104 in 2011. He’ll attend Willamette University in Salem where he’ll study history and theater arts.
Offshore Wind Project Wins Federal Funding
A Seattle company’s plan to build the west coast’s first offshore wind energy farm is one of three projects that will share a $47-million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy.
Principal Power wants to place a 30-megawatt pilot facility about 15 miles off the coast near Coos Bay. It would use floating wind turbines to generate power; then transmit that electricity to shore using undersea cables.
Though offshore wind farms are expensive, proponents say they could bring clean, efficient electricity, create jobs and stimulate the economy.
Opponents are concerned about impacts on wildlife and commercial fishing.
Kelp Examinations Show No Radioactivity
There’s no sign of radiation contamination in seaweed off the west coast of the United States. That’s according to scientists who have been collecting kelp over the past three years following the Japanese nuclear disaster.
Steven Manley, a marine biology professor at Cal State Long Beach, says the lack of any radioactivity should reassure people that the coastline is safe.
In 2011, a magnitude-9 earthquake rocked Japan, crippling the Fukushima nuclear plant and leaking radiation into the Pacific.
Kelp acts like a sponge, says Manley, absorbing different materials. But, a study of kelp samples from Alaska to Baja California earlier this year did not turn up any traces of radioactive material.
Researchers say they will repeat the sampling twice more this year.
Yard Debris Cleanup
If you’re cleaning up the yard in preparation for Rhody Days and the summer season, you’ll likely wind up with a pile of limbs, branches and other woody debris.
If you live outside the city of Florence, you can burn it. But that can foul the air and annoy the neighbors.
If you live inside city limits, you can’t burn it at all, but you could shred it, compost it and put it back into the soil.
Or, you could let someone else do that for you.
The City of Florence Public Works Department will be collecting yard debris once again this weekend at the north end of the airport.
There’s a charge, ranging from ten to 20-dollars based on the size of the load. And all loads must be tied, tarped, or otherwise secured.
Enter through 27th Street at Kingwood between nine AM and 2 PM Saturday.
