Lincoln County’s Got Talent Finalists Announced

16 students in 10 acts have been selected for the February 4 finale of the “Lincoln County’s Got Talent” competition to benefit the Homeless Youth Alliance of Lincoln County. The 10 acts include the band “Disparty” from Eddyville Charter: Gage Pursifull, 15, Leland Loomis, 16, Fulton Miller, 16, and Corie McBride, 17. Newport High School students in the finale include vocalist Cherry Shen, 17 and the band Flannelwolf: Ethan Bear, 18, Grayson Bear, 15, and Connor Price, 14. Other students featured are: Newport Middle School’s Tryston Wolfe, 10; Faith Wood, 13 of Taft HS; Emily Roberts, 12 from LCSDA; OCCC’s Jason Mickel, 18; Ethan Church, 17, of Lincoln City; and Crestview Heights students Saoirse Crone, 13, and Kaden Parker, 7. Judges were Fred Schmale, Mary VanderMeiden, Howard Lackey, Vickie Steen and Mary Ann Gerke.

The top five performers will receive prizes compliments of the local business community. Proceeds from Finale ticket sales and contributions collected from Top Ten Concerts and other local youth performances are used to provide housing assistance for homeless youth and their families. The purpose of the Homeless Youth Alliance of Lincoln County is to provide the way for families to move into permanent, sustainable housing.

For information, to volunteer or become a sponsor, call 541.765.4558 or email.

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Local GOP Hears Legislative Candidate Cutter Tonight

The Lincoln County Republicans have legislative candidate Dann Cutter of Waldport as their guest speaker at their regular meeting tonight (December 6) at 7:00 p.m. The gathering is in the Public Meeting Room at Central Lincoln PUD (2129 N. Coast Hwy) in Newport. Cutter declared his candidacy for Oregon House District 10 last week. The district covers the entire county north of Yachats. He will be available to answer questions. Party organizers strongly encourage precinct committee persons to attend. The meeting is open to the public.

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School Nursing Program Expands

(L-R) Suly Lopez,RN, health assistant Cindy Olivieri, Julie Turner, RN (Photo: LCSD)

Lincoln County School District has expanded its nursing team with the hiring of Suly Lopez, R.N., B.S.N., of Newport, originally from southern California. Lopez will work with schools in Toledo and Lincoln City, joining Julie Turner, R.N., M.S.N., who will focus on Newport and Waldport. The District also employs a dozen health assistants at district schools, overseeing care for more than five thousand students. “I am pleased that Suly has joined our team,” said Turner, who herself was Oregon School Nurse of the Year in 2010. “She is a capable nurse with proven skills in multitasking, as evidenced by her work in the emergency room of our local hospital. That skill makes all the difference in the world in assessing needs and providing appropriate care. As a team, we ensure that students with medical needs can safely remain in the classroom and are ready to learn.” Turner said another plus for Lopez is her fluency in Spanish.

Among their responsibilities are assisting students who have existing or potential health problems. For example, a child diagnosed with diabetes may require daily multiple insulin injections and close monitoring of blood sugar levels. A special-needs student may require tube-feeding. Another student may have life-threatening asthma attacks. Other students may require the administration of medications.

Lopez is a registered nurse who gained experience in acute care and emergency nursing while working at Newport’s Samaritan Pacific Communities Hospital. Previously, as a medical assistant, she floated through five clinics that provide care ranging from pediatrics to geriatrics, including dermatology and obstetrics. Lopez and husband Steve, who is in the Coast Guard, relocated to Newport from Astoria three years ago; they are parents to two daughters who attend Newport High and Newport Intermediate School.

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Cutter Files for House Seat

Dann Cutter

Waldport City Council member Dann Cutter will run for the Oregon House of Representatives in District 10 in 2012 to succeed Jean Cowan, who will not seek another term. Cutter said he is running to “bring Oregon back to a sensible fiscal reality, to start rebuilding a decimated school system, and to make choices based on economic benefit and not party politics.” Cutter added, “My message is it should be the person, not the party, you vote for.”

Cutter, a Republican, was born in Coos Bay and grew up in Portland. A Navy veteran, he moved to the Oregon Coast to work at the Hatfield Marine Science Center in 1996, and has lived in Waldport since 1999. He spent six years on the Waldport Planning Commission before being elected to the City Council in 2006. He was reelected in 2010. Cutter was named a Stanford REE Fellow in 2008, holds degrees in Finance and Environmental Science and is doing post-baccalaureate work in Economics. He was appointed by Governor Ted Kulongoski to the Rural Health Coordinating Council, and is an executive board member on the Cascades West Council of Governments.

“In Salem I will put aside party politics and propose and support plans which fix the problems now, and not pass them along, as so often has been done, to our next generation,” Cutter said. “For too long we have allowed Salem to play politics instead of acting like leaders. You will hear everyone this election year talk about jobs – that is a smoke screen,” Cutter said. “The reality is that…global markets have forever changed manufacturing in America and we cannot legislate those jobs back into existence. You do not want ‘government’ creating jobs,” Cutter said. He added, “Encouraging job growth will be about getting government out of the way of business creators and innovators,” he said.

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Lost Dog Sought

Isabella

Friends of a Yachats woman injured in a Thanksgiving Day crash between Walton and Noti are asking the public’s help in finding her dog. “Isabella” survived the crash on highway 126 and was last seen heading West toward Florence. The female dog has curly black hair with a white patch on her chest, and weighs about 45 pounds. Friends suspect she may be trying to find her way home. If you spot this dog, please call 541-935-1127.

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