By LYNNE TERRY/Oregon Capital Chronicle The last of the pandemic limits Oregonians have endured for two years are ending, with state authorities lifting mask requirements by Friday, March 19, and the state of emergency ending April 1, state officials announced Thursday. That means that this spring, life in Oregon will officially be back to […]
Archives for February 2022
Construction has finished on the Amanda Trail suspension bridge, which is now open to hikers
YACHATS – It’s a little high. It’s a little bouncy. And it may make some hikers a little nervous. But the 142-foot, $434,000 suspension bridge on the Amanda Trail opened to hikers this week. There’s still a lot of smaller detail work around the north and south ends and near the Amanda Grotto, but […]
With Gomberg’s help, projects on Oregon coast could get $20 million under “olive branch” agreement between Democrat and GOP legislators
By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews.com Jurisdictions along the Oregon coast could see an influx of up to $20 million to help with infrastructure projects under a unique and unusual plan shaping up in the current short session of the Oregon Legislature. It all started last week when new House Speaker Dan Rayfield, D-Corvallis, alerted Republican legislators […]
In tiny south coast community of Gardiner, the Oregon Coast School of Art takes shape in long abandoned middle school
By DANITA CAHILL/Oregon ArtsWatch GARDINER — On a hike along the Oregon coast, Emily Free Wilson and her husband, Matt Wilson, looked up a hillside scattered with houses and saw the old Gardiner middle school. The school, built in the 1950s north of Reedsport, was abandoned, spacious, and perfect – for its location and […]
Yachats City Hall fully closes to public except for appointments through March
YACHATS – Yachats City Hall has been closed this week and will remain closed except for appointments or via the drive-up window during March as new city manager Heide Lambert scrambles to untangle issues that have built up over the past year. Originally announced only to be open from 2-4 p.m. daily, Lambert with the […]
Alsea School District superintendent resigns Tuesday to focus on run for governor
By The ASSOCIATED PRESS ALSEA — Oregon gubernatorial candidate Marc Thielman, a conservative Republican and outspoken critic of COVID-19 public health mandates, resigned on Tuesday from his job as superintendent of Alsea School District. Thielman announced his resignation as superintendent during an emergency meeting of the school board. Sixteen Republicans have filed to run in […]
Coast Guard helicopter rescues crabbers stuck on an Alsea Bay sandbar Tuesday night
WALDPORT – Jeff Hood of Albany and a friend got an unexpected and unwanted helicopter ride Tuesday night. Hood was crabbing Tuesday afternoon in Alsea Bay when the motor in his 21-foot Starcraft conked out and wouldn’t restart. He drifted under the Alsea Bay bridge and then became stuck on a sandbar just east of […]
Oregon State Police/Newport activity log for Feb. 19-21
OREGON STATE POLICE DAILY MEDIA/DESK LOG SP22042596 02/19/2022 11:02 Officer #53141 SEVERSON, SCOTT DUII Location 101, Mile post 140 140 NB, LINCOLN OR Narrative Summary On 2/19/22 at approximately 11AM a northbound vehicle on US Highway 101 in Newport, Oregon failed to yield to a Newport Police patrol vehicle with emergency lights. I attempted to stop the subject vehicle. […]
Although help is on the way, a lack of deputies forces Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office to experiment with patrol schedules
By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews.com The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office has started a six-month experiment for scheduling patrol deputies because it has been too short-staffed to cover some shifts or duties. Although it has just hired three more deputies and has others in state-required training, the department is putting just half of the 18 patrol deputies […]
Controversial bill on farmworker overtime in Oregon Legislature heads to special committee to sort out
By LYNNE TERRY/Oregon Capital Chronicle SALEM — A divisive proposal in the Oregon Legislature that would require employers to pay farmworkers overtime was shuttled on Tuesday to a joint bipartisan committee to work out a solution. House Bill 4002 would require that an estimated 86,000 farmworkers in Oregon are paid time and a half after a […]