5 Questions and a Secret: Rural route mail carriers Michael and Cherish Nowatchik

March 22, 2023

By JORDAN ESSOE/YachatsNews The husband-and-wife team of Michael and Cherish Nowatchik, both 34, are Waldport’s newest mail carriers. Last August they took up what is referred to internally by the United States Post Office as Route 71, which includes roughly 720 addresses between Crestline Drive near Waldport High School and Fircrest Way in the Sandpiper Village neighborhood on the

Pushback by locals over development of Alsea River park may have state and county agencies re-thinking plans

March 21, 2023

By KENNETH LIPP/YachatsNews WALDPORT — State officials say 10-year-old funding agreements require the development of Don Lindly Park to include a launch for motorized boats, but current park users who have taken advantage of its open spaces and unique public access to the Alsea River want to retain its rustic state. No one in the standing-room-only audience in Central

County commissioners drop regular weekly meeting dates

March 21, 2023

NEWPORT — Lincoln County commissioners will now hold two regular meetings a month with workshops on Wednesdays in between. The change from weekly regular meetings has been in place since the beginning of March when commissioners participated in a workshop on the county’s new budget software then held a special meeting to declare a homelessness emergency. Commissioners now have regular

Attempt to get Port of Alsea board recall on May ballot fails

March 21, 2023

WALDPORT — An attempt to get a recall election of four of five Port of Alsea commissioners on the May ballot has failed to gather enough signatures. A recall of port commissioners was first threatened during a meeting last July. Kurt Saindon asked the board to fire port manager Roxie Cuellar because she would not change locations for crabbers using

Kotek targets behavioral health system crisis – and plans ahead

March 20, 2023

Gov. Tina Kotek is asking the Legislature for more behavioral health funding. The money would fund programs for people who need care in other settings besides the Oregon State Hospital in Salem. (Oregon Health Authority) By BEN BOTKIN/Oregon Capital Chronicle SALEM — Gov. Tina Kotek is asking lawmakers to put $74.2 million into behavioral health programs in one bill as

At $475,000, city of Waldport wins bid for former school property for addition to Southworth Park and community center

March 20, 2023

By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews WALDPORT – After a five-month on-off-on negotiation process, the city of Waldport will become the new owner of the 2.81-acre Lincoln County School District property in downtown. The city announced Monday that the district and it had agreed on the sale of the property – subject to approval of the city council at its meeting in

Lincoln County looking for some housing expertise

March 20, 2023

Lincoln County is on the market for a consultant to help it develop housing for all income levels. The county announced Monday it is looking for a team or individual that can help it identify properties to develop as affordable, workforce and market-rate housing. The consultant should also be to perform basic due diligence on properties, identify funding opportunities, court developers

Oregon governor adds Malheur and Clatsop counties to her homeless state of emergency list

March 20, 2023

By THE OREGON CAPITAL CHRONICLE SALEM — Gov. Tina Kotek has added two rural counties to her homelessness state of emergency so a state agency can help coordinate state and local response to the homelessness crisis there. Kotek announced Friday that Malheur County, with about 31,000 residents in southeastern Oregon, will join the primarily urban counties in the state of

Oregon House passes bill to allow Oregonians to pump their own gas; now goes to Senate

March 20, 2023

The Oregon House overwhelmingly supported a plan to allow Oregonians to pump their own gas. (Alex Baumhardt/Oregon Capital Chronicle) By JULIA SHUMWAY/Oregon Capital Chronicle SALEM — Oregon drivers who for decades have been banned from touching gas pumps could soon have the right to fuel their own cars, under a bill the state House overwhelmingly approved Monday. Only Oregon and

Fish & Wildlife Commission bans use of lighted boats in rapidly growing market squid fishery off Oregon coast

March 20, 2023

By DANA TIMS/YachatsNews The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission, citing concerns over sustainability, voted unanimously Friday to prohibit independently operated light boats to help catch market squid off the Oregon coast. The unanimous vote, which met with both support and criticism from fishing interests, takes effect immediately. The lights, used for night fishing, transfix the small, fist-sized squid, which