Spanning the State: Gluten-Free Edition

Carla Axtman

A few years ago, I discovered that my body doesn't react well to gluten. My issues are not at the Celiac Disease level. My system reacts to gluten by building up painful mylofacial material in my neck and shoulders. Since that discovery, I eat gluten (and dairy, same problem) free.

This kind of diet can be tough to follow, but the good folks at Bob's Red Mill in Milwaukie have made it much easier. Bob's has been a leader in creating gluten-free products, so much so that they even aided the Food & Drug Administration as they set up their guidelines for labeling gluten free stuff. Three cheers for a local company making good stuff for people that need good stuff. Well done, Bob's.

And now, let's Span the State!

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The southern coast city of Bandon is struggling with a serious mosquito problem. The region's rehabilitated salt marshes have created an ideal home for salmon and birds, but also for oodles of mosquitoes causing tourists to cut short their stays and sending local residents fleeing for the indoors. These particular critters don't carry West Nile, and no public health threat appears imminent. The US Dept of Fish and Wildlife has been pressed into service to come up with a solution, but this is apparently outside their wheelhouse. In short, there's a lot of red tape ahead before these bugs are going away for good.

Things at the Springfield Police Department have been rocky, to say the least. The city is conducting a search for a new chief after the resignation of Jerry Smith, who resigned under threat of an investigation that could have led to his dismissal. An outside firm has been engaged to help fill the position, which pays $109,699 to $127,254, plus benefits.

For the third time in two years, the Culver School District is going to try to get a school levy passed. A $14.5 million levy failed November 2011. A reduced $9.75 million levy failed in May 2013. This November, they'll try for $8.8 million. The school board decided to cut out an ask for $1.9 million to pay off debt for property purchased in 2008 for future expansion. If the levy passes, money will go toward classrooms, safety and HVAC systems.

The Southern Oregon Forest Restoration Collaborative is a nonprofit collaborative that's trying to come up with solutions in the federal timber harvest debate. This week, the only timber/logging industry representative on the board resigned. Dave Schott, executive vice president of the Southern Oregon Timber Industries Association left the board in frustration over what he says was 10 years of work that yielded almost no accomplishments. Schott also expressed concern that only one environmental group was at the table with them, meaning that those groups were not "bound by the considerations of the collaborative."

By Carla Axtman Aug. 26, 2013