Eugene girl dies on Coos County Beach
A spring break getaway turned to tragedy Saturday afternoon near Bandon when a log, moved by a strong outgoing tide, rolled over a 14-year old Eugene girl and killed her.
Oregon State Police said the girl, Aurora Genai Sheffel, and several friends were standing on the log at about four pm. The others managed to get away, but Sheffel did not and was pinned beneath the log. It took several attempts for nearby people to get her out. A Bandon Police officer and paramedics attempted life-saving measures but were unsuccessful.
Officials with Oregon State Parks and Recreation say the death is just one more reminder the ocean is very powerful and can move large logs easily.
Handguns stolen in “smash and grab” burglary
A half-dozen handguns were stolen early Thursday morning from the Sportsman on Highway 101. The thief gained entry to the store using brute force according to Florence Police Commander John Pitcher who said they threw a cinder block through a side window.
John Pitcher – “The alarm had gone off, but the alarm company contacts the owner directly and the owner can choose to contact us or go down directly and check, and that’s what happened in this case.”
Store owner Bill Pinkney said he was there within five minutes but the thief was long gone. Even if authorities had been directly notified, it’s not likely they would have been able to make a difference. Six handguns were reported stolen. A .38 and a .40 caliber, plus four nine millimeters. Pitcher, the police commander, said he’s confident they’ll make headway.
John Pitcher – “I hope so. We’re investigating. We followed up on a couple of leads so far and we’ll see where those take us. I’m hoping we’re able to solve this and get these guns back.”
Pinkney said he felt violated and more importantly than the loss of the guns, he felt the burglar had made off with – quote – “a part of my soul”.
Social media prank could lead to criminal charges
Law enforcement officials are warning of what some may think is a harmless prank, but actually ties up 911 lines with unnecessary calls.
A prank on social media sites aims to get you to ask Siri, the virtual assistant on your Apple iPhone, to look up the number 108, or one of several other three-digit numbers.
What you may not realize is that 108 is actually the emergency number for India and by asking Siri about it, you could be connected to 9-1-1.
Douglas County Sheriff’s Sergeant Brad O’Dell says sometimes people think it is funny to trick someone into doing this, but he adds, it’s “very serious and potentially criminal”. It’s not only a crime to tie up 9-1-1 in this manner, it could prevent someone who really has an emergency from getting timely assistance.
Stolen car recovered after brief pursuit
A car stolen south of Florence was recovered Thursday afternoon following a brief vehicle pursuit in Douglas County.
A Douglas County Sheriff’s Deputy overhead Oregon State Police troopers looking for a silver Volvo stolen from Cleowox Market about 2:30 that afternoon. He spotted the car near milepost seven on Lower Smith River Road and attempted to make a traffic stop. The driver did not yield and led the deputy on a pursuit at speeds averaging 45-to-55 miles an hour on the narrow roadway.
The vehicle was finally stopped when the driver encountered downed trees on a gravel road.
Police arrested 48-year old Bobbi Pruett. She is listed as a transient from the Florence area.
Wet season has been just that…
This has been just about the wettest “wet” season anyone in the area can remember. According to records with the City of Florence, the average amount of rainfall in Florence between October 1st and April 1st is about 55 ½ inches. So far the city has measured more than 85 inches in that time period. Tyree Wilde with the National Weather Service in Portland says the weather patterns have been out of the ordinary.
Tyree Wilde – “Many winters we’ll have a storm system come through and get into a pattern, you know, for ten days or two weeks and then the pattern will break and we’ll get several days of nice weather and then it’ll change again. But this past winter we’ve kind of been locked into this same pattern all winter.”
Without those breaks, the rain has fallen nearly non-stop for the last 175 days. But, says Wilde, things are going to change.
Tyree Wilde – “Once we’re getting into the spring months, May, June, July, it looks like we’re finally going to get into more of our spring type weather and we’ll probably have above normal temperatures and narrow precipitation, so there is sort of good news on the horizon.”
In fact, he predicts the drying period will actually begin sooner than May first… as early as the first part of April. Even as wet as it has been, the record “wet season” was in 1973 and 74 when 96 ¾ inches were measured… the driest in that period was 76-and-77 when just 21-inches was recorded.
Studded tire season ends Thursday
The Oregon Department of Transportation has issued a reminder that the deadline for removing studded tires from your car or truck in Oregon is midnight Thursday.
Luci Moore, the State Maintenance and Operations Engineer says you don’t have to wait until then… you can get it taken care of today.
Studded tires are allowed on Oregon roadways between November 1st and March 31st each year. Oregon law allows ODOT to extend the deadline if the weather warrants it, but current forecasts don’t support an extension.
While studded tires can reduce the chance of losing traction in snowy or even icy conditions, there are other traction devices that can be just as effective, without causing damage to the road surface. Moore said a 2014 study shows studded tires cause about $8.5-million in damage each year. Drivers with studs on their car after the deadline can be charged with a “class-c” traffic violation.