Batten down the hatches…
High winds and heavy rains are expected in the next 24 hours or so along the central Oregon Coast. The strongest winds are forecast to arrive late this evening and may be accompanied by as much as four inches of rain between now and late Wednesday.
The National Weather Service is predicting a heavy storm to hit
the Oregon Coast tonight.
Sustained winds of 25 to 35 miles an hour with gusts to 55 miles an hour are expected tonight and early tomorrow.
One to two inches of rain are expected tonight, with another one to two inches possible by day end Wednesday.
Marine winds are expected to reach 55 knot gusts… that’s more than 65 miles an hour… overnight and early tomorrow morning.
Forecasters are also saying the heavy rains could produce flooding in low lying areas and they’ve issued a Flood Watch for many areas in the Coast Range and along the Oregon Coast.
Elmira man and toddler son lost at sea
The search for a 31-year old Elmira man and his 3-year old toddler son was suspended just before noon yesterday.
The U.S. Coast Guard had been conducting an aerial search for Jayson Dean Thomas and the boy since Sunday afternoon. That’s when the two were swept to sea by a high wave.
They had been walking along the steep beach about two miles north of Cape Blanco with the boy’s mother and Thomas’ wife.
Helicopter crews and search boats searched from the sea and state troopers on all-terrain vehicles searched the beach Sunday, and found only the man’s jacket and a child carrier he was wearing.
Future First Nominees
Five students at Siuslaw High School will be recognized during the annual Siuslaw Business Awards banquet coming up February 8th. One of them will be singled out and named as Florence’s Future First Citizen.
Ben Cahoon has played a prominent role in the arts in the community; Celie Mans is a state championship athlete and mentors younger students; Elyssa Rose is also an all-state athlete and coaches younger kids; Destinie Tatum, another state championship athlete has organized food and blood drives at her school; and Claire Waggoner organized an assembly honoring military veterans in November.
All five have many other accomplishments.
Florence’s First Citizen will be honored February 8th as well as several other recipients of awards sponsored by the Florence Area Chamber of Commerce.
Coast Guard Change of Watch
Speaking of honors, several local members of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary were singled out last week during a “change of watch” ceremony in Florence. The occasion was the annual meeting of the Auxiliary Division Five which covers the Oregon Coast from Brookings to Newport.
Flotilla 52 is made up of primarily Florence and Eugene area residents who work side by side with active duty Coast Guard personnel. That organization recently completed 50-years of service.
Deborah Heidt Cordone (kor-DOE-nay) was recognized for her “extensive work” as the Auxiliary Public Affairs Officer. She received the Division Five Auxiliarist of the year award. Jonathan Yoder said her efforts are helping to establish the City of Florence as an official “Coast Guard City”. Final confirmation of that is expected later this year. Brad Hooper of Florence was sworn in as Flotilla 52 Commander, relieving Dale Yellin of Grants Pass.
State of the Port
Port of Siuslaw President Ron Caputo will deliver the “State of the Port” address Wednesday night during the regular monthly meeting of the Port Commission.
Ron Caputo – “The State of the Port is a very short statement of how I feel the port is doing. As far as I can tell the Port’s doing very well.”
Caputo says many of the Port of Siuslaw successes in the past year came following the hiring of Stephen Leskin early last year as the manager. Some of the things he implemented have had a positive impact.
Ron Caputo – “The Wind Fest was very good. There’s a few things he did that were kind of stand out and I’m going to mention some of them.”
The Port of Siuslaw Commission meets in the Port’s Conference Room at the RV Park and Marina Wednesday night at seven pm.
