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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2014
Serving Oregon’s South Coast Since 1878
Blue-green algae back in Tenmile Lakes
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Business expansion in Reedsport
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Jeff Precourt, publisher of The World in Coos Bay, has been named publisher of the Albany Democrat-Herald and the Corvallis Gazette-Times. Precourt relieves Rick Parrish, publisher of The Daily News in Longview, Wash. Parrish oversaw the Albany and Corvallis operations from a distance the past two years. Precourt also Jeff Precourt will be in charge Publisher of the weekly Lebanon Express. Nathan Bekke, Lee group publisher, said a search will begin for a successor in Coos Bay. Before he became publisher of The World in January 2013, Precourt worked in advertising at The Times of Northwest Indiana and the Canton Repository in Ohio. Among community activities, Precourt serves on the board of the Coos Art Museum, volunteers as a member of the Coos Bay Lions Club and is a graduate of the Bay Area Chamber’s leadership program. “My time on Oregon’s South Coast has been far too brief, as I have loved every moment,” Precourt said. “At the same time, this is a wonderful opportunity.” Lee Enterprises owns the three newspapers.
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The World
By Lou Sennick, The World
Fisher Wahl, grandson of Fred Wahl, owner of Fred Wahl Marine in Reedsport, breaks a bottle of champagne across the bow of a fishing boat launched in January 2013. The company acknowledged Monday it is in the process of buying the former American Bridge manufacturing facility that closed last year.
Fred Wahl Marine to buy former American Bridge location Boat builder expects to bring 30 jobs back to Reedsport ■
BY STEVE LINDSLEY The World
REEDSPORT — A lot of people were shocked late last year when American Bridge announced it would close its facility on Bolon Island. Now comes word that Fred Wahl Marine Construction, which currently has a boat-building and repair facility on the Reedsport waterfront will purchase the American Bridge property and buildings. Fred Wahl Project Manager Mike Wahl confirmed the sale Monday. “It was a piece of property that we looked at,” Mike Wahl said. “There was no price on it and it wasn’t on the market. We didn’t know what it was
going to cost.” He said they stayed in contact with American Bridge, based in Coraopolis, Pa., to see when the facility would go on the market. “A couple of hours before they put it on the market, they called us, and we decided to meet the offer they threw out there,” Wahl said. He would not discuss the purchase price. “We purchased the property and the buildings,” he said. “It’s over 30 acres.” He said they’re still developing plans for the property and the sale won’t be finalized until the end of the year. He does know something on the wish list. “We have plans for a (500-ton) Travellift,” he said. “But, we have to do the permitting and stuff like that and there are some railroad easements that we’re trying to work around right now. We’re still in the process of just getting the project started and securing the land.” SEE WAHL | A10
NORTH BEND — Police arrested a 26-year-old man Saturday night after he allegedly assaulted an officer and tried to pull a knife on others after a traffic stop. Zahnie Joseph Moore Jr. was booked in the Coos County Jail on charges of assault on a public safety officer, felony eluding by vehicle, possession of methamphetamine, resisting arrest, interfering and carrying a concealed weapon. According to a North Bend Police Department affidavit, Moore had to be taken to the ground at Taser-point after he pushed and kicked an officer who tried to remove him from his vehicle. Once officers had him on the ground, Moore allegedly tried to pull a spring-loaded knife he had hidden in his waistband. Moore’s arrest came after police managed to stop his vehicle near the intersection of Oak Street and Virginia Avenue about 8:35 p.m. The officer who initiated the stop had seen the brown Chevrolet S-10 pickup going 10 miles above the speed limit on Virginia near Grant Street. As the officer turned his vehicle around to stop the pickup, it sped away onto nearby side streets before it finally yielded to him a block away. When police searched Moore, they also found a methamphetamine pipe with residue that an officer had seen him hide in his sweatshirt. SEE MOORE | A10
US to assign 3,000 from US military to fight Ebola BY JIM KUHNHENN The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is ramping up its response to West Africa’s Ebola crisis, preparing to assign 3,000 U.S. military personnel to the afflicted region to supply medical and logistical support to overwhelmed local health care systems and to boost the number of beds needed to isolate and treat victims of the epidemic. Obama Barack President planned to announce the steppedup effort Tuesday during a visit to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta amid alarm that the outbreak could spread and that the deadly virus could mutate into a more easily transmitted disease. The new U.S. muscle comes after appeals from the region and from aid organizations for a heightened U.S. role in combatting the outbreak blamed for more than 2,200 deaths. Administration officials said Monday that the new initiatives aim to: ■ Train as many as 500 health care workers a week.
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“This humanitarian intervention should serve as a firewall against a global security crisis that has the potential to reach American soil.” Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del. Chairman of Senate Foreign Relations Committee
■ Erect 17 heath care facilities in the region of 100 beds each. ■ Set up a joint command headquartered in Monrovia, Liberia, to coordinate between U.S. and international relief efforts. ■ Provide home health care kits to hundreds of thousands of households, including 50,000 that the U.S. Agency for International Development will deliver to Liberia this week. ■ Carry out a home- and com-
The Associated Press
Ebola victim Dr. Kent Brantly, right, hugs a member of the medical staff that treated him, after being released Aug. 21 from Emory University Hospital in Atlanta. Brantly is scheduled to testify before a Senate panel on the Ebola crisis Tuesday afternoon on Capitol Hill in Washington. munity-based campaign to train local populations on how to handle exposed patients. Meanwhile, a Senate panel scheduled a Tuesday afternoon hearing on the Ebola crisis. Expected to testify were Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and Dr. Kent Brantly, an American physician who contracted Ebola while working in Liberia but recovered after treatment with an experimental drug. The Obama administration officials said the cost of the stepped-up effort to combat the disease would come from $500 million in overseas contingency operations, such as the war in Afghanistan, that the Pentagon
Weed battles wildfire Robert E. Barnes, North Bend Gilbert Campbell, North Bend
Obituaries | A5
Racing wildire engulfs structures in town just south of Oregon border, forcing at least 1,500 to flee. Page A5
FORECAST
THE WORLD
BY THOMAS MORIARTY
STATE
World publisher tapped to lead newspapers in Albany, Corvallis
Police say man assaulted officer, tried to attack others ■
DEATHS
SEE ALGAE | A10
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Traffic stop leads to arrest of accused assailant
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LAKESIDE — Blue-green algae is back in Tenmile Lakes, prompting a health advisory from the Oregon Health Authority. OHA issued the advisory Monday after water monitoring confirmed the presence of high levels of cyanotoxins produced by blue-green algae. The toxins can be harmful to humans and animals, so swallowing or inhaling water droplets, as well as skin contact with water, should be avoided. Drinking water directly from the lakes is especially dangerous. Exposure to toxins can produce symptoms of numbness, tingling and dizziness that can lead to difficulty breathing or heart problems, and require immediate medical attention. Symptoms of skin irritation, weakness, diarrhea, nausea, cramps and fainting should also receive medical attention if they persist or worsen. Children and pets are at increased risk for exposure because of their size and level of activity. OHA will notify the public when the concern no longer exists. Oregon health officials advise campers and other recreational visitors that toxins cannot be removed by boiling, filtering or treating the water with campingstyle filters. People who draw in-home water directly from Tenmile Lakes are advised to use an alternative water source because private treatment systems are not proven effective at removing algae toxins. Public drinking water systems, however, can reduce algae toxins
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already has asked Congress to redirect to carry out humanitarian efforts in Iraq and in West Africa. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the plans on the record ahead of Obama’s announcement The officials said it would take about two weeks to get U.S. forces on the ground. Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations African affairs subcommittee, applauded the new U.S. commitment. Coons earlier had called for the Obama administration to step up its role in West Africa.
Partly cloudy 67/54 Weather | A10
SEE EBOLA | A10