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Umpqua Post
port Reeds ., e v A wy Wednesday, September 18, 1500 H
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Umpqua dredging imminent due to agreement BY STEVE LINDSLEY The Umpqua Post
REEDSPORT — The U.S Army Corps of Engineers’ hopper dredge “Yaquina” will be off the Umpqua River bar within the next few days as the state of Oregon, the Corps, Congressman Peter DeFazio and the Coastal Caucus of the Oregon Legislature announced a smallport dredging agreement. The dredge has already begun work in the Siuslaw River. Dredging operations at the ports of Port Orford and Umpqua will follow. “Faced with a major budget shortfall, a lot of individuals and organizations stepped up to move this exceptional effort forward quickly, with the Corps, Regional Solutions, the Coastal Caucus, and Congressman DeFazio all providing critical leadership,” said Gov. John Kitzhaber in a news release. “This kind of diverse collaboration is the most effective way to build a stronger economy for the entire state and a great example of how we get things done in Oregon.” “The Corps is involved with this because, of course, these are Corps maintained projects,” said Michelle Helms, a public affairs specialist for the Portland District of Corps. “They are areas where we typically dredge.” She said the frustration has been reductions in the federal budget. “(The fiscal environment) has impacted our dredging budget for the smaller, working coastal ports,” The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ hopper dredge “Yaquina” when it was in Bandon last year. she said. “These are challenging fiscal times for the nation,” said Col. Kruse said the speed at which through 10 priority,” he said. “This them.” the agreement was reached was “This is an opportunity to have was what we put all of our energy John Eisenhauer, Portland District astounding. and effort into.” this work done,” Helms said. “It’s Commander for the Corps, in a “It had to go through the chain The Yaquina’s effort off the an actual example of what happens news release. “Coming together, of command in the Army and on three ports is 20 days. Kruse said when people come together at the communicating openly and Capitol Hill,” he said. “We got this table to talk about ‘how can we do there is no concern it’s a short directly to find a collaborative Memorandum of Understanding season. this.’” solution to dredge Oregon’s At this point, no,” he said. “We done and signed and completed in Sen. Jeff Kruse, R-Roseburg, is coastal harbors is, for me, an under four months which, from came into the game late. We now chairman of the Coastal Caucus example of a true partnership. and said this was a very high prior- have an agreement with the Corps the federal perspective, is amazThese ports are the backbone of ingly fast.” … we’re taking what part of the their communities, and the Corps ity for them. Kruse said they hope the season that we can, at this point in “This was our No. one, No. is committed to continue working dredging in the small ports can be time.” two, No. three, No. four, No. five within our authorities to support
The Umpqua Post file photo
an annual event. “We’re hitting the places that have the greatest need at this point in time,” he said. “The Corps of Engineers knows where the need is the greatest and that’s where they’re focusing.” Helms said there needs to be more discussion on when the dredging will happen next in the small ports.
SEE DREDGING, PAGE A6
Educator, leader, coach Akre loses cancer battle BY JOHN GUNTHER The Umpqua Post
REEDSPORT — Jim Akre was forever an educator, whether he was teaching a class or coaching at Reedsport High School, leading a tour of the Umpqua River Lighthouse or sharing knowledge with students at the Umpqua Discovery Center. Akre, 64, died Thursday after a year-long battle with cancer, leaving hundreds in the Reedsport community mourning his passing, but also fondly remembering his life. A celebration of life service will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday at Reedsport Community Charter School’s Pacific Auditorium. Akre touched thousands of students during a long career in the schools and then touched the rest of the community in various ways after he retired from his career in education. “He was a busy guy,” said longtime friend and colleague Jim Wells. “Teaching and administrating and a lot of those professions, people choose lifetime service. And that’s the way Jim was.”
In the community, Akre served on the board for Lower Umpqua Hospital, was active in the Gardiner-ReedsportWinchester Bay Lions Club, was a founding member of the Reedsport Educational Enrichment Foundation and was part of the group that converted Reedsport High School into Reedsport Community Charter School. He was active with the Umpqua Discovery Center and helped bring lessons from the Discovery Center into the schools. And Akre was a tour leader at the Umpqua River Lighthouse and joined Sherri Elliott and Joe Coyne to create Friends of the Umpqua River Light, which helped make sure the historic Fresnel Lens stayed in the lighthouse. “He was just a heck of a guy, number one,” said Elliott. “But as an educator, he never missed an opportunity for a teachable moment. He had this ability to recall local history. He was instrumental in producing those living history lessons at the Umpqua Discovery Center.”
The Umpqua Post file photo
Jim Akre, seen here at fall practice at Reedsport High School in 1997, died Sep. 12 after a yearSEE AKRE, PAGE A6 long battle with cancer. He led the Braves to the state championship in 1990.
McKeown says dredging agreement is due to cooperation BY STEVE LINDSLEY The Umpqua Post
REEDSPORT — A local member of the Oregon Legislature’s Coastal Caucus was proud of the recent agreement that will allow dredging of the Ports of Umpqua, Siuslaw and Bandon in the next three weeks. “This is actually a very historic event.” Rep. Caddy McKeown, D-Coos Bay, said she’s been working on dredging since before she entered the Legislature. “My history with dredging goes back to 2003,” she said, “when I was appointed to the port commission in Coos Bay. So, I have been involved with this project for a really long time.” She said she’s been involved in lobbying Oregon’s Congressional delegation for 10 years “trying to
tap into the Harbor Maintenance Trust money.” She said ports had to scramble with changes in the federal budget. “When earmarks went away and the Harbor Maintenance Trust money was not available, the shallow-draft ports got left in the dust at the federal level for funding,” she said. “It’s been a problem for a very long time. It really came to a head in the last few years, as I said, when the earmarks went away and our federal delegation just could not bring any money to us to fund the Corps’ needs for dredging.” She credits Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Oregon, who held a meeting in Brookings last year with Southern Oregon coastal port representatives. “They came together as sort of a unit,” McKeown explained, “saying ‘What are we going to do
about this?’ Port Orford became a huge problem because they were not functioning because of their need for dredging. So, what came out of that meeting in Caddy McKeown Brookings was a State Representative desire, on the part of the Coastal Caucus … to try and solve the problem by bringing the state into the conversation. The state has not been involved in paying for dredging.” The Coastal Caucus of the Oregon Legislature is made up of representatives and senators whose districts touch the coast. McKeown said she, and state Sen. Arnie Roblan, D-Coos Bay, put together a program that would allow them to work with the feder-
al delegation to come up with the money to hire the federal dredge, the Yaquina, and possibly buy a portable dredge that could be moved from port to port. “We need a portable dredge to do inside-the-bar work and you need the Yaquina, the federal dredge to do the work on the bar to keep the river mouths open,” she said. She said the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers came in as a partner “and agreed to work on a statewide permit, instead of port by port, doing individual permits,” McKeown said. She said the final agreement is historic. “The Memorandum of Understanding,” she continued, “is just an incredible achievement in collaboration between the federal government, the Corps of Engineers and the state in address-
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ing this issue. She said, during the 2013 legislative session they were able to tap into some funds which guaranteed about 20 days of dredge time for the Yaquina. She said the goal is to make the dredging an annual event. “That’s what we’re hoping,” she said. She again stressed the cooperation that made this round of dredging happen. “The people that came to the table and the work that got done at lightning speed to get a permit through (Washington) D.C. and signed by the governor’s office, involving as many moving parts as there were and as many players as there are, is a wonderful testament