Frohnmayer – Oregon Icon – passes awy

Coast Radio News
Local News
11 March 2015

Oregon icon passes away

Oregon leaders are paying tribute to Dave Frohnmayer, the former attorney general and University of Oregon President who died Monday night at the age of 74.

Family members said Frohnmayer had been in a “quiet battle” with prostate cancer for five years.

He was described as an “old-school” Oregon Republican, representing an era when partisan differences weren’t so sharp. Democratic Governor Kate Brown called him a “wonderful and brilliant friend”. She said state flags would be at half-staff when a memorial service is held. No date has yet been announced.

Frohnmayer was born in Medford, July 9th, 1940. He graduated from Harvard with a degree in government in 1962, then earned his Master’s in philosophy, politics and economics at Oxford two years later.

In 1975 he was elected to the first of three terms to the Oregon House representing south Eugene. He was elected Oregon attorney general in 1981, a post he held until an unsuccessful run for Governor in 1991. Frohnmayer was appointed the President of the University of Oregon in 1994 until his retirement in 2009.

School Board vacancies on the ballot

Two current members of the Siuslaw School Board said they will not seek reelection. Two others have already filed to be on the ballot, but a fifth has yet to respond.

Neither Michelle Rose, nor Deena Mitchell will run again. Mitchell said it has been a – quote – “great ride”, but said it was probably time to “get off”. Michelle Rose said she too has enjoyed serving, but she wants to concentrate more of her time to her family and personal career.

A third board member, Chad Clement, has not yet filed; nor has he publicly stated he would not be running.

That could mean there will be at least three new board members come July first.

Tammy Butler and Suzanne Mann-Heintz have already filed; they’ll be on the May 19th ballot. So far nobody else has indicated they’ll be running. The deadline is next Thursday, March 19th.

Once Upon a Mattress

Tickets are on sale now for an “off-beat” retelling of a Hans Christian Anderson classic fairy tale.

“Once Upon a Mattress” is loosely based on Anderson’s “Princess and the Pea” in which an overbearing queen devises impossible tests for princesses hoping to wed her son the prince.

The Children’s Repertory of Oregon Workshop will present the show five times next month, April tenth through the 12th.

Ticket prices are $16 for adults, $8 for students.

Freedom marcher joins 50th anniversary

A Florence man who was among the original freedom marchers across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama 50 years ago will talk about his experiences this weekend in Florence.

Bob Peters was a young campus Methodist Minister at the University of Oregon in 1965 when he and several other young pastors were called to join the march.

He and his wife Peg just returned from Alabama where they joined the observance of the 50th anniversary in Selma.

Peters will share his experiences; both from 1965; and from last week, this Sunday at the Unitarian Universalist congregation at Heceta Junction. The meeting begins at ten AM.

Cali harbor seals move to Newport

Three Californians moved to Newport this winter. That in itself isn’t really news, but these three are harbor seals that will bring what Ken Lytwyn calls “youthful energy” to the aging population of harbor seals already at the Oregon Coast Aquarium.

Miller, Tater and Elvis are 19, 20, and 21 years old… not young by any harbor seal standard, but they are considerably younger and spryer than the five seals already at the aquarium… the oldest of which will turn 40 years old this year.

The three seals come to Newport by way of Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo, California.

Lytwyn, the Marine Mammals Curator at the Aquarium, said the trio is settling quite well into their new home.

Plastics pose problems for seabirds and wildlife

Two volunteers sift through sand near Seaside looking for bits of microplastics and cigarette butts during the 2014 Spring Beach Cleanup.  (SOLVE photo)
Two volunteers sift through sand near Seaside looking for bits of microplastics and cigarette butts during the 2014 Spring Beach Cleanup. (SOLVE photo)

The annual Great Oregon Spring Beach Cleanup is just two weeks away and organizers are calling for volunteers to sign up online.

Joy Irby is the SOLVE beach cleanup program coordinator. She says of particular concern this year…as it has been in the past… is small bits of plastic.

Joy Irby – “A lot of the little plastics look like food to seabirds and fish in the water and they’ll end up ingesting them. A lot of researchers have done a lot of studies on how plastics can kill a lot of wildlife and so the more that we can get off the beach, the better.”

According to the journal Science, about 8-million metric tons of plastic are entering the oceans around the world each year.

This year’s SOLVE spring cleanup will be Saturday, March 28th from ten AM to one PM.

You can sign up in advance at www-dot-solvoregon-dot-gov.