Fake Shooter Reported- Douglas County
Law Enforcement agencies throughout the country received a high number of calls reporting armed gunmen in schools yesterday. The closest ones to home so far have been in the Roseburg area. Florence says Police Chief John Pitcher said local law enforcement has been aware of the calls.
“Everything we’ve been hearing, they’ve all been fake. Our School Resource Officer is aware of it and working with the admin at the schools to ease any concerns there, but we have not received any calls here yet, thankfully.”
Pitcher says even though responders may think the calls are hoaxes, they cannot be simply dismissed without investigation.
“I’m sure at those schools that were called, you have to treat them as they’re actual until you’re able to prove they’re not, and that’s what we would have to do.”
Police in the Roseburg area also asked parents and guardians to resist the urge to rush schools in an instance like this, saying they can possibly hamper law enforcement’s ability to make sure they are truly hoaxes.
Gas Prices
While the rest of the country is seeing little change in gas prices due to a slack demand for fuel, Oregon saw a 6 cent jump in prices over the past week. Marie Dodds with AAA Oregon says the average price of a gallon of regular gas is now $3.86 around the state. She says that some late winter refinery maintenance is effecting current pricing but crude prices have dropped slightly. The price per barrel is at $76. In comparison last March saw prices around $122 a barrel. Florence prices have followed the state trend rising about 9 cents over the past week with average prices around $3.38 a gallon.
Winter Weather
The Florence area has picked up a winter weather advisory. The national weather service has extended its forecast to include the coastal region until 10 am tomorrow morning. They are saying that snow is possible for the area through the night above 500 feet with 1 to 3 inches of accumulation possible. This could produce slippery road conditions especially late evening, overnight and early morning. The advisory begins at 4pm this afternoon. The NWS has also extended the high surf advisory through 6pm this evening for potentially destructive waves over beaches and the jetties. Storm watchers are urged to stay far from the water and stay off jetties. Road conditions can be found by dialing 511 or going to tripcheck.com.