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“I have no intention to ask for forgiveness for the horrendous acts I have committed.” Edward Nelson At sentencing hearing
Nelson is given three life sentences BY THOMAS MORIARTY The World
COQUILLE — An attempt to avoid a costly divorce will send one Coos County man to prison for the rest of his life on three counts of aggravated murder. In a sentencing hearing Monday afternoon, Coos County Circuit Court Judge Richard Barron handed 65-yearold Edward Nelson three consecutive life sentences without parole for the June 15 murders of his wife, Kathleen Nelson, and neighbors Renae and Lola Cottam near Bridge. Nelson had admitted to investigators that he shot all three victims and set their homes ablaze. Standing before members of the Cottam family, Nelson said he hoped that they would take comfort in the fact that he would die in prison — and “burn in hell” for his crimes. “I have no intention to ask for forgiveness for the horrendous acts I have committed,” he said. Nelson’s trial had been scheduled to begin July 14, 2014. By agreeing to a plea deal Nov. 6, he avoided a possible death sentence. Choking back tears during the sentencing, the Cottams’ daughter Elizabeth told Nelson that he had taken everything from her family. “You didn’t just steal their lives when you murdered them,” she said. “You stole their future.” Coos County District Attorney Paul Frasier said Nelson gave investigators a detailed account of the murders shortly after he was arrested by a state trooper near Winston. “The facts of this case are really quite tragic,” he said. According to Frasier, the Nelsons had been having marital problems prior to the murders. Edward Nelson, a former U.S. Border Patrol agent who received retirement payments from the federal government, decided a divorce would be too costly. SEE NELSON | A8
By Alysha Beck, The World
7 Devils Brewery Co. in Coos Bay features a new rain garden designed by Shannon Souza with Sol Coast Consulting and Design. The garden is designed to filter water pollutants from rainwater draining off the roof and surrounding area before reaching the water table.
Devils’ garden Brewery creates unique ‘green’ area with a few heavenly results BY TIM NOVOTNY The World
COOS BAY — A garden has sprouted up in downtown Coos Bay that could have far reaching effects in the “greening” of South Coast businesses. 247 South Second St. is where an idea has taken root locally, blending artistic function with an environmental goal. David Ford, the building’s owner, and Shannon Souza, of Sol Coast Consulting and Design, recently gathered outside the 7 Devils Brewery to explain the addition of a new rain garden that has been built alongside the building. It is also living proof of what a little collaboration can create. It started a couple of years back, when two members of a local band started thinking about some long-term goals. David Ford and Carmen Matthews had a lot of similar interests, both for their own businesses and the future of downtown Coos Bay. It lead to David and Molly Ford buying the old Bay Area Enterprise building, and Carmen and his wife, Annie Pollard, becoming the first tenants when they opened their
microbrewery a few months ago. But, before all of that could happen, the building needed some improvements and renovation. That process resulted in the addition of the rain garden. Ford and Souza pointed to a downspout emanating from the building’s roof, which will lead rainwater down under a winding grate in the sidewalk, before it ultimately ends-up in the nearby garden. “What we did when we installed it,” Souza explained, “we dug down deep enough to remove all the compacted soils that had been here beneath the asphalt parking lot, and get back down to the natural sands that occur. The idea being that the soils that we put back in place on top of the
sand, as well as the planting, can slow down, hold the water for a little bit longer, and slowly release it to groundwater, which then eventually flows to the bay. Which is what everything used to be like, it’s just bringing back a natural system.” It’s called ocean-friendly gardening and it has been around in bigger, more metropolitan areas, for years. Ford says that when they first came up with the idea he was pleased to become one of the area’s showcases for this kind of technology. It also showed what can happen when like-minded people start to collaborate. A rain garden was never part of the initial plans, but when a problem arose during the renovation process it became one of the possible solutions. Not the cheapest or easiest, by consensus, it was the most popular. “We have a lot of the same convictions about the ways to treat the earth and it allowed me to both exercise my beliefs in that way as well as making it a more attractive building,” Ford said. “It takes a stark concrete building and makes it attractive, and its
more functional for the community too.” It wouldn’t have happened though if Carmen Matthews hadn’t heard about ocean-friendly gardening through his membership in Surfriders, or without Sol Coast Consulting’s connections. Nor would it have happened without the city of Coos Bay getting involved in the collaborative process, and agreeing to lease space that was being used for parking. City Manager Rodger Craddock says the city council had to factor what it would cost to replace those parking spaces. Ultimately, they agreed to a lease-to-own contract for just more than $20,000. Craddock says it is never easy for the city, which has struggled with parking issues over the years, to give up spaces. However, the pros of this particular project were able to outweigh the cons. “It’s about sustainability,” he said, noting that the city relies on property taxes to pay for the services that it provides to all of its citizens. Sustainable business keeps those property taxes at the SEE GARDEN | A8
Oregon grocers file liquor privatization measure
INSIDE
PORTLAND — A group led by Oregon grocery stores filed initial paperwork Monday that could lead to a ballot measure asking voters whether to privatize liquor sales. The organization called Oregonians for Competition said in a statement that it’s filed five proposed initiatives and will select one to move forward with. The initia-
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tives differ in details, but all would allow liquor sales in stores that already sell beer and wine and are at least 10,000 square feet. Existing liquor stores would be allowed to stay open, and some smaller shops like wine specialty stores would be able to sell liquor. “The initiative will end the state’s outdated liquor store monopoly system and allow distilled spirits to be sold safely and responsibly in retail stores just like
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they are in most other states, while at the same time strengthening our state’s liquor laws,” Melinda Merill, a spokeswoman for Fred Meyer Stores, said in a statement. The grocers say their initiative would stiffen penalties for selling alcohol to minors or people who are intoxicated. Grocers and Costco Wholesale Corp. led a successful privatization effort in Washington state two years ago. Backers of Oregon’s
Rebecca Brandis, North Bend Ken Carvall, Palm Desert, Calif. Katherine Yandell, Coos Bay Barbara Anderson, North Bend
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existing liquor system have warned that privatization would either diminish state revenue or lead to higher liquor prices. They also say it would harm craft distillers. “Personally, I’m unwilling to throw the baby out with the bathwater,” said Rob Patridge, chairman of the Oregon Liquor Control Commission. Oregon’s liquor-regulation system was created 80 years ago after
Robert McKemy, Coquille Mark Smith, Coos Bay
Obituaries | A5
FORECAST
The Associated Press
DEATHS
BY JONATHAN J. COOPER
Prohibition was lifted. Liquor can be purchased from the state at only about 200 licensed stores. The OLCC sets prices and pays liquorstore owners, known as agents, a percentage of their sales. In the last fiscal year, which ended in June, the commission distributed just over $200 million to state, county and city governments as well as treatment programs for mental health and substance abuse.
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