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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories Crime, Courts and Emergency Services Politics and Elections Education Environment State News Nation - World Obituaries Weather Photo Galleries Since You Asked Videos Web Cams Mail Tribune 100 Sports Latest Stories Varsity 541 College Sports Pro Sports Community Sports Business Latest Stories Real Estate News People In Business Transportation Agriculture Opinion Latest Editorials Letters to the Editor Guest Opinions Lifestyle Latest stories Food Home and Garden Health Hiking Biking Faith Milestones and Achievements Columnist for a Day Rogue Healthy Aging Tempo Latest stories Theater Music Community Events Dining Tempo Videos Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » Obituaries Blogs TV Listings Movie Listings Oregon Outdoors Oregon Healthy Living Magazines & Special Sections NEWS NOW Longtime Ashland New Plays Festival artistic director is retiring ... Most dredging banned under new proposed guidelines ... Our View: Stay flexible on kindergarten hours ... Longtime Ashland New Plays Festival artistic director is retiring ... Most dredging banned under new proposed guidelines ... Our View: Stay flexible on kindergarten hours ... ROSEBURG Roseburg nutcracker seeks record status By The Associated Press MailTribune.com By The Associated Press Posted Nov. 20, 2014 @ 5:43 pm Updated Nov 20, 2014 at 5:48 PM By The Associated Press Posted Nov. 20, 2014 @ 5:43 pm Updated Nov 20, 2014 at 5:48 PM » Social News Sponsors of the annual holiday festival near Roseburg have commissioned a whopper of a centerpiece — a wooden nutcracker intended to stand 41 feet tall, weigh more than 16,000 pounds and work its jaw with enough force to crush coconuts. The statue was created by a Willamette Valley woodworker using chain saws, The News-Review reported. The crushing power comes from a quarter-horsepower engine that opens and closes a statue jaw about six times a minute. Cranes were deployed this week to assemble the statue at River Forks Park for the Umpqua Valley Festival of Lights, which begins Sunday. The sponsors say they have sent documentation to the Guinness Book of World Records in hopes of having it declared the world's largest nutcracker, eclipsing a German one 8 feet shorter. Pieces of the Roseburg statue were trucked on Interstate 5 on Monday from the workshop of Toby Johnson in Aurora, between Salem and Portland. The nutcracker is made of a variety of woods from downed trees: sequoia, coastal redwood, western red cedar and Port Orford cedar. Johnson said he used a 6-foot chain saw to make the initial cuts and shorter saws for the detail work. Friends at Intermountain Innovations Corp. designed the jaw and did the metal work. "It's surprisingly beautiful," long-time festival organizer Kerwin Doughton said. "This guy has done an amazing job with his three chain saws." The holiday festival features 500,000 lights and more than 90 animated displays. Doughton wants the region to be known for nutcrackers: 4-inchers are on sale this year at the festival. He's urging the community adopt the nutcracker as a mascot, with businesses sponsoring 6-foot-tall nutcrackers and maps for visitors maps to see nutcrackers in the area. By The Associated Press MailTribune.com By The Associated Press Posted Nov. 20, 2014 @ 5:43 pm Updated Nov 20, 2014 at 5:48 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2014 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Local Media Group Publications Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted. MailTribune.com | P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501