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Coos Bay council bans smoking near public library One issue decided, two more big ones on agenda
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BY TIM NOVOTNY The World
COOS BAY — On the heels of a ban on smoking on the Coos Bay
Boardwalk, the Coos Bay City Council passed an ordinance this week against smoking in the immediate vicinity of the public library.
The new ban was enacted by a vote of 5-2, with Councilors Stephanie Kramer, Mark Dailey, Jennifer Groth, Tom Leahy and Brian Bowers voting in favor of the ordinance. Councilor Mike Vaughan and Mayor Crystal Shoji voted against. Shoji said that, like the board-
walk decision, this wasn’t a public health issue. “It’s just like the boardwalk, except this one (the primary concern) is not fire, it’s appearance.” The request came to the council from the Library Board of Trustees, which indicated that
Job finished
smoking close to the building was creating a number of issues for staff and visitors. Library board chair Bruce Bennett said the board was specifically concerned “about smoke SEE SMOKING | A8
SCCF board narrows criteria for at-large seats BY CHELSEA DAVIS The World
By Lou Sennick, The World
COOS BAY — The South Coast Community Foundation board is trying to settle on criteria for its remaining board seats without unintentionally excluding anyone or playing favorites. The four SCCF directors met Wednesday morning to outline the framework they’ll use to weed through applications for the three remaining at-large director positions. “It’s really important to have some geographic diversity on here,” said SCCF board vice-chair John Sweet. “With the four of us, it’s heavily weighted to the Bay Area. I really think that’s going to end up being an awkward situation if we don’t balance that out with some representation from other parts of the county.” SCCF board secretary Brianna Hanson said applicants’ backgrounds should be considered, not their field of work or political status. “If you take everyone out who is somehow involved in politics or school boards, it really limits the list of people we have,” Hanson said. The board pored through example matrices to determine how to analyze each applicant. They’ll
After working Tuesday morning in the shallow water and mud flats on the far side of Coos Bay, an oyster crew heads back to the barge through the shallows. This view of the crew is looking west from East Bay Drive.
SEE AT-LARGE | A8
County officials hold off on tribe’s roads proposal The World
REEDSPORT — State police say one person is confirmed dead after an SUV plunged into the Umpqua River near Reedsport on Wednesday afternoon. According to Oregon State Police, the vehicle traveled off the road and into the water about 3:49 p.m. near milepost 6 on state Highway 38, just east of the Dean Creek Elk Viewing Area. Douglas County sheriff’s deputies and Oregon Department of Transportation employees working nearby found the driver dead at the scene. The driver, who had been traveling westbound on the highway, wasn’t wearing a seatbelt. A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter and boat joined the Lakeside Fire Department dive team and a second boat from OSP’s Fish and Wildlife Division to search for other victims, but emergency personnel determined the driver was the vehicle’s only occupant. Troopers say the investigation is continuing, and they expect to release the victim’s name Thursday.
COQUILLE — All three county commissioners took a step back Tuesday, citing potential conflicts of interest with a Coquille Indian Tribe proposal. The tribe wants to add 84.3 miles of Coos County roads to its
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Tribal Transportation Program Roadway Inventory for the opportunity to potentially snag federal funding to improve the roads. By Chelsea Davis, The World The tribe currently uses these Commissioners Bob Main and Melissa Cribbins discuss the South Coast County roads for school, mail and work during their meeting Tuesday morning. Citing potential conFoundation Community routes, said Jessica Johnson, SEE COUNTY | A8
flicts of interest, all three commissioners stepped back from a decision regarding a roads proposal from the Coquille Indian Tribe.
Activists file signatures for state GMO measure BY GOSIA WOZNNIACKA The Associated Press
“We’re really excited by
PORTLAND — Proponents of a ballot measure to require the labeling of genetically modified foods in Oregon said Wednesday they’re turning in more than 155,000 signatures — far more than needed to qualify the measure for a statewide vote in November. The secretary of state’s office will count and verify the signatures. The initiative needs just over 87,000 signatures to qualify for the ballot. If adopted, the initiative by Oregon GMO Right to Know would require manufacturers, retailers and suppliers to label raw and packaged foods produced entirely or partially by genetic engineering. The measure would not apply to animal feed or food served in restaurants. It would be effective January 2016.
the level of grassroots enthusiasm.”
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BY CHELSEA DAVIS THE WORLD
Sandeep Kaushik Oregon GMO Right to Know spokesman
Signature-gathering is also underway in Colorado and in Arizona to put up similar labeling measures. The U.S. currently does not require the labeling of genetically engineered foods. Labeling ballot measures in California and in Washington state failed in recent years. A GMO labeling measure was also defeated in Oregon in 2002. But legislators in three states — Vermont, Maine and Connecticut — enacted laws that require labeling of genetically modified organisms, though those won’t go into effect until other states in the
Arvil Gustin, Coos Bay Daniel Niederer, Reedsport Mary Dake, Coos Bay
Obituaries | A5
region follow suit. Counties in Oregon, Hawaii, Washington state and California have also adopted laws banning or limiting genetically modified organisms. There are currently 85 bills on GMO labeling in 30 states, with more than half introduced this year, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, as well as dueling bills in Congress. Labeling proponents say too much is still unknown about GMOs, so consumers have a right to know if they are eating them. Backers of the initiative have so far raised $1.16 million, including
Louis Zamperini dies Olympis distance runner and World War II veteran dies at age 97. A5
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Driver killed as SUV sinks in river
donations from Mercola.com Health Resources, Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps and the Organic Consumers Fund. “We’re really excited by the level of grassroots enthusiasm,” said Sandeep Kaushik, spokesman of Oregon GMO Right to Know. Critics say mandatory labels would mislead consumers into thinking that engineered ingredients are unsafe, which scientists have not proven to be true. “This is a costly and misleading initiative that would hurt thousands of Oregon family farmers and small store owners, cost Oregon taxpayers millions of dollars and increase grocery bills for Oregon families by hundreds of dollars each year,” said Scott Dahlman, executive director of Oregonians for Food & Shelter. Dahlman said if the initiative qualifies for the ballot, he expects a wide coalition to oppose it.
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