Area Mayors Wager on Duathlon

13 April 2015

Oregon Dunes Triathlon Spurs Municipal Competition

The two local mayors are squaring off in a competition related to next month’s Oregon Dunes Triathlon… but they won’t actually be doing the competing themselves.

Representatives from the City of Florence and Dunes City will be entered in the duathlon portion of the competition May 9^th. Councilors Duke Wells and Maury Sanders will uphold the honor of Dunes City; while City Manager Erin Reynolds and city councilor Suzy Lacer will complete for Florence. But Joe Henry and Rebecca Ruede have bragging rights, and a little something extra on the line. The Mayor of the losing city’s team will perform four hours of community service in the city of the winner.

The Oregon Dunes Duathlon and Triathlon will run Saturday, May 9^th. It begins at the East Woahink Day Use area at Honeyman Park where contestants will swim a course on the lake. The next leg includes a bicycle ride on Canary and Clear Lake Roads; then the race wraps up with a run through Honeyman State Park. It’s expected to bring hundreds of competitors to the area for the third straight year.

Turner still on track to become Florence Police Chief

The pre-employment process is still under way, but Lane County Sheriff Tom Turner is expected to start work as Florence’s chief of police by May 1^st.

Florence City Manager Erin Reynolds said Friday there are still a few steps that need to be completed, but she expects they’ll be finalized this week. Once a contract is signed, Turner will be cleared and ready to go. She said it’s expected he’ll take his oath of office on Monday, May4th at the City Council meeting.

Interim Chief Lynn Lamm, who has been filling in since the retirement of Ray Gutierrez last year, will leave his post by April 15th.

Bank offers help in disposing of sensitive financial papers

Now that your taxes are almost done, you can think about getting rid of some of that excess financial paperwork. Oregon Pacific Bank will help out with that as they have for the past seven years.

This Saturday, between 11 and 2, or until the truck is filled up, OPB will be accepting confidential paper materials in their parking lot. The papers will be dumped into a huge truck where it will be shredded on site.

Bank spokesperson Ellen Huntingdon says it’s a very good way to help deter identity theft and to properly dispose of paper waste. Huntingdon added all of the paper will be recycled.

The Oregon Pacific Bank Relay for Life Team will be on hand during the event, washing cars as a fund raiser for their team.

Hundreds of thousands of Velella, also known as "Sailors" and similar to these have washed up on Oregon beaches in the past few weeks. (Photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons) — Hundreds of thousands of Velella, also known as “Sailors” and similar to these have washed up on Oregon beaches in the past few weeks. (Photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons)

Velella die-off considered normal

Thousands of sailors are washing up on Oregon beaches this week, leaving a smelly mess behind them.

Velella Velella, also called “wind” or “purple” sailors, are a cousin to jelly fish. They’re about an inch and a half long and typically live in the open ocean, feeding off microscopic creatures. They’re called “sailors” because of the distinctive sail on the ridge of their back that catches the wind and propels them.

When warmer water moves closer to shore it can bring the velella with them. The west wind can then drive them to shore where they die and begin to decompose.

Drifts of the smelly purple creatures have been showing up on area beaches again over the past couple of weeks.

Biologists say it’s a fairly natural phenomenon.