Korgan puts Ona Restaurant up for sale, but says she’s not closing before new owner takes over

January 16, 2020

By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews.com Michelle Korgan, who has operated her upscale Ona Restaurant along U.S. Highway 101 in downtown Yachats for nine years, has put the business up for sale. But Korgan insists she is not closing the restaurant before it’s sold and she’s not leaving town. “I am definitely not closing,” Korgan said Wednesday as she rushed around to

State certifies Yachats firefighters vote to leave union

January 14, 2020

Firefighters with the Yachats Rural Fire Protection District have officially voted to leave the Newport chapter of the International Association of Fire Fighters. The result of the vote was announced Friday, Jan. 10 by the Oregon Employment Relations Board. Yachats firefighters, emergency medical technicians and paramedics voted to join the IAFF in August 2018, for the first time seeking union

Expect lots of campaigning for two open legislative seats covering Yachats area

January 9, 2020

By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews.com Yachats-area residents should expect to see a lot of campaigning for the Oregon Legislature this spring and fall. The state senator and representative for the Yachats area – Sen. Arnie Roblan and Rep. Caddy McKeown, both Democrats from Coos Bay — announced with little fanfare in late 2019 that they would not run for office again this

Yachats fire chief settles three state ethics claims, returns $1,750 to ambulance company

January 2, 2020

By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews.com Yachats fire chief Frankie Petrick has agreed to settle claims by the Oregon Ethics Commission that in three instances she used her position for financial gain. But the commission was not able to substantiate an allegation that Petrick received a tractor from her ex-husband after he sold land to the Yachats Rural Fire Protection District in

Yachats shoppers, Lincoln County stores already adjusting to Jan. 1 ban on single-use plastic bags

January 2, 2020

By DANA TIMS/YachatsNews.com Yachats residents are joining all Oregonians this week in figuring out how to navigate a new statewide ban on single-use plastic bags. But from the looks of things, the task shouldn’t be too daunting. That’s due, in no small part, because Lincoln County residents who shop in Newport are already familiar with that city’s own plastic-bag ban,

Yachats Fire wants to start staffing its upriver station in January

December 19, 2019

The Yachats Rural Fire Protection District wants to start staffing its station seven miles up the Yachats River by early next year. The small sub-station station at 7881 Yachats River Road was built in 2009 after voters in the area asked to be annexed to the fire district in 2003. But it has rarely been staffed. The district has money

Waldport debates what to do next after Umpqua Bank gives away its $600,000 bank building

December 12, 2019

By KATHERINE LJUNGQVIST and QUINTON SMITH WALDPORT – What happens when a regional bank walks away from property valued at more than $600,000 and gives it away for free? The city of Waldport is trying to figure that out. Umpqua Bank closed its 3,200-square-foot branch along Highway 34 last spring because of declining business and the move to online

Lincoln County schedules workshop Dec. 19 to hear ideas on vacation rental rules

December 12, 2019

Lincoln County has scheduled a workshop for 6 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 19 to update people and hear more ideas about regulating vacation rentals in unincorporated areas of the county. The session is the first since September, when county commissioners passed an emergency ordinance on occupancy rules for short-term rentals and instituted stricter requirements for rentals on septic systems. The

After resignation, Yachats Fire seeks applicants for open board position

December 11, 2019

By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews.com The Yachats Rural Fire Protection District needs to replace one of its five board members and this week gave people until the end of January to apply. The position is open because A’lyce Ruberg of Yachats resigned in November after just four months in office. Ruberg, who was elected to a four-year term in May, is

For seventh year Yachats youth program offering its 2020 calendars for sale

December 10, 2019

The Yachats Youth and Families Program has the perfect little Christmas gift for anyone who loves the area – a 2020 calendar featuring the work of six local photographers. The seventh-annual calendar sale is a fundraiser for the program, which provides pre- and after-school care and programs in the Yachats Commons for local children and their families. It