PIRATES ON THE RUN
A SMELLY MESS
Marshfield runners stand out at Tugman, B1
What is killing fish in Hawaii? A6
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2013
Serving Oregon’s South Coast Since 1878
theworldlink.com
■
75¢
County changes Bandon spray area BY AMY MOSS STRONG The World
BANDON — A plan to conduct aerial spraying to kill mosquitoes in and around the Bandon Marsh National Wildlife Refuge was derailed Monday night after a crowd of Bandon residents, including local cranberry growers, bee keepers and organic gardeners, pleaded with the Coos County Board of Commissioners to reconsider. The board met Wednesday morning and reversed their decision to spray insecticide, but will still have a larvicide applied on a limited area of the marsh. Commissioner Melissa Cribbins said it came down to a concern for the local cran-
berry growers and conflicting information about whether the insecticide Dibrome would prevent farmers from selling their crop due to chemical residue. “(The question is) would we be solving one economic problem to cause another,” Cribbins said Wednesday. The plan now, according to Coos County Public Health Director Nikki Zogg, is to apply a granular form of the larvicide MetaLarv on 308 acres of the Ni-les’tun Unit of the Bandon Marsh at three pounds per acre by fixed-wing aircraft today and possibly Friday morning, weather conditions permitting. Costs will be paid by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. No adulticide application will occur.
In addition, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plans to develop an Integrated Marsh Management Plan this fall. Commissioners passed a motion Wednesday to encourage USFWS to stick to their commitment to monitor mosquito populations and treat refuge lands, if necessary, until the restoration is completed. Monday night a crowd of more than 200 people gathered at the Sprague Theater with questions and concerns over the proposed aerial spraying. “I think we came out here tonight with an open mind,” Cribbins said after the Monday meeting. “We haven’t signed the contract yet and the truth of the matter is that we’re here to try to help and if the people in Bandon
don’t want this, there isn’t any benefit to doing it.” A show of hands indicated about onefourth of those in attendance were in favor of spraying, with the majority opposed. Fears ranged from the effects of Dibrome on humans and animals to whether it is an approved insecticide for the cranberry crop, soon to be harvested by Bandon growers. “I’m not against spraying, but I want to know if (Dibrome) is labeled for cranberries,” said local farmer Scott Vierck. “If you spray it and it’s detrimental, then it’s too late.” Vierck and Gale Turner, also a local cranberry grower, had concerns that their crop SEE MOSQUITOES | A10
Woman, 94, gets license after snag
Photos by Lou Sennick, The World
Dr. Steve Tersigni gets some practice in on the new da Vinci surgical system at Bay Area Hospital on Wednesday afternoon. The surgeon operates on a patient, on the table in the back, remotely in a surgical suite set up for the system.Tersigni is one of a few surgeons at the hospital that will use the machine on patients for the first time in a few weeks.
Helping hands Bay Area Hospital adds high-tech surgical system; price tag – $2M ■
BY EMILY THORNTON The World
COOS BAY — One of the most advanced surgery systems in the world is now at Bay Area Hospital. The medical center recently added a da Vinci Si Surgery System. It will be available for surgeries at the end of the month, but doctors have been practicing with it for a few weeks now. It is the most technologically up-to-date robot in Oregon. The $2 million equipment allows doctors to perform various surgeries such
as prostatectomy, hysterectomy, cholecystectomy, oophorectomy and myomectomy. The robot allows for minimally-invasive surgeries, which decreases patients’ recovery time. It uses techniques similar to laparoscopic procedures, which include making several small incisions to extract various organs. Dr. Laurie Hamilton, an OB/GYN at North Bend Medical Center, said the new machine is a great addition to the hospital. “The visualization is so good with this,” Hamilton said. She said prior to this, patients had to travel to Eugene for robotic or laparoscopic surgery. “The question was, ‘Can we afford not to get one?’” Hamilton SEE ROBOT | A10
Several monitors are set up around the da Vinci suite with a view of what a doctor will see.
GOLD HILL (AP) — A 94-year-old Southern Oregon driver who had problems renewing her license because of anti-terror laws can now legally get behind the wheel after four months of uncertainty. Helen Mary Thomas of Gold Hill was born in rural Tennessee, no doctor was present and no birth certificate was issued. But since 2008, as a guard to prevent terrorists from getting phony IDs, the state of Oregon has been requiring drivers to prove citizenship to renew their licenses — generally by presenting a birth certificate or passport. After Thomas couldn’t show she was a naturalborn U.S. citizen, the Medford Mail Tribune published an account of her difficulty. State transportation officials first issued a temporary license and then accepted Census records from 1930 and 1940, state voter registration records and her old driver’s license to prove citizenship, the paper reported Wednesday. “Mom is back in good spirits,” said her son Douglas, who lives in Boise, Idaho. “She sounds like a huge, weighty concern has been lifted from her.” Thomas is a widow — her husband of 46 years died in 1996 — and none of her children live in the area. She told the Mail Tribune in July that she hopes to drive for another year. “I drive a lot less now, but I’m still a good driver,” she said. The state legislation followed the federal Real ID Act of 2005. The law was aimed at stopping terrorists from using illegally obtained driver’s licenses to access airports and government buildings. Now that license renewals are on an eight-year cycle, Oregonians are beginning to confront the citizenship requirement, said David House, spokesman for the Driver and Motor Vehicles Services Division. It is unusual for a natural-born U.S. citizen not to have a birth certificate, but the department tries to work with residents in such circumstances, he said. Thomas is in the final steps of getting a delayed birth certificate from the state of Tennessee, her son said.
Study: Wind farms killed 67 eagles in 5 years could be having on local eagle populations. And while the golden eagle population is stable in the West, any additional mortality to a long-lived species such as an eagle can be a “tipping point,” Millsap said. The research affirms an AP investigation in May, which revealed dozens of eagle deaths from wind energy facilities and described how the Obama administration was failing to fine or prosecute wind energy companies,even though each death is a violation of federal law. Documents obtained by the AP under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act show that in two cases in Iowa federal investigators determined that a bald eagle had been killed by blunt force trauma with a wind turbine blade. But neither case
Testing youngsters Randy Franck, Coos Bay Cheryle Airth, Coos Bay
Obituaries | A5
Need to sell your vehicle?
Thousands of Oregon kindergartners are participating in a new statewide assessment this year.
Page A5
FORECAST
Comics . . . . . . . . . . A8 Puzzles . . . . . . . . . . A8 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . B1 Classifieds . . . . . . . B5
for dead birds by wind-energy companies. The study also excluded the deadliest place in the country for eagles, a cluster of wind farms in a Northern California area known as Altamont Pass. Wind farms built there decades ago kill more than 60 per year. “It is not an isolated event that is restricted to one place in California,it is pretty widespread,” said Brian Millsap, the national raptor coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, a study author. The study excluded 17 eagle deaths for which there was not enough evidence. And, in a footnote, it says more have since been killed at wind energy facilities in Idaho, Montana, and Nevada. It’s unclear what toll the deaths
STATE
Police reports . . . . A2 What’s Up. . . . . . . . A3 South Coast. . . . . . A3 Opinion. . . . . . . . . . A4
wind turbines. One of the eagles counted in the study was electrocuted by a power line. The vice president of the American Bird Conservancy,Mike Parr,said the tally was “an alarming and concerning finding.” A trade group, the American Wind Energy Association, said in a statement that the figure was much lower than other causes of eagle deaths. The group said it was working with the government and conservation groups to find ways to reduce eagle casualties. Still, the scientists said their figure is likely to be “substantially” underestimated, since companies report eagle deaths voluntarily and only a fraction of those included in their total were discovered during searches
DEATHS
INSIDE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Wind energy facilities have killed at least 67 golden and bald eagles in the last five years, but the figure could be much higher, according to a new study by government biologists. The research represents one of the first tallies of eagle deaths attributed to the nation’s growing wind energy industry, which has been a pillar of President Barack Obama’s plans to reduce the pollution blamed for global warming. Wind power releases no air pollution. But at a minimum, the scientists wrote, wind farms in 10 states have killed at least 85 eagles since 1997, with most deaths occurring between 2008 and 2012, as the industry was greatly expanding. Most deaths — 79 — were golden eagles that struck
led to prosecution. The Fish and Wildlife Service, which employs the six researchers, has said it is investigating 18 birddeath cases involving wind-power facilities, and seven have been referred to the Justice Department. The authors noted the study’s findings do not necessarily reflect the views of the agency,although some of their data was obtained from staff. The wind energy industry has pushed for, and the White House is currently evaluating, giving companies permission to kill a set number of eagles for 30 years. The change extends by 25 years the permit length in place now, but it was not subjected to a full environmental review because the administration classified it as an administrative change.
Mostly cloudy 68/56 Weather | A10
WE CAN DELIVER YOUR MESSAGE OVER 71,000 TIMES!
Call Valerie Today! 541-267-6278