Forest deputy patrols the gravel roads and timberlands of Lincoln County

March 7, 2019

By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews.com Lincoln County Sheriff Deputy Nick Vaille is only a few miles up the Yachats River when he takes a hard left, aiming his truck up a steep, one lane Forest Service road. For the next three hours Vaille will rarely touch pavement as he winds along gravel roads patrolling public forests and private timberland in south Lincoln

Yachats ‘watchers’ play integral part in weather reporting systems

February 28, 2019

By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews.com Donald Tucker relies on an automated station to take weather readings and an antenna on his roof to every five minutes transmit data that ends up in a national data center in Utah. Kirk Walker does it the old fashioned way. Each morning at 8 o’clock he goes out to hand-measure rain in a big metal gauge,

Winter campground hosts say it’s a labor of love

February 21, 2019

By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews.com Russell and Paula Hagfors get a free place to park their trailer, electricity, sewer and garbage service. In the winter they live in a gated community with a wonderful view of the Pacific Ocean just outside their living room. All they have to do is dodge King tides, hunker down during 60 mph winds and spend four

Yachats experiencing a “boomlet” of new construction

February 14, 2019

By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews.com During their careers with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, Rik and Katherine Arndt lived in some of the West’s most desirable areas – Denver, near Yosemite National Park, New Mexico, and in Ashland. But when it came time to retire the Arndts chose Yachats to build their new home. It wasn’t a decision out of the

King tides photo project draws Yachats-area volunteers

February 7, 2019

By JoLENE KRAWCZAK/YachatsNews.com Adam Altson of Yachats joined the citizen-volunteer Oregon King Tides Photo Project a year ago to show how extremely high tides are affecting the shoreline near his home. During the year’s highest tides — called king tides — Altson walks across Ocean View Drive from his home to photograph waves surging higher up the rocky shore than he’ll

New Newport hospital helps Samaritan continue medical improvements

January 31, 2019

By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews.com Samaritan Health Services took a major step in the transformation of medical care in Lincoln County on Thursday when it opened its $63 million main hospital building in Newport. Moving patients and staff from the 31-year-old Samaritan Pacific Communities Hospital into a modern three-story building signaled the stretch run in the medical makeover of the outdated facility.

Does the Yachats Fire District need help?

January 24, 2019

By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews.com Once or twice most days the fire engines or ambulance at the Yachats Fire District’s station in downtown Yachats roll out on a call, usually some medical problem, automobile accident or to help an elderly person who has fallen. The firefighters and paramedics — professional or volunteer — are there around the clock and trained to help.

Yachats Fire District struggles to contain cost of new station

January 17, 2019

By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews.com Problems with the site of the Yachats Rural Fire Protection District’s new $8.3 million station along U.S. Highway 101 have forced the district to make dozens of changes to the project to keep it within budget. The 10,000-square foot station is being built on six acres on the north edge of Yachats with proceeds from a bond

Tracy Cahn, Paradise, Calif. fire victim

Paradise lost, Yachats found

January 10, 2019

By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews.com Born and raised in Paradise, Calif., Tracy Cahn is starting over in Yachats. Gone is her three-bedroom home in Paradise and everything inside it. Gone is her photography studio in downtown Paradise and all her equipment. She has her son, Carson, 17, and daughter, Grace, 7. And she has half ownership in a rental house on King

Five-year-old permit fight may be nearing end

January 3, 2019

By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews.com A contentious but behind-the-scenes dispute between Lincoln County, the city of Yachats and one of the community’s best-known businesses may be nearing a resolution after five years. Yachats Brewing and Farm Store is a favorite with tourists and many locals for its beer and ciders, organic and fermented food and relaxed brewpub atmosphere. But since 2013 much