Oregon governor issues pardons for 45,000 people convicted of possessing small amounts of marijuana before 2016

November 21, 2022

By LYNNE TERRY/Oregon Capital Chronicle SALEM — With just over a month left in her term, Gov. Kate Brown has issued a sweeping pardon for Oregonians convicted of possessing a small amount of marijuana. The pardons, announced Monday, will benefit an estimated 45,000 people, according to a statement from her office. The pardons include the forgiveness of about $14 million

Friends and family throw a birthday party for Don Dougherty, the houseless man who made Yachats his home

November 21, 2022

By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews.com YACHATS – Don Dougherty’s friends – at least 150 of them — and family came out to his 65th birthday party Sunday evening, although several said he would have balked at the attention. They shared a meal, a drink or two, listened to “Birthday” by the Beatles and “Aqualung” by Jethro Tull – and told stories

Siletz tribe’s charitable fund awards $192,000 in third-quarter grants

November 21, 2022

The Siletz Tribal Charitable Contribution Fund has awarded $192,000 to 31 nonprofit and other organizations for the third quarter of 2022. Since its inception in 2001, the seven-member charitable fund advisory board has distributed more than $16.3 million, using proceeds from the Chinook Winds casino in Lincoln City. Chinook Winds has also donated more than $6.5 million in cash and

Waldport-area community witnesses unveiling of historic Louis Southworth statue to be placed at new city park

November 20, 2022

By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews.com WALDPORT – It may have been Louis Southworth’s unveiling, but it was Jesse Dolin’s doing. Eighteen months after he suggested to the city of Waldport that it name a big, new downtown park after Louis Southworth, Dolin helped unveil the life-sized statue of the former slave who bought his freedom and homesteaded along Darkey Creek just

Christmas tree permits now available for Siuslaw National Forest

November 19, 2022

WALDPORT — Christmas tree permits are available for purchase from the Siuslaw National Forest through Dec. 31. Tree hunters can go to recreation.gov to purchase a permit online or go to or call a district ranger offices to purchase a permit in person or over the phone. Christmas tree permits cost $5 each with an additional $2.50 fee per transaction

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