Bandon
AN EDITION OF
WESTERN WORLD Thursday, August 14, 2014
theworldlink.com/bandon ♦ $1.00
Nurse honored:
Junior golf:
Inside this edition:
Making a difference, see page A9 for the full story
Local family shines, see page A10 for the full story
Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .A2 Bandon Police Log. . . . . . . . A6 Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .A4
Arts and Entertainment . . . A5 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .A10 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . .A7-8
Rate-setting measure on Nov. ballot By Amy Moss Strong Bandon Western World
Photo by Amy Moss Strong
Native plants A new mural in Old Town encourages visitors to stop for a closer look Firday morning.
New, colorful ‘Go Native’ mural collaborative effort By Amy Moss Strong Bandon Western World
BANDON — A new mural that pops with color now adorns the back of Bandon Mercantile facing east for residents and visitors to enjoy. The mural can be seen clearly from U.S. Highway 101 just past The Station Restaurant on the north side of the highway for those traveling south. Designed and painted in seven panels by 21 Bandon High School students under the direction of local muralist Vicki Affatati and Go Native facilitator Darcy Grahek, the mural is intended to raise awareness of the high school’s new Go Native program. The mural depicts 12 plants native to the area in their blooming form and common name, including Douglas spirea, ocean spray, red elderberry, columbine, thimbleberry, wild iris, cat tail, red flowering currant, red huckleberry, tiger lily, Oregon grape and skunk cabbage. “The kids did a lot of research before they started painting,” Affatai said. Friday morning after the mural was hung. “They are large enough to you an
impression so when you visit them in nature, you’ll recognize them.” The idea was conceived last September and the panels were started in mid-February. BHS junior Felina Schmitz designed the mural and BHS senior Mara Nolan put in 210 volunteer hours. Many local businesses and individuals also helped by donating materials, money and time, Affatati said. Grants were awarded to complete the project as well (see letter from Grahek on Page A4). The mural was painted with the best paints available, then varnished to protect it from the weather. “It’s really an advertisement for the Go Native project, so people know how important native plants and biodiversity is to our environment,” said Grahek. “The amazing thing about native plants is you don’t need to water them so people can have a garden with native plants (that needs very little care).” Grahek gave an update about the Go Native program at Monday’s school board meeting and asked for the board’s permission to write an additional grant to the Coquille Tribe.
■ See Mural, A9
BANDON — Voters will be asked in the November election to give the City Council limited authority to increase utility rates up to 5 percent per year. Bandon resident Rob Taylor has already said publicly he will mount a campaign to defeat the measure. The city’s current charter prevents the council from increasing certain utility rates unless approved by the voters. Proposed by the Bandon Water Resource Committee, the measure, approved by the council at its Aug. 4 meeting, would amend the charter to authorize the council to increase water, sewer and electric utility rates up to a maximum of 5 percent per year. City Manager Matt Winkel said if approved, the measure would provide adequate funds for properly operating and maintaining the utility systems, while at
BANDON — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reopened the south staircase at Coquille Point on Friday following the advice of a structural engineering firm. The stairway was closed July 23 after an inspection revealed that the stairs had suffered further structural problems as a result of geologic shifting on the point. During the two-week closure,
Bandon resident Stephen Brown is leaving Coos County Health Department after eight years as the county's antitobacco coordinator.
Photo by Lou Sennick, Bandon Western World
■ See Ballot, A9
Healthy Alive After Five this month BANDON —Friday’s Alive After Five may prove to be one of the healthiest. This event is free and will take place every third Friday of the month from 5 to 7:30 p.m. A walk is an added feature to this year’s Alive After Five. To participate in the wine walk, participants can purchase commemorative glasses for $10 at Bandon Coffee Café when the event begins at 5 p.m. Proceeds from the event will benefit upcoming local events in
Coquille Point stairway reopened temporarily Bandon Western World
the same time limiting rate increases. In 1995, a referendum put forth by resident Francis Stadelman and a group called Citizens for Fiscal Responsibility removed rate setting authority from the council’s purview and put it into the hands of voters. The following year, the city’s property tax rate was frozen at 46 cents per $1,000 of assessed value. Since 1995, the city has asked Bandon citizens to approve 17 separate financial ballot measures and every measure has failed, according to information provided by the Water Resource Committee. The Water Resource Committee proposed the measure as a solution to pay for much-needed improvements to the city’s water system and build up reserves for future upgrades. The committee has been meeting regularly to discuss options regarding the Ferry Creek dam, of which the city has water rights, but the dam
Bandon, such as the Community Christmas Tree. This month’s Aug. 15 event adds one more feature and this one may prove beneficial to your health. The Bandon Fitness Center is setting up a table at the starting point, Bandon Coffee Café. Bandon Fitness will give away pedometers and have a walking contest. The person who gets the most steps in from 5 to 7:15 p.m., as recorded on the
■ See Healthy, A9
DeFazio visits marsh Oregon Rep. Peter DeFazio, left, talks with Roy Lowe, USFWS project manager, right, and Bill Bridgeland, USFWS biologist Tuesday afternoon at the Bandon Marsh.
the path and second set of stairs on the north end of Coquille Point at the end of Eighth Street remained open, allowing Coquille Point visitors to access the beach. A thorough inspection on July 31 by a structural engineering firm hired by the USFWS has determined that the staircase could be reopened for the remainder of the summer unless signif-
■ See Stairway, A9
Smoke-free advocate heads to Eugene By Chelsea Davis Bandon Western World
NORTH BEND — Coos County’s biggest smokefree advocate is going to continue his fight against Big Tobacco in Eugene. Thursday marked eight years since longtime Bandon resident and former naturopathic physician Stephen Brown began battling Coos County’s perceived smoking culture. He moved into a new office at Lane County Public Health on Aug. 11, working for Prevention Lane on tobacco-free efforts. Brown was Coos County’s tobacco prevention program coordinator. Over the years,
he’s succeeded in making schools, hospitals and city parks smoke-free across the county. He’s had pushback, though. Some elected officials don’t think local municipalities should be responsible for enforcing smoking bans, or they see bans as infringing on individual freedoms. “It usually comes down to the makeup of the decisionmaking body and our skill presenting them with a proposal in which they’re able to see the wisdom,” Brown said. Efforts to ban smoking on the sidewalks outside the North Bend Annex didn’t
make it through the North Bend City Council in 2010. Similar measures, like the Mingus Park smoking ban, irked many in the community, including former Councilor Jon Eck who voted against it, saying while he doesn’t smoke, “I don’t like having the government tell us what to do.” “In the last few years, I’ve been pretty discouraged by what we haven’t been able to accomplish,” Brown said. The number of Coos County high school juniors who smoke is half what it was when Brown started working here, but the adult
■ See Brown, A9