PIRATES WIN
TROOP DRAWDOWN
Marshfield secures top seed, B1
Cuts would take U.S. to pre-1940 levels, A7
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2014
Serving Oregon’s South Coast Since 1878
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NB schools have four options for new look BY CHELSEA DAVIS The World
Photos by Alysha Beck, The World
A U.S. Coast Guard Air Station North Bend helicopter lifts a rescue swimmer and dummy that was dropped into the water during offshore drills Monday.
Training for danger Helicopter drills get Coast Guard ready for coastal emergencies ■
BY EMILY THORNTON The World
CHARLESTON — The seas were unusually calm — 1- to 3foot swells — for wintertime off the Oregon coast. It possibly meant safer training for members of Coast Guard crews from Coos Bay and Air Station North Bend to conduct “helo ops,” or training with a helicopter and a motor life boat. Monday’s operations — about 2 or 3 miles offshore Horsfall Beach — consisted of dropping a basket, which is used to hoist people off boats. Baskets can be used with or without a trail line, which is used to help guide the basket from the boat to the helicopter. “Helo” or “flight ops” are con-
Seaman Peter Galvin with U.S. Coast Guard Station Coos Bay gives the OK for the Coast Guard helicopter above the motor life boat to lift up a rescue basket during offshore helicopter drills Monday. sidered one of the most treacherous operations, said Petty Officer Ashley Senne, coxswain for the boat crew on the 47-foot motor life boat. “Flight ops are probably the most dangerous training,” he said.
Station Coos Bay has two MLBs, plus a 52-foot one, the Intrepid. They also have a 29-foot responder boat. A boat typically carries a coxswain, engineer and two crewmembers. A HH-65 Dolphin Helicopter, with a crew of three to five, hovers
mere feet above the vessel, with lines stretching between the two. The boat can’t use radar because it’s too likely one of the lines could get caught in the tower. Night vision goggles usually aren’t used for night operations, except by the pilot, because it affects depth perception. Many things could go wrong between the two pieces of multimillion-dollar equipment, Senne said. If a line snaps, it could injure someone or damage the boat or helicopter. In addition, the helicopter must ensure it has just the right amount of fuel: too heavy and it has trouble maintaining the correct distance and posture to the boat; too light and it won’t have enough fuel to return to shore. Flight ops also consist of a search and rescue swimmer jumping out of the helicopter and rescuing a dummy, which is SEE TRAINING | A8
NORTH BEND — There are four options on the table. The North Bend School Board and district leadership sat face to face with parents Monday night at the first meeting to discuss grade reconfiguration options. A few things are for certain: Allday kindergarten will be implemented this fall; the fifth grade class needs to transition together; and the middle school is already addressing transition concerns. Currently, Hillcrest is K-4 and North Bay is K-5, with fifth-graders transitioning at different times to the middle school (grades 5-8). Board members were leaning toward Option D at their last meeting, which would make Hillcrest and North Bay K-4 schools. But board chair Megan Jacquot said Monday that in the end that wouldn’t be a permanent solution since Hillcrest still has significant space issues, which lead to renovations. Hillcrest special needs teacher Barbara Schultz agreed: “It’s just a short-term solution.” The three other options would shift kids out of elementary school at different ages, but district boundaries would have to change. “The thing most people will raise an eyebrow at is boundary lines changing,” said North Bay parent Kara Moore. “I don’t want my kids to switch. But that’s life, too.” District boundaries will always be “a moving target,” said North Bay principal Colleen Reeves. Class sizes have been off-kilter for years. Moore wants the board to find a balance. Right now, there are five fourth-grade classes at Hillcrest — and one at North Bay. Kids are bused between Hillcrest and North Bay to keep class sizes from spiraling too far out of control. Classrooms are busting at the seams, Reeves said. There are at least 30 students in her third- and fourth grade classes. That puts a “strain” on youngsters who are trying to comply with new Common Core State Standards, an educational framework geared toward SEE OPTIONS | A8
The Associated Press
INSIDE
SALEM — The Oregon Legislature is looking at two bills that would curtail access to public records. Both measures have advanced through the legislative process without opposition at any stage. Lawmakers say they’re protecting people’s privacy, but government transparency advocates worry about adding even more exemptions to Oregon’s public records law. The state Senate voted Monday to block
Police reports . . . . A3 What’s Up. . . . . . . . A2 South Coast. . . . . . A3 Opinion. . . . . . . . . . A4
access to personal information from electronic fare cards that Portland’s transit agency plans to adopt. The measure is headed to Gov. John Kitzhaber’s desk for a signature or veto. Also on Monday, a Senate committee advanced a bill prohibiting disclosure of agreements related to the conservation of sage grouse, a threatened bird. That measure is headed for a vote in the full Senate, likely later this week. The two new exemptions would join more
Comics . . . . . . . . . . A6 Puzzles . . . . . . . . . . A6 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . B1 Classifieds . . . . . . . C3
NEW YEAR. NEW APP.
SEE RECORDS | A8
DEATHS
BY JONATHAN J. COOPER
Tommy Jennings, Coquille Kathryn Morgan, Coos Bay Estella Smith, Coos Bay David Coleman, Coos Bay Kenneth Worthington, Coos Bay Arden Anderson, North Bend
House panel OKs local pot-dispensary bans BY CHAD GARLAND The Associated Press
SALEM — An Oregon House committee moved Monday to let cities and counties ban medical marijuana dispensaries, reversing a Senate decision to allow local governments to regulate but not ban the pot stores that will become legal this year. Representatives for the local governments lauded the move in the House
L.C. Tindell, Coos Bay Perry Layman, Coos Bay Marlys Green, Pendleton
Obituaries | A5
FORECAST
Oregon lawmakers make public records secret
Judiciary Committee. Pot-dispensary advocates called it “short-sighted” and warned it could keep patients from getting necessary medication. Christopher Oss, owner of a dispensary in Marion County, said he supported legislation that would allow cities and counties to regulate some aspects of the pot dispensary operations, but not outright bans that would SEE POT | A8
Cloudy 61/48 Weather | A8
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