Oregon Country Fair
The Oregon Country Fair begins tomorrow in Veneta. Visitors from all over the U.S. are expected to attend the 3 day festival. The annual event draws an eclectic group of individuals who use the festival to “let their hair down”. There is live music, dance, drumming and food. The festival celebrated their 50th year in 2019, but due to the pandemic has been silent. There will be more than 700 artisans offering hand-made crafts and other items like clothing, leather work, musical instruments and more and personal services like massage. There are 19 stages with live performances and more than 75 food vendors. Advance tickets are $40.00 for Friday and Saturday and $35.00 for Sunday. The OCF also provides support for the Bill Wooten Endowment fund and the Jill Heiman Vision Fund among other philanthropic causes.
COVID-19
New COVID-19 numbers are out for the Florence Area. There are 1785 cases all time an increase of 24 from last week, but numbers from the Oregon Health Authority are just the tip of the iceberg. Case reporting is down from the recorded height of the pandemic. Since the introduction to home testing and OHA changing its reporting format in April it is difficult to know the exact effect COVID-19 is having on communities. One indicator that has been constant is the number of cases in Oregon hospitals. There are 418 people in Oregon Hospitals and 53 of those are in ICU. 138 cases were reported in Lane County on Tuesday and yesterday’s numbers have yet to be updated.
Chain Reaction Crash
A chain-reaction crash, involving 3 vehicles, a travel trailer, two dump trucks and a grader on a flatbed resulted in one fatality Tuesday near Scottsburg. That crash occurred Tuesday afternoon about 12:30 on Highway 38 about 25 miles east of Reedsport. According to police, 24-year-old Cedric Lossing of Myrtle Point was eastbound near Scottsburg, overtaking a motor home in a passing lane when he crossed the centerline. Lossing’s Toyota Corolla collided head-on with a westbound Jeep Cherokee driven by a North Bend woman. A dump truck following the jeep attempted to avoid the collision, swerving into the oncoming lane, but it stuck a travel trailer that was being towed behind a pickup. The pickup then struck a second dump truck pulling a grader on a flat bed. Three people, including Lossing and the two occupants of the jeep were taken to River Bend Hospital in Springfield. The passenger in the jeep, 70-year old Patrick Culbertson of Myrtle Point, died at the hospital. Two others were treated for minor injuries at the scene and two more people were not injured. Oregon State Troopers were able to keep the highway open while they investigated the crash.
Aggressive Driving Leads to Arrest
On Tuesday an aggressive driving incident in Newport resulted in one man being taken into custody. The incident happened around 3:15 Tuesday afternoon 36 year old Eddyville resident Clint Richard Corwin was passing drivers unlawfully before pulling over and pointing a gun at the vehicle. Lincoln County Sheriffs and Newport police responded and located Corwin. He was taken into custody without incident and was charged with menacing, unlawful use of a weapon and recklessly endangering another person. Another person in the vehicle, Melody Lorraine Lanier, also of Eddyville was issued a citation for unlawful possession of a firearm and released.
