LAST TEAM STANDING
PRINCE TO TAKE OVER
Oregon State survives; faces Irvine again, B1
Spanish king to abdicate throne, A7
MONDAY, JUNE 2, 2014
Serving Oregon’s South Coast Since 1878
theworldlink.com
■
$1
Class size still a major issue in schools Survey shows fatigued South Coast teachers aching for more resources BY CHELSEA DAVIS The World
COOS BAY — The results are in, and South Coast teachers say they’re weighed down by everincreasing class sizes, a lack of support from their administrators and not enough hours in the day to do their job. On Wednesday, the Oregon Department of Education, Oregon
Education Association and Confederation of Oregon School Administrators released the results of the Teaching, Empowering, Leading and Learning, or TELL Oregon survey, the first of its kind in the state. Nearly 60 percent of educators statewide responded to the survey this spring. Too-large class sizes negatively impact student learning, said 75
District highlights See more highlights from each school district online at theworldlink.com/blogs/ed. See the detailed reports at telloregon.org.
percent of the responding educators. Half said they don’t have enough time for collaboration and two-thirds said they don’t have
what they’re asked. In Coos Bay, 75 percent said they don’t have enough prep time and nearly that many said they have too much paperwork. Reedsport teachers reported the most dissatisfaction in all areas. Nearly 70 percent said their school atmosphere lacks trust and mutual respect, more than 60 percent said
enough prep time. Results were also available at the local level for those schools and school districts that met certain participation thresholds. On the South Coast, Brookings-Harbor, Coos Bay, Coquille, Myrtle Point, North Bend and Reedsport received reports. The majority agreed class size is a huge problem; even more said they don’t have enough time to do
SEE SCHOOLS | A8
Debate over U.S.-Taliban hostage swap
Let the celebrations begin
BY LOLITA C. BALDOR AND CALVIN WOODWARD The Associated Press
Photos by Lou Sennick, The World
Family and friends of both Coquille and Winter Lakes high schools gathered in the gym at Coquille High School for the annual commencement exercises.The Class of 2014 from Coquille graduated 40 people in the ceremonies and were joined by 18 graduating from Winter Lakes High School.
Gathered in the library, the soon-to-be graduating class waits. Many of the graduates had decorated the tops of their hats with designs and messages.
As the Coquille High School Class of 2014 entered the gym Sunday afternoon, two of them exchanged a high-five as they passed to their seats.
WASHINGTON — Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl can expect a buoyant homecoming after five years in Taliban hands, but those in the government who worked for his release face mounting questions over the prisoner swap that won his freedom. Even in the first hours of Bergdahl’s handoff to U.S. special forces in eastern Afghanistan, it was clear this would not be an uncomplicated yellow-ribbon celebration. Five terrorist suspects also walked free, stirring a debate in Washington over whether the exchange will heighten the risk of other Americans being snatched as bargaining chips and whether the released detainees — several senior Taliban figures among them — would find their way back to the fight. U.S. officials said Sunday that Bergdahl’s health and safety appeared in jeopardy, prompting rapid action to secure his release. “Had we waited and lost him,” said national security adviser Susan Rice, “I don’t think anybody would have forgiven the United States government.” One official said that U.S. officials, after seeing a proof of life video, were concerned about Bergdahl’s health and believed that with the uncertainty of not knowing exactly what condition he was in, there was a greater sense of urgency. This official, who spoke on grounds of anonymity because the person wasn’t authorized to discuss the subject by name, said there also were concerns about Bergdahl’s mental and emotional health. The ‘good health’ statement was more an observation that he was able to move on his own, and wasn’t in such bad shape that he had to be helped or carried, the official said. Republicans said the deal could set a troubling precedent — one called it “shocking.” Arizona Sen. John McCain said of the five Guantanamo detainees, “These are the hardest of the hard core.” And in Kabul on Monday, the Afghan Foreign Ministry called the swap “against the norms of international law” if it came against the five imprisoned Taliban detainees’ will. The ministry said: “No state can transfer another country’s citizen to a third country and put restriction on their freedom.” Tireless campaigners for their son’s freedom, Bob and SEE SWAP | A8
Newspaper co-owner is among 7 dead in jet crash
Recovering fallen climbers too dangerous
BY MARYCLAIRE DALE AND RODRIQUE NGOWI The Associated Press
The Associated Press
Police reports . . . . A2 What’s Up. . . . . . . . A3 South Coast. . . . . . A3 Opinion. . . . . . . . . . A4
The Associated Press
This photo provided by the National Parks Service shows the Liberty Ridge Area of Mount Rainier as viewed from the Carbon Glacier on Saturday in Washington. Six climbers missing on Mount Rainier are presumed dead after helicopters detected pings from emergency beacons buried in the snow thousands of feet below their last known location, a national park official said. They are presumed dead in one of the worst alpine accidents on Rainier since 1981, when 11 people were killed by a massive ice fall on Ingraham Glacier. Searchers located camping and climbing gear and detected signals from avalanche beacons buried in the snow at the top of the Carbon Glacier at 9,500 feet in elevation. It’s also not known what caused the climbers to fall from their last known whereabouts at 12,800 feet on Liberty Ridge, whether it was rock fall or an avalanche. Glenn Kessler, the park’s acting aviation manager, said “they are most likely buried,” making recovery efforts even more challenging.
Comics . . . . . . . . . . A6 Puzzles . . . . . . . . . . A6 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . B1 Classifieds . . . . . . . B5
Dover success
SPORTS
INSIDE
MOUNT RAINIER NATIONAL PARK, Wash. — It’s too dangerous right now to search for the bodies of six climbers who likely plummeted to their deaths while attempting one of the more technical and physically grueling routes to the peak of Mount Rainier in Washington state, park officials said Sunday. Like others who have died on the mountain, there’s a possibility the two guides and four climbers believed to have fallen 3,300 feet from their last known location may never be found, they say. “People are very understanding that we cannot risk another life at this point,” Patti Wold, a Mount Rainier National Park spokeswoman, said Sunday. Under safer conditions, crews could go in after the bodies. “The families, I’m sure, would like that closure,” Wold said. But continuous falling ice and rock make the avalanche-prone area too dangerous for rescuers, she said. The climbers were last heard from at 6 p.m. Wednesday when the guides checked in with their Seattle-based company, Alpine Ascents International, by satellite phone. The group failed to return Friday as planned.
BEDFORD, Mass. — Philadelphia Inquirer co-owner Lewis Katz was killed along with six other people in a fiery plane crash in Massachusetts, just days after reaching a deal that many hoped would end months of infighting at the newspaper and help restore it to its former glory. The 72-year-old businessman’s Gulfstream corporate jet ran off the end of a runway, plunged down an embankment and erupted in a fireball during a takeoff attempt Saturday night at Hanscom Field outside Boston, authorities said. There were no survivors. Katz was returning to New Jersey from a gathering at the home of historian Doris Kearns Goodwin. Also killed was a nextdoor neighbor of Katz’s, Anne Leeds, a 74-year-old retired preschool teacher he had invited along, and Marcella Dalsey, the director of Katz’s son’s foundation.
Jimmie Johnson wins his ninth career race at Dover International Speedway over the weekend. Page B1
FORECAST
BY RACHEL LA CORTE AND PHUONG LE
The identities of the other victims weren’t immediately released. Nancy Phillips, Katz’s longtime partner and city editor at the Inquirer, was not aboard. Investigators said it was too soon to say what caused the crash. Katz made his fortune investing in parking lots and the New York Yankees’ cable network. He once owned the NBA’s New Jersey Nets and the NHL’s New Jersey Devils and in 2012 became a minority investor in the Inquirer. Last Tuesday, Katz and former cable magnate Harold H.F. “Gerry” Lenfest struck a deal to gain full control of the Inquirer, the Philadelphia Daily News and Philly.com by buying out their fellow owners for $88 million — an agreement that ended a very public feud over the Inquirer’s business and journalism direction. Lenfest said Sunday that the deal will be delayed but will still go through. “We’ll lose his expertise, but the
Partly sunny 60/52 Weather | A8
SEE CRASH | A8