News Briefs - Page 45

SALEM — A bill that could help reopen a number of hiking trails on the coast passed the Oregon Senate on Thursday and now heads to the House. Senate Bill 1576 passed the Senate 25-2. Shepherded by Sen. Floyd Prozanski, D-Eugene, the civil omnibus bill includes an amendment that would temporarily restore the legal power of recreational immunity — a law

NEWPORT — Oregon State Police is stepping up patrols along the central Oregon coast Thursday through Sunday during the Newport Seafood & Wine Festival, which can draw up to 25,000 visitors to the area. Nine troopers from the agency’s “high visibility enforcement unit” will augment troopers from the Newport patrol office, city of Newport officers and Lincoln County Sheriff’s deputies.

The Siuslaw National Forest and the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians have signed an agreement giving the tribe a larger voice in the management of the federal forest. The two entities this week said the agreement emphasizes the shared goals of the tribe and the Forest Service regarding the use and management of natural and cultural

NEWPORT – The Oregon Marine Reserves Program has hired Sarah Klain as its new human dimensions project leader. Klain is a former Utah State University professor of ecosystem services who began her career on the Oregon coast in 2003 interviewing commercial fishermen before the reserves were established. She will continue the human dimensions work of recently retired Tommy Swearingen. That work involves

The Siletz Tribal Charitable Contribution Fund distributed nearly $428,000 to 28 organizations in February as part of its quarterly donations to nonprofit groups in Lincoln County and 10 other counties in its service area, the tribe announced this week. Overall, the tribe has distributed more than $21.9 million through the charitable fund and other tribal resources. Chinook Winds Casino has

YACHATS — A newly-arrived Texas couple is launching a sober dance club from 6-8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 17, at the Yachats Commons. “Dance Yachats” is a club created by Mike and Sharon Jones of Yachats, who are also opening a fitness and dance-related business in Newport. The twice-monthly event kicks off with an evening of “progressive country two-step,” Jones said,

WALDPORT – Oregon State Police on Wednesday identified the man killed Feb. 7 as he left Governor Patterson State Park and drove into the path of a southbound vehicle on U.S. Highway 101 Police said Gordon E. Dale, 77, of Waldport was in his Toyota Prius attempting to pull out of the park to head north about 5:50 p.m. but