22 October 2013
Donation yields unexpected item Sunday afternoon
Florence Police are still investigating and don’t want to say much about it just yet. But, they are confirming that an explosive device of some sort was found in a box of donated goods Sunday afternoon at a local thrift store.
Lieutenant John Pitcher said workers going through a box at Goodwill Industries discovered it and called 911 at about 4:30. The store was closed and the area immediately cordoned off as officials called the Eugene Bomb Squad who rendered the device safe later that afternoon.
Pitcher said they had a – quote – “real good chance” at identifying the source of the donated box containing the device. He said they should be able to determine if the act was an intentional one… or if the device was accidentally mixed in with the donation. Pitcher said it was definitely not a pipe bomb; there were no threats made against the store; and nobody was injured.
Murder Victim Identity Released
Police in Reedsport say the man killed Saturday evening in a fight outside an apartment building has been identified as 37-year old Shawn Michael Christian.
The Douglas County Major Crimes team began a homicide investigation Saturday evening after responding to a report of two men fighting at the Longwood Street address near the schools. Christian appears to have died from stab wounds. 34 Year old Michael Lee Corrie was arrested at the scene and is currently lodged in the Douglas County Jail in Roseburg facing a murder charge.
DEQ Penalty Appealed
Peace Harbor Medical Center in Florence is appealing a $6,700 penalty levied by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality for operating an underground storage tank without a permit.
The tank, used to store fuel for the center’s emergency generator, was installed in 1989. PeaceHealth, the medical center’s parent organization, was citing for failing to get a permit for the tank when officials submitted plans last summer to decommission it and remove it.
In addition to failing to properly register the tank 24 years ago, the DEQ also cited PeaceHealth for not completing upgrades that were required in 1998.
DEQ has already reduced the penalties based on the efforts to remove the tank; plus PeaceHealth has also paid the annual fees that would have been charged had the tank been properly registered.
PeaceHealth is, however, appealing the additional charges disputing claims made by the DEQ that they should have known to register the tank in the first place.
Whale Watching Spoken Here
Annual training for volunteers who will talk to one set of coastal visitors about another set of coastal visitors will begin November 30th in Newport.
The annual Oregon State Parks “Whale Watching Spoken Here” program places interpretive volunteers at 24 coastal sites between Astoria and Brookings twice each year.
During the December 26th through 31st time period they talk about Gray Whales making the southward migration to waters off Mexico where they’ll give birth and rear their young.
During Spring Break in March, they’ll be out at the same locations to talk about the whales as they head north to feeding grounds.
There are three training sessions in all… November 30th at the Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport, followed by one in Brookings January 11th, and then one in February in Nehalem.
Information on how to volunteer and register for the training can be found at whale-spoken-dot-org. The Oregon State Parks program has been around since 1978 and, Renee Fowler with the agency, says it is one of the most organized onshore whale-watching programs in the U.S.
