16 September 2014
Name to be released pending background check
It was a very busy weekend for elected officials as they sat down with all six finalists for the City Manager’s job Saturday. Later that day they got together to discuss their collective thoughts on just which one they should make an offer to.
Interim City Manager Larry Patterson has been guiding the detailed process.
Larry Patterson – “Very thorough process and we do have a candidate that the council is focusing on. We’ll begin background checks now and we’ll also begin contract negotiations and shortly the Mayor will have an announcement to make.”
Patterson declined to identify which of the six they are pursuing. He said a detailed background check needs to be completed, as well as contract negotiations before they get to that point.
October First had been the target date for hiring a permanent replacement for Jacque Betz who left to take a similar position in Newberg. At this point it’s not likely they’ll make that goal, but Patterson doesn’t think it’ll be too much longer before he returns to his permanent home in Bend.
Larry Patterson – “I’d like to… I’d like to be back across the mountain before the snow flies.”
Crash kills one
A Eugene man died and a young woman was trapped in the wreckage of their sport utility for as long as 24-hours before being discovered early Monday morning.
18-year old Canyon Arthur McCardel was thrown clear as the vehicle he was in tumbled 40 feet over an embankment on Old Stage Coach Road north of Highway 126 in Western Lane County.
A family member searching for his companion, 18-year old Hannah Smith, heard her screaming for help just after midnight Sunday.
Emergency responders had to cut her from the wreckage. She was transported to RiverBend with what police call “serious, but not life threatening injuries.”
Crews Seeking Bedrock Beneath Bridge
Work began yesterday on a drilling project beneath the Siuslaw River Bridge to determine the depth of the bedrock and sturdy foundation soils beneath the bridge.
The drilling is the forerunner of a project that begins next year in which anti-corrosion protection will be installed on the historic structure.
Rick Little with the Oregon Department of Transportation says the drilling will be done from a barge in the river and should not have any impact on neighboring streets or roads.
It will, however, likely create some noise that might be bothersome to nearby businesses.
The south and center locations will be closer to the middle of the river, but when work is being done under the northern span, the drilling rig will be very close to shore.
The work will be done between 7 AM and 6 PM through the end of this week.
25-years of EMS
The independent, but publicly owned, ambulance in Western Lane County is celebrating its 25th year of service this year.
In 1989 Peace Harbor Hospital opened, absorbing most of the assets and facilities of Western Lane Hospital.
But, the ambulance and emergency medical services were spun off into a separate organization.
David Rossi is still with Western Lane Ambulance 25 years later. That first year of operation the ambulance crews responded to about 500 calls.
This year, he says, if things stay on track they’ll break 3-thousand for the first time.
Rossi says he’s seen many changes in the two-and-a-half decades; all of them for the better. He cited a higher standard of care for patients as the number one change. Crews are highly trained and carry state-of-the-art equipment on late model ambulances.
A 25th anniversary Open House will be held this Saturday from one until four pm at ambulance quarters on the Peace Harbor Campus.
