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AN EDITION OF

Bandon

WESTERN WORLD Thursday, February 13, 2014

theworldlink.com/bandon ♦ $1.00

Burned relics:

Passing grades:

Inside this edition:

Program documents BHS fire, see page A8 for the full story

Martial arts students advance, see story page B2

Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .A2 Bandon Police Log. . . . . . . . A3 Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .A4

Arts and Entertainment . . . A5 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .B1, B2 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .B3

Ex-teacher sentenced to nearly 10 years By Amy Moss Strong Bandon Western World

COQUILLE — A former Bandon middle school teacher and running coach will spend almost 10 years in prison after being convicted of second-degree sexual abuse and online corruption of a minor involving a student and athlete. Charles McLauchlin, 56, wearing prison garb, with both hands and feet shackled, was sentenced Monday afternoon in Coos County Judge Martin Stone’s courtroom to serve 119 months in prison after being convicted Jan. 29 of

25 counts of second-degree sexual abuse and two counts of online sexual corruption of a minor. Each charge is a Class B felony with a possible maximum sentence of 25 years. Stone also ordered McLauchlin to pay $250 restitution for counseling the victim received, plus $1,900 in other courtordered financial obligations. He also will be required to register as a sex offender, must submit to DNA testing, serve five years of post-prison supervision and cannot contact the victim or her family.

Both the victim and her mother gave statements prior to sentencing. Looking down at a piece of paper, her voice steady, the 16-year-old victim told McLauchlin that the girl he had created into what he wanted no longer existed. “Now I know that it’s your fault,” she told McLauchlin. “You lied to (her), you hurt her, you lied to her family and you stole her childhood. Shame on your for targeting my parents’ little girl.” The victim’s mother tearfully described how she views herself as a kind person who takes her role as moth-

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er seriously. McLauchlin, she said, took advantage of her family’s kindness, targeted her daughter and turned a sweet, loving child against her family. “There are no words to express my anguish and pain caused by this,” she said. “This was a deliberate act to tear her away. He used God as a weapon to get close to my daughter and rip her away from me.” The victim’s mother said her husband and others tried to stop McLauchlin, but couldn’t.

■ See McLauchlin, A7

Marketing support for area tourism By Chelsea Davis Bandon Western World

Photo by Amy Moss Strong

Above, Bandon Lions members Jeff Stitt, right, and Larry Doss cook pancakes for the annual Lions Sweetheart Breakfast and Silent Auction on Saturday at The Barn. The event raised approximately $5,500 and drew dozens of people who enjoyed breakfast then bid on auction items. All the money raised goes back into the community for Lions projects, including Sight & Hearing efforts, scholarships, BRAVO, BHS Speech Team, Southern Coos Hospital and several more. Below left, people browse the silent auction items, and right, Lions members Jeremy Brunner (cooking) and Jason Kirby prepare scrambled eggs. See more event photos on Page A7.

LANGLOIS — The Wild Rivers Coast is getting some long overdue help fueling a faltering tourism economy. Travel Oregon, the state’s semi-independent tourism agency, set its sights on what it named the Wild Rivers Coast: Bandon, Langlois, Port Orford, Gold Beach and Brookings. The Rural Tourism Studio, Travel Oregon’s effort to give rural communities the help they need to develop a flourishing tourism economy, landed in Southern Oregon this year. “... Tourism is a difficult thing for the smaller areas because of our funding difficulties,” said Julie Miller, Bandon Chamber of Commerce executive director. The old Langlois cheese factory was humming Tuesday night with residents waiting to hear what’s coming for the Wild Rivers Coast. From October to January, the Rural Tourism Studio included 10 workshops focusing on culinary and agritourism, cycling tourism and nature-based outdoor recreation. Four action teams grew from the workshops, with ideas for new tourism initiatives. Jim Seeley, executive director of the Wild Rivers Coast Alliance, the philanthropic arm of the Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, said the region’s tourism industry hasn’t “struggled” — it “faltered.” “The underpinnings of economic success faltered over time with the timber and salmon industries,” he said. “Tourism was always tourism, but now it’s more important to the region because it’s a bigger percentage of our economic base. We can’t wait for timber to

■ See Tourism, A7

OPRD will make Bandon Biota decision Feb. 20

Bandon youth becomes an Eagle — Quentin BANDON Coomer, a Scout with Bandon’s Boy Scout Troop 313, recently completed the last requirement to earn the Eagle Scout rank, Scouting’s highest honor. After a board of review Jan. 30, the Chinook District Eagle board approved Quentin’s advancement to Eagle. In the process of earning his Eagle rank, Quentin advanced through six other Scout ranks and earned 21 merit badges. Along the scouting trail held

several leadership positions, the last being a Patrol Leader. Every Eagle Scout completes a significant community service project. Quentin refurbished the landscaping on the east side of Ocean Crest Elementary School. Completing the project required 50 hours of his own time along with 52 hours of assistance by 17 helpers. Quentin joined the Boy Scouts when he was in the sev-

■ See Scout, A7

Contributed photo

Bandon High School junior Quentin Coomer recently attained his Eagle Scout rank.

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SALEM — The Oregon State Parks and Recreation Commission will hold a special meeting by phone on Feb. 20. The public venue for the meeting is the main conference room at the Department of State Lands, 775 Summer St. NE Suite 100 in Salem. The commission will first meeting in executive session from 1-2 p.m. to discuss matters related to discuss acquisition priorities, legal issues and to consider employment of the director of the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. The commission will meet in an open, public session starting at 2 p.m. to act on a proposed acquisition of the Grouse Mountain property in Grant County, the proposed Bandon State Natural Area exchange, appointment of a new member to the All-Terrain Vehicle Advisory Committee and to select the final candidate for the position of director for the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. The Grouse Mountain and Bandon action items were tabled at the Feb. 5 commission meeting to provide more time for review of documents related to the two projects. The full meeting agenda is available online at

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■ See Decision, A7


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