Gun Violence March Scheduled For The Weekend
On Saturday, Oregonians and people around the country are “marching for their lives” to protest gun violence. At least 17 marches are scheduled across the state in cities big and small, including Bend, Burns, Medford and Roseburg, where a 2015 shooting took place at Umpqua Community College. The largest “March for Our Lives” will take place in Washington D-C, where survivors of the Parkland, Florida, high school shooting will urge Congress to pass gun control measures. Jivan Jot Khalsa is a 15-year-old South Eugene High School student helping organize a sibling march in Eugene. He says the students in Parkland motivated him to take action.
“It really inspired me because already I cared about these issues, but hearing first-hand accounts really made me want to do more instead of just saying I care about it and moving on. I wanted to do something, and then we had this opportunity to do the march.”
Khalsa pushes back on the idea that these marches are about infringing on a person’s right to own guns or taking away their guns.
“We’re simply doing this because myself and my peers who are involved – and people who aren’t involved – are tired of seeing our other peers injured and shot at and worried that something’s going to happen to them in their schools. And we just want every child to feel safe and to feel OK going to school without worrying about something like this happening.”
Details about a Florence march will be previewed in tomorrow’s news.
Fuel Jumps Again
Demands for gasoline at summer driving levels have caused a spike in fuel prices and Florence is feeling the effects of it. In just the past week prices for a regular gallon of gasoline in Florence have jumped 6 cents. Regular gas at the pumps is a an average $2.81 per gallon. Statewide the price is hovering just below $3 a gallon. It has been three years since Oregon has seen prices this high. Marie Dodds with AAA Oregon says that driving habits have more people on the road for the month of March than in previous years. Part of the increase is attributed to the unexpected demand causing a tight inventory on produced fuels. This week demands peaked at 9.6 million barrels a day. Dodds says that this is typical of summer usages and not normally a first quarter use.
Waldport Business Fined
A business in Waldport has been fined by the Department of Environmental Quality. According to a report in the Register Guard Kauffman Crushing Inc was fined $15,000 for allowing discharges to infiltrate Eckman Creek. The companies permit allows for certain runoff in the creek but DEQ says that Kauffman Crushing failed to properly monitor the runoff. The company has until April 3rd to update its stormwater pollution control plan which will allow them to appeal the fine.
Port Seeking Budget Committee
The Port of Siuslaw is looking for residents to be part of its budget committee. Applications can be picked up at the Port office on Harbor Street. Interested parties have until 5pm on Friday, March 30th to apply. The committee of 5 members will meet with the Port Commissioners during the next several months to determine the fiscal budget for the port.
