News Briefs - Page 75

The low-lying areas of the central Oregon coast continue to fall behind yearly averages for rainfall, based on November’s numbers, but there is still plenty of precipitation falling in the foothills of the Coast Range. The city of Yachats recorded 8.23 inches of rain at its wastewater treatment plant on West Seventh Street in November, two inches below the 10-year

After 23 years, Oregon Department of Transportation crews are taking down signs that designated 10 miles of U.S. Highway 20 east of Toledo as a traffic safety corridor. The agency said this week that the number of vehicle crashes with fatal or serious injuries in that area had dropped below the threshold to continue qualifying as a safety corridor. It

NEWPORT — A group of about 230 gray whales that lives and feeds in the waters between northern California and British Columbia – called the Pacific Coast Feeding Group — are the focus of the November Science on Tap lecture at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Hatfield Marine Science Center’s Gladys Valley Marine Studies Building Auditorium. The presentation is by marine

Lincoln County’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate continues to rise slow, hitting 5.2 percent in October – up from 5 percent in September, according to the Oregon Employment Department. The county has one of the highest unemployment rates in Oregon and the rate is rising again after dipping to 4.7 percent in July and then 4.9 percent in August. The statewide

The Siletz Tribal Charitable Contribution Fund has awarded $192,000 to 31 nonprofit and other organizations for the third quarter of 2022. Since its inception in 2001, the seven-member charitable fund advisory board has distributed more than $16.3 million, using proceeds from the Chinook Winds casino in Lincoln City. Chinook Winds has also donated more than $6.5 million in cash and

WALDPORT — Christmas tree permits are available for purchase from the Siuslaw National Forest through Dec. 31. Tree hunters can go to recreation.gov to purchase a permit online or go to or call a district ranger offices to purchase a permit in person or over the phone. Christmas tree permits cost $5 each with an additional $2.50 fee per transaction

YACHATS – Heide Lambert, who has been Yachats’s city manager for nine months, got a small raise and bonus this week from an appreciative city council. When it hired Lambert last February, the council said it would evaluate her performance in November – and consider a pay raise and/or bonus if she had done well. On Wednesday the council voted

WALDPORT – Food to at least 183 families in south Lincoln County will be on its way Saturday, thanks to volunteers and donations to South Lincoln Resources. Some 23 volunteers on Wednesday got food boxes ready for Saturday delivery to families who signed up to receive all the fixings – and more – for Thanksgiving meals. Volunteers also worked Friday

NEWPORT – The state has announced the reopening of mussel harvesting along the entire Oregon coast after two consecutive weeks of testing showed levels of the marine toxin domoic acid are below the closure limit. Oregon razor clam harvesting remains closed coastwide as domoic acid levels remain elevated. Razor clams are often slow to clear toxins from their tissues, especially

WALDPORT – A 36-year-old Waldport man is being held without bail in the Lincoln County Jail after his arrest Friday night for second-degree attempted murder and nine other charges after five sheriff’s deputies had to break down the door of his bedroom to arrest him after a three-hour standoff. A preliminary hearing for Erich M. Rennspies is scheduled Nov. 21