Hoyle: Work to Do
Congresswoman Val Hoyle says now that the election is past she hopes the 118th congress can get a few things done before the new year. Hoyle says the focus prior to November 5th was the election for many and stalled work towards many bills. She says she hopes that a couple of things can come to fruition before the next congress takes its seat. A top priority is a forest bill which would provide…
“a permanent if firefighter pay and payment for some of the things that we need to do to make sure that theres less to burn and that we actually have the kind of staff that we need to do the work to keep wildfire from burning another you know 1 to 2 million acres next year.”
Hoyle says a Farm bill is also in the crosshairs. She says while there are concerns ahead, she looks forward to working with congress in a bi-partisan way to get things accomplished. Hoyle joins us for the December edition of Our Town.
Toy Drive
Three Rivers Casino employees have been gathering toys for the upcoming holiday season. Team member Marguerite says for the past three years Three Rivers has been working with the Florence Police Department to keep donations in the community.
“We give them 5 dollars in free play for any new, unwrapped toys and then once our promotion ends, and it ends December 15th, we take it to our local police station.”
She added that she has seen a lot of generosity from the local community. Last year someone brought a trailer load of new bicycles to be distributed. They have helped over 500 families have presents for their children. She also says they would like to see more gifts for teenagers, especially in the area of technology and hands on creativity.
Gas Prices
Gas prices are rising in about half of all states, including Oregon, as Thanksgiving approaches. However, drivers will still enjoy the lowest holiday gas prices since 2020. Nationally, regular gas averages $3.07 per gallon, matching the current average in Florence. Oregon’s average is up three cents this week to $3.56. Marie Dodds with AAA Oregon attributes small increases in the Pacific Northwest to last week’s bomb cyclone, which raised concerns about refinery outages in Puget Sound and caused a spike in wholesale prices. Higher crude oil costs, driven by tensions in the Russia-Ukraine war, also played a role. According to AAA, prices are stabilizing and may start dropping again soon, barring unforeseen events.
Thanksgiving Travel
AAA projects nearly 80 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more this Thanksgiving, making it the busiest holiday for travel ever, surpassing pre-pandemic levels. About 1.1 million Oregonians will join the journey, with 984,000 driving and 114,000 flying. Nationally, car travel sets a new record with nearly 72 million hitting the road, while air travel reaches its highest level since 2005 at 5.8 million travelers. AAA says strong personal income growth and easing inflation are fueling this surge in holiday plans. Roads and airports will be crowded, so travelers are advised to plan ahead and prepare for winter weather.