Wednesday, February 11, 2015
Voters to decide registration fee.
Lane County Commissioners voted unanimously yesterday to send a $35-per-year vehicle registration fee to voters in the May 19th election.
The money raised from the fee would remain in Lane County and used to pay for street, road and bridge maintenance and repair.
60-percent of the estimated $11-million would stay with the county which would be barred from using it for new construction.
The other 40-percent, about $4.5-million, would be split proportionately by size with cities in Lane County. They would not have the new construction limitation, but would be required to use the money for streets, roads and bridges.
Commissioners directed the Elections Department to prepare and publish a voters’ pamphlet with statements in favor and opposed to the fee. They also appointed a five person panel that will draft an explanatory statement. That will be included in the pamphlet.
Fake tax collection scam
Local residents continue to receive phone calls from people alleging to be from the IRS or state revenue department telling people they owe back taxes and must pay up immediately.
Carol Bennett – “Neither of those agencies do that. If you owe them money, you get it in writing. You do not get a phone call. And do not, under any circumstances, send these people any money.”
Carol Bennett works with a CPA in Florence. She got a call from one of their clients earlier this week worried about the claim that he owed money. She reassured him he did not. She also said he had done the right thing by hanging up.
Law enforcement and consumer protection officials say there are an increasing number of cases where people do not hang up… or even call the scammer back and give them their banking information or a pre-paid visa card number over the phone in an effort to settle the fraudulent debt.
Former residents home nearly destroyed
Monday’s heavy winds caused scattered damage throughout western Oregon and most properties escaped relatively unscathed. When there was damage, though, it was severe. Former Florence residents Monte and Rhonda Hiatt are cleaning up after their Elmira area home was blanketed by more than a dozen falling trees Monday morning. Monte Hiatt’s sister, Tammy Jenkins, said the home is likely a total loss.
Tammy Jenkins – “The home looks pretty well trashed. Completely destroyed I think. The ceiling is all caved in; and a lot of water damage in the house. So, everything was wet inside the house. The flooring was ruined and of course, the insurance adjuster was already out there and on it.”
An engineer will have to assess the structural integrity of the home this week in order to see if it can be repaired… or if they’ll have to tear it down and rebuild.
Average gas prices rise
Florence residents are paying, on average, nearly a quarter more per gallon of gas this week than last week.
The average cash price for a gallon of regular in town this week shot up from $1.86 to $2.10.
Some of the 24-cent per gallon increase can be attributed to a market adjustment locally. Last week’s average was considerably less than the statewide and national average prices.
Both of those increased by about 12-cents a gallon this week. The national average is at $2.19 a gallon… the Oregon average, as measured by Triple-A, is at $2.26.
That still makes Florence about the least expensive place on average to buy gas.
Ethics investigation may be moot point
After months of saying the Oregon Government Ethics Commission should look into charges of influence peddling on the part of Governor John Kitzhaber’s fiancée, the fourth term governor has now reversed course.
Lawyers for Kitzhaber and Cylvia Hayes are now arguing the commission has no jurisdiction to investigate Hayes.
That argument may be a moot point now that the state attorney general has launched her own criminal investigation.
Three complaints against Hayes were filed with the ethics commission last fall. Her response, dated December 8th, was just publicly released this week. In it she argues the ethics laws do not apply to her because she doesn’t meet the legal definition of a “public official”.
Hayes is accused of using her position as Oregon’s first lady to land private consulting clients.
Note: As of Wednesday afternoon, 2/11, the person next in the line of succession for the governor’s seat, Oregon Secretary of State Kate Brown, abruptly left a national conference of Secretaries of State in Washington D.C.. According to the Associated Press, no reason was given for Brown’s quick return to Oregon.
Ambulance manager passes away following illness
After battling a lengthy illness, Western Lane Ambulance District Manager Henry Hanf has passed away, he was 74.
Hanf was hired in April of 1997 to manage the district.
During his time he saw demand for the agency’s service increase from about 500 calls per year to more than three-thousand in 2014. He also pioneered the funding and placement of portable emergency defibrillators in most public buildings in the area.
During his tenure, he also supervised the formation of a child safety oriented “Safe Kids” chapter at the district and spearheaded the modernization of computer record keeping.
His most recent accomplishment was in securing a contract with the Springfield Fire Department to handle all the district’s billing processes. A contract that he said would decrease overall costs and increase collections.
At Hanf’s request, no memorial service is planned.
