15 December 2014
Christmas Season Means More Residential Fires
Over the past five years between November 22nd and January 15th, there were nearly four-thousand residential fires in Oregon. Those resulted in six deaths, 175 injuries and more than $25-million in property losses according to the Oregon State Fire Marshall.
Jim Walker says the season can be busy and exciting, but that shouldn’t distract you from keeping your family and friends safe.
He says choose a fresh, healthy tree with a deep-green color and flexible needles. Water it daily… a tree can consume anywhere from a quart to a gallon of water a day.
Keep it several feet away from a heat source and use only non-combustible or flame resistant materials to trim it.
Once Christmas is over… get the tree out as soon as possible.
Siuslaw Valley Firefighters will pick up your tree on December 27th or January 3rd. You can call the fire station for details.
Scientists Calculate Amount of Plastic in the Ocean
A recent study published in the online edition of the magazine for the Public Library of Science estimates that there are more than five-trillion pieces of plastic weighing a combined 270-thousand tons floating in the world’s oceans.
That’s enough to fill nearly 39-thousand garbage trucks.
The study is aimed at helping scientists understand how the material will affect the environment and the food chain.
Researchers dragged fine mesh nets at the sea surface in the Indian Ocean, the Southern Ocean near Antarctica and in the South Atlantic. Then extrapolated the data to make the world wide estimate.
Deputies Increase Holiday Patrols
Additional Lane County Sheriff’s Deputies will be on the road beginning this weekend and continuing through January 4th. It’s an effort to make highways in Lane County safer for holiday travelers.
Sergeant Billy Halvorson says the number of drunk and impaired drivers increases “significantly” this time of year. The extra patrols will emphasize “aggressive driving” enforcement as well as seeking out impaired drivers.
Florence Officers Looking for Impaired Drivers Too
Florence Police Lieutenant John Pitcher says if you’re going to be going out over the holiday season… have a plan for how you’re going to get home.
John Pitcher – “If you go out and have one glass of wine with dinner, obviously you’re not out drinking. But, a lot of times it doesn’t happen that way and we have one or two or three or four. That wasn’t the plan… so if you go out ready have your designated driver or call a cab; you’re safe and everyone else is safe.”
Pitcher said Florence police will be out with additional patrols between now and January fourth. Their main focus will be to spot impaired drivers. The additional patrols are funded in part by a grant from Oregon Impact, a non-profit group with the mission of ending impaired and distracted driving.
Coastal Lawmaker to Head Transportation/Economic Development
Coos Bay Democrat Caddy McKeown will head up the Oregon House committee on Transportation and Economic Development in the coming legislative session.
McKeown was elected to her second term representing House District 9 covering Coos, Western Douglas and Western Lane Counties this fall.
McKeown will also serve on the Ag and Natural Resources committee as well as Higher Education, Innovation and Workforce Development.
Lawmakers have already begun working on the 2015 legislative session. They spent much of last week in committee hearings and meetings aimed at setting the agenda for the session that begins in February.
