Forest Service firefighter killed in Coos County truck accident

August 6, 2023

COQUILLE — A 21-year-old U.S. Forest Service firefighter from Colorado working in the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest died Friday after a pickup truck they were in left the road near Powers in Coos County. The U.S. Forest Service identified the firefighter as Benjamin C. Sapper of Boulder, Colo. The agency said in a news release Sapper was a first-year hand

Highway 101 crash near Coos Bay kills couple from Port Orford

August 6, 2023

COOS BAY – A couple from Port Orford were killed Wednesday night 10 miles south of Coos Bay when their car sideswiped loaded chip trailer and then collided with an oncoming vehicle. Killed were Wayne C. Lannin, and his wife, Melida Lennin, both 79, Oregon State Police said. Police said the accident occurred about 7:30 p.m. Wednesday when the Lannin’s

OHA ends public health advisory for Seal Rock beach

August 6, 2023

SEAL ROCK — The Oregon Health Authority on Friday lifted a public health advisory for contact with ocean water at Seal Rock beach three days after water samples showed higher-than-normal levels of fecal bacteria in ocean waters. Results from follow-up tests taken by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality showed lower bacteria levels, the OHA said in a news release

Want to pump your own gasoline? Like it or not, for the first time in 72 years Lincoln County residents have a choice

August 3, 2023

By GARRET JAROS/YachatsNews Sometime Friday, for the first time in 72 years, Lincoln County residents can drive into a service station, jump out and pump their own gasoline. Or not. The willingness to embrace Oregon’s new self-serve gasoline law is mixed, according to a survey of stations and customers Wednesday by YachatsNews. The biggest worry seemed to be about

Siletz tribe’s new cultural center and museum will open doors to all about its history, culture and language

August 3, 2023

By OREGON ARTSWATCH It was a moment long overdue when the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians broke ground this year for the Cultural Center and Museum. While a formal venue had once been out of reach, the tribe’s effort to preserve and share their culture was never in question. For years, the Siletz hosted language classes, pow-wows, and Oregon’s

Judge orders forfeiture and sale of Yaquina Bay Communications property in Newport to satisfy bank debts

August 3, 2023

By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews A Lincoln County judge has ordered the forfeiture and sheriff’s sale of the Newport headquarters and property of six local radio stations to satisfy unpaid bank loans. Judge Marcia Buckley signed the foreclosure and sale order Monday, nearly a year after Oregon Coast Bank filed its foreclosure lawsuit seeking $532,000 for remaining balances on two loans.

Nearly 300 traditional to modern quilts will be on display this weekend during Guild’s annual show

August 3, 2023

By LINDA TURNER GRIEPENTROG/Oregon Coast TODAY NEWPORT — Gone are the days when quilting was done only by our grandmothers using old clothing for piecing. Today, it’s a multi-million-dollar industry attracting artistic types of all ages. A great sampling of both modern and traditional quilts will be on display at the Oregon Coastal Quilters Guild show, “Quilts by the

Could a tourist trolley work in Yachats? Chamber — and then maybe city — pursuing feedback on the idea

August 3, 2023

By GARRET JAROS/YachatsNews YACHATS – A lightbulb went on for Bobbi Price when she was visiting Pacific City and saw a free and quaint trolley shuttling people around town. The Yachats Area Chamber of Commerce executive director thought if it can be successful there – why not in Yachats? And what better way to ease traffic and parking woes

Toledo’s “First Weekend” takes a moment to dedicate new mural of local artist Michael Gibbons

August 3, 2023

By Oregon Coast TODAY TOLEDO — Spend even a moment in the mill town of Toledo and it becomes obvious why it is regarded as the place where art and industry meet. The twin pursuits weave together throughout town in the form of murals, galleries and public sculptures set against vistas of the Georgia-Pacific paper mill, train cars and

Motorists need signs to protect them from “Darwin Tree” on Highway 101

August 2, 2023

To the editor: ODOT has long refused to acknowledge and remedy a dangerous U.S. Highway 101 road hazard just south of Seal Rock, a few miles north of me, seeming to view that hazard not as a cause for concern but rather as an opportunity for cynical humor called “Darwin’s tree.” The hazard is a long, sweeping, unmarked curve, speed