11 November 2014
Friday’s Explosion Tied to September Pipe Bomb
Police are continuing to investigate the explosion of a homemade explosive device Friday evening. No damage resulted from the 7:30 pm blast, and nobody was injured, but Detective Brandon Ott said had anyone been close by it could have been tragic.
Ott said Friday’s blast, behind Coastal Fitness near Oceanside Veterinary, was very near where a pipe bomb was discovered September 17th. He said it appeared the two bombs were made from the same material.
One difference between the earlier one and this one, though, was the inclusion of a small propane cylinder that also exploded.
Ott said that possibly was used to enhance the magnitude of the blast.
The most recent bomb included a fuse similar to the one on the September 17th device; Ott said there were other consistencies.
He said investigators were able to produce some tangible evidence from the first bomb and he’s hoping they can develop more from Friday’s device. The Florence Police are offering a $250 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or people responsible.
Honoring Veterans
The Florence Elks Lodge will honor Veterans this morning in a special ten AM ceremony at the lodge on 12th Street.
That will give participants in this afternoon’s Veterans Parade ample time to get to the staging area in front of the Florence Events Center at noon.
The theme of the eighth annual Veteran’s Day Parade is “Honoring Veterans, Past and Present”.
The parade starts at one and will go down the hill at Quince Street to Harbor, from there along 1st Street and onto Nopal at the Port of Siuslaw Parking Lot.
The final four blocks of the parade will be on Bay Street through Old Town, ending at Veteran’s Memorial Park.
Mapleton Memorial to remember two students
A memorial service this afternoon at two pm will remember both Mapleton High School Students killed in a single vehicle crash last week.
16 year old Weston Bowman and 17 year old Abby Boydston died Thursday morning when the car they were riding in left the highway one mile east of Mapleton and rolled over.
This afternoon’s memorial will be at Mapleton High School.
Retail Marijuana to take time
It will be well over a year before Oregonians can drop by the corner marijuana store to pick up some bud for the weekend, but growers are already gearing up to meet the increased demand of the coming “green rush”.
Measure 91, enacted last week by voters, will let people possess and grow their own marijuana legally beginning in July.
But the retail side doesn’t start kicking in until January 2016. Oregon Liquor Control Board Chairman Rob Patridge says it will take months from then to issue licenses and grow the first legal crops that can be sold through retail outlets.
Medical marijuana grower Norris Monson in Portland plans to expand operations and expects competition from growers from Colorado and California coming to Oregon to tap the new market.
Crash Investigation Could Take Months
Oregon State Police say it could take several months before they can determine the cause of last week’s fatal crash that claimed the lives to two Mapleton High School students.
But there’s a chance they may not ever be able to determine the cause.
The identity of the driver last Thursday morning, as well as the two other students who were seriously injured, have not been released by authorities because they are juveniles.
All five were headed to a nearby restaurant before classes began for the day when the car left the road, landing on its top.
Both 17-year old Abby Boydston and 16-year old Weston Bowman were riding in the back seat of the car; they died at the scene.
Marijuana Taxes Could Be Struck Down
Dozens of cities in Oregon, including Florence, passed local sales taxes on marijuana in the event that Measure 91 passed.
There’s just one problem.
The ballot initiative legalizing recreational use and sales of marijuana also expressly prohibits local municipalities from levying additional taxes.
Organizers say that exclusion, along with a relatively low state sales tax on marijuana was intentionally designed to keep prices low and deter the illegal market.
Cities and counties in Oregon that have already passed local taxes are hoping they can withstand legal challenges.
