23 April 2015
County Commission selects Chief Deputy
Byron Trapp will take over as Lane County Sheriff May 1st. The 49-year old Chief Deputy was selected by the Board of Lane County Commissioners yesterday to fill the spot that will be vacated when Tom Turner, the current sheriff, moves to Florence. Turner will be Florence’s new Police Chief.
He had already selected Trapp as his successor, but Commissioners opted for an open recruitment process and sought applications from interested parties. There were eight in all, but only two met residency requirements: Trapp and former Florence Police Chief Maury Sanders.
All five commissioners acknowledged the qualifications of both finalists, but ultimately selected Trapp in a unanimous vote.
Trapp said he is committed to continuing “the trajectory” the agency is on. He worked closely with his former boss in developing the Department’s ten year public safety plan. He also indicated during an interview yesterday morning that he intended to run in a special election to be held early next year.
Davis Carnival looking forward to 66th visit
Every year since 1950 Pat Davis has celebrated his birthday in Florence. Davis was just a child when the family business, Davis Shows, first brought their carnival rides and attractions to Florence for the annual Rhododendron Festival.
65 years later, the third and fourth generations are actively involved in the business and Davis is looking forward once again to celebrating his birthday in Florence, adding “Florence is like working from home”.
Advance tickets for carnival rides are on sale now at the Chamber Visitor Center. Davis Shows Northwest will begin setting up at the Boardwalk in Old Town Florence Monday May 11th… they’ll be operating by Wednesday of that week and run through the end of the festival, Sunday, May 17th.
Cost of driving $1.10 a gallon less than last April
Sharply rising crude oil prices are causing retail gas prices to climb once again. Crude prices reached the most expensive level of 2015 last week as supplies built more slowly than anticipated.
Marie Dodds with Triple-A of Oregon said the national average price added seven cents a gallon to $2.46. Oregon’s average price went up four cents to $2.73.
The average cash price in Florence held steady this week at $2.62 a gallon… That’s actually six cents less than it was two weeks ago.
Despite the nationwide increase drivers in Florence are paying $1.10 a gallon less on average than they did last year at this time.
Pool supporters hope to “get in the SWIM”
A local effort to reopen the long-dormant swimming pool in Mapleton is gearing up for another run. Organizers will hold a meeting this evening at Siuslaw Public Library. They’re trying to raise money needed to renovate the pool, repair leaks in the lining, and establish a fund to maintain it once they get it open.
The group “Siuslaw Regional Aquatics Center” is also changing the name of their effort to “SWIM”… Lauren Hesse says that stands for Siuslaw Wellness in Mapleton.
This evening’s meeting is at 5:30.
Travel Oregon head touring state
The head of the agency responsible for marketing travel in Oregon is acting like a tourist himself this month.
Todd Davidson is the Chief Executive Officer of TravelOregon. He’s spreading the word of just how important the visitor industry is.
Todd Davidson – “We’re wanting to make sure folks are aware of the incredible impact that the travel and tourism industry is having on the state’s economy. We’ve got some great new research that’s just come in and we wanted to get the word out about the impact of the industry statewide.”
One reason it has such an impact on the economy is because the owners and managers of travel oriented businesses are usually one and the same.
Todd Davidson – “This is an industry of sole proprietors; where the owner is showing up every morning unlocking that front door. You know 75-percent of the businesses in Oregon’s travel and tourism industry are sole proprietorships, small businesses.”
Travel Oregon was established by the legislature in 2003 to help strengthen the impacts of the state’s $9.6-billion tourist industry.”
