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CHILD STAR
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Shirley Temple, 85, dies, A5
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2014
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Bandon teacher sentenced
Keeping an eye out for trouble
BY AMY MOSS STRONG The World
By Alysha Beck, The World
Erin Larson has worked as a parole and probation officer with the Coos County Community Corrections adult division for 10 years. Larson said she has one of the best jobs because she performs so many different duties, from police to detective to counselor. Top, Larson makes a call to another officer about the status of a parolee Wednesday afternoon.
COQUILLE — A former Bandon middle school teacher and running coach will spend almost 10 years in prison after being convicted of second-degree sexual abuse and online corruption of a minor involving a student and athlete. Charles McLauchlin, 56, wearing prison garb, with both hands and feet shackled, was sentenced Monday afternoon in Coos County Judge Martin Stone’s courtroom after being convicted Jan. 29 of 25 counts of second-degree sexual abuse and two counts of online sexual corruption of a minor. Each charge is a Class B felony with a possible maximum sentence of 25 years. Stone also ordered McLauchlin to pay $250 restitution for counseling the victim received, plus $1,900 in other court-ordered financial obligations. He also will be required to register as a sex offender, must submit to DNA testing, serve five years of post-prison supervision and cannot contact the victim or her family. Both the victim and her mother gave statements prior to sentencing. Looking down at a piece of paper, her voice steady, the victim, 16, told McLauchlin that the girl he had created into what he wanted no longer existed. “Now I know that it’s your fault,” she told McLauchlin. “You lied to (her), you hurt her, you lied to her family and you stole her childhood. Shame on your for targeting my parents’ little girl.” The victim’s mother tearfully described how she SEE MCLAUCHLIN | A8
One day with a parole officer BY EMILY THORNTON The World
NORTH BEND — It was a sunny day for working in the field. Erin Larson, a parole and probation officer for Coos County, began her afternoon checking on her charges — something she does about two days a week. The other days she’s in court or doing paperwork in the office. Her first stop: a house that was part of an inmate’s release plan. The parolee wasn’t there yet, but was awaiting release from Douglas County Jail. He had been booked for third-degree assault and methamphetamine possession. He had wanted to return to his family in Coos County, but it meant living around negative influences, Larson said. She didn’t approve that idea. Larson’s job includes determining what’s best for each offender, checking those “with every type of felony you can imagine.” She doesn’t make traffic stops or
hunt those who have warrants, but keeps tabs on those who are released from jail on parole or who are on probation. Parolees are those being monitored following a jail or prison sentence. Probation is given by judges in place of jail time. If offenders don’t follow court orders, she arrests them and takes them to jail. If they need drug or alcohol counseling, she helps put them in touch with the proper agency. Every case is different. “There’s no cookie cutter plan,” she said. Many times, it’s hard for offenders to return to their family. “A lot of people have burned bridges with family,” Larson said. “We have to be advocates for these people when they come out trying to get stabilized in the community.” Larson, who’s been with the county’s adult corrections for 10 years, started working in the juvenile corrections department in 1997. The 1993 Coquille High School graduate earned her Bachelor of Arts in liberal
arts from Oregon State University online and her associate in criminal justice from Southwestern Oregon Community College. Every house she enters presents an unknown situation. The potential is always there for someone to be waiting in the shadows to ambush her. “You always have that high alertness factor,” she said. “You never know what you’re walking into. Some places, you’re not going to go without another officer.” She checks on Bobbi Jo Smith, an Army veteran, next. Smith has been in and out of jail for various reasons, including methamphetamine possession and burglary, since leaving the service in 2003. Smith missed a recent mandatory check-in with Larson, a big no-no. Larson debated giving Smith a urinalysis, but decided against it. “I’m literally doing nothing,” Smith said, describing her current situation. SEE PAROLE | A8
State considers e-cigarette bill BY CHAD GARLAND The Associated Press
SALEM — The Legislature was considering two bills that aim to keep so-called electronic cigarettes out of the hands of minors as they gain in popularity among Oregon teens. E-cigarettes are battery-operated devices that deliver a nicotine vapor to users with each puff, and manufacturers claim they are less harmful than traditional cigarettes. But lawmakers and public health advocates worry that teens using e-cigarettes could become addicted to nicotine. The state House Human Services and Housing Committee is scheduled to meet Wednesday to work on two bills dealing with the devices. The panel also held hearings on the measures last week. HB 4073 and HB 4115 would make it illegal to sell ecigarettes and their nicotine-containing liquids to anyone under 18. While that’s where HB 4073 stops, HB 4115 would also ban use of the devices in public buildings SEE E-CIGARETTES | A8
Man killed in solo crash near Lakeside
INSIDE
LAKESIDE — A 68-year-old man was killed Monday afternoon in a single-car crash just north of Lakeside that shut down traffic on U.S. Highway 101. According to Oregon State Police, the crash occurred about 1:15 p.m. when a 2005 Chevrolet Avalanche traveled off the road near Kendall Estates Lane and crashed into sever-
Police reports . . . . A3 What’s Up. . . . . . . . A2 South Coast. . . . . . A3 Opinion. . . . . . . . . . A4
al trees. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene. Coos County sheriff’s deputies said the crash happened right at the Coos-Douglas county line. The car wasn’t blocking traffic, but the Lakeside Fire Department and Oregon Department of Transportation closed down the highway and detoured traffic onto Wildwood Drive.
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SEE CRASH | A8
By Thomas Moriarty, The World
A Lakeside firefighter directs southbound U.S. Highway 101 traffic onto Wildwood Drive on Monday afternoon just north of a fatal single-vehicle crash.
Kala Pahalad, North Bend James Collins Sr., Coquille Alvin Stibitz, Myrtle Point Jack Gottschalk, Myrtle Point
Donald Reagan, Coquille Bessie Daugherty, Bandon
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