Community - Page 58

By CHRISTIAN WHITOL/The Lund Report CORVALLIS — UnitedHealth Group, the nation’s biggest health care corporation, is continuing its expansion drive in Oregon with a bid to buy The Corvallis Clinic, an independent 11-clinic physician-owned system in the mid-Willamette Valley. Under the deal, the clinic network, founded 76 years ago, would become an arm of Optum Health, the burgeoning United

By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews A very wet early December pushed rainfall totals for 2023 to near average in the Yachats area, according to YachatsNews’ weather watchers, after much of a year that was drier and warmer than usual. And, as always, the amount of rainfall depended on whether it was measured near the ocean or in the foothills of the

By GARRET JAROS/YachatsNews Silence greeted some Lincoln County radio listeners on New Year’s Day after a longtime broadcast institution folds under financial failure. After 75 years of operation, Yaquina Bay Communications of Newport and its five remaining stations serving Lincoln City, Newport and Waldport aired for the last time Sunday. The stations are KNPT-AM and KNCU-FM in Newport, KBCH-AM

By CHERYL ROMANO/YachatsNews YACHATS — The annual New Year’s Day Peace Hike has always been about remembrance of the past, but this winter there’s a more modern aspect — honoring the life and work of Chief Donald “Doc” Slyter. Now approaching its 14th year, the hike traditionally honors the memory of Amanda De-Cuys. She was a 19th century Native

By NIKA BARTOO-SMITH/Underscore News SILETZ – The Siletz Valley School board has fired principal/superintendent Casey Jackson following an investigation into seven complaints filed in October. The board announced its decision to fire principal Jackson at its meeting Dec. 14. The 200-student school is a charter school within the Lincoln County School District, with its own board, administrators and budget.

By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews Following a 90-minute hearing Friday, Lincoln County circuit judge Joseph Allison said he hopes to rule by the end of the week on challenges to the county’s ordinance regulating vacation rentals in unincorporated areas. Allison scheduled another hearing with lawyers for 11:30 a.m. Friday, Dec. 29 but said he “will do my best” to get a

By DANA TIMS/YachatsNews Lincoln County, like 30 of Oregon’s 36 counties, gained population last year, according to new population estimates released this week by Portland State University’s Population Research Center. The county’s year-over-year gain of just 218 residents, however, continues a pandemic-era trend of little to no population increases for Oregon’s smallest and mostly rural counties, and flashes danger