Hundreds of Florence area residents were awakened in the early morning hours of March 11 to the tsunami warning sirens going off. Those who lived in the inundation zone received phone calls alerting them that an evacuation order had been issued and a tsunami spurred by an 8.9 magnitude earthquake the night before in Japan was expected to arrive along the Oregon Coast.
Those calls, the blasts of the sirens and other activities that took place that morning were rooted in a tragically similar earthquake and tsunami that occurred in Indonesia five years ago. The development of the Western Lane Emergency Operations Group, a consortium of public agencies in the Florence and Dunes City areas was formed as a direct result of that earlier disaster. Since then, the group has been planning for a variety of possible natural and man-made disasters.
This week’s KCST’s Our Town will talk about tsunami warnings; fund-raising for earthquake relief in Japan; the unique nature of power sharing in this session of the Oregon House; and will include comments from newly appointed Lane County Sheriff Tom Turner.
The March 11th Tsunami Warning and how the ‘system’ worked will be the main topic during the second hour of this week’s KCST’s Our Town. Wednesday afternoon, host Bob Sneddon will speak with Siuslaw Valley Fire Chief John Buchanan and Florence Police Chief Maury Sanders about that day’s activation of the emergency plan. Joining them in the studio will be Florence Assistant City Manager Jacque Betz, who served as the liaison with the media during the event; and Western Lane Ambulance District Manager Henry Hanf who was instrumental in originally forming the group.
Starting off in the first hour Sneddon will visit with Allison Huff, an 8-year old karate student who has been saddened by the events unfolding in Japan. Rather than just feel bad about it the soft-spoken girl is taking action. So far she’s raised more than $200 that will be given to a relief organization that promises to use 100% of her donations to help people recover from the quake, tsunami and resulting nuclear disaster in Japan. Allison speaks to her karate class each week, updating them on her progress and is also reaching out to others who may want to help.
Jane Kirkpatrick believes our lives are the stories that others read first. She encourages people to discover the power of their own stories and use that power to divinely heal and transform their lives. The noted Central Oregon author has written nearly two dozen books. Her work has appeared in more than 50 publications and she’s widely hailed as an entertaining and motivating speaker. Kirkpatrick’s latest book, The Daughter’s Walk is being released this week and she talks about the story. Kirkpatrick will also speak to a women’s group in Reedsport later this month.
Co-Speaker of the House Bruce Hanna will talk about the current legislative session. The first in 152 years of Oregon statehood in which leadership responsibilities are split equally between two political parties. Because there are 30 Democrats and 30 Republicans in the House, lawmakers forged a compromise that they felt would lead to better working relationships and less partisan bickering. The Roseburg Republican, who shares his duties with Coos Bay Democrat Arnie Roblan, believes the unique system is working and will talk about what they’ve accomplished thus far. Both will be hosting a pair of legislative Town Hall meetings this coming Saturday; 9 AM in Cottage Grove and 2:00 at the Pacific Auditorium in Reedsport.
One of the first things that Lane County Sheriff TOm Turner faced when he was appointed to the post earlier this year was overseeing an investigation into sexual improprieties allegedly committed by a long time Sergeant. That investigation was immediately handed off to the Eugene Police Department after Fred Swank was relieved of his position and placed on paid-suspension. That was January 8th and the investigation came to a close last week with an agreement that Swank would surrender his law enforcement certification and resign. Despite allegations that he had improper sexual relations with a minor involved in the Lane County Sheriff’s Explorer Program he won’t face prosecution because the activity occurred 15 years ago. Turner is ready to put that episode behind him and wants to talk to Western Lane County residents about the future of law enforcement in Lane County. He and District Attorney Alex Gardner will be speaking at a Town Hall meeting in Florence April 21st. Ahead of that, Turner will visit with Our Town host Sneddon about his first three months in the post and what’s ahead.
Wrapping up the program will be founder and owner of CU Innovators and Siuslaw Broadband, Robbie Wright, who will provide some insight in how to handle your digital affairs.
It’s all sponsored by Andy Baber of Edward Jones Investments; Davis, McCulloch, and Holloway, CPA’s; and PeaceHealth Siuslaw Region. It airs on KCST, FM 106.9, Wednesday, April 6th between 4:00 and 6:00 PM.
KCST’s Our Town, named by the Oregon Associated Press Broadcasters as the “Best Public Affairs” for 2010.
Portions of KCST’s Our Town also air on Community Television Channel 10 with the cooperation of Campbell Productions. Viewers in Dunes City and Florence can watch the program on tape delay on this and other CPTV affiliate stations. Each program airs 16 times per week, check local listings at http://oregoncities.tv The programs also air on Charter Cable channel 18 in Lincoln and Tillamook Counties.
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