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NB DOWNTOWN
NB Downtown Association president steps down KURTIS HAIR The World
NORTH BEND — After 18 years, a North Bend woman is stepping down as president of an organization that has helped better the downtown area of the city. Johanna Dillard, president of the North Bend Downtown Association, said she is reluctant to leave the position that has kept her busy for so many years, though it is the right decision.
Poor tree planning irks biz owner
“It’s really hard because I’ve just done it so long,” Dillard said. “As I kind of train and turn things over, it’s kind of a control issue, but yet, I’m kind of excited because there are other things I want to do.” Dillard moved to North Bend in the early 1980s with her husband, Bob, who is also the public works director for the city. In 1995 she started her own company, Coastal Paper and Supply Inc.
Dillard said shortly after starting her business she became involved with the Bay Area Chamber of Commerce, and she noticed a part of North Bend that was in dire straits. “I looked at downtown North Bend and went, ‘We’ve gotta do something,’” Dillard said. “Absentee landlords. It doesn’t look good. It’s a very industrialized town, but it needs help.”
Johanna Dillard, president of the North Bend Downtown Association, is getting ready to step down from the position she has held for more than 18 years. Amanda Loman, The World
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Kon-Tiki boat building
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remember Pearl Harbor
Dolphin Playhouse opens production of ‘It’s A Wonderful Life,’ the radio play TIM NOVOTNY
JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER
The World
COOS BAY — “It’s A Wonderful Life” offers a wonderful opportunity to make the season of giving an interactive experience. The Dolphin Playhouse, at 580 Newmark Ave. in the Empire District of Coos Bay, is opening a new performance this weekend. On Saturday, they are offering free admission to anyone bringing a new, unwrapped toy for Christmas. Steve Wilson, who is directing the “Wonderful Life” oldtime radio show, says the Dolphin Playhouse is a community theater that wants to give back to its community. So, they have been declared a Toys For Tots drop-off site on Saturday. “The play is about giving,
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On Saturday, Dec. 13, from 4 p.m. until the show starts at 7 p.m., if you bring a new unwrapped toy the Dolphin’s will donate it to Toys For Tots and, in return, you will get in to see the show for free. The show itself is a mixture
PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii — Veterans who survived the Pearl Harbor attack that launched the United States into World War II attended Sunday’s 73rd anniversary ceremony with the help of canes, wheelchairs and motorized scooters. Wearing purple orchid lei, about 100 Pearl Harbor and World War II survivors attended the ceremony overlooking a memorial that sits atop sunken battleship USS Arizona. Many of them arrived well before the sun came up. This year’s anniversary of the Japanese attack is the 10th consecutive one that USS Utah survivor Gilbert Meyer attended.
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Tim Novotny, The World
“It’s A Wonderful Life” takes on an old-time radio feel at the Dolphin Playhouse. Actors Bobbi Wilson, Bill Boger, Julianna Seldon, Bill McGuire, Luanne May, Nick Zamora, George Nixon, Barbara Booth-Nixon and Jim Thornton (not pictured) perform the holiday family favorite on weekends through Dec. 21. (and) self-sacrifice, and that is really what the Christmas season is all about anyway,” Wilson said during a recent rehearsal. “With the toys returning to the children of this community, that is really what the Dolphins are about, just being part of this local community.”
Tribal doctor returns William Cummings, Coos Bay
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Megan Crawford, 12, of Coos Bay, works on her Kon-Tiki catamaran wooden boat at the Coos Bay Boat Building Center on Satuday morning. The center offered a “Santa’s workshop,” where participants could create a wooden boat using resources at the center to either keep, give away as a gift, or donate to Bus Jam.
DEATHS
COOS BAY — After watching the city continue to plant trees in the same manner for years, a local business owner is fed up with Coos Bay’s tree planning designs. During the public comment section of Tuesday’s city council meeting, Wim de Vriend, owner of the Blue Heron Bistro, voiced concerns about the city’s designs, after seeing problems he encountered years ago reappear. Seven years ago, the maple tree in front of the Blue Heron Bistro raised and damaged the sidewalk, influencing de Vriend enough to pay $750 to replace the maple with three smaller Japanese Snowbell trees. “I had to move heaven and earth and pay through the nose to get three smaller trees,” de Vriend said. While there is an approved tree list, which happens to include the same species of tree de Vriend paid for to replace the maple, the city continues to plant larger trees like the maple, despite having to continue to dig out and replant the trees years later, de Vriend said. “It’s the definition of insanity, doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results,” de Vriend said. “It has to cost a fair amount of money not to just cut them down, but dig them out and then they plant the same stupid tree back in there.” With a great deal of focus being placed on urban renewal and street infrastructure, de Vriend said the problem has been overlooked, despite being something that would be inexpensive to fix and would contribute to the city’s goal of removing blight. “I’ve seen this foolishness go on for about 40 years,” de Vriend said. “The sidewalks are only about 8 feet, so it’s totally out of proportion, it’s ugly and when you start looking at them, they’re starting to break up the concrete.” Councilor Mike Vaughan, who is also a member of the city’s tree board, agreed with de Vriend’s assessment of the city’s tree planning.
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