Fatal Wreck on 126; Donation to CROW; Students Reaction; Lane County Growth; Dune Safety Event

Fatal Wreck on 126

An accident that resulted in a fatality on Highway 126 at milepost 1.6 near Cushman closed the highway for several hours causing traffic to be diverted.  Oregon State Police and Western Lane Fire and EMS responded. The accident was a result of an apparent head on collision resulting in the loss of life for one person.  The accident happened around 2:20 and the road was not reopened until after 6 pm.  no details of the crash have been submitted by Oregon State Police and results of the investigation into the crash may come later today or tomorrow.  Also no names were released.  ODOT and Florence Police assisted. During the same time period there were several other accidents around the City.  Traffic will continue to increase during the next several days as we begin the Rhododendron Festival and extreme caution and patience is requested.

Donation to CROW

Melanie Heard of CROW, the Children’s Repertory of Oregon Workshop says a benefactor with an extensive collection of recorded music will be liquidating most of that collection and donating ALL of the proceeds to benefit CROW.  Who is the generous donor?

“My dad has been collecting records since I was a little girl, and I’m going to tell you how old I am, but it was a long time ago.”

Heard’s Dad, Mike Jacobson, has a broad array of styles and media available for sale.

“Thousands of LPs, 45s, cassettes, CDs, DVDs and just about anything else that you can dream up that he is going to be selling and donating the proceeds to CROW.”

Who knows, she added, he probably even has a few 8-tracks in the mix.  The Sale will be this Saturday and Sunday from 10 to 3 at the CROW Building, 3120 Highway 101.

Students Reaction

Siuslaw High School Principal Mike Harklerode got an email earlier this week from a resident with a comment she had about the conduct of two students Saturday at Miller Park.  Erin Looney was at the park along with many others on that busy Saturday.  What she told Harklerode was that she was impressed to watch two students, Noah Gonzalez and Silas Gorder, intervene when they saw a young child running between the cars and in traffic in the parking lot.  Looney said the two were driving through the lot and stopped, engaging the child in conversation and were looking around for the child’s adult.  She stepped in at that point and eventually helped reunite the child with the proper people.  Looney told Harklerode one of the things about the two that “really impressed” her was their recognition that there was a child that needed assistance and their willingness to intervene.

Lane County Growth

According to a research study by Smart Asset Lane County ranks fourth in Gross Domestic Product.  The study looked into investments made into Oregon Counties and found that Lane saw a 4.06% increase in business growth over the past year.  Multnomah, Washington and Clackamas counties led the way.  The study looked at three metrics, business establishment growth, GDP growth and new building permits.

Dune Safety Event

Following Rhody days in Florence is the Memorial Day weekend.  On Saturday the 25th Peace Harbor Medical Center along with Western Lane Fire and EMS will be conducting a Dunes Safety Event at the Goose Pasture staging area near South Jetty.  The event is intended to educate those participating in off road recreation while also introducing the crews that respond to safety issues on the Dunes.  The event is from 10 am  until 4pm on that Saturday.  Refreshments, snacks, raffles with prizes and more will be available.