Yachats council agrees to negotiate with landowner in effort to stop 20-acre clearcut south of city

July 18, 2024

By GARRET JAROS/YachatsNews YACHATS – What it would cost the city of Yachats to prevent an eyesore of a clearcut that in turn will eliminate community concerns about landslides and the subsequent application of herbicides is unclear. The city is negotiating with the landowner and the logger who owns the trees, but no agreement has been reached and the

Waldport says it will test city water and monitor herbicide spraying on 110-acre Weyerhaeuser clearcut

July 18, 2024

By GARRET JAROS/YachatsNews WALDPORT – A plan to spray herbicides on a Weyerhaeuser clearcut near one of Waldport’s municipal water sources has drawn condemnation by people who oppose the practice and triggered city officials to take precautionary measures. While city officials have not yet been notified when ground spraying on the 110-acre “Pankey Pit” clearcut located immediately east of

Oregon releases draft of new wildfire hazard map replacing one that drew backlash in 2022

July 18, 2024

By APRIL ERHLICH/Oregon Public Broadcasting Oregon has a new draft map illustrating which areas of the state are most susceptible to wildfires. Oregon State University and the Oregon Department of Forestry released the proposed wildfire hazard map Thursday. There, Oregonians can look up specific tax lots to see how susceptible they are to wildfires. Go to: View the interactive wildfire hazard

Work begins this week on final construction phase of first U.S. wave energy test site north of Waldport

July 16, 2024

By DANA TIMS/YachatsNews Building the nation’s first wave-energy testing facility just off the central Oregon coast has been a project decades in the making. Now, engineers, researchers and ocean-wave specialists, aided by three vessels working up to 24 hours a day, this week will begin to tackle the final phase of installing the undersea cables needed to link the

Transfer of Ocean View Drive to city of Yachats slowing work on proposed estuary boardwalk

July 15, 2024

By GARRET JAROS/YachatsNews YACHATS – Anyone holding their breath in anticipation of construction beginning on the estuary boardwalk can exhale. It’s going to be awhile. The walkway with a bump-out viewing platform, benches and lights along Ocean View Drive between Beach Street and U.S. Highway 101 has been talked about for years. But while progress is being made, best

Demolition of Yachats library should take place this month as summer programs ramp up in temporary quarters

July 14, 2024

By CHERYL ROMANO/YachatsNews YACHATS — The original Yachats Library building may be only a memory by late July when demolition is expected to make way for a new, bigger structure. Meanwhile, it’s business almost-as-usual for the library in its temporary quarters and time for a full slate of kids’ summer programs. Before the teardown of the structure on West

July 4 fireworks cleanup collects more than 1,500 pounds of debris

July 14, 2024

Almost as soon as the glare of July 4 fireworks on the central Oregon coast began to fade, a small army of volunteers went to work cleaning up as much of the resulting debris as they could find. The results, according to the Surfrider Foundation, which organized the effort, were impressive. During 13 beach cleanups held July 5 and

Oregon state parks agency is considering raising camping fees. Here’s how to weigh in

July 14, 2024

By Oregon Public Broadcasting and YachatsNews Oregon State Parks is proposing an increased rate range for the use of campsites and other facilities starting in 2025. But fees won’t be increasing substantially anytime soon. The parks department’s current range limit for fees is $40 per night for RVs, for example. And at a current rate of about $33 per night,

YachatsNews local fundraising campaign reaches $48,000 to support local reporting efforts

July 9, 2024

Thank you for helping YachatsNews’ effort to grow and expand. By the time the last of checks or PayPal donations trickle in this month, YachatsNews’ local fundraising campaign should get well beyond $48,000 with the help of dozens of donations big and small, two Oregon foundations and one match by a local donor’s employer. While June’s effort is short

YachatsNews takes a week off from most publishing; resumes posting stories Sunday, July 14

July 8, 2024

YachatsNews is taking a short, week-long break from reporting and posting stories. We made it through the local July 3-4 celebrations, lots of government meetings, breaking news and now feel the need for a little rest and relaxation ourselves. It’s been busy. We posted 612 stories during the first six months of the year which generated 972,000 page views