Possible Kidnap Victim
A man was found bloody and beaten yesterday morning and according to witnesses the man and his girlfriend had been kidnapped. Witnesses that found the man after he had been clinging to branches in the river said that his attackers were still on the hunt for him. A post on social media related the incident from the witnesses’ perspective and said the man had been severely beaten and was in and out of consciousness. Oregon State Police responded to the call as did Western Lane Ambulance. WLAD does not comment on specifics of calls, they were only able to confirm that they were on the scene. OSP has indicated that they expect to release the details on the incident sometime today. The incident happened near milepost 26 on highway 126.
ODOT Work on 101
North Bound Highway 101 in Florence by diversified marine continues to be restricted to one lane as the Oregon Department of transportation work on installing a safety crosswalk for the Safe Routes to School grant. This cross walk will be one with a flashing signal between 25th and 26th street. Contractors are currently putting in new sidewalks through to Oak Street connecting with school properties. Traffic flow will change periodically on 101 as construction moves to the center lane and then to the west side of the highway.
Aquarium To Open Today
The Oregon Coast Aquarium reopens to visitors today. The doors on the aquarium have been closed for 5 months as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. During the closure the staff has been remodeling and adding new exhibits. Visitors will be able to view the new Indo-Pacific Coral Reef exhibit. Doors open at 9:30 today
Transmission Rates Down
According to the Oregon Health Authority transmission of the coronavirus has begun to slow here in the state. The decline has been occurring since the July 4th holiday according to the report issued late Friday. OHA says they believe they are still months away from driving the rate low enough to reopen schools.
New COVID-19 Update
Since Friday’s report, the Oregon Health Authority has added 792 new COVID-19 cases to the list, the three day total includes 5 new deaths reported including a 79 year old Lane County many who died at PeaceHealth Riverbend on Wednesday. This brings the Lane County Death toll to 5. There have also been 13 new cases reported for Lane County bringing that total to 656. Overall in Oregon the state’s total is now 24,937 cases.