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Coquille proposes school changes BY CHELSEA DAVIS The World
COQUILLE — Coquille school officials are considering combining grades to create an early learning center, elementary school and junior-senior high school. A series of upcoming public forums will give the community a voice on the issue of moving seventh- and eighth-graders in with the high-schoolers. The idea was originally brought up at the school
board’s meeting on Aug. 28. Reconfiguring which grades go to which school is “what best fits this generation of kids,” said Sharon Nelson, part-time principal at Lincoln Elementary, but the district needs parents’ input before any changes are made. “Absolutely no decision has been made, we’ve just outlined what the vision could look like,” she said. “Nor will we make a hasty decision.” If reconfiguration were to hap-
pen, first- and second-graders would move from Lincoln to Coquille Valley School, which currently houses grades 3-8. With grades 1-6, Coquille Valley would become a traditional elementary school. Seventh- and eighth-graders would then move from Coquille Valley to Coquille High School, which would be renamed Coquille Junior-Senior High School, housing grades 7-12. This would leave kindergarten
and the district’s new pre-kindergarten program at Lincoln. By 2015, full-day kindergarten must be implemented at every Oregon school, according to state law. While Myrtle Point chose to transition into full-day kindergarten last year, Coquille hasn’t yet made the switch. Merging middle-schoolers with high-schoolers would give the former better access to a curriculum
Proposed alignment With proposed changes: Lincoln Early Learning Center: Grades preK and K, with possibility of preschool Coquille Valley School: Grades 1-6 Coquille Junior-Senior High School: Grades 7-12 Winter Lakes High School: Grades 9-12
BY TIM NOVOTNY The World
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By Lou Sennick, The World
Robert Buras, the water treatment supervisor for the Coos Bay-North Bend Water Board, stands on top of the fifth treatment tank constructed as part of an expansion project. The new tank, along with many other items and structures, was part of a project to increase the water treatment capacity from 8 million gallons per day to 12 million gallons per day.
By Lou Sennick, The World
A receiver with a team sponsored by the North Bend Fire Department is about to catch a pass with the Coos Bay Volunteer Firefighters defending Saturday morning at Pete Susick Stadium. The two teams were part of an 18-team South Coast Youth Football League jamboree. Players from Reedsport to Gold Beach participated.
COOS BAY (AP) — A landslide caused by a hillside construction project a mile from downtown Coos Bay has turned into an environmental and legal quagmire. For more than a year, a huge mound of soil, mud and broken trees has clogged and sullied a waterway that’s home to federally protected coho salmon and green sturgeon, the RegisterGuard reports. State environmental regulators last week announced a fine of nearly $80,000 against a Coos Bay construction compa-
ny, Johnson Rock Products, which denies responsibility. The company says that if anyone is to blame, it’s the property owner who failed to prevent the slide. The state says both parties are liable, but the property owner has defaulted on his mortgage and has no assets to conduct a cleanup — which could require an estimated 200 to 300 dump-truck loads. Meanwhile, two environmental groups earlier this summer sued both the construction company and the homeowner
Power loss
NATION
COOS BAY — For the tens of thousands who rely on the Coos Bay-North Bend Water Board for their water, the recent completion of a major upgrade project means they can just keep turning on the tap. With the upgraded plant, the water board is now able to treat and store more water than ever before. The next step, they say, is to improve the distribution system. General Manager Rob Schab says a water utility has to answer three basic questions: How much water do you have for your community? How do you treat it efficiently and meet demands? And, how is it distributed? “By 2001, we had accomplished a long term goal of the water board of increasing the water supply,” he said, referring to the Pony Creek Dam expansion. “In 2013, we’ve accomplished the next phase which is to give a treatment plant which will serve the community for the next 20 to 30 years; and the last aspect is the rehabilitation and replacement of the distribution system, which began a couple of years ago.” It’s also already paid for. In 2009, when a previous debt service payment was ending, the board decided to take the $460,000 payment and put it toward this next project. Along with a 4.8-percent rate increase between 2009 and 2010 it was enough to finance repayment of a $12 million SEE WATER BOARD | A8
Home project leads to landslide, legal fight
Thirteen children were injured in Norwalk, Conn. when a festival ride lost power. None of the injuries appear to be life threatening.
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Class configurations today, with changes: Lincoln Elementary: Grades pre-K-2 Coquille Valley School: Grades 3-8 Coquille High School: Grades 9-12 Winter Lakes High School: Grades 9-12
Treatment capacity increases
The World
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Today’s alignment
SEE COQUILLE | A8
BY TIM NOVOTNY
SEE NORTH BEND | A8
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Plant upgrade keeps clean water flowing
NB seeking comments on historic plan NORTH BEND- From its earliest days, after Louis Simpson created the city in 1903, North Bend’s residents would congregate in Grant Circle and Lincoln Square. That faded over time. Now, the city’s current leadership would like to see them become destination spots for pedestrians once again, so they are planning to invest Urban Renewal Agency funds to help take them The idea is to future. back to the Both spots are make it more located along Union park-like, more Street, about a block off U.S. Highway pedestrian 101. The bigger project, according to city friendly. administrator TerTerence O’Connor ence O’Connor, will City administrator be at Grant Circle located right in front of City Hall. That circle was bisected more than 50 years ago by California and Union avenues. “The idea of the council is that that is a transition neighborhood,” O’Connor said. “The idea is to make it more park-like, more pedestrian friendly.” It is something that has been debated more and more in recent years and, as with those efforts, public input is a big part of the process. A handful of local architects and firms have drawn up plans for the two sites. The plans can be found on the city’s website, under the Urban Renewal Agency heading, or inside city hall. They will stay up until a decision is made, which could be in a couple of weeks. “There’s a variety of them downstairs,” O’Connor said, referring to the renderings. He says the architects all had to attend a meeting to hear directly from the public and about 35 people attended that three-
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under the federal Clean Water Act in federal court in Eugene, seeking penalties of $37,500 a day, starting April 13, 2012 when the fill slid. Both the company and the homeowner, Mikael Lindh, have denied responsibility. The debris landed in a waterway called Coalbank Slough, which feeds into Isthmus Slough, which empties into Coos Bay. The landslide rolled about 50 feet into the 100-foot-wide slough. SEE COOS BAY | A8
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