FAMILY FRIENDLY?
BULLDOGS SWEEP
Some Turks moving to Islamic State areas, A7
North Bends wins Civil War matches, B1
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2014
Serving Oregon’s South Coast Since 1878
theworldlink.com
■
$1
Annual report details CB student drug use In 2013-14, students suspended for 200 days; one student was expelled ■
BY CHELSEA DAVIS The World
COOS BAY — Coos Bay school officials are looking at student drug and alcohol offenses to see where counseling and mental health services are most needed. Superintendent Dawn Granger presented a districtwide alcohol and drug report at the school board meeting last
More online Go to theworldlink.com to see a breakdown of the incidents by type of drug.
week. It’s a report required of all school districts, detailing incidents of students punished for having drugs or alcohol on campus during the 2013-14 school year. Last year, 44 kids in grades 6-12 were caught with drugs or alcohol in 53 incidents. In total, those students missed 200 days of instruction, including one student who was expelled.
As data piles up every year, Granger said she’ll be able to see whether the district has a “systemic issue.” “I don’t see that with the numbers ... it’s a very low number of students, but for those students, really trying to address this problem is really important for us,” she said. “We need to make sure we’re proactive and supportive so they can make better choices.” If a student is caught drinking on campus, he or she receives a 10-day out-of-school suspension, with the possibility of a five-day “buyback,” where the student can return to class SEE COOS BAY | A8
Coos Bay School District incidents by grade 2013-14
6th-graders 7th-graders 8th-graders Freshmen Sophomores
Juniors
Seniors
Obama: Dismantle ‘network of death’
Hanging out along the coast
BY JULIE PACE AND JOSH LEDERMAN The Associated Press
final stages of plotting attacks against the U.S. and Europe, most likely an attempt to blow up an airplane in flight. On the same night that U.S. and Arab allies carried out more than 200 airstrikes against the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq, the U.S. on its own launched more than 20 Tomahawk cruise missiles and other ordinance against eight Khorasan Group targets near Aleppo in northwestern Syria, Pentagon officials said. It’s not clear yet whether the group’s leader, identified by U.S. officials as Muhsin al-Fadhli, was killed in the strikes. He is a Kuwaiti who spent time in Iran and has long been identified as a significant figure in al-Qaida.
— UNITED NATIONS Declaring the world at a crossroads between war and peace, President Barack Obama vowed at the U.N. on Wednesday to lead a coalition to dismantle an Islamic State “network of death” that has wreaked havoc in the Middle East and drawn the U.S. back into military action in the region. Speaking to the annual gathering of the United Nations General Assembly, Obama said the U.S. would be a “respectful and constructive partner” in confronting the Islamic State militants through force. But he also implored Muslims in the Middle East to reject the ideology that has spawned groups like the Islamic State and to cut off funding that has allowed that terror group and others to thrive. “Ultimately, the task of rejecting sectarianism and extremism is a generational task — a task for the people of the Middle East themselves,” Obama said. “No external power can bring about a transformation of hearts and minds.” The president’s remarks came against the backdrop of an expanded U.S. military campaign against the Islamic State group, with airstrikes now hitting targets in both Iraq and Syria. A coalition of five Arab nations joined the U.S. this week in the strikes in Syria: Bahrain, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Qatar. The U.S. also opened another military front with airstrikes this week against a new al-Qaida cell that the Pentagon said was “nearing the execution phase” of a direct attack on the U.S. or Europe. The threats have drawn Obama back into conflicts in the Middle East that he has long sought to avoid, particularly in Syria, which is mired in a bloody three-year civil war. Just months ago, the president appeared to be on track to fulfill his pledge to end the U.S.led wars he inherited in Iraq and Afghanistan. Obama sought to distinguish this current military campaign from those lengthy wars, declaring that he has no intention of sending U.S. troops to occupy foreign lands. “We will neither tolerate terrorist safe havens nor act as an occupying power,” he said. The militant threat in the Middle East is just one in a series of global crises that have tested Obama this year. Russia has repeatedly flouted warnings from the U.S. and Europe to stop its threatening moves in Ukraine. And leaders in West Africa have criticized Obama for not doing more to help combat an Ebola outbreak that is believed to have infected
SEE KHORASAN | A8
SEE OBAMA | A8
By Thomas Moriarty, The World
Seabirds rest on the rocks at Coos Head in the Charleston shipping channel during a break in the rain Tuesday. Chances of rain are in the forecast the rest of the week.
3 arrested on felonies after brawl THE WORLD
BY KEN DILANIAN The Associated Press WASHINGTON — The U.S. decision to strike the Khorasan Group to stop a possible terror attack represents a significant expansion of the largely secret war against core al-Qaida, a group President Barack Obama has proclaimed was “a shadow of its former self.” Administration officials said Tuesday they have been watching the Khorasan Group, an alQaida cell in Syria, for years. But Obama had resisted taking military action in Syria to avoid inadvertently helping President Bashar Assad, a leader the U.S. would like to see gone. That changed, officials said, because intelligence showed that the Khorasan Group was in the
Comics . . . . . . . . . . A6 Puzzles . . . . . . . . . . A6 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . B1 Classifieds . . . . . . . B5
Gary Wallace Jr., North Bend Geneva Harnage, Coos Bay John Blake, Coos Bay Audrey Nichols, Lebanon
Obituaries | A5
Taxing marijuana Medford decides it will impose a city tax of between 6 and 18 percent if ballot measure passes. Page A5
FORECAST
New front against al-Qaida
STATE
Police reports . . . . A2 40 Stories . . . . . . . A2 South Coast. . . . . . A3 Opinion. . . . . . . . . . A4
The Associated Press
Army Lt. Gen. William Mayville, Jr., director of operations J3, speaks about the operations in Syria on Tuesday during a news conference at the Pentagon.
DEATHS
INSIDE
COQUILLE — Three people face felony charges after a dispute over a repossessed car escalated into a five-person brawl near Coquille on Monday evening. Kimberly Jo Martindale, 49; Jack R. Jarrett, 49; and Nathaniel Jarrett, 25, all face charges of second-degree criminal trespass, second-degree burglary and two counts of third-degree assault. Nathaniel and Jack Jarrett are both also charged with harassment, and Jack Jarrett faces an additional charge of strangulation. According to the Coos County Sheriff's Office, deputies and Coquille police officers were sent to a reported assault in progress at 97684 Hudson Creek Lane in Fairview about 5 p.m. Five people were reportedly involved in a fight after several of them attempted to civilly repossess a vehicle they co-owned. The situation escalated to the point that one person was choked unconscious and persons involved armed themselves with a baseball bat and an AK-47 rifle. The residence is the home of 43-yearold Jeffrey Martindale and 19-year-old Rossi Martindale, who the Sheriff's Office listed as the victims in the case. Deputies say Kimberly Martindale and the Jarretts were charged because they had trespassed onto the property, entered the attached carport with the intent to commit a crime and provoked and participated in two separate assaults. All three are being held in the Coos County Jail in lieu of bail.
Rain 65/56 Weather | A8