Top Five Administrative Candidates Interviewed at Lane County

Coast Radio News
Local News

19 February 2014

Final Five Announced in Lane County Administrator Search

Two county administrators and three municipal managers are the finalists for the top administrative position at Lane County.

All five are in Eugene today where they are going through interviews with county commissioners and top staff before meeting with the public in a reception tomorrow evening.

All are men, one is from Oregon, the others are from California, Nevada, Arizona and Wisconsin.

Christopher Jordan is the City Manager at the Portland suburb of West Linn.  Ronald Bates is the City Manager at Pico Rivera, California.  Jeffrey Mihelich is the Assistant City Manager in Surprise, Arizona.

The two county veterans are Steve Mokrohisky the County Manager in Douglas County, Nevada; and Travis Myren, the Chief Administrative Officer in Dane County, Wisconsin.

A public reception for the finalists will be held Thursday from 5:30 to 8 PM at the Lane County Public Service Building on Eighth Avenue in Eugene.

(an earlier version of the story had omitted the word “Thursday” from the notice of the reception.  Coast Radio News regrets the error, and truly appreciates those who pointed it out.)

 

Part of a load of logs spilled from a loaded truck and into the front yard of a home on Highway 126 near Noti.  (Oregon State Police photo).
Part of a load of logs spilled from a loaded truck and into the front yard of a home on Highway 126 near Noti. (Oregon State Police photo).

Spilled Logs Spell Traffic Tieup

Nobody was injured, but traffic on Highway 126 was disrupted for several hours yesterday after a loaded log truck suddenly spilled its load.

Oregon State Police say the truck was eastbound shortly before noon, just west of Noti, when it overturned and spilled the logs on the highway and in the front yard of a neighboring home. A power pole was also damaged, sending live power lines in to the mess.

The truck’s driver, 39-year old Eric Wedekind of Yoncalla, was not injured.  Traffic was blocked completely while crews cleared the power lines and one lane of traffic.  Police are still investigating what may have caused the logs to spill.

Ban imposed on pot store bans

The Oregon Senate has voted to make it illegal for cities and counties to block medical marijuana dispensaries from setting up shop.

The Senate unanimously approved the measure Tuesday, but local government officials say they’re not done fighting.

What began as a measure to authorize city and county-level regulation and prohibition of the marijuana retailers was rewritten in a Senate committee last week. Now it would let local governments regulate the facilities but not prohibit them.

Proponents of local bans say they’ll take their fight to the House and, if necessary, the courts.

Nearly a dozen local governments in the state have imposed or are considering bans on medical pot stores.

Many others, like Florence, have imposed or are considering temporary moratoriums on the facilities until they can come up with rules to regulate them.

Buckle up or it could cost you.

Statistics show there is a distinct correlation between the number of severe injuries and fatalities suffered in car crashes when a person does not wear a seat belt.

Between now and Sunday if you fail to buckle up it could cost you financially as well.

Police in Florence, and all over Oregon, are engaging in a “seat belt enforcement blitz”, looking for drivers and passengers who don’t buckle up.

If a driver or passenger isn’t wearing a seatbelt… he or she could be fined up to $110.  If there is a passenger under the age 16 in the vehicle not wearing a belt… the driver could be fined as well.

Police are putting additional patrols on the streets between now and Sunday… the extra time is funded through federal grants from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.