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Coos Bay, Port approve at-large SCCF directors CHELSEA DAVIS The World
Tymchuk
Pettit
member entities — the cities of Coos Bay and North Bend, Coos County and the Oregon International Port of Coos Bay — before the three at-large directors can take their seats on the board. The current four-member SCCF board chose Keith Tymchuk, Al Pettit and
with Jordan Cove. I’m hesitant to approve that without getting some answers from him.” Whitty, along with Bill Lansing and Joanne Verger, brought SCCF into the limelight earlier this year. After several rounds of public meetings and significant changes to the organization’s bylaws, the three resigned in May. Councilor Brian Bowers said even if Combs’ law firm were to represent Jordan Cove, it would have no impact on Combs’ service for SCCF. “They’re two separate groups (Jordan Cove and
SCCF),” Bowers said. “To me, that wouldn’t be a conflict.” Co u n c i l o r S te p h a nie Kramer reminded the council that if Combs were to find a conflict of interest, he would be required to recuse himself from voting. Both North Bend and Coos Bay worried about Pettit, since he also ran a write-in campaign for the Coos Bay City Council this fall. But on Friday, the Coos County Elections Office released its final official canvass, showing Fred Brick won the vacant Coos Bay seat.
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C O O S B AY — Five a.m., and it’s time to herd the cats. Seventy-eight-yearold Gloria Kohl wakes up, gets dressed and heads out the door to her animal shelter across the driveway, checking to see if any carriers with stray cats have been placed at her door. After feeding about 35 cats, switching out litter boxes, changing and washing cat beds and scrubbing the floors, it’s time to do paperwork. “This goes on seven days a week,” Kohl said. For six years, Kohl and her husband, Norman, have run a non-profit, non-kill animal shelter in Coos Bay called Kohl’s Cat House. The shelter takes in feral cats, domesticated cats turned wild, and stray cats to be cared for and fixed. Kohl also finds homes for adoptable strays. The shelter has been busy. “It’s of epidemic proportions,” Kohl said. “Every single day I get
calls from people. Just got a call of eight kittens dropped at someone’s door.” Kohl has made it her mission to help solve this problem. The organization has joined the Coos County Animal Shelter and the nonprofit organization Friends of Coos County Animal Shelter to tackle the stray animal population in the city and surrounding areas. Kohl said one reason the stray and feral cat population is so high is because of the lack of education in the community. People are not getting their cats fixed, which is a huge problem. “A female cat can go into heat three times in a year,” Kohl said. “They can have three to six kittens, and you just do the numbers and that’s where your population comes from.” Kohl said this year has been worse for the stray and feral cat population because of the weather. Cats breed in warm weather, and the Coos Bay area has been See CATS, A8
KURTIS HAIR The World
NEWPORT — South Carolina and Oregon lawmakers have banded together to try to convince the Coast Guard to keep its air facilities open in Newport and Charleston, S.C. T h e O re go n d e l e ga t i o n including U.S. Reps. Peter DeFazio and Kurt Schrader, and U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, joined with South Carolina lawmakers such as Sen. Lindsey Graham to sign a letter urging the Coast Guard to reverse its air closure decision. In October, the Coast Guard
Amanda Loman photos
Gloria Kohl, director of Kohl’s Cat House, picks up feral cats and transports them to S/Nipped, a low cost spay and neuter clinic in Empire. The cats are then either adopted out if they are friendly or released back into the area. The clinic currently has a grant through January to spay or neuter feral cats for free.
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RIGHT: A trapped feral cat awaits transport by Gloria Kohl, director of Kohl’s Cat House, to S/Nipped, a low cost spay and neuter clinic in Empire. The cats are then either adopted out if they are friendly or released back into the area. The clinic currently has a grant through January to spay or neuter feral cats for free.
Brick lands spot on CB City Council THE WORLD
LNG plant to be large carbon source
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Kitzhaber has made that a priority by, for example, opposing coal exports from Oregon in part due to potential carbon impacts and pursuing a clean fuel standard to reduce carbon emissions from transportation. Kitzhaber calls natural gas a valuable transition fuel to greener alternatives, but has yet to weigh in on the carbon impacts of exporting natural gas from the state. The Legislature created a state Global Warming Commission to recommend ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and its members are appointed by the governor. Chairman Angus Duncan said Jordan Cove will hurt Oregon’s ability to meet its goals.
COOS BAY — The results are in, and Fred Brick is on his way to the Coos Bay City Council. The Coos County Elections Office released the official canvass of votes from the general election on Friday. Brick won the fourth vacant city council seat with 324 votes. Two Brick others, Al Pettit and Katherine Flores, also ran write-in campaigns this fall for the seat. Pettit came away with 249 votes and Flores snagged 54 votes. Co u n c i l o rs To m L ea hy, Stephanie Kramer and Jennifer Groth easily retained their seats in the Nov. 4 election. The write-in vote tally is a
See PLANT, A8
See RESULTS, A8
GMO label recount?
James Stackpole, North Bend Valerie Stuhlmiller, Coos Bay Alan Henrickson, Coos Bay Barbara Bay, Myrtle Point Melody Gray, St. Helens
Group aggressively went after challenged ballots and may have narrowed the margin enough to force a recount.
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approved four LNG export facilities. Jordan Cove could be the fifth. Operators say Jordan Cove would meet state and federal air quality standards for pollutants such as particulates, sulfur dioxide and volatile organic compounds. Jordan Cove officials point out that those emissions would be lower than those from the paper mill that used to occupy the Coos Bay site. Michael Hinrichs, a spokesman for Jordan Cove, said the company was closely listening to the national and state discussion on carbon and was focused on meeting existing pollution standards that don’t strictly limit carbon. In 2007, the Legislature set goals for reducing carbon emissions in Oregon. Gov. John
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burning coal there by 2020. Much of the Jordan Cove emissions would come from energy used to liquefy natural gas so it can be shipped to Asia. The project would have its own power plant generating 420 megawatts, enough electricity to serve more than 400,000 homes. Another source, about 20 percent of total emissions, would come from venting carbon dioxide as the natural gas is purified before liquefaction. The draft environmental impact statement by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission concluded that the Jordan Cove project would have a limited environmental impact that could be reduced to non-significant levels. The commission has so far
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PORTLAND (AP) — A proposed liquefied natural gas terminal in Coos Bay would become one of the largest sources of greenhouse gases in Oregon, federal data shows. The assessment came as the Jordan Cove Energy Project seeks permission to release 2.1 million metric tons of greenhouse gases annually, according to an environmental analysis from energy regulators. At that level, it would have been Oregon’s second-largest source of greenhouse gases in 2013, based on reports from the emission reports from the state’s major polluters, The Oregonian reported Tuesday. The largest emitter last year was Portland General Electric’s coal-fired plant at Boardman. The utility says it plans to stop
Reporter Chelsea Davis can be reached at 541-269-1222, ext. 239, or by email at chelsea.davis@theworldlink. com. Follow her on Twitter: @ChelseaLeeDavis.
Two states join to stop CG base closures
Not your average cat lady KURTIS HAIR
“I move that we approve the slate, with the caveat that if Al Pettit is elected to the Coos Bay City Council, he be asked to choose between the city council and SCCF,” said councilor Jennifer Groth. Port commissioners unanimously approved the slate at their Thursday meeting. Coos County commissioners will take up the issue Tuesday.
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COOS BAY — Three of SCCF’s four member entities have now approved the slate of three at-large candidates, but one Coos Bay councilor is worried one will have a conflict of interest. T h e C o o s B ay C i ty Council voted 6-1 Tuesday night to approve the South Coast Community Foundation board’s three atlarge candidates. Councilor Mark Daily was the dissenting vote. The SCCF board needs approval from all four
Andy Combs to round out the board. Daily had concerns about Combs, who is an attorney Combs for Whitty, McDaniel, Bodkin and Combs in Coos Bay. “I’m assuming the Whitty in there is John Whitty, which concerns me because John said he was stepping away from it, but there’s obviously still some influence there,” Daily said. “I wondered if the law firm intends to do any business