WOUNDED JOURNALIST
BULLDOGS WIN
Reporter survived April attack in Afghanistan, A7
North Bend beats Bruins, B1
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2014
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Pot tax established in North Bend BY KURTIS HAIR The World
NORTH BEND — City councilors may not agree with it, but if recreational marijuana use becomes legal, they will tax it. On Tuesday night, the North Bend City Council unanimously, and reluctantly, approved an ordinance that would put a sales tax on marijuana, medical marijuana and
marijuana-related products, if Oregon voters approve recreational marijuana use Nov. 4. The tax will be a gross receipts tax levied on the sellers’ total taxable revenues for his or her business. There will be a 5 percent tax on medical marijuana and a 10 percent tax on recreational marijuana. Before a decision was made, the ordinance was put up for council
discussion, and some on the council voiced their concerns over the issue of recreational marijuana use. “I personally do not approve of the legalization of marijuana,” said Mayor Rick Wetherell. “But as a good elected citizen, I go with the will of the people.” Wetherell said he wants the city to be prepared to take action if the recreational use is legalized. For Councilor Timm Slater,
establishing a tax would be a good option, though most on the council agree that legalized marijuana would not be good for the state, he said. “My sincere hope would be that the voters of Oregon, like they did two years ago, would say, ‘Yeah... That doesn’t make sense to me,’” Slater said. Before voters weigh in on the issue, many local governments in
Oregon are trying to establish a tax if legalization is approved. City Administrator Terence O’Connor said at the meeting that it is suggested in the ordinance that some of the revenues from the taxes go to the financing of a school resource officer. O’Connor said that due to budget cuts five years ago, the city and the school district had to eliminate that position.
Nurses cite sloppy Ebola care conditions
They’re not feeling ‘down’
Second Dallas health care worker has tested positive for disease ■
BY MATT SEDENSKY AND MARTHA MENDOZA The Associated Press
By Amanda Loman, The World
Les Lanier, of North Bend, and Samuel, a black Labrador, return to the Empire boat ramp after an unsuccessful afternoon of goose hunting.“We found lots of them, we just didn’t shoot any,” Lanier said. The rains that have soaked the area the past few days are forecast to stick around for the rest of the week.
The World
INSIDE
COQUILLE — Coos County commissioners are hesitant to give any one department head a raise, worrying they would have to do so for everyone. The commissioners are debating whether to reclassify the lead human resources position from “officer” to “director.” They tabled the issue last week. Shari Jackson, the current HR officer, makes less than every other comparable Oregon county human resources professional except Yamhill, said county counsel Josh Soper. “I can’t in good conscience give her a raise because ... we would have to do that for all department heads and for other elected officials: treasurer, tax collector, assessor, clerk, surveyor,” said commissioner Bob Main. “It doesn’t seem equitable unless we suddenly came into unbelievable amounts of money, which I don’t foresee in the next year or two.” In a letter to the commissioners, Jackson referenced a recent
Police reports . . . . A2 What’s Up. . . . . . . . A3 South Coast. . . . . . A3 Opinion. . . . . . . . . . A4
stellar performance evaluation as reason for a step increase and to bring her position and salary “more in line with other community HR professionals.” “We’re very fortunate to have Shari here, but I’m very concerned about the impact on other department heads in doing this,” said commissioner John Sweet. “I would like to see more data relating to other similar positions outside of the county.” The commissioners did vote to post a job description for the county information technology director after Sandi Arbuckle was terminated Sept. 19. They still need to hash out the salary. Arbuckle’s position was in a pay range of $41,000 to $52,000, Jackson said. She recommended boosting that to $70,000 to $85,000. “It’s not within our budget, so you’d have to figure out how to pay for it,” Soper said. Reporter Chelsea Davis can be reached at 541-269-1222, ext. or by email at 239, chelsea.davis@theworldlink.com. her on Twitter: Follow @ChelseaLeeDavis.
Comics . . . . . . . . . . A6 Puzzles . . . . . . . . . . A6 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . B1 Classifieds . . . . . . . B5
DEATHS
BY CHELSEA DAVIS
Waiting on ‘critical’ DNA test results Accused killer Miguel Iniguez was in court for a status hearing ■
BY TIM NOVOTNY The World
COQUILLE — Appearing in court looking like a completely different person, Miguel Alejandro Iniguez, 29, stood quietly as future court dates were set Tuesday morning in Judge Richard Barron’s courtroom. The man suspected of shooting Luis Mario Castillo Murillo at the North Bend Community Center in July has undergone a physical transformation since his arrest. The goatee is gone, the extensive tattoo covering his scalp is now covered by a thick head of dark hair, and his eyes looked out from behind blackrimmed glasses. Ron Cox, one of his courtappointed defense attorneys, said Iniguez has been a model client. “He’s got a really good attitude — polite, courteous.” The two sides had gathered for a brief status hearing with
Robert Jackson, Grants Pass Deanna Conquest, Salem Deborah Larsen, North Bend Gilbert Campbell, Portland Merwin Owen, Coos Bay Brenda Hedrick, Coos Bay
important dates set by the court. A deadline to reach a negotiated plea agreement was extended until Jan. 5. While trial dates were set aside for April 7-10, and a pretrial omnibus hearing was set for Feb. 2. Both sides say they need the extra negotiating time because some vital evidence is still being processed in labs. Coos County District Attorney Paul Frasier said they are awaiting DNA results from a variety of sources that were related to the July 13 shooting at the North Bend Community Center. They are also waiting on an official autopsy report, but that could be coming soon. “For whatever reason, the toxicology took some time to get done and I’m understanding that the toxicological tests on the victim have been completed,” Frasier said in his office after the hearing. “The forensic pathologist likes to wait until he has those reports in hand before he finalizes the autopsy report, is understandable. which
SEE EBOLA | A8
Oregon court hears arguments in pension case BY STEVEN DUBOIS The Associated Press
SALEM — Attorneys representing public employees told the Oregon Supreme Court on Tuesday that a contract is a contract, and the justices should reject the Legislature’s attempt to reduce annual cost-of-living increases for retired workers. But lawyers arguing on behalf of state and local governments told the justices during oral arguments there’s no evidence that lawmakers four decades ago intended cost-of-living adjustments for retirees to be a contractual obligation. Keith Kutler, a state Department of Justice lawyer,
SEE INIGUEZ | A8
Gary Fulmer, Coos Bay David Showers, Coos Bay Karen Harris, Reedsport
Obituaries | A5
FORECAST
County analyzes possible pay hikes
DALLAS — A Liberian Ebola patient was left in an open area of a Dallas emergency room for hours, and the nurses treating him worked for days without proper protective gear and faced conchanging protocols, stantly according to a statement released late Tuesday by the largest U.S. nurses’ union. Nurses were forced to use medical tape to secure openings in their flimsy garments, worried that their necks and heads were exposed as they cared for a patient with explosive diarrhea and projectile vomiting, said Deborah Burger of National Nurses United. Burger convened a conference call with reporters to relay what she said were concerns of nurses at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, where Thomas Eric Duncan — the first person to be diagnosed with Ebola in the U.S. — died last week.
SEE PERS | A8
Rain 61/52 Weather | A8
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