Transmission Line Repair; Reading IS Fundamental; Boating Safety

3 Year Repair Job

The major transmission lines that run from Florence to Eugene are in need of new supports.  The poles that carry the electricity to our area are past their useful life and beginning later this month the Bonneville Power Administration will be setting equipment and supplies along 126 between here and Mapleton.  John Tyler is a spokesperson for BPA:

“There is going to be heavy equipment that will be on the local roadways.  We are also going to use helicopters at times so there’s going to be some minor interruptions to local traffic.”

Tyler says the amount of traffic delays will be minimal

“The interruptions to traffic for our work are going to be intermittent at best and they will all be short-lived as well.”

The entire project will take about 3 years to complete.  Tyler says the most difficult section of poles to replace will be through the mountains from Mapleton to Veneta.  There is a special meeting tonight from 5-7pm at the Florence Event Center.  Everyone interested in more information is welcome to attend.

Children Benefit From Summer Reading

Reading has to be a part of summer activities for kids. That’s according to experts who say there’s evidence of significant learning loss in the summer when kids don’t read. According to the organization Reading is Fundamental (RIF), students experience a one- to three-month loss of reading skills in the summer if they don’t continue to read regularly. Laura Walters, manager of programs with RIF, says reading doesn’t have to start with books.

“So just giving kids the opportunity to choose the type of material that they read and keeping in mind that it doesn’t always have to be a book, that it might be a magazine, it might be a newspaper, even if it’s just a cereal box, or signs driving down the road.”

Walters says younger children should read for at least 15 minutes a day during the summer and older kids should read for a minimum of half an hour.

Boating Safety

As the summer begins there is always an increase of boating activity along the Siuslaw River with sportfishers, Fishing tours and recreational boaters.  The United States Coast Guard has released its numbers on boating accidents and says that 83 percent of deaths in boating mishaps result from people not wearing their floatation devices.  They are urging boaters to be responsible at all times.  Especially during the 4th of July holiday.  If you are going out on the river or ocean there are Life vests available for use at the Port.