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TUESDAY, JANUARY 28, 2014
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Jordan Cove battle waged on different fronts BY TIM NOVOTNY The World
The fight over the proposed Jordan Cove Liquefied Natural Gas facility rages on, with the latest salvo being fired through a new television ad campaign from a grassroots group in favor of allowing the LNG facility on the north spit of Coos Bay. Created last year, Boost Southwest Oregon currently has a 15-person steering committee and boasts a membership of at least 1,000 individuals. The Articles of Incorporation
indicates that the group came together for the larger purpose of “promoting economic growth and development in southwest Oregon.” But, one of its members admits that Jordan Cove was certainly on their minds. Troy Woody, of Sterling Media Northwest, says the attention being focused on the project and the government’s decision-making timetable spurred the decision to organize and then advertise. “The whole organization took shape because of the limited amount of time available, and we wanted to show (the decision-
makers and congressional delegation) our community support for the project,” he said. A radio ad hit the airwaves in September, followed by an Internet campaign, and, in the last few weeks, newspaper and television spots airing locally on CBS. The advertisements direct viewers to the group’s website. Woody says it is intended to debunk some of the rumors that have been flying around about Jordan Cove. “The website was developed to combat some misinformation about the project,” he said. “As
soon as it was up, we started the campaign to direct people to that site.” Woody says the radio ads were purchased by one of the business owners in Boost Southwest, while the television advertising is being paid for through funds raised by the organization. Because of the limited funds they have, he doesn’t believe the television campaign will be running very long. On the other side of the battlefront is another grassroots group called Citizens Against LNG. Jody McCaffree has been leading their charge for almost a decade.
She says they are also strapped for cash. So, instead of advertising, they have decided to use the funds they do have to help them fight Jordan Cove through the permitting process. “It’s not a popularity contest,” she says. “It’s whether the facts of the project fall in line with the criteria. We are focused on the process. We’d love to get information out, but we simply do not have the funding for that.” For all of their differences, the two sides do have some common SEE BATTLE | A8
Playing doctor
School shake-up is in the works North Bend school board considers initial grade reconfiguration ■
BY CHELSEA DAVIS The World
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Students visit surgical robot BY EMILY THORNTON The World
COOS BAY — Students were able to meet the robot they named “Surgio” on Monday. “Surgio” is Bay Area Hospital’s da Vinci Si Robot. It’s designed to make surgical procedures, such as laparoscopic gallbladder removal, much easier. For instance, surgeons can perform cholecystectomies with one small incision
in the abdomen, instead of several. The hospital held a contest among area elementary schools to name the robot last fall. Millicoma and Lighthouse fourthgraders both unwittingly picked the name “Surgio,” which won. The two classes were rewarded with a visit to see “Surgio.” Nine-year-old Tucker Emerson, a student at Millicoma, enjoyed his visit. “It was fun to pick stuff up without using hands,” he said. Ten-year-old Justina Colberg, his class-
mate, agreed. “I like the way it moved,” she said. Emerson’s mother, Kristine Emerson, helped supervise during the field trip. “I love it,” she said. “This is such a great opportunity. Not many kids get to see something like this. The hospital is pretty amazing that they agreed to do this.” Reporter Emily Thornton can be reached at 541-269-1222, ext. 249 or at emily.thornton@theworldlink.com or on Twitter: @EmilyK_Thornton.
Meeting tonight to discuss fish management proposal BY THOMAS MORIARTY The World
By Alysha Beck, The World
Baby Chinook salmon swim in hatch boxes at the Millicoma STEP Hatchery near Allegany on Monday.The hatchery is one of several that could see cutbacks under a plan scheduled for public input at the North Bend Community Center tonight.
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Anna Brueckner, Coos Bay Elsie Parrish, Coos Bay Argus Yandell, Coos Bay Debbie Murphy, North Bend
South Coast residents will get their first real chance to weigh in on a controversial fish management plan during a public meeting Tuesday in North Bend. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is holding a public input “open house” for the draft version of its Coastal MultiSpecies Management Plan at 6
Roxann Charbonneau, Coos Bay Winsome Hayes, North Bend Ila Compton, Lakeside
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By Emily Thornton, The World
Fourth-graders from Millicoma visited “Surgio,” the da Vinci Si Robot, on Monday at Bay Area Hospital. Lighthouse students (not pictured) also visited the robot.
DEATHS
NORTH BEND — Five grade reconfiguration options are swirling before North Bend school administrators, though school board members say one stands out from the pack. Interim superintendent Bill Yester presented five reconfiguration possibilities to the school board Monday night. One caught their attention: the plan with the least movement and lowest price tag. “We tried to think out of the box, but we’re leaning toward one,” he said. The favored proposal would split grades K-4 at both Hillcrest and North Bay elementary schools and keep grades 5-8 at the middle school. Kairos, North Bay and the middle school’s psychiatric day treatment program, would also move to the high school. This option would cost around $68,000, the cheapest of the five options. “It puts fifth-graders all together in one building,” Yester said, since North Bay currently holds grades K-5. It’s going to come down to community input, said school board chairwoman Megan Jacquot. The debate will brew in whether kids should stay in elementary school longer versus redrawing districts. “The only thing about changing district boundaries that I have a problem with is it can change year to year,” Yester said. “It could be an endless problem.” Board member Alane Jennings said trying to pick an “arbitrary line” to redistrict is like shooting a “moving target.” Each option comes with pros (equalized achievement support, parallel student movement through schools) and cons (renovations, added modular classrooms, redrawing district boundaries), Yester said. And with every option, Lighthouse School and the Kairos
p.m. at the North Bend Community Center. Agency managers say the plan — intended to fulfill the obligations of the state’s Native Fish Conservation Policy — will help balance wild and hatchery fish populations in the state’s river, citing biological risk posed by the mixing of the two groups in Oregon’s coastal rivers. SEE FISH | A2
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