Legislature Proposes Adding Animal Crossings
A measure in the Oregon Legislature aims to reduce vehicle collisions with wildlife. House Bill 4130 would allocate five-million dollars for wildlife crossings in problem spots across the state. In Oregon, there are about seven-thousand collisions with deer each year, costing Oregonians 44 million dollars in total. State Representative Ken Helm, a Democrat who represents the Beaverton area, is a chief sponsor of the bill. He says there’s broad support for wildlife crossings, including some Republican cosponsors.
“These types of projects are not partisan. We’ve got Republicans and Democrats, Senators and House Reps on the bill already. It’ll be a great bipartisan, bicameral effort and very popular. So, the enthusiasm is certainly there in this state.”
There are an average 700 injuries and two deaths from wildlife collisions each year. Oregon lags far behind on crossings, at five, compared with other states in the West. California and Utah each have 50. H-B 4130 is scheduled for a public hearing today.
COVID-19 Update
COVID-19 numbers in the county are at a three week low. After peaking at 1,336 in mid January the cases per 100,000 residents has dipped to 903.9 as of yesterday’s report. Florence reported 6 cases yesterday while Lane County Reported 479. The Florence all-time number was 1,298 with yesterday’s report.
State COVID Reporting
Cases across the state were 5,179 yesterday as numbers continue to show improvement. The Oregon Health Authority is reporting a reduction in cases and they believe the trend will continue. There are still fluctuations in hospitalizations with 14 more added yesterday, but the overall number of beds available has been fairly steady at 58 beds. ICU patients also dropped in yesterday’s report.
Gas Prices
Early this week crude oil prices hit the $90 a barrel price with concerns over the situation on the Russian Ukraine border, however Marie Dodds with AAA Oregon says prices actually dipped slightly in Oregon. Dodd’s says the difference is less than a penny, but compared to the national increase of 4 cents a gallon Oregon is steady. The Florence price for a gallon if regular gas has dropped 4 cents over the past week. The average price for a gallon of regular gas in $3.85 a gallon.
