Friday night crash near Seal Rock kills Cottage Grove man

June 27, 2020

Oregon State Police are investigating whether alcohol was a contributing factor in a single-car wreck Friday night just south of Seal Rock that killed a Cottage Grove man. Police said James Paschall, 20, was a passenger in the 2014 FJ Cruiser driven by Christopher Paschall, 50, when it left U.S. Highway 101 about 7:30 p.m. Friday. Police said vehicle was

Oregon lawmakers reach consensus on police reform bills during special session

June 26, 2020

By PETER WONG/Oregon Capital Bureau Oregon legislators reached a swift consensus Friday on half a dozen bills that one of their chief advocates says will move toward improving police practices and accountability. The bills were one of the chief aims of the special session, which Gov. Kate Brown called a month after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis prompted

A cop’s kid asks that the public show appreciation to local law enforcement

June 26, 2020

To the editor: I’m a cop’s kid. I grew up around cops, Lincoln County cops in fact. I worked as an Los Angeles Police Department 9-1-1 dispatcher for 20 years and had the pleasure of working closely with thousands of cops, men and women from all backgrounds. I got to know many of them personally. In my short time working

Yachats council approves 2020-21 budgets – $1.43 million for general operations and $1.55 million for capital projects

June 25, 2020

By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews.com The Yachats City Council approved a 2020-21 spending plan for the city on Wednesday, agreeing on a $1.43 million general fund operating budget that maintains services and possibly add employees by dipping into reserve funds. The approval comes as City Manager Shannon Beaucaire is forecasting a dramatic drop in lodging taxes from the coronavirus pandemic, which

Race to keep COVID-19 outbreak in check depends on small army of Lincoln County contact tracers

June 25, 2020

By ANGELA NEBEL/For YachatsNews.com Angela Martinez-Hernandez of Newport had just finished the medical assistant program at Oregon Coast Community College this month, when she heard about Lincoln County’s urgent need for bilingual workers to help trace contacts of people with COVID-19. “I know it is a scary situation and I knew I could help,” she said. Within days, Martinez-Hernandez

Yachats library support group offers ‘pop up’ book sale on Sunday

June 25, 2020

Since the annual used-book sale run by Friends of Yachats Library was felled by the pandemic this year, the group is trying something new — a “pop-up” book sale from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, June 28. Running concurrently with the Yachats Farmers Market, the pop-up sale will be held inside pavilion behind the Commons building. It will offer

Oregon Health Authority’s coronavirus report for Thursday, June 25

June 25, 2020

Oregon reports 124 new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases, 2 new deaths PORTLAND — COVID-19 has claimed two more lives in Oregon, raising the state’s death toll to 197, the Oregon Health Authority reported at 12:01 a.m. Thursday. Oregon Health Authority reported 124 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 as of 12:01 a.m. Thursday, bringing the state total to

Oregon Health Authority’s coronavirus report for Wednesday, June 24

June 25, 2020

Oregon reports 171 new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases, 3 new deaths PORTLAND — COVID-19 has claimed three more lives in Oregon, raising the state’s death toll to 195, the Oregon Health Authority reported at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday. Oregon Health Authority reported 171 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 as of 12:01 a.m. Wednesday bringing the state total to

Age, crowding and colleagues without masks challenge Oregon Legislature’s special session during pandemic

June 25, 2020

By GARY A. WARNER/Oregon Capital Bureau The Oregon Legislature convened a special session on Wednesday amid a worldwide pandemic that has killed over 475,000 people — nearly a quarter of them in the United States. Age, travel, crowding, and a few colleagues refusing to wear face masks were among the challenges for lawmakers who came to Salem from across the

Oregon State Police/Newport activity report for June 22-23

June 24, 2020

OREGON STATE POLICE DAILY MEDIA/DESK LOG SP20170980 06/22/2020 16:19 Officer #55167 WERTZ, DAVID DUII – Alcohol and Controlled Substances Location 101, Mile post 162 162 NB, LINCOLN OR USA Narrative Summary On 6/22/20 at approximately 4:19 pm Oregon State Police investigated a single vehicle crash which occurred on US 101 near mile post 162. A silver Nissan Frontier (974DSE) was northbound when the vehicle