Weekly news from the Heart of the Dunes an edition of
Wednesday, December 3, 2014
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Umpqua River Bridge halfway finished World Construction took a break for the Thanksgiving holiday KURTIS HAIR
The Umpqua Post
Steve Lindsley, The Umpqua Post
The Umpqua River Bridge is open for river traffic on Nov. 26. Work by contractors continue on the bridge for possibly another year. Crews are painting and upgrading the bridge’s infrastructure and replacement of the roadbed is in the works.
Construction on the Umpqua River Bridge is slightly ahead of schedule and is a little more than halfway finished. Dan Latham, a project information specialist for the Oregon Department of Transportation, s aid construction workers are making good progress. “ They’re about 60 percent done,” Latham said. The bridge, which was built in 1933, has suffered damage from c oastal weather, and rust has distorted the steel, resulting in minor section loss. The deck also has some cracks with exposed rebar in some areas, according to
ODOT. C onstruction workers have been removing the rust, painting the steel, replacing rivets and performing minor steel repairs. S&K Painting was awarded the bid for the project in September 2013, and construction began last February. The estimated $4 million project is expected to be finished next fall. Since construction started, the bridge has been limited to a single lane. L atham said both lanes on the bridge were opened to traffic through Thanksgiving weekend, but the bridge will return to a single lane this week. Construction is on schedule to be finished next fall. eporter Kurtis Hair can be R reached at 541-269-1222, ext. 240, or by email at kurtis.hair@ theworldlink.com. Follow him on Twitter: @KurtisHair.
A long weekend for Reedsport city crews The Umpqua Post
The Umpqua Post
Submitted photo, city of Reedsport
City of Reedsport water and waste water crews worked long hours over the Thanksgiving weekend to replace two broken water pipes, this one next to U.S. Highway 101 near Winchester Bay. Almost all customers have restored water service.
Holiday with the community
District dinner is Friday of Oregon; and Steve Langenstein, wildlife biologist/district noxious weed and invasive species program coordinator for the Coos Bay office of the Bureau of Land Management. Horning is a Reedsport High School graduate. He assists local farmers and ranchers to preserve agriculture through education. L angenstein will share i nformation about pollinator health, invasive plants, noxious weeds and biological controls. For more information contact 360-270-1686 or email rhonda@umpquasoilandwater.com.
Steve Lindsley, The Umpqua Post
More than 100 Reedsport-area residents and dozens of volunteers came together for a community Thanksgiving dinner, coordinated by the Lower Umpqua Ministerial Association. The traditional dinner included turkey, potatoes, dressing, vegetables, cranberry sauce and a roll. There were even take-out dinners.
Douglas County unemployment rate holding steady STEVE LINDSLEY The Umpqua Post
Douglas County’s seasonally a djusted unemployment rate was unchanged at 9.7 percent in October. That’s the same rate as September.
The county’s rate is above the statewide rate of 7 percent and the national rate of 5.8 percent. A news release states the October rate was .9 percentage points lower than the 10.6 rate of October 2013. D ouglas County had the
fifth-highest rate in the state in October. The number of unemployed rose by 227 people. N on-farm payroll employm ent rose by 40. The news release state a decrease of 40 w as expect. Total non-farm employment rose by 360, when
compared to 2013. Manufacturing declined by 80 in October, due to decreases in wood products (-50 jobs), other durable goods (-10) and nondurable goods (-20). See Rate, A6
For news tips, subscriptions, classified advertising or display advertising, call 541-271-7474 or email umpquapost@theworldlink.com
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DAVENPORT, Iowa — Lee E nterprises, Incorporated ( NYSE: LEE) announced the s election of four Enterprise of the Year Finalists for 2014, honoring superior performance in key business and customer measures. Mary Junck, chairman, president and chief executive officer, and Kevin Mowbray, vice president and chief operating officer, said the four finalists for the company’s highest honor were selected from among more than 50 divisions in 22 states, representing print and digital daily newspaper operations, regional a gricultural publications and nationwide digital services. “ Even among many others that came close,” they said, “these four enterprises stood o ut for delivering the most impressive results in audience, revenue and overall growth, as well as for providing exceptional service to subscribers, advertisers and other customers.”
STEVE LINDSLEY
See Reedsport, A6
The Umpqua Soil and Water C onservation District will hold its annual dinner meeting at 6 p.m. Friday. The dinner will be held in the Port of Umpqua Annex, 1841 Winchester Ave. in Reedsport. The dinner is $10 per person and will be catered by Harbor Light Restaurant. The menu includes homemade chicken and beef pot pies, green salad and marionberry cobbler for dessert. Coffee, tea and soda will be served with the meal. S peakers include Geoff Horning, executive director tor the Agri-Business Council
The Umpqua Post
Salmon Harbor awards contract
STEVE LINDSLEY
The Umpqua Post
Local enterprise is one of four honored
See Lee, A6
Two water line breaks had crews working Thanksgiving City of Reedsport crews were busy over the long Thanksgiving weekend repairing two broken water mains, which affected water to some city customers. One major break happened Wednesday morning on a main water line between St. John the Apostle Rectory and U.S. Highway 101. Reedsport public works director John Stokes said a citizen noticed a “large wet spot” near the church. “They called the water department to see what was going on with that,” he said. “We went out, took a look at it and thought it might have been a smaller break on a lateral. So, they started to dig it up and found it was the actual water main that was tied into the 16-inch main line that had broken loose.”
among 2014 Lee finalists
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Work will begin soon for an expansion on the registration building at the Salmon Harbor RV resort. The Salmon Harbor Management Committee, at its November 20 meeting, awarded a bid for the 924-square-foot project, which may begin in December. The bid accepted was not the lowest bid submitted. Blitz Construction Company of Medford submitted a bid of $148,800 to do the project, with a 120-day time line. That bid had committee members concerned. “I was concerned that the low (bidder) was outside the area,” Committee chairman Jim Bruce said. He said the contractor would have to find housing in the area and the bid was lower than a local contractor. Salmon Harbor retained HGE, Inc. of Coos Bay to help the committee manage the project bids. “I asked (Salmon Harbor Harbormaster Paul Stallard) to contact you folks,” Bruce said, “to see if we could do a background investigation and get any information as far as quality of work, the size of the company and how long they’ve been in business. “Is it too big of a job for them?” “My concern was that there was $100,000 spread,” committee member Donna Train said, “and somebody coming from Medford would need to have housing during that time. Also, they were saying they could complete it 80 days quicker.” See Contract, A6