Man Swept Away in Surf
On Thursday a 57 year old male was swept away by waves at Depoe bay. Witnesses say the man climbed over the sea wall to get a closer look at the waves. The incident happened close to the downtown area and searchers spent hours looking for the man but the search was called off as darkness fell. In addition two women in Lincoln city were injured by a log that came crashing up on the beach. Siuslaw Valley Fire and Rescue Chief, Jim Langborg once again reminds people of the dangers especially when storms are present.
“It’s very important that people keep an eye out for sneaker waves because you never know when they’re going to come and never turn your back to the ocean and always make sure that you have your children and your pets in an area that they can get out of there if they need to.”
Langborg says the ocean can be very dangerous not just because of the waves but also what the water can carry.
“The other thing about sneaker waves that’s a big problem is that they can float those large logs and roll over on people and we’ve had several incidents in this area where that has happened.”
The United States Coast Guard closed several beaches along the coast line including Heceta Head Lighthouse. A high wind watch and a high surf advisory remain in effect along the coast with the surf advisory ending at 3pm this afternoon and the wind watch extends until Sunday.
Medical Professionals Support Measure 101
Medical professionals are turning out in the final stretch before Tuesday’s special election to support Measure 101, which would continue to fund health care for low-income Oregonians. The Oregon Medical Association, Oregon Nurses Association, and hospitals such as Legacy Health are among the groups saying 350-thousand people on Medicaid could lose coverage if the measure doesn’t pass. The state has made big strides in coverage since it expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. Doctor Evan Saulino, a family physician at Providence, says his job was sometimes grim before Medicaid expansion.
“I would recommend things routinely for my patients that they just couldn’t get because they didn’t have coverage. Literally, I’ve had patients who have died because they didn’t have access to basic coverage. They could come see me; they couldn’t do anything else. And we can’t go back to that.”
Measure 101 approves a fee passed by legislators in 2017 on some health-care providers for the next two years. Opponents of the measure call it a tax that is only aimed at some types of coverage, and see it as a temporary fix. If 101 fails, state lawmakers will have to find a way to fill a budget gap of about one-billion dollars caused by lack of revenue and fewer matching federal dollars for health care. Supporters of the measure, including those who will pay the fee, say with more people covered, there are fewer emergency-room visits, meaning lower costs for hospitals. Margaret Ngai is a registered nurse at Legacy Health Children’s Hospital. She sees the measure as integral to covering Oregon’s most vulnerable.
“Health care in our community should really be non-negotiable. We’re talking about children being able to go to primary-care appointments. We’re talking about seniors, people with disabilities, and people who deserve to have care and deserve to be able to see a doctor, or a nurse or nurse practitioner, when they’re sick.”
Ballots must be received by 8 p-m on Tuesday. A drop boxes is located at the justice center on 9th street.
Scammer Alert
Commander John Pitcher with the Florence police department reported to coast radio news that there have been a rash of calls to the Florence area of people claiming to be from the IRS trying to get people’s personal banking information. Commander Pitcher says that several people who work for FPD have also received the calls. The IRS states that it never asks for personal banking information. If this happens hang up the phone and report it to the police. Over the past several years the IRS says people have lost millions of dollars to similar scams using social media, text messaging and email.
