Stolen Backhoe
It must have been a bad night to be a heavy equipment thief in the Eugene area Monday night. Lane County Sheriff’s Deputies were called to a report of an abandoned backhoe just off Highway 126, about a half-mile west of Greenhill Road Tuesday morning before eight AM. What they found was a backhoe buried deep in the mud, near the Coos Bay Rail Link Line. Deputies said it appeared the thief tried to use the rear arm of the backhoe to pull on the tracks in an unsuccessful attempt to free it. The equipment belonged to Wildish Construction and had been stolen overnight from a nearby job site. A heavy tow truck was required to get the backhoe out, plus a railroad inspector had to inspect the tracks to make sure they had not been compromised. The LCSO is asking for anyone with information on the crime to contact them.
Tax Filing
Already more than 1.1-million Oregonians have filed their state personal income tax returns. In fact, more than 820-thousand of them have already received refunds and many others are still expecting theirs shortly. If you still haven’t filed, the Oregon Department of Revenue has some advice. E-filing over the internet is the fastest way and, if your adjusted gross income is $73-thousand or less, you could qualify for free tax help. You can go direct to the Oregon Department of Revenue or Federal IRS websites to use free “fillable” online forms to file direct, or there are a few approved tax preparation software products that partner with the state of Oregon to offer free electronic filing. Those can be found on the Department of Revenue website as well. The deadline to file your 2022 tax forms is Tuesday, April 18th.
Committee Recruitment
The City of Florence is seeking volunteers for several committees and commissions. Positions are open in the Environmental Management Advisory Committee, the Public Arts Committee, Transportation Committee and the Florence Urban Renewal Agency. Terms vary in length and begin on June First of 2023. Deadline for applications is April 27th. Interested individuals can apply online at ci.florence.or.us. there is also information on each of the committees and commissions found there.
Gas Prices
The recent decision by OPEC to decrease oil production has had a negative effect on the price of crude oil sending it above 80 dollars a barrel and the rise caused an instant increase at the pumps as Oregon saw a 4 cent jump this past week to $3.93 a gallon. It also sent the price of a gallon of regular gas in Florence to a two month high of $3.45 a gallon. Marie Dodds with AAA Oregon says it was not the announcement alone that caused the spike in prices, she says that drivers have been on the roads more raising the demand for fuel. Crude prices are still about $23.00 below last year. But they could continue to climb.