Wreck Closes Westbound 126 at Milepost 3; City Meetings; Razor Clamming Opens; Man Arrested For Arson; Annual Car Show; Air Quality Alert For Eastern Lane County

Wreck Closes Westbound 126 at Milepost 3

An early morning accident this morning caused the closure of westbound 126 for the day as the Oregon State Police reconstruct the accident.  At about 6:12 this morning a Log Truck, a gas truck and a box truck collided causing the log truck to overturn into the estuary.    Deputy Chief for Western Lane Fire and Ems Authority Matt House said the driver of the Log truck was transported to Peace Harbor hospital with non-life threatening injuries.  The Oregon Department of Transportation is on Scene flagging traffic in the area, please use extreme caution when traveling through the area.  Deputy Chief House also said more information will follow as details become available.

City Meetings

There will be no City Council meeting this evening.  The August 21st meeting originally scheduled will be moved to August 28th to incorporate the council’s possible decision on the proposed 365 day homeless shelter.  Other meetings this week will be the Florence Planning commission meeting scheduled for tomorrow at 5:30 and the Florence Urban Renewal Agency meeting for Wednesday, also at 5:30.  The City Council will have a work session on Thursday in preparation for the August 28th meeting.  That meeting will be held at the Florence Events Center at 5:30 pm.  The agenda for the meeting will be posted by this Friday on the city’s website at ci.florence.or.us.

Razor Clamming Opens

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife has reopened razor clamming for the South Jetty down to Cape Blanco.  Recent shellfish samples have indicated a level of demoic acid that is below dangerous levels.  The change means that clamming is open continuously from Seal Rock State Park to the California border.  Limits for the mollusc is 15 per day and each clammer must have their own container and dig their own clams according to ODFW regulations.  Crabbing, mussel and bay clam havesting remains open for the entire Oregon Coast.

Man Arrested For Arson

On Friday, Lane County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested a 69 year old man in the Veneta area for intentionally setting a fire in a wooded area off territorial highway.  Christopher James Barnstable was taken into custody and charged with First Degree Arson.  Multiple firefighting sources had to be deployed including a helicopter to fight the fire.  It was eventually extinguished.

Annual Car Show

The annual Rod’s N Rhodies car show event is coming September 8th and 9th to the Old Town Area.  The 15th annual event will feature hot rods and classic custom vehicles from all over the west.  The annual event goes towards supporting Transportation Solutions which provides car repairs for families in need.  Transportation Solutions works with local families on a referral basis to fix most maintenance problems so that individuals can get to work, transport kids to school, and other activities.  Information on the mission of Transportation Solutions can be found at rodsnrhodies.org/transportation-solutions.

Air Quality Alert For Eastern Lane County

An Air quality alert has been posted for Lane County, but it is for the easter part.  Smoke from wildfires will bring down the air quality for most of the eastern half and through the Willamette pass.  Local winds are expected to keep the levels near normal here along the coast