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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2014
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Meat, fish producers will benefit from $375,000 SCDC grant
Veterans Day
France honors Eastside man
Edmond Keim
BY GAIL ELBER The World
By Amanda Loman, The World
Edmond Keim, 91, of Eastside, received the Legion d’Honneur from Francoise Aylmer, Honorary Consul of France for Oregon, on behalf of the President of France on Tuesday morning. Born in 1923, Keim joined the U.S. Army at 19 and served with the military police in the 75th Infantry Division. During World War II he was stationed in the European Theatre and fought in the Battle of the Bulge.“This hero did all this far from home, far from his beloved family, from friends. We have a true hero here and we know it,” Aylmer said. The medal is France’s highest distinction and is awarded to citizens of France, and non-citizens, who have courageously served the country, including U.S. servicemen who fought in France during World War II.“I’ve never done it on Veterans Day, so this was really special to be able to do that,” Aylmer said. “It’s nice to be remembered,” Keim said.
COOS BAY — The South Coast Development Council has received a grant to help local meat and fish producers get the facilities and equipment they need to sell their products close to home. WealthWorks,a group of nonprofits and agencies that supports economic development, has given SCDC and two partner organizations in Curry and Douglas counties $375,000 to spend over two years. The goal, said SCDC development assistant Michelle Martin, is “to have a viable business or businesses that we walk away from and they’re successful.” SCDC and its partners, NeighborWorks Umpqua and Curry Watershed Partnership, were chosen over five other applicants. All six got initial smaller grants to survey their community about what it needed. SCDC and its partners focused on ranchers and fishermen, most of whose product is sold out of the area. For example, local organic beef producers must send their cattle to Mohawk Valley Meats in Marcola, near Springfield, which doesn’t distribute the meat back here. Facilities for processing meat and fish closer to home would make it easier for Coos, Curry and Douglas County residents to buy local meat and fish. They’d also open up opportunities for ranchers and fishermen to develop products for other markets. What the new business will be like depends on what local producers decide they need, Martin said. Ranchers might
Tell SCDC what you need South Coast Development Council is still surveying food producers, sellers and consumers in Coos, Curry and Douglas counties. ■ Demand survey — For commercial buyers, institutional buyers and general consumers, this survey asks about your buying habits and what barriers you face in buying local foods. ■ Producers survey — For farmers, ranchers and growers, how do you sell your products? Do you sell locally? What keeps you from selling more? ■ Shared commercial kitchens/incubators survey — For those who would be able to start a food business, such as a food cart or packaged food manufacturer, what kind of shared facilities would be helpful? How would you market your product? ■ Support survey — For businesses that might provide assistance to the food development project. What can you do? ■ Transactional survey — For food processors, aggregators and distributors, do you want to help distribute local food in the local market? What would help you do that? To obtain copies, email michelle@scdcinc.org. A general survey for businesses is also available on the group’s website at www.scdcinc.org.
SEE SCDC | A8
FERC leans toward original pipeline route Landowners’ Blue Ridge option gets shot down by government ■
BY CHELSEA DAVIS The World
COOS BAY — FERC isn’t siding with local landowners when it comes to the path of the proposed Pacific Connector Gas Pipeline. In its draft environmental impact statement for the Jordan Cove Energy Project and Pacific Connector, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission said it prefers the original pipeline route that Pacific Connector proposed last summer over 19 other suggestions. FERC said the Blue Ridge alternative proposed by several Coos County landowners “would not offer significant environmental advantages over the proposed route.” “We’re highly disappointed,” said
Rebranding of Bay Area tourism campaign
Dave Messerle of Messerle & Sons Inc. The Messerles and several other property owners filed as intervenors to propose the Blue Ridge alternative to “get it away from people’s backyards.” “Basically, ourselves and the other landowners on the proposed route felt that if this thing was for the good of the people ... that it should be on government ground,” Messerle said. “It’s basically going through neighborhoods. On our properties, it’s impacting our tree farms and our raising grounds. So we proposed the Blue Ridge alternative route, which did not eliminate it from our properties entirely. It still would’ve crossed through two of our ownerships, but it would have had a greatly reduced impact.” FERC said both the proposed and Blue Ridge routes are “constructible.” Blue Ridge would move a
BY DEVAN PATEL The World
because if there are other pieces of legislation that come up, that can be improved. That’s the whole idea of the amendment process,” Donnelly said in an interview Tuesday in which he added that “there’s probably a pent-up well right now.” Collins listed potential measures that could get done, from tax overhaul to transportation, from jobs bills to legislation that she and Donnelly are sponsoring to define full time in the 2010 health care law to 40 hours per week instead of 30. The lawmakers have complained that the law has created uncertainty for employers, some of whom have cut hours to avoid complying with requirements to provide health care coverage. Manchin also backs the workweek bill along with more than a
COOS BAY — With the Coos Bay/North Bend Visitors and Convention Bureau’s decision to rebrand its promotional material still in process, the city of Coos Bay is torn over the current direction of local tourism advertising. The bureau has explored scrapping “Oregon’s Adventure Coast” after local politicians voiced distaste over current advertising and concerns over disproportionate representation. “It was made clear the city didn’t like the Oregon’s Adventure Coast so we’ve had to find something compatible with the travel and visitors association for all three entities,” promotions and conventions director Katherine Hoppe said. Hoppe estimated a $40,000$50,000 budgetary impact in year one, with a $30,000-$35,000 impact in year two, for the promotional rebranding, but said there was no evidence to suggest rebranding the current material, created in 2007, would have a substantial effect on tourism revenue. Hoppe revealed three campaigns, Travel Coos, Travel Coos Bay and Travel Coos Bay-North Bend, which all utilize the iconic McCullough Bridge, during last month’s city council meeting in order to receive input on the convention bureau’s direction. “We liked using the imagery of the McCullough Bridge because not only does it provide a nod to one of our partners, North Bend, but it also provides a connectivity to the area as we are three towns that are all connected,” Hoppe said. While council members did not object to the inclusion of the
SEE MODERATES | A8
SEE TOURISM | A8
SEE FERC | A8
The Associated Press
INSIDE
WASHINGTON — Soft-spoken Republican Sen. Susan Collins is quite popular these days, fielding calls from President Barack Obama, members of the GOP leadership and top Democrats Harry Reid and Chuck Schumer. The outreach was more than just congratulations for winning a fourth term. Both parties have an incentive for courting Collins. Come January, the centrist from Maine will be a crucial member of a group of moderates wielding considerable clout in the Republican-led Senate, along with independent Angus King, also of Maine, and a handful of Democrats from Republican states. Depending on the issue, the moderate ranks could increase slightly as Republicans from
Police reports . . . . A2 What’s Up. . . . . . . . A3 South Coast. . . . . . A3 Opinion. . . . . . . . . . A4
Republicans have a solid majority, but are still six votes short of the 60 needed to break a filibuster or delaying tactics Democratic states move to the middle ahead of 2016 re-election bids. The GOP likely will hold 54 seats next year, a solid majority but six short of the 60 necessary to break Democratic filibusters and delaying tactics. Incoming Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., would need the support of Maine’s King and Democrats such as North Dakota’s Heidi Heitkamp, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Joe Donnelly of Indiana and Montana’s Jon Tester to move legislation over any Democratic objections. “I hope that those of us who are committed to actually getting legis-
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DEATHS
BY DONNA CASSATA
lation passed can work together and bridge some of the partisan divide,” Collins said in an interview. McConnell has promised to get bills passed and change how the Senate operates, returning to past practices in which Republicans and Democrats offer amendments to legislation and get a vote. Current Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has limited amendment votes, in part over frustration with Republican obstruction and to spare his vulnerable Democrats from tough votes. “The way it should work is to be able to offer amendments as well
Enos Nichols, Coos Bay Joe Birdwell, Coquille Estella Morgan, Coos Bay Mildred Spring, North Bend Joe Jennings, Coquille Alan Henrickson, Coos Bay
Jack Stanley, Washington Norman Kluckesky, Coquille Nancy Humphrey, Coquille
Obituaries | A5
FORECAST
Moderates look to wield clout in GOP-led Senate
Rain likely 59/48 Weather | A8