Siuslaw Seventh Graders Set to Battle Scotch Broom
The bright yellow flowers and the deep green foliage of Scotch Broom is at its finest right now, but what you may not realize is that it is a killer. The fast growing and invasive plant is slowly choking off the sand dunes and will eventually eradicate the open areas by stopping the natural movement of sand.
That’s one reason why a group of seventh graders from Siuslaw Middle School, and several other volunteers will spend a good part of the day tomorrow pulling and grubbing scotch broom.
Andy Vobora is with Eugene Cascades Coast, the travel marketing group for Lane County. He’s helping publicize tomorrow’s work party on U.S. Forest Service dunes just off Joshua Lane in the Heceta Beach Area. The work party is actually organized by the Oregon Dunes Restoration Collaborative, a group formed three years ago with the aim of raising awareness and seeking funding opportunities to help preserve the open sand.
Friday’s work party is open to the public… it begins at ten am and you should dress appropriately and bring your own hand tools. Vobora said to park at Nautilus Court, just off Joshua Lane, and it’s a short walk to the worksite.
Proposed legislation to shine light on elder neglect
An investigative report filed last week by the Oregonian newspaper underscored what State Representative Caddy McKeon (MUH-KYU-en) has been working on over the past two years.
The report showed officials at the Department of Human Services hid thousands of confirmed cases of elder abuse and neglect at long term care facilities in Oregon. It also showed how the safety records at hundreds of homes were “whitewashed”.
McKeon said she became aware of some of the problems two years ago and that’s when she began working on legislation aimed at making it easier to report and publicize abuse complaints, as well as make it easier for families and caregivers to respond to them.
House Bills 3273 and 3359 would that according to McKeon. She introduced the bills last week.
The Coos Bay Democrat said she has bi-partisan support for the actions, but added it’s a “family issue, not a bi-partisan issue.”
DMV warns of scam
If you get a phone call from someone claiming to be from the Department of Motor Vehicles saying you owe fees and you must pay them immediately… it’s a scam.
The calls are a variation on other scams reported in the past few years from people claiming to be police officers, Internal Revenue Service agents and even court bailiffs.
They all have several things in common according to David House with the Oregon DMV. They all use intimidation, threaten arrest or criminal prosecution. They also demand immediate payment, usually through a wire transfer using Western Union, or a prepaid visa or money card.
House said DMV never calls customers to request unpaid fees and they’re not able to accept payments over the phone. He also said they won’t ask you for account numbers or other personal identifying information.
The best thing to do when faced with a caller claiming to be from DMV demanding immediate payment is to simply hang up.
Gas prices up
Oil companies are beginning to stockpile gasoline inventories across the country in anticipation of high demand this summer. Marie Dodds with Triple-A says that buildup is tightening short term supplies and putting “upward pressure” on retail prices.
The average prices for regular gas nationwide and in Oregon are at their highest point since September 2015. The national average increased about a half-penny a gallon to $2.41 on average, while the Oregon average price went up a cent to $2.77.
Locally, the average cash price held steady at $2.58.
Drivers continue to pay more for gas than they did last year at this time. The national average at the end of April 2016 was 28-cents lower than this week… and the statewide average was 54-cents lower…
Locally, drivers are paying 51-cents a gallon more for regular gas in Florence this week than May 1st of 2016.
Hinsdale Rhody Garden on display this weekend
A once private garden with hundreds of different varieties of rhododendrons, some of them more than a century old, will be open for public viewing this weekend.
The O.H. Hinsdale Rhododendron Garden, east of Reedsport on Highway 38, is now owned by the Bureau of Land Management. A volunteer group maintains the garden and conducts the tours three times each spring when the Rhododendrons, azaleas and other plants are in full bloom.
Glen Harkleroad with the BLM says visitors need to check in at the Dean Creek Elk Viewing Area Saturday, April 29th between ten am and two pm. A shuttle will take you to the Rhododendron garden.
Harkleroad says if you miss this Saturday’s tours, they’ll do it again May 13th.
Community Chorus to celebrate sunshine
Sunshine and summertime are on the way.
That’s the promise from the many voices of the Community Chorus of Florence who will be singing songs of “sunshine and summertime” during two public concerts next week.
Trina Smith says the concerts should be a “welcome relief after our wet winter”. They will feature songs of the Beach Boys, the classic “Summertime” from the American Opera Porgy and Bess, as well as a medley from the summer of 1969. Despite the fact that it rained, Smith says “think Woodstock”.
Musical director Jennifer Weier (weer) will lead the chorus. The concerts… at seven pm Saturday May 6th, then again at two pm Sunday the seventh… are both free and are at the Presbyterian Church of the Siuslaw.