Wings and Wheels adds rides to July 2nd show
Two new enhancements will grace the annual Wings and Wheels car and airplane show set for the Florence Airport in July.
One will be the appearance of a restored World War II war bird, a P-51 from the Erickson Air Museum in Madras, Oregon. It will be offering rides throughout the day July 2nd.
Wings and Wheels chairman Mike Groshong called it a “great addition” to the annual show, adding the P-51 will enhance the air operations that day. Prices for rides in the P-51 haven’t been announced, but show organizers will be selling raffle tickets for $5 each with one lucky winner getting a ride.
The second enhancement includes rides also. Members of the Oregon Central Coast Military Vehicle Group have been displaying their restored vehicles at the show each year. This year they’ll form a convoy and provide rides around the show grounds.
The annual event features a hundred hot rods and vintage vehicles, emergency apparatus, radio controlled aircraft demonstrations… and of course food. It’s set for Saturday, July 2nd at the Florence Municipal Airport.
Logging plan draws fire from all sides
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management released a long-awaited plan this week for managing roughly 2.5-million acres of federal forest land in Western Oregon. The agency has spent years working on revising the 1995 Northwest Forest Plan in order to strike a balance between the interests of the timber industry and environmentalists.
It must have accomplished that because almost immediately the plan drew fire from both sides.
Environmental groups say the logging level is too high and takes away crucial protections for wildlife and waterways.
Timber industry representatives said it doesn’t go far enough to restore forest health and positively impact the economy.
Criticism came from a third source: Oregon counties that receive a portion of the revenue from the timber sales say they will sue the BLM over inadequate levels.
Firefighters urge you to call 911 first
Fire heavily damaged the interior of a home Monday in Florence. Siuslaw Valley Fire Operations Chief Marvin Tipler said the occupant of the home at 2085 19th Street called the business line at the fire station to report that she had been away from home for a couple of hours and came home to find a small electrical fire smoldering in the bedroom. Tipler said it was more than just an electrical fire. It had already consumed many of the contents of the room, blackening one bedroom and filling the rest of the house with smoke.
Marvin Tipler – “She was very fortunate, yeah. It was a fire that was starved for oxygen and obviously it had sat there long enough that it had cooled down long enough that it didn’t backdraft on her, or flash over on her when she opened the door.”
Patricia Annin, along with a neighbor, were able to extinguish what fire remained by the time firefighters arrived.
Marvin Tipler – “We asked her why she didn’t call 911 and she just said she didn’t think about it at the time. She just wanted to get her house, you the fire, extinguished. And, the same with the young man that actually extinguished it. He said I didn’t think about calling 911, I just thought about putting the fire out.”
Tipler said the home and contents sustained an estimated $20-thousand in damage and is uninhabitable. Annin, along with two children aged 11 and 13 are being assisted by the Red Cross.
Thinking before she dances
The 7-foot long sea lions that were on display last week at the Florence Events Center are headed out to the community this week. By Friday, all 20 of them will be in position where they’ll remain until October.
One of those is called “Gifts of the Sea”. It was designed and created by Kim Pickell, the art teacher at Siuslaw High School. She had already sketched out the initial design before what she called the “mammoth white sculpture” was delivered to her home. Pickell told students on KCST’s Viking Hour this week she still had to think for a while before actually beginning work.
Kim Pickell – “There was probably a week, a week and a half that I just let it sit and looked at it every day; because I was kind of nervous about getting going. But, by the time I was done, oh gosh, I don’t know how many hours I put into it. Really a lot.”
If you want to view “Gifts of the Sea” you’ll have to travel to Newport. It is underwritten by Umpqua Bank and it will be on display at the Newport Performing Arts Center.
Annual Greener Florence Awards
Nominations for the 2016 Greener Florence Awards are due next week. Florence Planning Director Wendy Farley Campbell says the city wants to support and recognize those businesses and organizations “giving that little extra effort” to reduce, reuse, recycle or compost.
Nomination forms are on the city’s website under the “leadership-boards and commissions” tab.
Farley Campbell says businesses and service organizations anywhere in the area are eligible.
Nomination forms are due at City Hall no later than close of business April 20th. Winners will be announced next month.
Gas prices creep through $2 mark
After remaining below two dollars since mid-January, the average cash price for a gallon of regular gasoline in Florence has now risen above that mark.
Today’s average cash price is $2.01 a gallon, up two cents.
Nationally, drivers are paying on average $2.08 a gallon according to Triple-A. That’s up three cents.
The Oregon average price increased a penny in the past week… it’s at $2.19 a gallon.