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THURSDAY, APRIL 10, 2014
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State Parks OKs Bandon land transfer BY JOHN GUNTHER The World
BANDON — The Oregon Parks Commission this week approved a land transfer of 280 acres of the Bandon State Natural Area to Bandon Biota for Mike Keiser to build the Bandon Links golf complex. Keiser owns Bandon Dunes Golf Resort and also owns Bandon Biota LLC, a separate company. The transfer still faces one big hurdle, since the land that would go to Bandon Biota was sold to the
Oregon Parks Department by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management on the condition that it remain open to public outdoor recreation. That condition must be removed before the property can be transferred, a process that could take several months, according to Chris Havel of the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. But Tuesday’s vote was a huge step toward the transfer becoming reality. “We’re pleased with the outcome,” Keiser said this morning, adding that there’s a long ways to
CB fills hazmat vacancy
go in the process. “The Bureau of Land Management has to sign off on the ultimate use. And we need approval from Coos County when we come up with a specific plan.” Steve Corey, an attorney working on the proposal for Keiser, has had preliminary discussions with BLM, Keiser said, adding “they seem very reasonable.” The Parks Commission approved the concept late last year, but delayed a final vote twice before finally approving it by a 4-2 margin.
To approve the transfer, the commission had to find that it provided overwhelming public benefit. In exchange for the 280 acres, a gorse-choked inland portion of the 878-acre property south of town, Bandon Biota would give the Parks Department 111 acres of oceanfront property adjacent to Bandon State National Area and 97 acres of wetlands property on the Coquille spit adjacent to Bullards Beach State Park. Bandon Biota also would provide $300,000 in cash to control gorse on state park property,
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BY EMILY THORNTON The World
By Alysha Beck, The World
Luke Ferrenburg looks at birds in the Coos Bay channel off Cape Arago Highway on Wednesday afternoon. Ferrenburg was searching in particular for the spectacled eider, a large sea duck normally found in Alaska.
SEE HAZMAT | A8
Reconfiguration proposals for CB schools Facilities report
INSIDE
COOS BAY — The Coos Bay School District is next in line for possible grade and building reconfigurations. The Coos Bay Facilities Outreach committee will present two reconfiguration options to the Coos Bay school board at an April 21 meeting. Enrollment has declined over the last 20 years, from its peak of 4,424 students in 1994 to its lowest today: around 3,079. And the district’s six schools
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The full facilities committee report can be reviewed online at http://bit.ly/1hhi3LY.
are aging. The oldest are Marshfield High and Harding Learning Center, both built in 1923. Harding’s most recent addition or renovation was in 1963; Marshfield’s was in 2001. Besides the schools, the district has three open buildings (Milner Crest and the transportation and maintenance buildings), two unused properties (Bunker Hill and Eastside), and four sections of
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DEATHS
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undeveloped land (Millicoma Marsh, ESD softball field, a tract adjacent to Walmart and a tract adjacent to the MHS stadium). During a workshop in January, committee members and local educators looked at what’s best for Coos Bay students and the buildings. The consensus was that seventh- and eighth-graders are best served when they’re together. Many didn’t think putting eighthgraders at Marshfield was the best idea, since they don’t have access to all the 9-12 resources and they don’t have a grade to partner
Derrick Yarnell, Coquille Doris Caudle, Canby Dorothy DeLaO, Phoeniz, Ariz. Harvey Argo, Coquille Erleen Bettencourt, North Bend James Jamieson, Coos Bay
with. Some said transitions need to be reduced in the lower grades by creating K-7 or K-8 schools. Other groups suggested a K-5, 6-8, 9-12 model, or a K-6, 7-12 model. Several building reconfigurations came out of the discussion, but the majority said repurposing or expanding Millicoma and Sunset would best serve students. That means Madison and Blossom Gulch would either be demolished or converted for district or community use. Participants also suggested moving administrative offices to Bunker Hill or Madison.
Neil Dorst, Coos Bay Dorothy Enzler, Myrtle Point Dominique Minaberringaray, Coos Bay Mary Sandberg, Canby
Obituaries | A5
FORECAST
BY CHELSEA DAVIS
SEE BANDON | A8
Demand rises in medical fields
Taking a long look
BY THOMAS MORIARTY COOS BAY — As a longtime firefighter becomes the chief, the Coos Bay Fire Department is training a replacement to help deal with potentially toxic tasks — and preparing current hazmat personnel for the worst. Chief Mark Anderson, who was officially made chief in February, previously served as a member of the Region 15 Hazardous Materials Team, based out of the department’s Station 1 on Elrod Avenue. The promotion left the 16-member team short one hazardous materials technician — an unacceptable vacancy for a unit covering several hundred miles of the Oregon coast. “We’re a relatively small team compared to Portland, Tualatin, Salem,” Battalion Chief Dan Crutchfield said. “I don’t think a lot of people realize we even have a hazmat team.” A new volunteer will be sent to Tualatin Fire and Rescue for four weeks of training to be certified and to take Anderson’s place on the team. The Coos Bay team is one of 15 regional hazardous materials teams organized and funded by the state Fire Marshal’s office. Its area of responsibility ranges from the California border to just north of Reedsport. Most of the calls the Region 15 team gets are petroleum-related, he said. Tanker truck crashes and gas station spills are regular fodder for hazmat teams across the country.
$450,000 to help match a federal grant to acquire 11 acres at Whale Cove in Lincoln County and $2.5 million to purchase an as-yet unidentified new state park property. Keiser also would grant an easement through the Sheep Ranch property just north of Bandon Dunes for the state to relocate and align the Oregon Coast Trail in accordance with the parks department’s trail standards. Commissioners Brad Chalfant of Bend and Robin Risley of Cannon
SOUTH COAST — The Affordable Care Act has allowed for hundreds more in Coos County to have health insurance. And, doctors are having trouble keeping up with the demand. The issue has been discussed at various meetings recently. “I’ve been seeing about four new patients a day,” said Megan Holland, who has a practice at North Bend Medical Center and works at Southern Coos Hospital and Health Center in Bandon. Holland mentioned the issue at an open house for the new Bandon Community Health Center, which was able to recruit two new nurse practitioners. They’d likely need more, according to Linda Maxon, executive director for the center. Holland said she had to schedule patients “weeks and weeks out” because of the influx. “All areas are recruiting constantly,” Holland said. But, it’s not enough. There are about 100 physicians in the county,not including physicians assistants and nurse practitioners, said Phil Greenhill, chief executive officer of Western Oregon Advanced Health, the coordinated care organization for Coos and Curry counties. CCOs provide care for those who have the Oregon Health Plan or Medicaid. Greenhill said membership in the health program increased from 12,420 on Dec. 31 to 19,200 on March 31. According to the County Health Rankings website, the ratio of primary care physicians was 1,142-to-1 in 2014. This ratio wasn’t too far off the state’s ratio of 1,115-to-1, but it was still noticeable, according to the Community Health Assessment, which was released last year from the Coos County Public Health Department. “Provider shortages are felt throughout the county despite some of the data indicating otherwise,” the document said. A meeting scheduled later this month will address the issue of recruiting more health care workers, Paul Janke, president of Bay SEE MEDICAL | A8
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