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THURSDAY, MARCH 13, 2014
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Committee begins work on department budgets BY EMILY THORNTON The World
COQUILLE — Whittling away at a budget from last year that left about a $3 million gap between its $19.8 million in available funds and $22.9 million in expenditures is underway. The Coos County Budget Committee had the first of its annual meetings Wednesday. If things keep going the same way, the county will be out of
reserve forestry funds within two or three years. Among the budgets discussed were the assessor’s office and the information technology department. The assessor’s office received a thumbs up for work in streamlining its budget. However, the information technology department was told to go back to the drawing board. Assessor Steve Jansen said he had only spent about 60 percent, or $664,814 of his $1.1 million budget for fiscal year 2013-2014.
“We’ve done a very good job of keeping expenses down,” Jansen said. He said he was asking for about $1,000 less from last year’s budget. It was tentatively approved. “If we had a trophy, we’d give it to you,” Commissioner Melissa Cribbins said. The information department representatives provided an outline of their budget, but it left the committee wondering what amount they had used of their approximate
Meeting The budget committee will meet next at 9 a.m. March 19 in room 121 of the Coos County Courthouse.
$819,728 budget and how much they had allocated for the 20142015 year. Sandi Arbuckle, IT director, said they hadn’t used some $48,900 allocated for training. She later said she would take $20,000 out of
those funds. She also requested about $8,000 instead of $6,500 for insurance premiums, which she said were increasing. “It seems excessive,” said Mary Barton, county treasurer. Arbuckle and her workers were told they would need to present their budget again later. Reporter Emily Thornton can be reached at 541-269-1222, ext. 249 or at emily.thornton@theworldlink.com or on Twitter: @EmilyK_Thornton.
Do trout prefer red boats or green boats?
By Lou Sennick, The World
Two people fish from inflatable boats in Middle Empire Lake on Wednesday afternoon on a warm sunny day in Coos Bay. The mild weather is forecast to continue, despite the 90 percent chance of showers Friday. The weekend looks like it will be mostly sunny with temperatures in the 60s.
DeFazio
McKeown
Krieger
Klahr
Beaman
Caddie, Runyan against Caddy
BY CHAD GARLAND The Associated Press
Krieger, DeFazio see return of past rivals in 2014
INSIDE
Nine candidates have filed to run for state or federal office or judicial positions representing the South Coast. Coos Bay’s Democratic state representative, Caddy McKeown, filed to run for a second term serving the 9th District (portions of Coos, Douglas, Lane and Lincoln counties). Two Republicans have filed to run against her, though they’ll have to battle it out first in the May 20 primary: Casey Runyan of Reedsport, and Jason Payne of Coos Bay. Runyan served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 2000 to 2008 and attended Portland Community College for three years, studying aviation science. Payne filed Tuesday morning and his qualification for office is still pending, according to the Oregon Secretary of State’s elections database. He said he’s self-employed and a buyer for the World Pawn Exchange in North Bend. Past work
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experience includes working as a golf instructor at Precision Golf School in Eugene, a golf professional at Bandon Crossings Golf Course, a caddie at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort and a rig move specialist at DeSoto Drilling in Conway, Ark. He has also studied business Oregon at Southwestern Community College. Payne is the Coos County chair for the Oregon Republican Party. The 1st District’s incumbent Wayne representative, state Krieger, R-Gold Beach, filed to run for the seat he’s held since 2001. The 1st District covers Curry and portions of Coos, Douglas and Josephine counties. His challenger in the general election isn’t a new one. Jim Klahr, D-Brookings, ran against Krieger two years ago. In the same election, Klahr filed to run for the seat under the Working Families party. Klahr said he’s self-employed, a health care advisor and the former CEO of Oregon Green Free, a nonprofit dedicated to education about the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program. Klahr was a co-chief petitioner on Measure 74, a 2010
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ballot measure that would have created medical marijuana dispensaries. Klahr also served on Oregon Public Health Authority’s Advisory Committee on Medical Marijuana. U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio filed Friday to retain his position in Congress leading the 4th District, which contains Coos, Curry, Douglas, Lane, Linn and portions of Benton and Josephine counties. Oregon Republican Party chair Art Robinson, of Cave Junction, will go up against DeFazio again this fall. Robinson ran against DeFazio in 2010 and 2012. Robinson helped launch the Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine in Cave Junction. He also co-founded the Linus Pauling Institute of Science and Medicine at Oregon State University in 1973. Cynthia L. Beaman, of Brookings, filed to retain her position as Judge of the Circuit Court for the 15th District, Position 6. She’s held the position since 2007. Her seat covers Coos and Curry counties. SEE PRIMARY | A8
Marine museum Josephine Lanway, Coos Bay Perry Layman, Coos Bay Dennis Walls, Reedsport
Obituaries | A5
STATE
The World
DEATHS
BY CHELSEA DAVIS
SALEM — Paul Stanford, one of the nation’s leading marijuana legalization advocates, doesn’t only want Oregonians to have the right to smoke pot. He wants it written into the state constitution. Stanford’s proposed constitutional amendment is one of several pot questions that may go to Oregon voters in November. Others are offering competing measures for how the state would regulate and tax the drug. “We think our voters will just vote yes on all of them,” Stanford said this week, adding that if the competing measures both pass, the one with the most votes would trump the other in areas where they may conflict. Advocates for legalization are gearing up their campaigns now that the Legislature has declined to put a measure of its own on the ballot. They will have to gather tens of thousands of signatures by early July. Stanford is already circulating petitions for two separate pot initiatives. One would amend the state constitution to decriminalize pot use, and the other,
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Roseburg man, 80, turns his home into a museum of Marine Corps artifacts he has collected since joining when he was 17.
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Pot could be a multiple choice test for voters the Oregon Cannabis Tax Act, would create a commission for regulating marijuana cultivation, processing and sales. Stanford’s effort faces competition from the group New Approach Oregon, which is preparing to push a measure that leaves the constitution alone and gives the Oregon Liquor Control Commission the job of regulating marijuana like it does alcohol. Anthony Johnson of New Approach Oregon said the group has two slightly different initiatives filed with the Secretary of State’s Office, but it will go forward with whichever one it feels has the best odds in November. Johnson said he expects to begin collecting the 87,213 signatures needed to qualify one of them for the ballot in as little as a month, but the group is currently waiting for both measures to clear the ballot-titling process, which could delay those plans. Johnson also has donors lined up to fund the signature drives, which he said could cost between a quarter of a million dollars and three quarters of a million dollars, depending on how quickly the measures’ ballot SEE CHOICES | A8
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