Arson and burglary charges filed in March 3rd fire
Florence Police arrested two men over the weekend wanted in connection with a house fire in Florence.
37-year old James Luis Main and an unnamed 17-year old male juvenile were taken into custody Saturday evening by officers in Florence. They’re facing charges of first degree arson and burglary in a fire that destroyed a 112 year old home on Second Street in Old Town Florence March 3rd.
Surveillance photos of the pair, taken at a convenience store, were released late Friday afternoon, along with a plea for assistance from authorities.
Police said they received “overwhelming support” from the public in identifying the two.
Nobody was at home during the fire last week; no injuries were reported.
Weekend storm brings scattered power outages
Utility crews spent the overnight hours of Saturday and much of the day yesterday dealing with scattered power outages throughout the central Oregon Coast after a strong, but brief storm swept through the area.
Central Lincoln PUD said outages were reported in several areas of Reedsport, North Coos County, Mapleton and South of the Siuslaw River in Florence yesterday.
By midday, nearly all had been reconnected.
According to the Central Lincoln Twitter Feed, power to the Dunes City and Westlake Area had to be “re-routed” due to line damage.
The most persistent outages were from Winchester Bay and south to North Bend where crews spent most of the day reconnecting and repairing.
Highway 36 to be closed most of the week
Highway 36, two miles west of Triangle Lake is expected to remain closed for three to five days as transportation crews work on clearing a slide that came down yesterday.
Angela Beers Seydel with the Oregon Department of Transportation says it’s estimated that somewhere between 100 and 300 cubic yards of rock, dirt and 100-foot tall trees blocked the roadway yesterday just before noon.
Beers Seydel said there are no local detours and message boards have been posted in Mapleton, Veneta and Cheshire.
The Blachly School District said classes at Triangle Lake Schools will go on as scheduled, but buses will not run west of Triangle Lake.
Committing memories to paper
A class on how to write a memoir will be presented this week by the Florence Regional Arts Alliance. Presented by award-winning journalist Catherine J. Rourke, “Memoir Writing: From Real Life to Real Story” will be offered Saturday from ten a.m. to noon at the FRAA (fraw)Art Center, 120 Maple Street, in Old Town.
Rourke said writing can open “doorways to the emotions and imaginations”. She will show participants how to convert memories and anecdotes to paper.
Class space is limited. The cost is $20 for FRAA members or $25 for those who are not.
A link to more information can be found at www.kcst.com .
Jordan Cove denied by Feds
Federal regulators have denied a permit for a liquefied natural gas terminal in Coos Bay. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued the 25-page ruling Friday, saying the Jordan Cove Energy Project would adversely impact landowners. The ruling also says there’s little evidence to support the need for a pipeline. The 230-mile pipeline route from the farming town of Malin, just north of the California border in Klamath County, to Coos Bay has been opposed by private landowners and conservation groups. It crosses rivers, mountain ranges and a mix of private and public lands.