It’s been five long years since the Echo Mountain fire swept through Otis. Finally, a state grant may help more families

August 7, 2025

It’s been five years since Mindy Gannon lost her home and since 300 other structures in Otis were destroyed in the Echo Mountain fire, one of four wildfires that ravaged communities in the Santiam and McKenzie river canyons and near Talent in southern Oregon. Now, a long-awaited state grant may finally help Lincoln County help more of the Otis survivors.

Cities, water districts throughout Lincoln County ask residents, businesses to conserve as drought deepens

August 7, 2025

Communities and water districts across the Lincoln County are uniformly asking customers to curtail water use as drought conditions persist and promise to worsen before fall rains arrive. While a smattering of rain Wednesday will help gardens, it will not make a dent in the overall conditions across Lincoln County where water suppliers are requesting customers take steps immediately to

The unsinkable RSV Yaquina Neversink resumes record-setting ocean journey after 3 month stop in Palau

August 7, 2025

A small sailboat built by a group of Lincoln County students last year is off once again on its record-breaking journey after washing up in May on the northern Palau Island of Kayangel in the South Pacific.

Opponents of county Commissioner Claire Hall get OK to begin gathering signatures to force recall election

August 7, 2025

Opponents of six-term Lincoln County Commissioner Claire Hall who object to the way she runs meetings and believe she is creating turmoil among employees have been given the go-ahead to begin collecting signatures to force a recall election. The petition to recall Hall passed preliminary requirements Tuesday and will now need 3,940 signatures to advance to a special election.

Commissioners OK putting special levy on November ballot to help fund veterans services

August 7, 2025

A five-year local-option levy to support veteran services will go to voters in November after Lincoln County commissioners Wednesday unanimously approved putting it on the ballot.

Oregon governor says she will not veto $45 million grant to Willamette Falls Trust

August 7, 2025

By NIGEL JAQUISS/Oregon Journalism Project Gov. Tina Kotek decided Thursday afternoon she will not veto a $45 million appropriation to help the Willamette Falls Trust buy 60 acres on the west side of Willamette Falls. In a letter to Secretary of State Tobias Read, who assigns Oregon Revised Statute chapter numbers to new laws, Kotek explained that the trust had

Miller says he has nothing to do with Hall recall campaign

August 7, 2025

To the editor: I’ve heard suggestions that I am the driving force behind the recall petition against Lincoln County Commissioner Claire Hall. Let me be clear — I am not the petitioner, nor am I the architect of the recall campaign. What I have done — and will continue to do — is advocate for transparency, due process, and shared

Sheriff’s detective arrests Albany, Seal Rock men in child luring stings

August 7, 2025

A Lincoln County Sheriff’s detective has made two more arrests while conducting child luring investigations posing as a 15-year-old girl on various social media platforms. The arrests Thursday, July 31 and Tuesday, Aug. 5 follow two arrests by Lincoln County deputies last week of two Linn County men accused of engaging in sexually explicit conversations and attempting to arrange in-person

Veto of grant to Willamette Falls Trust would upend years of collaboration

August 7, 2025

To the editor: Recent news stories about the Willamette Falls Trust and a $45 million state grant paints a picture of tribal tensions and controversy. But that narrative overlooks a more powerful truth — the Willamette Falls Trust is a story of enduring Tribal histories and traditions, inspiring collaboration toward a shared goal of public access and connection to a

Oregon legislator says last week’s tsunami alerts should be a warning for state to upgrade responses

August 7, 2025

Rep. Paul Evans, D-Monmouth, has been introducing legislation to modernize the state’s emergency preparedness and response processes for years with little success. He called the state’s tsunami warnings last week to residents on the Oregon Coast — raised due to strong currents and unpredictable waves as a result of a massive earthquake off the coast of Russia — “a good