Remove Those Studded Tires
With spring officially here it is time to replace those winter tires on your vehicle. If you are one of the ones that seasonally change your tires to studded tires during the winter months, the Oregon Department of Transportation says you have until Easter Sunday to replace them. Galen McGill is the state maintenance and operations engineer and says unless you are planning a trip through the mountains they need to come off. Driving with studded tires past the deadline can result in a $165.00 fine as it is a class C traffic violation. According to a 2014 study, studded tires cause about $8.5 million dollars in damage to state highways. Long-term weather forecasts, according to McGill do not support the extension of the studded tire season.
Gas Prices
Gas Prices continue to inch up week by week. The onset of spring break saw another increase in Oregon. The average price of a gallon of regular gas in the state has climbed to $4.20 a gallon and here locally the average price is $4.00. Summer blend fuels are beginning to roll out and refinery maintenance is still going on in many west coast refineries. Another trouble area is the Columbia River where tankers are having to wait extended periods of time causing a supply shortage in the pacific northwest. 6 western states and Alaska and Hawaii have the highest prices where the mid-south and South Carolina are sporting the lowest prices.
Clawson’s Reopens
The Clawson Wheelhouse building has been closed for some time now, but today it will open with the same name, but under new ownership. Over the past several weeks as the new owners readied the space social media was asking if it was going to be the same menu, but Catherine Newcomb, the restaurant’s General Manager say you will be able to find a variety of cuisines including a full American breakfast along with a Mexican and Persian menu for lunch and dinner.
“Both are great cuisines that you can choose from and we hope that everyone will come in and give it a try.”
She says the Persian menu offer a wide variety of choices.
“we have some great kabobs that you can try. We have persian rice, some appetizers like Sambosa, baklava and Persian tea.”
The New Clawson’s Wheelhouse opened this morning at 6am and will be open every day but Monday. Newcomb says they do have a liquor license and will soon add a bar area for patrons.
Rhody Drive Closure
Construction continues on Rhododendron Drive from Wildwinds to 35th street. For the past several days it has been closed at 35th street to through traffic and all access is restricted from 9th street except for residential and those needing to access the County Transfer Station and the Oregon Coast Humane society. Looky loos are asked to follow the project at the city of Florence’s facebook page.
Recycling Batteries
A Grant offered by Lane County will allow the Lane County based Bi-Mart chain to launch a new program to recycle batteries. Households will now have a convenient and accessible way to safely recycle them. A $6,000 grant from Lane County is supporting the chain’s efforts to help retrain the public on properly identifying and managing a new generation of batteries. Maya Beulow is a Lane County waste reduction specialist and says the program will help cull the risk of health and safety issues as well as the potential for fires that could damage critical waste management infrastructure, putting the public at risk.