AN EDITION OF
Bandon
WESTERN WORLD Thursday, June 26, 2014
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Inside this edition:
Drawing follows fundraiser, see A2 for the full story
Making a fast impression, see A10 for the story
Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .A2 Bandon Police Log. . . . . . . . A3 Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .A4
Arts and Entertainment . . . A5 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . .A8-9 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .A10
Keeping the mosquitoes at bay By Chelsea Davis Bandon Western World
BANDON — Officials say larvicide application is successfully squashing Bandon’s mosquito population. Coos County Commissioner John Sweet said at the June 17 Board of Commissioners meeting that the larvicide Vector Disease Control International is applying to ponds within the Ni-les’tun Unit of the Bandon Marsh National Wildlife Refuge is working. A fixed-wing aircraft applied Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis, or Bti, to areas
of concern June 15, according to the Vector Assessment and Control Committee’s website. The areas that couldn’t be reached by air were treated on foot June 16 and June 17 using gaspowered blowers. The goal is to prevent the Aedes dorsalis larvae from maturing into the biting adults that swarmed the city last summer. The next Bti application followed high tides earlier this week. “The U.S. Fish and Wildlife finally has admitted that they actually created this problem,” Vector Assessment and Control Committee chair Roger Straus
said at the June 3 commissioners meeting. “That took awhile, as we all know. And they are working on cleaning up the problem.” That cleanup will include eliminating pools in the marsh, he said, which is expected to begin in mid-July and finish by the end of September. USFWS has received several bids, and Sweet said they will be reviewed this week. There was a fly-off of the adult Aedes dorsalis the first weekend in May, when temperatures rose. It occurred before the larvicide application permits were in place. “Their life cycle, I believe, is four to
six weeks, so the adults that flew off will eventually die off,” Straus said. Commissioner Bob Main pointed out that larvicide is not being sprayed over the marsh; it’s applied in the form of pellets. “Monitoring indicates the mosquito population is nowhere near where they were last year,” Sweet said. “The early hatch is dying off. It appears at this point that the system that’s being implemented is working, but we still have the most difficult time of the summer to come, so we’ll just hope that this continues.”
■ See Mosquitoes, A7
Fire chief offers advice on emergency preparedness
A great day for a ride
Contributed photo by Geneva Miller
A group of women prepare for the annual Woman’s Day Ride at South Coast Bicycles on May 31. From left, Astrid Diepenbroek, Sarah Sinko, Lenora Cunningham, Deborah Maher, Donna Freeman, Linda Maxon, Andrea Bowden, Sue Dodrill, Sheryl Phillips, Colleen Wiesel and Elizabeth Hewitt. See Page A10 for more information on local guided bicycle rides.
BANDON — The deam at Bandon Prepares would like to remind people of ways they can protect themselves and their home in an emergency, such as fire, earthquake or medical emergency. Chief Lanny Boston of the Bandon Rural Fire Department has prepared the following checklist for local homeowners and residents. 1. Is there defensible space around the home? Is the brush and debris removed so an approaching fire from another area cannot creep to the house or outbuildings? 2. Do emergency responders have access? Is the road wide enough? Ten feet minimum width is required. Are the tree branches and overhead obstructions removed? Twelve feet is the minimum height. Can responders get around the residence? 3. Is the chimney or flue properly attached so that it will not come loose with violent shaking? Are there tree limbs hanging over the chimney which have become dried out due to the heat. These should be trimmed away from
■ See Advice, A7
Bandon’s chief gets new ride BANDON — If you’ve seen a black official-looking SUV around town, it’s probably not the FBI. The city of Bandon recently purchased a new patrol vehicle for Bandon Police Chief Bob Webb.He said people don’t recognize him driving the sporty SUV. The vehicle is a 2014 Ford Explorer Police Interceptor four-wheel drive. The purchase was made after Bandon Dunes donated $20,000 from the Mike and Lindy Keiser Fund of the Oregon Community Foundation to the city toward the purchase price of the new patrol vehicle. The price, equipped and delivered to Bandon, was $38,426.87. Bandon Dunes General Manager Hank Hickox said Mike Keiser discovered the city needed a new patrol vehicle and decided to help with the purchase through his annual giving to the community through funds he has invested in the Oregon Community Foundation. Keiser also supports the Bandon Police Support Services. The Explorer can navigate a wider
Sea star disease surges in Oregon By David Stauth Oregon State University
Photo by Amy Moss Strong
Equipped to patrol Bandon Police Chief Bob Webb, right, poses with Bandon Dunes Golf Resort General Manager Hank Hickox in front of the Police Department’s new Ford Explorer. Bandon Dunes donated $20,000 from the Mike and Lindy Keiser Fund of the Oregon Community Foundation toward the vehicle. range of terrain than previous department vehicles.Hickox said Keiser was pleased to be able to help and feels strongly about supporting local police services. Keiser gives thousands to the Bandon community each year, including student
scholarships and dontions to many other nonprofit, student and civic groups. “We are very grateful for the donation,” said Webb. The last new patrol vehicle was purchased in 2005 and has since been retired.
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OREGON COAST — In the past month, the incidence of sea star wasting syndrome has exploded along the Oregon Coast and created an epidemic of historic magnitude, one that threatens to decimate Oregon’s entire population of purple ochre sea stars. Evidence of the disease has been observed on Bandon’s beaches. Prior to this, Oregon had been the only part of the West Coast that had been largely spared this devastating disease. The ochre sea star, which is the species most heavily affected by the disease in the intertidal zone, may be headed toward localized extinction in Oregon, according to researchers at Oregon State University who have been monitoring the outbreak. As a “keystone” predator, its loss could disrupt the entire marine intertidal
■ See Disease, A7
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