Yachats Fire Department headquarters and main station

Six candidates file for three Yachats Fire Board seats

March 21, 2019

Voters in the Yachats Rural Fire Protection District will have some choices May 21 when it comes to choosing members of the district’s five-person board. Three positions up for election drew six candidates when filings with the Lincoln County Elections Division closed at 5 p.m. Thursday. The board has struggled with site issues and resulting cost overruns of its $8.3

Yachats and its businesses gear up for busy Spring Break

March 21, 2019

By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews.com It’s a brilliant, sunny day but Greg Shocklee and Ella Geffey are in the lower kitchens of the Ona Restaurant & Lounge slicing potatoes and making German chocolate cake for the upcoming international dinner that fills the restaurant with locals. But they know the real crowds – and a big jump in work hours – comes this

Yachats commission OKs yearly museum budget but asks for increased fundraising

March 21, 2019

By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews.com The Yachats Parks and Commons Commission on Thursday approved a yearly budget for the city-owned Little Log Church and Museum, but not before warning the museum board that it has to do a lot better job at fundraising. In a city budget of $1.7 million, the $15,900 spent on yearly operating costs for the church and museum

Yachats council discusses issues with county commissioners

March 21, 2019

By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews.com The Yachats City Council spent an hour Wednesday night meeting with the three Lincoln County commissioners, getting the county’s view — and asking a few questions — on a laundry list of issues. The meeting was a yearly visit by the Newport-based commission to visit city councils in all the county’s incorporated areas. While commissioners and county

Agencies ask beachgoers to help protect snowy plover nesting sites

March 15, 2019

The Siuslaw National Forest and Oregon Parks and Recreation Department are urging beachgoers to help recovery of the threatened western snowy plover by respecting nesting areas and beach restrictions during nesting season, March 15 through Sept. 15. Beachgoers will see signs and ropes that identify sensitive plover nesting areas and list restrictions, including dogs (even on a leash), vehicles, kites,

Painting of Yaquina Bay Bridge will cause some disruptions

March 15, 2019

A project to paint part of the Yaquina Bay Bridge in Newport may cause some short delays or minor disruptions until October. Contractors for the Oregon Department of Transportation will be painting the two spans of the bridge’s steel members under the road deck because they need additional protection from the harsh coastal environment. Most of the work will be

Little Log Church board agrees to tear down, replicate deteriorating building

March 14, 2019

By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews.com There are holes in the siding of the Little Log Church and Museum in downtown Yachats. There is no foundation under the church. And there is dry rot throughout the structure. And, it could cost $300,000 or more to repair or replace. Is it worth it? That’s the question facing the city of Yachats, the museum’s board

Yachats may have been under-charging biggest water users for years

March 13, 2019

By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews.com What do you do when after three years it’s discovered that you might be under-charging the biggest water users in Yachats? That’s the $27,000 question that could be facing the city of Yachats. Tom Lauritzen, a Yachats resident and former finance consultant for the city, has apparently unearthed a 3-year-old mistake in rates for the city’s biggest

Waldport High students selling their tiny house

March 12, 2019

Want a tiny house? Students at Waldport High School may have a deal for you. Students in the school’s manufacturing and fabrication class designed and then built the shell for a tiny house. Now it’s sitting in the school parking lot and ready to be sold. The sale is by sealed bid. Details of the bid application process can be

Lincoln County employment drops 60 more than expected in January

March 12, 2019

Seasonally adjusted nonfarm employment dropped by 60 more jobs than expected in January, the Oregon Employment Department announced Tuesday. The seasonally adjusted employment rate in Lincoln County rose to 5.2 percent in January, up from 5 percent in December. The rate in January 2018 was 4.8 percent. Oregon’s unemployment rate is 4.3 percent; the national rate is 4 percent. In