BRIEFLY.

Byline: The Register-Guard

Store's ex-manager

sentenced for peeping

A former manager of a leather goods store was sentenced to community service, probation and a fine Tuesday for secretly peering into a changing room at Wilson's Leather in the Valley River Center mall while a female customer tried on garments in July.

Jesus Manuel Trinidad, 29, pleaded guilty to attempted invasion of privacy in a plea deal with the prosecutor. He had been scheduled for trial Tuesday on the charge.

Eugene police cited Trinidad after the female customer became suspicious and reported hearing noise coming from a room on the opposite side of the wall from the changing room. She noticed a spot where a light fixture had been pried away from the ceiling, leaving a gap, according to a police report.

An investigating officer interviewed Trinidad, examined the store and confirmed her suspicions.

As part of his three-year probationary sentence, Trinidad must pay the woman a $500 compensatory fine, serve 80 hours of community service, undergo sex offender evaluation, and disclose the conviction to any future retail clothing employers.

REGION

Coast highway tunnel

to be open by Feb. 24

Transportation officials now say the Cape Creek Tunnel on Highway 101 is expected to be open by Feb. 24.

The $6 million repair job between Florence and Yachats has suffered multiple delays. It was supposed to be finished by mid-December. But stabilizing the soil and rock behind a 230-foot long concrete liner on the tunnel's south end took longer than expected, say Oregon Department of Transportation officials. More than 225,000 gallons of grout were injected to fill gaps between the tunnel structure and the rock behind it. The grout work is now complete, and the liner is being replaced.

Meanwhile, the tunnel remains closed to traffic on weeknights, from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m., Sunday through Thursday. For more information on the project, visit www.odot.state.or.us/region2public/cape_creek _tunnel.htm or call [phone] for an update.

Siuslaw dredging funds survive in Bush proposal

Unlike the past two years, President Bush didn't eliminate funding for dredging the Siuslaw River in his proposed 2006 budget. But his half-million dollar allocation is still short of what the river needs, Port of Siuslaw officials say.

The port projects that $599,000 will be needed to dredge the channel to make it safe for navigation and an additional $400,000 for studying the failing jetty system, which helps naturally scour out the river bottom. The president's proposal is $449,000, which is three times the amount the port got in 2004 and 2005 after Congress restored some of the funding Bush proposed cutting.

Maple Street Landing

to be closed for repairs

FLORENCE - The Port of Siuslaw has closed the Maple Street Landing in Old Town for emergency repairs, officials announced Tuesday.

The landing connects Old Town to the Transient Dock, but it isn't the only access point. Until repairs are completed, the port will remove the gangway and recreational moorage on the dock will be suspended. Commercial access won't be restricted.

The tour boat Westward Ho! will be moved to an alternate moorage in the commercial basin if repairs are not completed by this summer's sailing schedule.

Port officials have known for some time that the landing and dock needed more than $1 million in repairs, but they had hoped to keep it in service long enough to find grant money for a replacement.

- Register-Guard