10 July 2015
Cleanup proceeding on Siuslaw River Oil Spill
The U.S. Coast Guard, firefighters and a crew from the Port of Siuslaw worked to contain a spill of diesel this morning at the Port’s Commercial Marina.
Port of Siuslaw Manager Bob Forsythe said it’s not known just how much diesel leaked from the 50-foot Fishing Vessel Summer Breeze; but, he said, a coast guard crew responding could see the slick and smell the oil several hundred yards downstream.
Forsythe said it appeared the vessel’s fuel tank or fuel lines leaked into the bilge, and from there, the oil contaminated water was pumped into the basin. The slick was discovered at high slack tide; so there was little current. That made the slick more apparent. Forsythe added the entire basin “reeks” of diesel.
Cleanup will continue through the day. The vessel is owned by Greg Helmer. He and his wife Barbara live aboard the boat.
Florence Planning Commission to conduct three hearings
The first hearing Tuesday, July 14th, will be on a plan by the Children’s Repertory of Oregon Workshop… also known as CROW… to remodel a building at 3120 Highway 101. They want to make add rehearsal and workshop space as well as an 80-seat theater.
Testimony will also be taken that evening on a proposal to add on to the former Christian Science Reading Room at the corner of Kingwood and Rhododendron Drive. David and Rosemary Lauria are in the process of remodeling the building into what will be called the “Class Act Theater”.
The third hearing scheduled for Tuesday is not theatrically oriented. The Florence Area Humane Society has asked for a conditional use permit to place a storage container next to their thrift store on Bay Street.
The Planning Commission meets Tuesday, seven pm at City Hall.
OHSU opening Coos County facility
Oregon Health and Science University is moving forward with plans to open a campus in Coos Bay intended on supporting the advancement of rural health.
The Coos Bay World reports the campus will have 12 to 15 students in their respective fields from various OHSU medical programs. In addition to training students, it will allow them to serve residents in the area. The first group of students is set to begin September 28th.
The program was announced late last year, but details of the Coos Bay campus have only recently been settled. Another rural campus site is in Klamath Falls.
Tribal forest land bill clears House committee
Another try at securing forest land for the Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians is making its way through Congress.
Fourth District Congressman Peter DeFazio said the “Western Oregon Tribal Fairness Act”… HR-2791… would secure nearly 15-thousand acres of Siuslaw National Forest Land for the tribe, promoting job creation and economic growth.
The bill also contains 17,500 acres for the Cow Creek Band of the Umpqua Indians and would restore the Coquille (KO-qwell) Tribe’s sovereignty over the Coquille forest.
The bill cleared the House Natural Resources Committee with unanimous approval. It now heads to the House floor.
Florence to distribute soil amendment
It’s turned out to be pretty popular: FloGro; the composted soil amendment that is a combination of leftover sludge from the city’s Waste Water Treatment Facility and ground yard debris.
The third batch of it has been composting at the plant for several months now. It will be given away on a first-come-first-served basis next Thursday, July 16th.
Florence Public Works Director Mike Miller said the response to the first two give-away events last year was “overwhelming”. Both times they ran out in under two hours.
While supplies last next Thursday, residents can get up to one-cubic-yard. There are no containers provided, so you’ll have to bring your own… or they can load your pickup.
By combining the sewage sludge with the yard debris, the city has been able to reduce trucking and disposal costs of the sludge from $80-thousand a year to about $50-thousand. Miller says they hope to be able to reduce it to about $35-thousand eventually.
Next week’s give-away begins at nine AM… it will go until two pm… or until they run out.
Corvallis to Coast Trail agreement signed
Development of the first 35-mile stretch of the Corvallis-to-the-Sea trail is expected to begin soon. Siuslaw National Forest officials and members of the C-2-C group signed a permit Tuesday that will give authority to construct and maintain the trail on Siuslaw National Forest land between Corvallis and the tiny community of Harlan near Mary’s Peak.
C2C President Gary Chapman said the group, which was originally organized in 2003, will be working “very hard over the next year” to get trail constructed, along with maps and signs.
Eventually, the trail would stretch from the south side of Corvallis, crossing public and private lands, and end at Ona Beach State Park just north of Waldport.
