The Umpqua Post
Weekly news from the Heart of the Dunes AN EDITION OF
Wednesday, December 11, 2013 | Serving the Reedsport area since 1996 | theworldlink.com/reedsport | $1.00
Wright for our community BY STEVE LINDSLEY The Umpqua Post
He’s only been with the city a little more than a year. Reedsport City Manager Jonathan Wright is seemingly everywhere, including community events. Wright is officially the city manager and planning director. He also staffs most of the other meetings involving city boards and commissions, such as planning commission, city council, parks and recreation, urban renewal and traffic safety advisory. Wright is also a community By Steve Lindsley, The Umpqua Post volunteer, watching the gate at this Reedsport City Manager Jonathan Wright staffs a city council work session year’s Oregon Divisional Chainsaw on Dec. 2 in the city hall conference room. Councilor Linda McCollum is to Sculpting Championships on Fathers Day weekend. He is also on his right.
County backs project to keep GSD tied to Reedsport
the Chainsaw committee. He is also a defacto member of the Reedsport/Winchester Bay Chamber of Commerce, is a member of the Umpqua Discovery Center Steering Committee, is a Rotarian and a board member of Christmas in July. He is also part of a group that hopes to bring back Reedsport’s Memorial Day parade. He painted park bathrooms last spring when they needed spruced up. Wright was seen, recently, helping put up Christmas lights at the “triangle” at the intersections of state Highway 38 and U.S. Highway 101. “I don’t get a lot of physical activity in this position,” he
SEE WRIGHT, PAGE A6
Robertson is disappointed with Wyden’s O&C proposal
Celebrating a day to play
THE UMPQUA POST
BY STEVE LINDSLEY The Umpqua Post
The Gardiner Sanitary District, through Douglas County, has three more weeks to apply for a federal Community Development Block Grant, which will help the district replace a leaky “force main” under the Umpqua River that feeds the Reedsport wastewater treatment plant. After years of refusing the back a project to allow GSD to develop a wastewater treatment lagoon at the former International Paper site, the county will back the project that will keep Gardiner tied into the Reedsport system. Douglas County Commissioner Susan Morgan, the commission’s coastal liaison, said the IP site also came with a couple of landfills. “We were always of the position,” Morgan said, “we did not want the landfill liability of the IP option. And, we wanted the best deal for the patrons of the district. We wanted the patrons of the district, when they opened their bills, to pay the lowest amount of money possible.” She said an alternatives analysis showed the best option, in terms of cost, was the Reedsport connection. “Now that the sanitary district board has agreed to that,” Morgan continued,” the county is very prepared, and was always prepared, to put in an application for the block grant on that basis.” The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality had been after the GSD board, for years, to come up with a solution to the leaking pipe, which has dumped raw sewage periodically into the Umpqua River, after leaks in the pipe developed, for more than a decade. The last leak was 40,000 gallons into the river in late September. The board, last month, agreed with its contract engineer that remaining with the Reedsport system was the best course of action. The district had attempted on several occasions, including an attempt in June, to acquire funding for switch the system to the IP site. They were told the county would
laughed. “So, when I get a chance to participate in things like that, I take advantage of it.” He points out his community activities take place outside his “normal” working hours. Wright came to the city of Reedsport, after working for the Douglas County planning department for seven years. He also served more than two years with the U.S. Army. Among his other talents, Wright is a licensed contractor and will probably be seen assisting in the removal of one of the yellow Knife River buildings that will be razed to make way for a new parking lot at the Reedsport waterfront. The
By Alysha Beck, The Umpqua Post
A snowman decorates a front lawn in Reedsport on Friday morning after a winter storm hit the area. Although no snow stuck around in Coos Bay or North Bend Friday morning, both school districts decided ahead of time to cancel school.
Dungeness season set to begin on Dec. 16 BY TIM NOVOTNY The Umpqua Post
CHARLESTON — The start of the commercial Dungeness crab season on the Oregon coast is set to start on Dec. 16, after a twoweek delay. On Thursday, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife made the announcement, noting that the season was delayed because crab along some parts of the coast did not measure up during pre-season testing. Hugh Link, Executive Director of the Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission, said there were three areas of concern, including Astoria and Newport, but that recent testing showed “nice, full crab for all of the Oregon coast.” Commercial crabbers are SEE GSD, PAGE A6 allowed to set their gear three
Christmas choral concert
By Lou Sennick, The Umpqua Post
Ready for some butter and dinner, a Dungeness crab being off loaded from the fishing boat Loraine C in Charleston. Crabbers just got the word they can head out on the morning of Dec. 13 to drop their pots and the harvest begins three days later.
days before the season opens, so ocean watchers will see the lights of crab boats off most of the coast as early as Dec. 13 at 8 a.m. Link says the news is a great relief for fishermen. “I think they’re all glad to have a date for them to start. It’s good news, and we’ll now have Oregon Dungeness crab for Christmas.” There is one big step remaining in the process. According to Link, fishermen and processors will be meeting for negotiations
to set an opening price. Those negotiations will be overseen by the Oregon Department of Agriculture. The commercial Dungeness crab season on the Oregon coast is scheduled to open Dec. 1 each year. Recreational harvest of Dungeness crab in the ocean off Oregon opened as scheduled on Dec. 1. The recreational harvest of Dungeness crab in Oregon’s bays and estuaries is open year round.
A variety of Nativity scenes
The president of the Association of O&C Counties, Douglas County Commission Chairman Doug Robertson, expressed “doubt and skepticism” regarding U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden’s proposal for management of Oregon and California Railroad lands in 18 western Oregon counties. Robertson said it doesn’t appear Wyden’s proposal would help generate jobs and increase county revenues. “It’s a 188-page, very detailed piece of legislation,” Robert said. “I have to admit disappointment. There are some positive aspects to the proposal, But the the likely job and economic benefits seem far below reasonable levels the productivity of these lands.” The amount of timber available for harvest is far below his expectations. “Can we see real outputs on the ground in terms of the volume and the dollars to the counties,” he said. “What kind of volumes are we really talking about. You see the reference to 300 million feet. There’s 21⁄2 million acres of O&C Land that’s enormously productive. They grow a billion, 200 million feet of wood fiber every year. So, to suggest that the harvest level to be obtained, somewhere in the neighborhood of 300 million feet is ridiculous, really, compared to the productive capacity of these lands.” Robertson said he expects Wyden’s bill to continue a line-byline analysis by experts, but he’s seen enough to know it doesn’t do much for Douglas County and other O&C counties. “What does it mean for Douglas County?” he asked. “We certainly don’t know yet in terms of dollars to the county, jobs, economic stability and so on. My sense is, having seen it and going through it, that is does very little for Douglas County.” In a news release, the association said information on Wyden’s website suggests his proposal would provide just $17 million to $19 million per year for county services, compared to the historic average of $134 million for local communities from the O&C lands. Robertson questioned language in the proposed bill that would designate half the lands for “forestry emphasis” but then excludes harvesting timber on large portions of the lands due to older timber, even when that timber is not “old growth.” Robertson says his organization supports the O&C Trust, Conservation and Jobs Act, supported by Oregon Congressmen Peter DeFazio, Greg Walden and Kurt Schrader. That bill has already been passed by the House and has moved to the Senate. “That bill actually will produce significant jobs, economic stability, money for the counties and provide a predictable flow of raw materials for the wood products industry,” Robertson said.
By Steve Lindsley, The Umpqua Post
The Saint Monica Catholic Church Choir from Coos Bay performed during the second annual Christmas concert at the LDS church in Reedsport on Dec. 6. The choir is under the direction of Krista Betz, with Ann Minks accompanist.
By Steve Lindsley, The Umpqua Post
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Reedsport had several Nativity displays at the second annual Christmas concert at the church on Nov. 6. Several people donated displays of all kinds.
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SEE O&C, PAGE A6