Penny pinching: Crab price negotiations currently under way
Posted: Friday, Nov 20th, 2009
The crabs are ready. Crabbers are still busy gearing up in windy, rainy conditions at the Newport docks, anticipating the Nov. 28 pre-soak. And the annual price negotiations between fishermen and processors, with oversight by the Oregon Department of Agriculture, began Wednesday in Newport.
Nick Furman, executive director of the Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission, said negotiations stopped at 7 ...more

LCSD lifts ban on birth control
Posted: Friday, Nov 20th, 2009
Board votes to again allow school health centers to distribute prescriptions

The Lincoln County School District Board of Directors on Tuesday lifted a ban on school based health centers dispensing prescription birth control.
The vote to again allow the dispensing of prescription birth control was 3-1, with Jean Turner, Karen Bondley and Jana Cowan voting in favor, and ...more

Man saves four after car crash
Posted: Friday, Nov 20th, 2009
Alcohol is factor in accident that sends SUV into creek near Rose Lodge

A man is being heralded as a hero after pulling four people from a sport utility vehicle that was partially submerged in a creek after crashing on Widow Creek Road in the Rose Lodge area shortly after 4 p.m. Wednesday.
According to the Lincoln County Sheriff's ...more

Research continues on wave energy
Posted: Friday, Nov 20th, 2009
Oregon public wants cautious approach with potential efforts

Most folks generally support developing wave energy potential in Oregon's territorial sea, but many want a cautious approach that encompasses careful research and testing before launching significant commercial projects.
Those are the underlying conclusions of a report prepared for the Oregon Wave Energy Trust by Oregon State University (OSU) ...more

Newport could see higher recreation fees
Posted: Friday, Nov 20th, 2009
Adult annual pool pass could increase from $107 to $450

The Newport Parks and Recreation Department is asking the Newport City Council to approve a business plan that calls for a significant increase in usage fees for the recreation center and pool.
The city's budget committee voted in May for the parks department to present a business plan showing ...more

Riding the wind
Posted: Wednesday, Nov 18th, 2009
Many people like to watch the turbulent ocean during windy days along the coast. And then there are those who prefer a more up-close-and-personal experience, like this kite surfer who was enjoying the wind and waves Friday afternoon at Newport's Nye Beach. ...more

Sea plan sailing toward adoption
Posted: Wednesday, Nov 18th, 2009
Efforts underway to meet needs of fishing groups and wave energy industry

"The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug."
Mark Twain's irrefutable wisdom bobbed to the surface in early November as state officials neared a decision on the final iteration of a vital amendment to Oregon's ...more

ODOT plans to revamp 101
Posted: Wednesday, Nov 18th, 2009
Meeting discusses potential improvements in various Lincoln City spots

Lincoln City Council and community members heard a special presentation from Oregon Department of Transportation representatives on Monday about the need to establish a facility plan for proposed improvements to Highway 101 from 12th Street to High School Drive.
The improvements to that section of the highway include expanding it ...more

A long look at water shortage
Posted: Wednesday, Nov 18th, 2009
Growth, climate change forcing new management focus

Mark Twain's witticism that "whiskey's for drinkin', water's for fightin' over" contains more than a modicum of truth, especially the part about fighting over water, a scarce commodity in the West, and becoming scarcer.
The recent deluge of rain on the central Oregon coast might belie it, but most of the ...more

Newport room tax revenue down
Posted: Wednesday, Nov 18th, 2009
Council discusses lack of funds, air service subsidy

During the Nov. 2 session of the Newport City Council, councilor Richard Kilbride passed out copies of a room tax revenue comparison for the first three months of the current fiscal year, as it relates to last year's, and the average of the same time span over the past three years. ...more

Storm a brewin’
Posted: Wednesday, Nov 18th, 2009
Coast Guard Station Yaquina Bay in Newport was flying this storm flag Monday afternoon, which warns mariners of winds within the range of 48 to 63 knots (55 to 73 miles per hour). Potentially damaging winds along the coast had been forecast for Monday night, and a number of late afternoon and evening events were cancelled or postponed. ...more

A tribute to veterans: Siletz Valley School honors those who served
Posted: Friday, Nov 13th, 2009
Siletz Valley School students from kindergarten through grade 12 honored about three dozen local veterans on Tuesday with special gifts and appreciation at the school's annual Veterans Day program.
"It was great. I've been to a lot of ceremonies, but none with the spirit and enthusiasm that the students at this school have," said guest speaker Brigadier General David B. ...more

Three schools get top marks: State rates Sam Case, Isaac Newton, Crestview Heights as ‘outstanding’
Posted: Friday, Nov 13th, 2009
Isaac Newton Magnet School and Sam Case Elementary School in Newport, and Crestview Heights School in Waldport all received an outstanding rating on the Oregon Department of Education's annual school report card for 2008-09.
"I am thrilled with the direction in which our district is moving," said LCSD Superintendent Tom Rinearson. "Continuous improvement is our guiding philosophy, and we have ...more

The air’s OK at Toledo Elementary, for now
Posted: Friday, Nov 13th, 2009
EPA says no immediate concern in initial air toxins monitoring

The first numbers released at the end of October by Pacific Northwest Region 10 office of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) indicate no immediate concern about air toxins around Toledo Elementary School.
The initial findings showed levels of manganese, antimony, arsenic, beryllium, cadmium, cobalt, mercury, nickel, and selenium ...more

Workshop focuses on smart growth
Posted: Friday, Nov 13th, 2009
Event looks at coastal community development with help of NOAA reps

Growth is vital to any community, but how a community grows can determine its future success - or failure.
Susan Fox and Margaret VanderWilt from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)'s Coastal Services Center presented this concept and more to about 50 community leaders from Yachats, ...more

Let the foam fly
Posted: Tuesday, Nov 10th, 2009
A storm surge at high tide on Friday sent waves crashing and seafoam flying at the seawall at the Nye Beach turnaround in Newport. Although blustery winds are expected to die down after today (Tuesday), forecasters are predicting rain to continue throughout the week. ...more

Wicked weather pounds coast: First major winter storm spawns lightning, hail, snow and a tornado
Modified: Tuesday, Nov 10th, 2009
As the first major storm of the winter season bore down on the Oregon coast, U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) officials last Thursday were warning even the most derring-do storm watchers to "sit this one out," and telling folks to stay off jetties and out of the water.
They had already shut down the Columbia River and Tillamook Bay bars ...more

Scientists swarm to new faults
Posted: Tuesday, Nov 10th, 2009
OSU researchers discover cause of offshore earthquake swarms

Oregon State University scientists are still assembling the pieces of a puzzle nature created for them in 2008, when they recorded a swarm of earthquakes in an area not known for high seismic activity.
While the puzzle remains incomplete, enough pieces are in place to determine a cause for the ...more

Mediation month begins in county
Posted: Tuesday, Nov 10th, 2009
Volunteer group helps residents resolve conflicts and disputes

Lincoln County residents who need help resolving a conflict or dispute with another party can find assistance with volunteer mediators from Lincoln Community Dispute Resolution.
The organization's executive director, Jim Reim, and board chair, Mindy Baxter, appeared at the Lincoln County Board of Commissioners meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 4, as the ...more

Energized PUD unveils ‘new’ Toledo substation
Posted: Tuesday, Nov 10th, 2009
$1.2 million project converts site to ‘smart-grid'

The Central Lincoln People's Utility District energized its newly modernized "smart grid substation" near downtown Toledo on Friday, in festivities that included Central Lincoln Board Member Larkin Kaliher, General Manager Paul Davies, County Commissioners Bill Hall and Terry Thompson, and City of Toledo City Councilor Mary Young, City Manager Michelle Amberg, and ...more

UNCERTAIN WATERS
Posted: Friday, Oct 23rd, 2009
In quantum mechanics, the uncertainty principle (in its most simple terms) means that researchers can't simultaneously measure separate physical characteristics (such as position and momentum) with the same precision.
Fisheries managers have dealt with the uncertainty principle in a different way and at different levels for decades.
And according to the latest analysis, climate change could add to the ...more

Toledo Police getting a tech boost
Posted: Friday, Oct 23rd, 2009
Council approves
department's request for new computer equipment



Toledo City Council members gave unanimous, but somewhat reserved, support to authorize Michelle Amberg to sign two agreements that would bring the police department's computer technology out of the "dark ages."
During the council's Oct. 7 regular session, Police Chief Mark Fandrey outlined the bits and bytes ...more

By Terry Dillman
Posted: Friday, Oct 23rd, 2009
Session at Otter Rock lets public give input on
marine reserves process

Three state agencies are developing rules for establishing, studying, monitoring, and evaluating pilot marine reserves at Otter Rock north of Newport and Redfish Rocks near Port Orford.
Each agency is developing its own set of rules that focus on what activities are allowed or not ...more

Newport council looking at media
Posted: Friday, Oct 23rd, 2009
Mayor appoints task
force to review proposed model policy on media

Newport Mayor Bill Bain appointed a task force on Monday to review a proposed model policy addressing news media attendance in city council executive sessions.
City attorney Penelope McCarthy received a copy of the policy at a League of Oregon Cities conference earlier in the month.
...more