King and Queen Crowned
The annual pagent for Queen Rhododendra and King of the coast was announced in grand fashion last night at the Florence Event Center. The Crowd was excited when the announcements were made. Ned Hickson from the Siuslaw News made the announcement..
“Ladies and Gentlemen, your 2018 King of the Coast is trent Reavis. (cheering) And now our Queen Rhododendra for 2018 is Lainey Goss…(cheers)”
The new royal couple is excited about the honors and spoke with Coast Radio News about their experience. Queen Rhododendra Lainey Goss:
“Oh I’m shocked it feels like it’s not real and I’m juist…it’s a perfect end to the night.
King of the Coast Trent Reavis.
“Oh it was amazing it was such an awesome experience, I’m so glad I did this, years on from now I am going to remember this night.”
Both extolled the virtues of the friendships created and are looking forward to the events that follow this weekend.
Port Seeks Two New Board Members
The Port of Siuslaw has announced that it is seeking to fill two positions on their board of commissioners. The first vacancy is to fill the spot left when they chose David Huntington to serve as Port Manager, the other when Nancy Rickard resigned. The port did not disclose any particular reason for the resignation other than to say that Rickard had commented that she was looking forward to doing more gardening. The Port of Siuslaw has applications for the positions that will run until June of 2019.
ODOT Crosswalk Preparations
The Oregon Department of Transportation has begun the staging process for the crosswalk builds that they will be undertaking. Trucks and crews were out along highway 101 from 16th down to the intersection of highway 126 and then eastbound to redwood street. According to City Manager Erin Reynolds the actual construction is not set to begin until after the Rhododendron weekend although some large mobile electric signs have been placed along the parade route.
111th Rhododendron Parade
This Sunday at noon will be the 111th Rhododendron Parade. The parade route will follow highway 101 and will end in old town. Coast radio will broadcast the event live on KCST beginning at noon. Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Bettina Hanigan says that there are close to 100 entries for the parade and will be led off by the sound of motorcycles. You can expect a lot of floats, classic cars, music and dancing as well as the appearance of some dignitaries including the newly crowned King of the Coast and Queen Rhododendra.
Military Museum Adds Wing Tanks
The Oregon coast Military museum has announced a new addition to their entrance. When you come upon the museum you will be greated by a pair of wing tanks from an F4 Fighter Jet. The wing tanks were donated by Fred Calosso of Florence. The artwork on the tanks were contributed by Judy Murphey.