Boating Rescue
This morning around 3:15 the U.S. Coast Guard, Siuslaw Valley Fire and Rescue and Western Lane Ambulance were called to the South Jetty after reports of a capsized boat came in. Upon arrival the scene was cluttered with debris and two people were recovered with assistance of the U.S. Coast Guard helicopter. A third person had to be brought ashore by boat due to the helicopter being low on fuel. I person was transported to the hospital with non life threatening injuries. The other two were being transported with CPR in progress. No further information is available at this time.
Man Touts Protesters
Yesterday on the corner of 101 and 126 protesters were out in force supporting black lives matter. Shouting no Justice No Peace, sounds of honking horns could be heard as vehicles passed by. But not everyone was there in support of the BLM protests. A Facebook social media post showed an unmasked man in a Trump hat videoing the crowd and taunting them for not wearing the proper kind of masks. A person in the crowd asked him why he wasn’t wearing a mask while the video clearly shows he was within 6 feet of protestors.
“Because I’m out in the open air. Your little mask, what percentage of bacteria does it keep out.”
The man paced back and forth behind the crowd engaging with several protesters. The incident did not escalate. The corner of Highway 101 and Highway 126 has been a popular spot for both Black Lives Matter protests and those supporting the police. While several counties in the state have gone to mandatory mask wearing in businesses and public settings such as this, there has been no such mandate in Lane County. The special legislative session was considering making the requirement statewide, but that was not done.
COVID-19 Cases
In the last 2 days there have been 14 new cases reported of the coronavirus in Lane County. According to Lane County Public Health several of the cases can be attributed to a house party by college students celebrating the end of the school year. All of the cases are reportedly from the Eugene Springfield area. There has not been a total for the free tests issued on Saturday in Mapleton. The current number of cases for Lane County is 139 with 54 active cases. 12 of the cases are considered presumptive. On Sunday the Oregon Health Authority says another 247 cases have been confirmed with no new deaths reported. The two day total for the weekend is 524 bringing the total for the state to 8,341. Over 223 thousand tests have come back negative.
Fatal Crash North of Florence
Friday evening the Oregon State Police responded to a crash on Highway 101 north of Florence. The accident occurred around 7:30 pm near Seal Rock and milepost 101. The preliminary investigation was that a 2014 toyota FJ Cruiser traveling northbound left the road for an unknown reason going over an embankment and crashing into a tree. The driver, 50 year old Christopher Paschall of Cottage Grove was transported to the hospital. A passenger in the vehicle, 20 year old James Paschall sustained fatal injuries and was pronounced dead. Traffic was delayed for some time as the site was investigated. Alcohol is being investigated as a contributing factor in the crash.
Oregon AG Settles with Companies
Six companies have settled with the Attorney General in Oregon for selling unproven Covid-19 treatments. Under the settlement the two Ashland companies, one in Portland, one in Clackamas and one in Grants Pass can no longer advertise their products unless the claim has been approved by the FDA and supported by competent and reliable scientific evidence. Since March the Attorney General’s consumer hotline has received more than 900 calls and written complaints regarding issues such as this and including price gouging.
