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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 14, 2012
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“I don’t have time to repeatedly send them information that I have already sent them.” Steve Sanden, First Step executive director
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Oysters won’t block route of gas pipeline BY DANIEL SIMMONS-RITCHIE The World
By Benjamin Brayfield, The World
From left, William Blume, James Webb, Taylor Murray and Michelle DeHart make hamburgers for dinner at Bay Area First Step. Residents do pay for food, but subsidies from ORCCA helped stretch every dollar the organization spends on food, the organization said.
First Step leaves ORCCA Agency cites lost paperwork, issues with food director BY DANIEL SIMMONS-RITCHIE The World
Hospital employees on hook for state taxes Southern Coos Health District forgot Oregon withholdings ■
BY AMY MOSS STRONG The World
SEE ORCCA | A10
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COOS BAY — The city has the goahead to place a wastewater treatment plant in Empire. Only two people of the small handful in attendance expressed concerns about the project, which was approved Tuesday by the Planning Commission. The move required a zone change to 0.12 acres at 649 Fulton Ave. and a conditional-use permit for two acres at 695 S. Empire Blvd. While Carol Sanders understands the need for an updated plant, she said she’s worried about the smell, especially
special measures can be taken to address potential issues, he added. Odor issues, as well as lighting, traffic and noise and buffering will be addressed further during a site plan and architectural review process, the completion of which is one of the stipulations commissioners placed upon approving the conditional use. Hossley estimated the review will take place after the plans for the plant are at least 75 percent complete. At that point, it will be more clear where elements need to go for the plant to function the most efficiently, he said. Other conditions require that the plant:
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since her home and business are next to the old plant, which does emit odors. “We just hope that we won’t be entirely surrounded,” she said. “But it’s beginning to look that way.” Darrell Sanders also question odor levels, and said it’s a raw deal to have two plants so near his home and business, Gallery on the Bay. In addition to the new plant, the old plant will likely be used in some capacity, said Bill Boger, project manager at Civil West Engineering Services Inc., the firm working on the project. A new plant will automatically smell less than the old one, simply because of newer technology and other
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“We are just getting really mixed messages,” Brecke said. Brecke said the board is trying to find funding to establish a pantry coordinator who can respond to the concerns. Brecke also is seeking an independent consultant to evaluate how well ORCCA was operating overall. Brecke said although the agency is working as fast as it can to fix the problems, ORCCA’s board consists of unpaid volunteers who meet just once a month. “We are not moving as fast as people would like us to move, but that’s just the way it is,” Brecke said.
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subsidized food — began only last year. Others — like lost paperwork and receiving food past its due date — span years. ORCCA board Chairwoman Brenda Brecke said she was unaware that First Step had exited ORCCA’s food network. “As the board chair, I’m disappointed that we are losing a member,” Brecke said. “That means we lose a partner that we can support in helping feed our community.” Brecke said they were working on an accounting problem, and board members were trying to be responsive to the concerns of the food banks. One board member, Carole Akre, had met with four pantries, and heard positive feedback.
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By Benjamin Brayfield, The World
When Devin Ewell returned to Bay Area First Step after a long day, James Webb, left and Steve Sanden greet him with affection while his sister, Taylor Murray, enjoys the moment. Bay Area First Step provides housing for families in need and treatment for people seeking recovery.
BANDON — Southern Coos Health District staffers, who might have been looking forward to a tax return in April, received a surprise last month when notices were sent out that an error caused all employee withholdings to be under-calculated for 2011. A mathematical error was inadvertently entered into the hospital’s payroll system at the beginning of 2011, CEO Jim Wathen explained in a memo to employees of Southern Coos Health District, which operates Southern Coos Hospital. The error only applied to Oregon tax withholdings and resulted in employees taking home more on their paychecks than they should have. Federal taxes Jim Wathen were withheld. CEO Wathen said some employees won’t be impacted at all, while others might owe as much as $1,000 when they file their taxes. To make amends, the hospital board this week will consider a proposal to offer short-term, no-interest loans to affected employees to help them pay the difference in taxes. There is an outside possibility that the state could assess an underpayment penalty, Wathen explained in
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First Step is the second agency to drop out of ORCCA’s food network this year, following the departure of South Coast Head Start in January. Since December, First Step is also the eighth agency to publicly report issues with ORCCA’s food warehouse, which acts as the South Coast’s distribution hub for state and federal food aid. Sanden, like the other agencies, said some problems — like billing errors for
SEE PIPELINE | A10
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‘Just the way it is’
COQUILLE — Coos County Commissioners have given the thumbs up to a natural-gas pipeline in Haynes Inlet, following months of debate over whether its construction would decimate native oysters. The board re-approved a land-use permit on Tuesday for Pacific Connector to build the 2.4-mile stretch of pipeline, which is an essential component for a proposed liquefied natural gas terminal on the North Spit. The commissioners first approved the permit last year, but Citizens Against LNG appealed that decision to the state. The group argued, successfully, that the commissioners had not given adequate consideration to the effect of construction on Olympia oysters. Olympia oysters are the Pacific Northwest’s only native oyster variety. Once abundant on the coast, they have declined significantly in number. Commercial oyster producers rely on a larger variety, called Pacific oysters. This week’s decision about the Olympia was highly anticipated, but largely expected. An independent adjudicator released a report in January that deemed that Olympia were scarce in the inlet and so harm appeared minimal. As part of the permit, Pacific Connector have agreed to take steps to mitigate any potential harm to the oyster. That includes creating 30 cubic yards of habitat for Olympia, and monitoring of population changes to Olympia in Haynes inlet. Jody McCaffree, the executive director of Citizens Against LNG, said the overall decision was not what she wanted, but she was pleased with some of the new conditions.
By Jeff Trionfante, The World
FORECAST
COOS BAY — Problems inside Oregon Coast Community Action have gotten worse, not better, according to the latest agency to opt out of the nonprofit’s network of food banks. Bay Area First Step, a transitional housing facility for people in recovery from addiction, has relied on ORCCA for years to supply free and subsidized food to its residents. The facility can accommodate 24 people in transitional housing and can house about 45 in apartments for people in recovery and their families. In late February, First Step cut that supply line, citing mounting frustration with ORCCA’s food department. “I don’t have time to repeatedly send them information that I have already sent them,” said Steve Sanden, First Step’s executive director. ORCCA spokeswoman Amanda D’Souza said the organization tries hard to limit the times that occurs. “We can only say that we take great care to receive completed food pick lists because we need them to calculate and distribute food to all of our partner agencies,” she said.
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