Kitzhaber Cancels Coast Trip

Governor John Kitzhaber has cancelled a scheduled trip to Tilamook and Lincoln Counties next week due to a need to fly to Washington, D.C., according to CSC Head Start Director Suzanne Miller. In an email to staff Saturday (April 28), Miller said “We are naturally disappointed, however, it is important to remember that the Governor’s schedule can change depending upon the needs of the nation as well as Oregon.”

Kitzhaber’s office announced Friday he would visit the Central Coast next week to conduct tours and sign bills. He was to spend Monday, April 30 in the Tillamook area, touring the Whiskey Creek Shellfish Hatchery, to sign the “Bycatch Bill,” designed to make it easier to take fish accidentally caught in fishing nets and process them for use by food banks. The bill allows processors to keep some of the bycatch in exchange for processing fish into individual portions for distribution. Kitzhaber will also take in a presentation about flood control measures in the Tillamook area.

Lincoln County was on Kitzhaber’s agenda May 1, He was scheduled to sign the Marine Reserves Bill at the Cape Perpetua Visitor’s Center in Yachats, creating three new marine reserves, banning fishing in about three percent of the state-controlled ocean waters. Restrictions will go into effect at Cape Perpetua, Cape Falcon and Cascade Head. The measure is the result of 10 years of work by various stakeholders. Two marine reserves already exist near Lincoln City and Port Orford. The Governor had also been scheduled for a tour and ribbon cutting at Rogue Brewery, and a  tour of the Newport Head Start facility operated by the Community Services Consortium .

 Report an error

Library Changes Underway Countywide

The way patrons can use the Toledo Public Library are changing, due to a new alignment among regional libraries. By June 30, the Newport, Driftwood (Lincoln City) and Tillamook County libraries will no longer be part of the Coastal Resource Sharing Network (CSRN), to which Toledo belongs. Toledo library card holders can no longer place reserves from home on materials owned by those libraries. However, they will still be able to place a hold on items owned by the Toledo, Waldport, Siletz and Community College libraries. Toledo’s Library Director Peter Rayment said he and his staff are “committed to what we call ‘resource sharing’ – we’ll share what we have.” The difference is that Toledo patrons will have to obtain a second card to directly check out books from Newport, Lincoln City and Tilamook. Books may still be requested through the Toledo library through the inter-library loan system. Rayment said access to the Library2Go system, offering downloadable audio books, videos an e-books, remains unchanged.

District Librarian Diedre Conkling said the new “Chinook Library Network,” which includes Toledo, also gives direct access to materials from the Siletz Public Library, Toledo Public Library, Waldport Public Library, Oregon Coast Community College, Tillamook Bay Community College and Clatsop Community College. The new library catalog will be available to the public starting June 11. Rayment said Toledo and others opted for an open source sharing network, which he said is less expensive to set up and maintain than the proprietary system chosen by Newport, Driftwood and Tillamook.

 

 Report an error

Port of Newport Replacing South Beach Floats

The Port of Newport will replace boarding floats at the South Beach boat ramp, in part thanks to a grant from the Oregon State Marine Board. The existing boarding floats were installed in 2005 but due to permit restrictions were built using untreated wood. Marine organisms and brackish water have corroded the wood and compromised the floats. The Port will remove and replace all of the floats with new ones made from material not subject to corrosive effects. “We are very pleased with this recent announcement from OSMB recognizing the importance of our public boating facility and for assisting the Port in accomplishing this much needed replacement”, said Port of Newport General Manager Don Mann. The refurbished floats will be re-installed, providing boaters with a safer and more secure platform from which they can load and unload their boats, Mann said. Work is scheduled to begin after Labor Day.

 Report an error

Expect Delays on US 20 Next Week

Travel on U.S. 20 west of Toledo will be restricted next week as Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) crews cleanup after a series of wind and snow storms in January and March. From Monday, April 30 through Friday, May 4, one lane will be restricted between Newport and Toledo (Milepost .5 to 5), from 9:00 a.m. to 4 p.m. Flaggers and a pilot car will control traffic in alternating directions. Motorists should expect delays of 10-15 minutes. Several powerful storms left many trees down, damaged, or leaning in the area. ODOT crews will remove the downed trees and other debris. A corridor plan is currently under study with a hazard tree removal project along US 20 targeted for fall. A similar cleanup project is planned for OR 34 out of Waldport. ODOT said it will alert the public when that project is scheduled.

 Report an error

League of Conservation Voters Endorses Hall

The Oregon League of Conservation Voters (OLCV) has endorsed Lincoln County Commissioner Bill Hall’s candidacy for re-election. Hall also received OLCV’s endorsement in the 2004 and 2008 elections. “I am proud to have earned OLCV’s endorsement again,” said Hall. “This is an organization that upholds values that I believe in—that we are obligated to be good stewards of the Earth, and that a healthy environment and a healthy economy go hand-in-hand.” Hall was interviewed by a panel of local OLCV members, who then recommended him to the organization’s statewide political action committee. “It was a good forum to discuss some of the initiatives our board has taken a leadership role in recent years, such as the responsible development of wave energy; the introduction of a system of marine reserves that is sensitive to local impacts; and local sustainability initiatives through our Solid Waste District.”

Hall said he is proud of several conservation items he has championed, including county support for an ODOT pilot program reducing herbicides on a 25-mile stretch of Highway 101 and the county’s investment in the Oregon Coast Community Forest project. “The concept of a locally owned and managed working forest is one that can generate support from groups who have long been at odds over forestry management,” Hall said.

 Report an error