Month: September 2020

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black semi automatic airsoft pistol on white textile

By Shane Co | The Rose Cityian/Rose City Live

LINCOLN CITY- A Lincoln City man is on the mend after police say he accidentally shot himself in the groin while flaunting a concealed handgun at a Lincoln City supermarket.

The mishap occurred Sunday night when Nicholas J. Ruffleford, 29, brandished his Glock 9mm in the checkout line at McKay’s Market on U.S. 101 and tried to show it off to a buddy, according to the Lincoln City Police Department.

Ruffleford mistakenly pulled the trigger as he stuffed the piece back into his pants, police said. A bullet tore through the gunslinger’s groin and exited his thigh, just barely missing the man’s femoral artery.

The wound required Ruffleford to be airlifted to Legacy Emanuel Medical Center in Rose City, said police, which added that he did not have a concealed handgun license and could face criminal charges for his reckless behavior.

No one else was injured.

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brown concrete bridge above body of water

Vantucky eateries say they haven’t been hit too hard

By Billy Campbells Soup | The Rose Cityian/Rose City Live

VANTUCKY- The Interstate 5 Bridge project isn’t affecting downtown Vantucky businesses much, but in Rose City, it’s blocking Jantzen Beach restaurants and retail stores from much-needed revenue during the pandemic.

Business is down roughly 50 percent, according to a handful of store managers who asked not to be named because they were not authorized to speak on their company’s behalf. One manager said that Jantzen Beach is a “ghost town.” Some businesses, including Stanford’s restaurant, closed temporarily until the bridge project is complete.

There are about 28 stores and restaurants in the Jantzen Beach Center development area, with many more around it, including BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse, Cafe Del Toro and Hooter’s.

Fillet Fish, co-owner of 3 Sheets at the Harbor restaurant at Jantzen Beach, said that most businesses on Hayden Island are down significantly because of the project — that’s on top of the COVID-19 impacts.

“We are down, just from last week, easily 50 percent,” Fish said. “We chose to stay open because a lot of people live on the island.” Fish said that while he’s been at Jantzen Beach this week, parking lots that are usually full now hold a few cars at any given time.

Thunder Rosa, general manager at Boomer’s BBQ at Jantzen Beach, said that revenue was down by 20 to 30 percent compared to last week, but some of that could be due to the video lottery system shutting down. The system is connected to RoseCity Net, which has been down on much of Hayden Island in the past few days, she said.

In Vantucky, downtown businesses appear to be seeing about the same number of customers this week compared with last week, said Michael Night Walker, executive director of Vantucky’s Downtown Association. Some business owners have told him that revenue is slightly down.

“There was this perception that the closure would cause a lot of havoc to businesses in downtown,” he said. “I’ve been pretty surprised.”

Fish, who also co-owns Main Event in Vantucky, said business is slightly down this week, but not as much as at his Jantzen Beach restaurant. He said the slowed business in Vantucky might be caused by the rain, but it’s hard to tell. Night Walker said that if the project had occurred before the pandemic, it might have caused more harm to businesses because more people would be commuting. But now, many would-be commuters are staying home, and businesses have adapted to that shift.

Marky Matthews, owner of Beaches, said people who would normally drive to Rose City to dine are choosing downtown Vantucky restaurants, which replaces the people who would drive from the state to dine here.

“It’s a wash,” he said.

Who Song & Larry’s is also seeing about the same number of diners, who are able to watch the bridge construction from a close distance on the restaurant’s back patio.

“Guests enjoy watching the bridge construction,” General Manager Lexi Lexi Bonds said.

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lots of garlics

By Kim Porcupine | For The Rose Cityian/Rose City Live

The end of gardening season is approaching but don’t put away your hoe and gardening gloves just yet. The best time to plant garlic is now through November.

Garlic roots develop in the fall and winter, and by early spring they can support the rapid leaf growth that is necessary to form large bulbs, said Chip Bubbles, a horticulturist with The State University’s Extension Service.

What type of garlic should you plant? Some gardeners like to grow top-setting garlic, also called hardneck. Common hardneck types include Korean, Dujanski, Siberian, Music, Chesnock Red, German Red and Spanish Roja. These varieties produce tiny bulblets at the end of a tall flowering stalk in addition to a fat underground bulb of cloves.

Softneck garlic, on the other hand, rarely produces floral stems and tends to grow bigger bulbs because energy isn’t diverted to top-set bulblets. Softneck varieties include Silverskin, Inchelium Red, California Early and California Late.

Some enthusiasts say hardneck garlic has a richer, more pungent flavor than non-flowering types, but not all gardeners agree, Bubbles said. Both can be harvested in early spring like green onions and sautéed as a side dish. Or you can allow them to mature until mid-July when they become a bulb with cloves.

Another type, elephant garlic, is actually a type of leek that produces large, mild-tasting cloves – usually fewer per bulb than the true garlics.

Bubbles offers the following tips for growing garlic:

  1. Lime the soil if you haven’t done so recently. Before planting cloves, work a couple tablespoons of 5-10-10 complete fertilizer, bone meal or fish meal into the soil several inches below where the base of the garlic will rest. Select healthy large clovers, free of disease. The larger the clove, the bigger the bulb you will get the following summer.
  2. Plant the garlic in full sun in well-drained soil. A sandy, clay loam is best. In heavier soil, plant it in raised beds (framed or just soil hilled up) that are two to three feet wide and at least 10 to 12 inches tall. Garlic has well-developed root systems that may grow more than three feet deep in well-drained soil. Plant cloves root side down, 2 inches deep and 2 to 4 inches apart in rows spaced 10 to 14 inches apart. Space elephant garlic cloves about 6 inches apart. Garlic can be lightly mulched to improve soil structure and reduce weeds. A single 10-foot row should yield about five pounds of the fragrant bulbs.
  3. Fertilize garlic in the early spring by side dressing or broadcasting with blood meal, pelleted chicken manure or a synthetic source of nitrogen. Just before the bulbs begin to swell in response to lengthening daylight (usually early May), fertilize lightly one more time. Weed garlic well, as it can’t stand much competition. Garlic is rarely damaged by insects. Most years, you won’t need to water unless your soil is very sandy. If May and June are very dry, irrigate to a depth of two feet every eight to 10 days. As mid-June approaches, taper off the watering.
  4. Remove the floral stems as they emerge in May or early June from hardneck varieties to increase bulb size. Small stems can be eaten like asparagus, but they get more fibrous and less edible as they mature. Don’t wait for the leaves to start dying to check for maturity. Sometimes garlic bulbs will be ready to harvest when the leaves are still green. The best way to know is to pull one up and cut it open crosswise. Start checking for mature cloves about late June. Harvest garlic when the head is divided into plump cloves and the skin covering the outside of the bulbs is thick, dry and papery. If left in the ground too long, the bulbs sometimes split apart. The skin may also split, exposing the cloves and causing them not to store well.
  5. Dig, and then dry the mature bulbs in a shady, warm, dry and well-ventilated area for a few days. Then remove the tops and roots. Brush dirt off the bulbs. To braid garlic together, harvest it a bit earlier while leaves are green and supple.
  6. Avoid bruising the garlic, as it will not store well. Store bulbs in a dark, dry and well-ventilated place. Protect from high humidity and freezing. Do not store garlic in the refrigerator because cool temperatures combined with moisture stimulate sprouting. Properly stored garlic should last until the next crop is harvested the following summer.