The latest news stories across the state of Oregon from the digital home of the Oregon coastal cities, OregonBeachMagazine.com
Monday, August 21, 2023
Oregon Beach Weather
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY ISSUED: 2:20 AM AUG. 21, 2023 – NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 5 AM PDT TUESDAY... * WHAT...North winds 15 to 25 kt with gusts up to 30 kt and steep wind-driven seas 6 to 9 ft. * WHERE...All areas. * WHEN...Until 5 AM PDT Tuesday. * IMPACTS...Gusty winds and/or steep seas could capsize or damage smaller vessels. * View the hazard area in detail at https://go.usa.gov/x6hks
Razor Clamming Opens
Razor clamming is now open from the south jetty of the Siuslaw River to Cape Blanco, the Oregon Department of Agriculture and ODFW announced today. Recent shellfish samples indicate levels of domoic acid (a marine biotoxin) are below the limit for two consecutive weeks.
This means razor clamming is now continuously open from Seal Rock State Park to the California border.
Razor clamming remains closed from the Washington border to Seal Rock for elevated domoic acid levels. Clatsop County beaches remain closed for conservation through Sept. 30 and pending toxin testing results at that time.
The daily razor clam limit is the first 15 clams dug, regardless of size or condition. Each digger must have their own container, dig their own clams, and can only have one limit in possession while in the clam digging area (see exception under an Oregon Disabilities Hunting and Fishing Permit.)
Crab, mussel, and bay clam harvesting remains open along the entire Oregon coast. Clam diggers can check tides online and go to ODFW’s clamming page for more information on razor clamming.
Domoic acid is produced by algae and originates in the ocean. ODA will continue testing for shellfish toxins at least twice per month, as tides and weather permit. Reopening an area closed for biotoxins requires two consecutive tests with results below the closure limit.
For more information call ODA’s shellfish biotoxin hotline at (800) 448-2474, the ODA Food Safety Program at (503) 986-4720, or visit the ODA Recreational Shellfish Biotoxin Closures Webpage. —- Contact ODFW for recreational license requirements, permits, rules, and limits.
Columbia River Fire & Rescue In Crisis
At an emergency board meeting on Thursday, Aug. 17, Columbia River Fire & Rescue’s lawyer informed the board that U.S. Bank had “effectively canceled” the district’s line of credit.
“This is a huge problem,” Akin Blitz, the district’s lawyer, said. “Unless we solve it, we can’t meet payroll at some point.”
Without the line of credit, the district would face a fiscal cliff, according to Rob Moody, the district’s auditor.
Moody estimates CRF&R’s expenses will reach $4.35 million by November.
“The math isn’t hard to see there,” Moody said. “Without significant other revenues or cash coming in, you’re gonna run out of money before the end of that four months.”
Moody also projects a $1.6 million structural deficit by the end of the 2023-24 fiscal year.
“You’ve budgeted for expenditures to be higher than revenues,” he explained.
Ongoing lawsuits with former employees and arbitration with the union further embroil the district’s financial state.
Lawsuits, arbitration —- Although U.S. Bank’s public affairs and communications representative, Cheryl Leamon, told Pamplin Media Group on Friday, Aug. 18, that the bank “has not canceled” its line of credit at this point, Columbia River Fire & Rescue officials sounded pessimistic Thursday about being able to borrow further, noting that the district would have to certify there weren’t any material changes in its financial circumstances and there is no liability.
With the district now facing lawsuits from multiple employees terminated over the past several months, including its former chief, that certification seems unlikely.
Leamon declined to comment further on the district’s account.
At the same emergency meeting, Blitz informed the board that former Columbia River Fire & Rescue fire chief Joel Medina filed a nearly $20,000 lawsuit against the district and the union on Thursday, Aug. 17.
In the suit, Medina alleges violations of the First and Fourteenth Amendments, discrimination and retaliation, defamation, and wrongful termination, just weeks after the board voted to fire him.
In addition to the district and the firefighters union, the suit names four of its board members — Kelly Niles, Rick Fletcher, Austin Zimbrick and Ryan Welby — union vice president Aaron Peterson, union president Aaron Schrotzberger, union secretary and treasurer Lisa Strolis, union administrator Jeff Lockhart, and firefighter and union member Kyle Melton and his mother, Ronda Melton.
The board’s decision to remove Medina at a board meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 8, came after a vote of no confidence from the union against Medina, a lawsuit from former employees and internal and criminal investigations into the district’s finances.
After firing Medina, the board appointed Battalion Chief Michael Gorsuch as interim fire chief. Gorsuch resigned on Friday, Aug. 11, less than a week after the board voted to remove Medina.
Gorsuch’s resignation letter to CRF&R staff stated he was “very overwhelmed and underprepared” and had been “threatened and chastised.”
The union’s vote of no confidence was partly due to firefighters saying the fire agency is backtracking on a ratified contract, effectively cutting some employees’ wages by 10%.
After working under an expired contract for over eight months, IAFF Local 3215, ratified a contract with CRF&R’s board on March 15. However, the union says the district emailed two days later to say it wouldn’t uphold part of the contract.
The contract includes a 2% wage increase and an appendix with a 10% premium pay base salary for firefighter paramedics.
However, the district now says it signed a contract it can’t afford.
The union and district are currently going through an arbitration process to settle the grievance.
“It’s clear with hindsight that not using the labor lawyers and the board negotiating without consulting with the chiefs and (Finance Division Chief Jimmy) Sanchez resulted in some significant errors,” Blitz told the board.
The district also remains entangled in arbitration from three other former employees.
Former CRF&R employees Jennifer Motherway, Anika Todd and Monica Cade still have an ongoing lawsuit against the district, including allegations against Medina.
The suit includes allegations of sexual harassment, financial mismanagement and wrongful termination against the district. A recent amendment states that CRF&R officials knowingly withheld information during the forensic audit to incriminate them.
In June, Moody informed the district of evidence he found that multiple former employees could have defrauded the district.
Moody said that between 2016 and 2022, there was $52,000 in overpaid rates or benefits for PERS, over $1 million underreported in workers’ compensation, and unreconcilable credit card charges.
The report named Motherway, Todd and Cade, among other employees, including newly elected board member Rick Fletcher.
Options — Blitz offered a few options to the board to remedy the fire district’s financial situation.
The board can attempt to find another bank that will open a line of credit, but Blitz warned it was a “long shot.”
CRF&R can also go to St. Helens and ask for a loan to help keep the district afloat.
“In November, when you hit your tax revenues, you can pay the city back,” Blitz said.
The district could consider a tax rate increase, but CRF&R is unlikely to curry public support.
“When you’re trying to sell the voters on ‘we need this (for) labor arbitration settlements,’” he said, “in my experience, it’s going to be a tough sell.”
A more radical option, Blitz said, would be transferring the district to St. Helens and forming a city fire department that offers countywide services.
“I’m not recommending it,” he said. “It’s just something for you to consider.”
The board ultimately passed a motion directing Sanchez to meet with St. Helens’ city administrator, John Walsh, to request a secured loan from the city. (SOURCE)
Fleet Advisory For Fixed-Gear Commercial And Recreational Fisheries Thru 9/1
During recent surveys researchers observed aggregations of both blue and humpback, in addition to other large whales in waters as shallow as 20 fathoms (36 m). These sightings were primarily in waters off the southern Oregon coast from Charleston to Gold Beach. However, because these observations only provide information within a small survey area and time span be aware that whale aggregations may exist in un-surveyed areas and may shift over short periods of time.
ODFW is issuing this fleet advisory for both recreational and commercial fixed-gear fisheries from Charleston south to Gold Beach. Fishing vessels should remain vigilant and move or avoid setting gear in areas where whales are transiting or foraging to minimize risk of entanglement as much as possible. This advisory is effective immediately and will remain in effect through September 1, 2023. We want to remind fishery participants about best fixed-gear fishing practices to help reduce risk of entanglements at all times, but especially when higher numbers of ESA-listed humpback whales and blue whales are present off Oregon.
Please remember to:
• Remove any fishing gear that you are not actively tending and promptly remove all gear from the ocean when finished fishing.
• Use the minimum amount of scope required to compensate for tides, currents, and weather.
• Adjust the length of buoy lines when moving gear to shallower water to maintain taut vertical lines.
• Minimize surface gear and ensure no excess line is floating at the surface.
• Avoid setting gear in the vicinity of large feeding aggregations of whales.
• Maintain gear to ensure lines and buoys are in good working condition and clearly marked.
• Report any derelict gear to ODFW by emailing Joel.A.Prickett@odfw.oregon.gov.
• If commercially licensed: o Bring in derelict gear to shore; o Participate in derelict gear recovery by getting a permit to recover gear or reporting locations of derelict gear for permitted vessels to target for removal.
Please share this advisory and reminders about fixed-gear fishing best practices to reduce risk of marine life entanglements with your networks. Also, consider reporting whale sightings using the WhaleAlert app and sharing the locations of unusually high whale or sea turtle activity with ODFW and with other fishermen. All entangled marine mammals or sea turtles should be promptly reported by calling 1-877-SOS-WHALe (1-877-767-9425). Thank you for taking these important, proactive steps to avoid entanglements with fishing gear.
Yachats Lions Labor Day Breakfast on September 3rd
Oregon Lions Sight & Hearing Foundation – 08/18/23 9:39 AM
Yachats Lions Club – Pancake Breakfast on September 3rd
Yachats Lions Club – Pancake Breakfast on September 3rd
YACHATS, OR, September 3rd – The Yachats Lions Club will host their Labor Day Pancake Breakfast on September 3rd from 7:30am – 11:00am at Yachats Lions Hall at 344 4th Street, Yachats OR 97498. There’s a $10 suggested donation to welcome folks for an all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast!
All proceeds from Yachats Lions Club’s annual fundraisers and their Yachats Lions Thrift Store makes giving back to their local community possible. We support Lions community service projects, which include scholarships to graduating seniors, food pantries, school programs, Yachats Youth & Family Services, South Lincoln Resources, Yachats Fire Department, and eyeglasses & exams for children & adults. With the motto “WE SERVE,” Yachats Lions Club is celebrating 73 years of service to Yachats and South Lincoln County.
Together, the Lions Clubs of Oregon, the statewide nonprofit OLSHF, and partners offer access to people for critical sight-saving surgeries and treatments, secure new eyeglasses, help people who can’t afford eyeglasses and hearing aids, and manage the largest vision screening program in the US.
To learn more about the Yachats Lions Club and their work in the local community, you can visit yachatslionsclub.org.
Rod’s N Rhodies Car Show
The annual Rod’s N Rhodies car show event is coming September 8th and 9th to the Old Town Area. The 15th annual event will feature hot rods and classic custom vehicles from all over the west.
The annual event goes towards supporting Transportation Solutions which provides car repairs for families in need. Transportation Solutions works with local families on a referral basis to fix most maintenance problems so that individuals can get to work, transport kids to school, and other activities. Information on the mission of Transportation Solutions can be found at rodsnrhodies.org/transportation-solutions.
Florence Annual Yard Sale
If you want to participate in the annual City Wide Garage Sale September 8-10, then you have to act quickly. In order to be included in the map that is distributed in the Siuslaw News the deadline for registration is this coming Monday, August 21st. due to print deadlines information has to be in to make the September 1st and September 8th publications. This is the 10th year the community garage sale has gone on and participants will receive recognition on the map and two signs for their $15 fee.
Federal Energy Agency Seeks Public Comment On Two Oregon Coast Sites Slated For Floating Offshore Wind Farms
Two sites off the southern Oregon coast could soon be home to the state’s first floating offshore wind farms. But first, the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management will meet with residents and stakeholders in coastal towns, some of whom are concerned about impact to the fishing industry and marine ecosystems.
Officials from the ocean energy bureau announced Tuesday that they had identified two ideal “wind energy areas” near Coos Bay and Brookings. The two areas are 20 or more miles from land, collectively encompass about 344 square miles of ocean and could host enough floating wind turbines to generate 2.6 gigawatts of electricity, enough to power about 195,000 homes.
That would get Oregon closer to a goal passed by the state Legislature in 2021 to generate at least 3 gigawatts of electricity from offshore wind by 2030, part of the state’s larger climate strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 90% by 2050. But it’s also raised concerns from some in the fishing industry and some environmentalists who fear unintended consequences to coastal marine life and the effect on their livelihoods.
“Placing giant turbines and anchors in a current system that is largely free-flowing and structure-free could cause irreparable harm to seabirds, marine mammals, fisheries management regimes and more,” said Susan Chambers, chair of the marine industries and fisheries advocacy group Southern Oregon Ocean Resource Coalition, in a statement last year. Chambers was responding to the federal ocean bureau’s interest in an even larger swath of ocean off the Oregon coast that had been identified as having potential for wind energy development. Several environmental groups opposed to the projects did not respond to requests for comment on Tuesday.
Federal officials dropped a third wind energy area near Bandon that they were considering after officials did further research on the impact to the commercial fishing industry and to sensitive marine habitats.Public comment on the two wind energy areas announced Tuesday will be accepted online and by mail for the next 60 days. The meetings with residents, which are not yet scheduled, will be open to the public, with one designed to reach people heavily involved in fishing, the bureau said.
“We continue to prioritize a robust and transparent process, including ongoing engagement with tribal governments, agency partners, the fishing community and other ocean users,” Elizabeth Klein, the bureau’s director, said in a news release.
Following public comment, officials could update the plans, and the bureau will prepare to host an auction to lease the sites to companies interested in developing them, potentially by the end of 2023. A similar auction in California in 2022 brought in $757 million in winning bids from three multinational companies and one domestic company developing floating wind farms. President Joe Biden has pledged to develop at least 15 gigawatts of floating offshore wind by 2035. (SOURCE)
An overdose awareness event to shed the spotlight on lives lost to overdoses is scheduled for 6-8 p.m. Thursday, August 31, at the Barbey Maritime Center in Astoria.
“We invite the community to come together to remember and celebrate loved ones we lost to an overdose. Together we can prevent future losses of life,” said Jenna King, Clatsop County Public Health Department harm reduction coordinator.
“Clatsop County Public Health and our community partners are committed to showing people how they can help save the lives of loved ones and to provide those resources. Help us end the stigma of addiction,” she said.
Clatsop County Senior Sheriff Deputy Chance Moore and Sergeant Nate Baldwin will share their experiences saving lives by reversing an overdose with naloxone.
Attendees are encouraged to bring a photo of someone they loved who died by overdose. Photos will be displayed on a memorial wall so their story can be shared at the Overdose Awareness Day event.
Event activities include:
- Music
- Narcan supplies and training
- Art projects and activities
- Keynote address by Alison Noise, CODA inc. executive director
- Free food and beverages provided
- Community resources available
- Giveaways
- Candlelight Vigil
For more information, contact Jill Quackenbush at 503-325-8500. (SOURCE)
Newport Oregon Police Department – · FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Night Time Single Lane Closure – Yaquina Bay Bridge –
Sunday night, August 13 through Friday morning, August 25. Night work is scheduled on Yaquina Bay Bridge for two weeks, starting Sunday night, August 13th and finishing Friday morning, August 25th.
There will be a single lane closure on the bridge, with flaggers, nightly from 7:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. Thank you for your patience and cooperation.For questions, please contact: Clare C. Paul, PE, Assistant City Engineer541-574-3370Andrea Mather, PE, ODOT Assistant Resident Engineer, Area 4 541-757-4156
Just south of the Oregon border along Hwy 199, the Diamond, Holiday, Kelly, and Prescott fires along with multiple other fires in the area have been grouped together in the “Smith River Complex.” This is along the route from Grants Pass to the coast.
83-year-old Clarence Edward Pitts walked away from his home in Bandon on Tuesday, January 31 at around 1:00 p.m. Pitts is described as:
- 6′ 00″
- 150 lbs
- Gray hair
- Brown eyes
- Last seen wearing an orange beanie, plaid jacket, tan pants and white shoes
- May have a walking cane
- Has dementia and PTSD
Pitts may be in a vehicle that was also found to be missing from the home:
- 1999 Toyota Van
- White
- Oregon license plate: WYN 788
If you see Clarence or have any information pertaining to where he may be, please call the Coos County Sheriff’s Office Dispatch Center at 541-396-2106 or the Bandon Police Department at 541-347-3189.
Contact us: Info@OregonBeachMagazine.com