Accident Shuts Down Bridge
The Siuslaw river Bridge was closed for about an hour and a half last night as police, fire and EMS responded to an apparent head on collision at about 7:57 pm. Deputy Chief Matt House with Western Lane Fire and EMS said two of the injured had to be extricated from the vehicle. Both had serious injuries and after being transported to Peace Harbor hospital the two were moved on to PeaceHealth Riverbend for definitive Higher care according to House. He says the extrication went extremely well and the injured parties were in hospital care withing 30 minutes of the initial dispatch. After clearing the injured parties from the scene and investigation from Florence Police police took the uninjured driver of one of the vehicles into custody. They charged 53 year old Darren Dubey of Florence with Driving under the Influence of Intoxicants, 2 counts of Assault III, three counts of Reckless Endangering and Reckless Driving. ODOT and Florence Police remained on the scene until the wreck was cleared at about 10:05 pm.
Cold Snap Coming
The National Weather Service says very cold temperatures are on the way by Sunday night with lows possible near 20-degrees. Stew Myrick, owner of Chuck’s Plumbing, has seen many cold snaps and has repaired a lot of damage. Some of it, he says, could have been prevented.
“Any areas in your house where you have plumbing it would be awesome to open up any cabinetry so that the heat can get in there. If you have a pump house, maybe put a chicken light in there or keep a little warmth in there so that you can keep the temperature above freezing.”
Remember to disconnect any outside hoses, put a cover on the faucet and if you have any other exposed pipes, wrap them with insulation. If you do wind up with frozen pipes:
“Well, you’re going to have to wait for mother nature on some of those. But no open flame, you can try a hair dryer or a heat gun. Just be cautious.”
An open flame could cause a fire. The best thing to do, he says, is to turn off your water in case there are broken pipes that you won’t know about until they thaw. If you do have a break, call a licensed plumber as soon as you can, they’re all likely to be busy come Monday morning.
ODFW to Open Crabbing
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife has reported that its most recent inspection of crab meat yield is now excellent across the entire coastline of Oregon prompting the opening of the entire coast for commercial crabbing on February 4th. Delays set back the December 1st opening with low meat yield and high levels of the toxin demoic acid. There is currently a small portion of the coastline near Coos Bay that is considered a biotoxin management zone or BMZ. Crabbing in that area comes with a evisceration requirement. Caren Braby, OCDFW’s Marine Resources Program Manager says opening the season with an evisceration requirement is not ideal, however getting the season going is imperative prior to the upcoming migration of whales. And she says many boats are stocked with crews waiting for a paycheck. According to Braby they are seeing increases in biotoxin events annually as a result of changing ocean conditions.
Fentanyl Awareness Campaign
The distribution and use of fentanyl is increasing in Lane County prompting the Lane County Public Health to launch a Fentanyl Aware Campaign. Lane County has seen an increase in 911 calls, hospitalizations, emergency room visits and deaths associated with the powerful, deadly drug. Alexander LaVake is the campaign coordinator and says he hopes the outcome is saved lives. The campaign will include education on the use of Narcan, information on signs and symptoms of an overdose and how to respond. They will be working with school districts around the county as well as community organizations.
Eczema Cream Warning
It is not widely used in Oregon but a cream that is used for treating eczema in small children has been found to contain high levels of lead. The cream Diep Bao is produced in Vietnam and Singapore and is mainly sold through online distributors. Two tubes of the cream with high levels of lead were discovered in Portland. Oregon Health Authority’s Ryan Barker says the tubes tested had 9,670 parts per million of lead and 7,370 PPM of lead. The FDA is investigating. According to studies children are extremely susceptible to lead poisoning which can damage the nervous system and result in learning disorders, developmental defects and other long term health issues. If you are using the product the OHA asks that you discontinue use and have the product tested. Currently Multnomah County is the place where testing is being conducted. You can go to leadline.org for more information.
