Yachats council approves request — and $70,000 — to create emergency shelter for homeless in church’s parking lot

November 17, 2022

By CHERYL ROMANO/YachatsNews.com YACHATS — With two votes — one unanimous, one not — the Yachats city council Wednesday approved and funded a $70,000 emergency shelter proposal for the city’s homeless. The proposal came from a church-based committee of volunteers after a deputy state fire marshal last month informed the city that the Pavilion behind the Yachats Commons could

Will an increase in Lincoln County ambulance staffing help solve Samaritan issues on transporting patients to the valley?

November 17, 2022

By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews.com Four times a day, on average, a patient at one of Samaritan Health System’s two Lincoln County hospitals needs to be moved quickly to a hospital in the Willamette Valley or Portland that can provide a higher level of care. More and more frequently, ambulance providers in or near the county cannot immediately respond, leaving patients

Yachats council gives city manager 5.5% raise and $5,000 bonus after evaluation

November 17, 2022

YACHATS – Heide Lambert, who has been Yachats’s city manager for nine months, got a small raise and bonus this week from an appreciative city council. When it hired Lambert last February, the council said it would evaluate her performance in November – and consider a pay raise and/or bonus if she had done well. On Wednesday the council voted

Oregon Health Authority director Patrick Allen announces he will step down Jan. 9 as new governor takes office

November 17, 2022

By BEN BOTKIN/Oregon Capital Chronicle Oregon Health Authority director Patrick Allen told agency employees Thursday that he will step down in early January, when Gov. Kate Brown’s term ends. He informed employees about his decision in an email obtained by the Capital Chronicle that said he was “sad” to be leaving: “Honestly, I am sad to be leaving this work

Federal agency removes last regulatory hurdle to demolishing four dams on Klamath River

November 17, 2022

GILLIAN FLACCUS/Associated Press/Oregon Public Broadcasting United States regulators approved a major milestone Thursday in a plan to demolish four dams on a California river and open up hundreds of miles of salmon habitat that would be the largest dam removal and river restoration project in the world when it goes forward. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission vote on the lower

Oregon economists expect a ‘mild’ recession beginning in 2023, but taxpayers getting record “kicker” in 2024

November 17, 2022

By JULIA SHUMWAY/Oregon Capital Chronicle After months of record revenue growth, Oregon economists now expect the state to enter a “mild” recession next summer. State economists told a legislative panel Wednesday that economic forecasters in Oregon and around the country anticipate a recession within the next year because inflation remains higher than the Federal Reserve wants it to be, with

Volunteers ready Thanksgiving food baskets for 183 south county families

November 16, 2022

WALDPORT – Food to at least 183 families in south Lincoln County will be on its way Saturday, thanks to volunteers and donations to South Lincoln Resources. Some 23 volunteers on Wednesday got food boxes ready for Saturday delivery to families who signed up to receive all the fixings – and more – for Thanksgiving meals. Volunteers also worked Friday

Yachats Planning Commission OKs request by motel owners to put four park model homes for workers on property

November 16, 2022

By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews.com YACHATS – The Yachats Planning Commission on Tuesday unanimously approved a proposal by the owners of the Fireside and Overleaf motels to put four “park model” homes on its property to house employees. The four homes – about 450 square feet each – would sit at the southeast corner of the Fireside property adjacent to U.S.

Some Oregon colleges, universities recover lost enrollment but others see continued decline

November 16, 2022

By MEERAH POWELL/Oregon Public Broadcasting The Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission released fall enrollment data this week for all of Oregon’s public colleges and universities, showing that some schools have recovered enrollment lost during the height of the pandemic while others continue to shrink. The HECC shared broad details of enrollment trends at its meeting late last week, and some individual

Lincoln County sheriff doesn’t like new voter-approved gun law, but will enforce it if it survives court challenges

November 16, 2022

While he doesn’t necessarily like it, Lincoln County Sheriff Curtis Landers said Tuesday he will enforce Oregon’s newly-passed Ballot Measure 114 that institutes new rules on gun permits and possession – if and when it takes effect. The measure passed 51 percent to 49 percent statewide, with voters in Multnomah, Washington, Lane and Benton counties providing enough of a margin