Weather Woes
Winter weather along the coast and inland is making travel a little tricky this morning as roads are covered in places. Overnight snow showers dropped as much as 3 inches in some areas around Florence though much of the area saw a dusting to an inch of the white powder. The National weather service has extended the winter storm warning for the Florence area until 1 pm this afternoon with the possibility of snow showers up to 4 pm. according to the forecast the area could see additional accumulation of up to 3 inches. Similar conditions are expected through the Mapleton area. A view of cameras along 126 near Badger Mountain show significant snowfall but the roads are well maintained. Caution is urged as roads may look clear but still be icy and slick in some spots. The winter weather is believed to be responsible for a small fire overnight north of Florence as sparking power lines caused a small fire on Friendly Acres road at about 10 pm last night. Overnight low temperatures in the teens are possible making travel Friday morning even more treacherous.
Lane County Drug Challenges
Lane County Sheriff Clifton Harrold told coast radio that increased illegal drug manufacturing and distribution in the state, and in particular Lane County is likely the unintended consequence of the state’s measure 110. Sheriff Harrold says the decriminalization of small amounts of illegal drugs has made it almost impossible to trace the sources of the drugs.
“From an investigative standpoint the way we investigate manufacture or delivery starts with the possession. If you’re in possession of something and it’s unlawful then I have the lawful right to detain you long enough to investigate that. That’s usually how we get to the evidence of manufacture and delivery.”
He says there has definitely been increased activity in Lane County that can be traced to Cartels. Which brings a whole host of other issues including human trafficking.
“We’ve investigated a number of grows in our county that are very clearly Cartel related, without a doubt.”
Harrold says federal grants have been received to enhance efforts to seek out and dismantle these grows. The Lane County Sheriff’s office currently has three dedicated deputies that are working on it. While he says it is a small force, it is having an effect and he hopes it will increase over time.
LCC Eugene Lockdown
Another unfounded report of an armed subject disrupted classes Wednesday afternoon, this time at Lane Community College main campus in Eugene. Authorities received a report shortly before two pm yesterday of an armed person on campus. The campus went into “lockdown” while Lane County Sheriff’s Deputies responded. By 3:30 they determined that there was no credible threat and the lockdown was lifted. It’s not certain if this report was related to a “flurry” of false reports of armed subjects at schools in the Roseburg and Ashland areas Tuesday. Those were also found not to be credible.
