Lincoln City police, sheriff’s office and other agencies arrest three in long drug investigation

June 11, 2020

On Thursday morning, June 11, 2020, the Street Crimes Response Team (SCRT) along with Lincoln City Police, Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, Newport Police, Toledo Police, and McMinnville Police executed simultaneous search warrants in Lincoln City and Otis. Raymond Mellin (55) and Cassandra Tischler (52), of Otis, and Jason Guffey (46), of Lincoln City, were all arrested after lengthy investigations into

Pacific Seafood begins slowly reopening its Newport processing plants 6 days after massive COVID-19 outbreak

June 11, 2020

By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews.com Pacific Seafood started reopening two of its five Newport processing plants Wednesday after inspections by state food safety and health officials. The plants have been closed since Friday after 127 of the company’s workers tested positive for COVID-19, the largest public workplace outbreak in Oregon since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. After a required 72-hour

Coronavirus concerns lead to cancellation of 20th annual Yachats Celtic festival scheduled in November

June 10, 2020

The coronavirus pandemic has claimed another local event – the 20th Yachats Celtic Music Festival scheduled for November. In addition to its roster of well-known Celtic singers and musicians, the festival has also offered food, whiskey tastings, workshops and more and is a key attraction of the fall cultural and tourism season in Yachats. The board of directors of Polly

State releases guidelines Wednesday for re-opening K-12 schools in fall

June 10, 2020

By JACKSON HOGAN/Oregon Capital Bureau This fall, Oregon’s K-12 students may finally get to return to their classrooms for the first time in half a year, based on new state safety guidelines. But school won’t look the same as it did before COVID-19. New behaviors and rituals will need to be learned: Desks will be 6 feet apart. Face coverings

Oregon State Police/Newport activity log for June 8-9

June 10, 2020

OREGON STATE POLICE DAILY MEDIA/DESK LOG SP20154399 06/08/2020 14:58 Officer #57487 BUTLER, ANDREW FW – Wildlife (non-hunting related) Location Narrative Summary On 6/8/2020 a subject was contacted by OSP Fish and Wildlife Troopers at their residence who was in possession of a black-tailed deer fawn. The subject had discovered the deer fawn in the Toledo area approximately two weeks prior and took it

Lincoln County commissioners drop idea of applying for Phase 2 of Oregon’s reopening plan after big Pacific Seafood outbreak

June 10, 2020

By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews.com Unsettled by a large outbreak in Lincoln County COVID-19 cases, county commissioners have again decided against asking the state to enter Phase 2 of Oregon’s reopening plan. Monday’s decision came quickly and with no debate after the announcement Sunday of a 127-case outbreak among workers at Pacific Seafood in Newport. It followed a decision last Friday to

Lincoln County designer’s idea for creating face shields takes off and keeps on spreading through community

June 10, 2020

By DANA TIMS/YachatsNews.com Lindsey Johnson, like so many others, had been reading all about the critical shortage of personal protective equipment facing first responders and other front-line workers helping to curb the wildfire spread of the coronavirus. Unlike others, however, Johnson, a long-time Lincoln City cabinet-maker and designer, found himself in a position to do something about it. Working

Oregon’s nonprofit hospitals with big cash reserves but with big COVID losses rake in CARES money

June 9, 2020

By BEN BOTKIN and CHRISTIAN WIHTOL/The Lund Report Portland-based Legacy Health received about $40 million in federal aid in recent weeks for its five Oregon hospitals to help them cope with the coronavirus pandemic. The figure pales in comparison to another number the nonprofit health system doesn’t want to talk about: Legacy’s net worth of $1.6 billion as of March

Newport and Lincoln City hospitals get almost $13 million in federal CARES funds

June 9, 2020

By CHRISTIAN WIHTOL/The Lund Report The federal payments to Oregon hospitals under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic totals hundreds of millions of dollars, but nailing an exact figure is difficult. Final numbers for CARES distributions are not yet available in part because the federal government is releasing figures only after hospitals certify that they’ve received the money and promise

Oregon Health Authority’s coronavirus report for Tuesday, June 9

June 9, 2020

Oregon reports 70 new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases, 5 new deaths PORTLAND, Ore. — COVID-19 has claimed five more lives in Oregon, raising the state’s death toll to 169, the Oregon Health Authority reported at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday. Oregon Health Authority reported 70 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 as of 12:01 a.m. Tuesday bringing the state total to