I n c a s e y o u m i s s e d i t.

Byline: The Register-Guard

Growth may require

moving two firehouses

Expected growth spurts in the Glenwood and Jasper-Natron areas will warrant the need for two existing Springfield fire stations to be relocated, according to a report completed last month by a consultant hired by the city.

That's an expensive proposition that could require passage of a construction bond measure in the future, Councilor Anne Ballew said during last week's City Council meeting.

The report by Emergency Services Consulting Inc. of Wilsonville recommended moving city fire Station 2 - built in 1961 near 47th and Main streets - south to a spot in the vicinity of 57th Street and Mount Vernon Road.

The move would allow crews quicker access to emergencies in the Jasper-Natron area southwest of Springfield, where 800 acres is expected to be annexed into the city and developed after the Bob Straub Parkway is completed in 2009.

Future redevelopment of the Glenwood area may include hundreds of new homes and businesses.

That will call for moving city Station 4 from its present location at Fifth and M streets into downtown Springfield, the report states.

Station 4 opened in 1973.

The last time a new Springfield fire station was opened was in 1997, two years after the passage of a citywide bond measure that paid for construction of a $1.1 million station off Harlow Road in the Gateway area.

And a Home Depot 

would make three ...

Home Depot wants to compete against chief rival Lowe's and home-grown Jerry's in a battle for home-improvement center supremacy in mid-Springfield.

Documents filed with city planners show that Home Depot is eyeing a move onto the site of the former Mohawk Shopping Center near the corner of Centennial and Mohawk boulevards.

Home Depot would build a 103,000-square-foot building, plus outdoor garden and seasonal sales areas, according to the plans.

Lowe's is hoping to build a new store near Marcola Road and 28th Street, a few blocks northeast of the site at 2525 Olympic St. that has been occupied by Jerry's since 2003.

If both Home Depot and Lowe's proceed with their projects, Eugene and Springfield together would have six big-box home improvement retailers, an eye-opening tally for a metro area of only about 270,000 people.

The Springfield City Council on Monday spoke briefly of the potential for having three big-box home improvement stores within a mile radius.

The discussion came up during the council's review of a Measure 37 claim filed by McKay Investment Co. of Eugene, owner of the Mohawk Shopping Center property.

McKay co-manager Linda Korth declined to talk about the possibility of Home Depot moving into the space at 1650 Centennial Blvd.

Lawsuit over student's death settled out of court

A wrongful death lawsuit by the family of a Springfield High School girl who died of a brain hemorrhage after a physical education class in 2005 has been settled out of court with a $15,000 payment by the school district to the family of 15-year-old Jazmin Montalvo.

Although the case is settled, the dispute over the district's response to Jazmin's medical emergency remains, according to Eugene lawyer Lourdes Sanchez, who represented the family.

An autopsy determined Jazmin had a blood vessel malformation in her brain that was fated to cause her problems at some time in her life, both sides agree.

She reported nausea, pain and other symptoms soon after being struck on the head by a basketball during a physical education class.

School district lawyer Lann Leslie said 12 minutes elapsed from the time the physical education teacher was informed of Jazmin's symptoms until an ambulance was called. Jazmin stopped breathing two minutes before the ambulance arrived, he said.

But Sanchez said evidence suggests that between 23 and 28 minutes elapsed before school officials called for an ambulance.

Justice center construction could begin this month

Construction of the city's voter-approved municipal public safety complex is a go and could begin by the end of this month.

The city in March delayed the highly anticipated project, cutting ties with an Atlanta-based contractor that the City Council had earlier picked to oversee the justice center job. The firm, Heery International, had indicated that it could not complete the project unless the city agreed to spend about $2.8 million more.

Opting instead to stick with a funding level approved by voters in 2004, Springfield's council agreed to turn over the job to John Hyland Construction, a Springfield company that last week submitted to the city a proposal outlining how the downtown complex can be built within the city's $24.07 million budget.

City project manager Carole Knapel said officials reviewed Hyland's price proposal and have deemed it complete.

The justice center project's first phase involves construction of a new police station and municipal courts building, slated for completion by late 2008.

Work crews will then turn to building a 100-bed jail designed to house misdemeanor-level offenders.

The lockup is expected to be finished in early 2010, with plans to open it later that year.