http://www.oregonbeacon.com/CoquilleSentinel en-us N/A engageinlife@gmail.com Mon, 15 Mar 2010 03:20:15 EDT 20 http://www.oregonbeacon.com/CoquilleSentinel/articles/2049/1/Former-Coquille-Student-Sent-to-Prison-for-Child-Pornography/Page1.html
He was taken into custody after the hearing. Senior Assistant Attorney General Michael Slauson prosecuted the case. Hudson’s arrest followed an investigation by the Oregon Department of Justice’s Internet Crimes against Children (ICAC) unit, which investigates and prosecutes predators who use the Internet to target and sexually exploit children. The unit works with 160 district attorneys, law enforcement agencies and regional task forces that investigate online predators. ICAC is the only program in Oregon that is equipped with the necessary resources to catch sex predators throughout the state. Recent budget cuts threatened to end the program in Oregon, but Attorney General Kroger made restoring the funds a top public safety priority.

 This spring, Kroger announced that the Oregon Department of Justice had received a $665,000 federal stimulus grant to keep the program operating. Since 2005, more than 100 Internet predators who targeted Oregon children or operated in Oregon have been convicted as a result of ICAC investigations. Attorney General John Kroger leads the Oregon Department of Justice. The Department’s mission is to fight crime and fraud, protect the environment, improve child welfare, and defend the rights of all Oregonians.¤
]]> no@spam.com (Coquille Valley Sentinel Staff) http://www.oregonbeacon.com/CoquilleSentinel/articles/2049/1/Former-Coquille-Student-Sent-to-Prison-for-Child-Pornography/Page1.html http://www.oregonbeacon.com/CoquilleSentinel/articles/2007/1/Cory-Courtrights-Quest-for-Justice-Mother-Asks-Law-Enforcement-to-Turn-the-Heat-Up-on-her-Daughter-Leah-Freemans-Cold-Case/Page1.html
 After an autopsy was performed, it was determined that Freeman died from homicidal violence. Nearly a decade after her death, the murder remains unsolved, and Courtright is making a plea to local law enforcement, “I am simply asking Coos County District Attorney Paul Frasier to dedicate a cold case team to re-investigate Leah’s murder. I don’t feel like the agencies handling the case have ever been in sync and with all of the personnel changes at the Coquille Police Department. I fear that crucial details of the investigation could very well have fallen through the cracks.” Courtright says she was aware of an active investigation before her daughter’s body was found, but has heard very little about other developments in the case since that point in time.

 Legal documents that were released to the public several years ago detail the initial investigation and can be found at http://www.leahfreeman. com/documents.ht m. In June, Coos County District Attorney Paul Frasier explained to local media that while the case is considered “cold,” investigators remain active following any and all tips they receive. Courtright doesn’t feel like this is enough, “They need to do more than follow-up on tips. They need to have a dedicated team go back and look through all of the files again, re-interview everyone involved and re-examine all of the evidence.” Anyone with information regarding Leah’s murder is encouraged to contact the Coquille Police Department at (541) 396-2114, or Coos Stop Crime at (541) 267- 6666. Courtright’s family is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction. For more information please visit Justice for Leah on Facebook, http://www.facebook.com/pa ges/Jutice-for- Leah/143634984432, or at http://www.leahfreeman.co m.
]]> no@spam.com (Coquille Valley Sentinel Staff) http://www.oregonbeacon.com/CoquilleSentinel/articles/2007/1/Cory-Courtrights-Quest-for-Justice-Mother-Asks-Law-Enforcement-to-Turn-the-Heat-Up-on-her-Daughter-Leah-Freemans-Cold-Case/Page1.html http://www.oregonbeacon.com/CoquilleSentinel/articles/1903/1/Ask-the-Commissioners/Page1.html fact. The BLM is planning to clear cut the park. We thought it was a joke at first. Laverne Park is one of the most beautiful
and popular camping and day use areas in the county. It is just about the only place folks and their youngsters can get close
to old growth trees. Now, we understand that there are a few trees that need to come down due to age and deterioration.
However the majority just need to be limbed up and trimmed. Why anyone would want to destroy such a naturally beautiful
landmark is beyond our understanding. Our hearts are breaking at the mere thought of it. Please, can you stop this?
Mel & Suzie Biggs
Fairview, Coquille

Nikki Whitty
Mel and Suzie - Thank you for your question. Yesterday (10/7) Larry Robison, County Parks Director, took us on a site visit to Laverne Park. He wanted to show us the trees BLM deemed dangerous and was proposing to have removed and the ones that merely were proposed to have some limbs removed

I don't know how the rumor got started that BLM wanted to clear cut the property but that is not the case. It is such a beautiful spot that it is a shame to have to remove anything at all but there could be liability issues. For the most part Larry agreed with their assessment but there were cases where if it were left up to Park staff some might not be removed. Coos County leases most of that property from BLM the actual county owned land is very small. There may be some things happening in the near future - this is very definitely a "stay tuned" issue.

Bob Main
The BLM has identified some myrtle and fir trees are to be limbed or removed. Some of the trees are dead, dying or have split tops - all of which pose a danger to park visitors. Several of the old growth fir trees are going to be removed. There are orange tags on each of the trees identified to be either limbed or removed. In 1989, a visitor to LaVerne Park was killed when a tree limb fell on him.

]]> no@spam.com (Coquille Valley Sentinel Editor) http://www.oregonbeacon.com/CoquilleSentinel/articles/1903/1/Ask-the-Commissioners/Page1.html http://www.oregonbeacon.com/CoquilleSentinel/articles/1850/1/County-dump-truck-takes-a-tumble/Page1.html
On Monday, September 28th a Coos County dump truck tipped over and crashed when its raised box got tangled in wires outside the county shop in Coquille. Coquille police responded to the 1300 block of West Central Boulevard, where the truck had crashed and was blocking traffic. The driver, Alvin Stibitz, 65, of Myrtle Point, was headed to the Beaver Hill cutoff to help with a paving project when the accident occurred. Stibitz was treated for some scratches by medics at the crash scene, but was otherwise unharmed. A power pole was damaged during the accident, but there were no reported outages.
]]> no@spam.com (Coquille Valley Sentinel Staff) http://www.oregonbeacon.com/CoquilleSentinel/articles/1850/1/County-dump-truck-takes-a-tumble/Page1.html http://www.oregonbeacon.com/CoquilleSentinel/articles/1830/1/Ask-the-Commissioners/Page1.html
David Huang

Nikki Whitty
Thank you for a great question. The short answer is the General Fund departments got pretty lean when we were doing the 2007-08 budget and for the most part they are still lean. I thought it might help if I briefly explained the difference between General Fund departments, Non-general fund departments and what I call mandated Service Level departments. Every year during the budget process, the Commissioner liaisons are expected to work with their departments, and a review of the staffing levels is part of that work.

We knew when we were preparing our budget for 2007-08 that significant cuts were required for General Fund departments and we made them at that time. We have pretty much held those staffing levels except for adding a couple of positions to the Sheriff's office and one each for the District Attorney and Juvenile Department. Some departments are "outside the general fund" meaning they are expected to generate enough revenue to pay their expenses. The Planning Department is a prime example of one of those departments, normally staffed with seven employees, because of the poor economy they are now down to three. If we went any lower in that department it would be doubtful if we could process land use applications in the time required in Oregon statutes.

 Some departments have mandated staffing levels. For example, each year we do what is known as the CAFFA grant for the Oregon Department of Revenue. It is due by May 1st of each year. In it we have to make a commitment about the amount of staffing and general fund we will commit to the Assessment & Taxation function. The Oregon Department of Revenue has the right to say if it is sufficient. If we fall below that commitment, the Oregon Department of Revenue has a number of sanctions they could impose. For example a couple of years ago we discussed eliminating one position that was committed in the CAFFA grant. For an approximately $40,000 position, the Oregon Department of Revenue would have had the authority to keep our entire CAFFA grant which was estimated at that time to be around $500,000.

Kevin Stufflebean
Mr. Huang asked a very valid question, and one that has not been ignored at all. If people will recall, the county went through a significant reduction in workforce in 2007, where approximately a 100 positions were eliminated from the county which resulted in several lay-offs during February, March and April of 2007.

 Almost every department in Coos County took a significant reduction during that time frame. The county was looking at the Road Department as well, but the Commissioners had decided not to do any reorganizing or restructuring in the road department until a significant evaluation of the department could be done to see how the department was currently operating and to see what could be done to make it a better ran and much more efficient department. After 18 months of evaluating the department, talking to several professionals and looking at budgets and seeing that revenue was declining significantly the recommendations came to the full board. From the proposed budget for the 08/09 budget to actual revenue in 08/09, the road department took a $1.2 million reduction in revenue which was $300,000.00 more then what was anticipated in December 2008.

 The other departments in Coos County made recommendations to the board as well and some modifications were made to those recommendations. Some of the departments that took significant reductions have been the Assessor's Office, parks, animal control, Forestry, Juvenile, maintenance, District Attorney's Office, Public Health, Planning, Treasurer's office and the Criminal Division and the Jail. With the restructuring, some departments are doing well, if not better then before, and have been eager to continue to look at different alternatives to do business to provide services to the taxpayers with their money. The taxpayers of Coos County are fortunate to have a County Clerk (Teri Turi), Surveyor (Karlas Siedel), District Attorney (Paul Frazier), and Treasurer (Mary Barton) who work closely with the commissioners to provide the services you pay your taxes to be accomplished.

We continue to stay focused on services to the community. While you always have people who have a difficult time with change and the first thing they want to do when the revenues start to decline is tell the taxpayers what services they are not going to provide, we have been steadfast to ensure that we provide the mandated services you pay taxes to the county for, and I will stay committed to provide those mandated services and provide you with the best service possible within our ability.

Bob Main
I have included a spread sheet for the public's review, which should answer the question. As you may or may not know, Coos County (as well as the other 17 western Oregon counties) will run out of O & C (federal timber) dollars in 2012. I am working on a solution (no promises) to the county funding problem
]]> no@spam.com (Coquille Valley Sentinel Editor) http://www.oregonbeacon.com/CoquilleSentinel/articles/1830/1/Ask-the-Commissioners/Page1.html http://www.oregonbeacon.com/CoquilleSentinel/articles/1791/1/Ask-the-Commissioners-If/Page1.html Given the International Port of Coos Bay Commissioners are elected by the voting public, why do attorneys who represent the Jorden Cove Energy/LNG Project, also represent the International Port of Coos Bay in matters that come before the Board of Commissioners? Eldon Rollins

Nikki Whitty
The Commissioners of the Oregon International Port of Coos Bay are not elected. They used to be elected but a ballot measure before the voters of Coos County a few years ago changed that. The response from the voters was that the Commissioners of the Oregon International Port of Coos Bay should be appointed by the Governor. I think the rationale was that if the Port of Coos Bay were to be a state port like the Port of Portland perhaps we would get more attention. As for the second part of your question, I have no idea why either entity hired the attorneys they hired, I think you will need to ask them.

Bob Main
The Port of Coos Bay Port Commissioners are not elected, they are appointed by the Governor. As for why certain attorneys represent the Port, that would be a question for the Port.
]]> no@spam.com (Coquille Valley Sentinel Editor) http://www.oregonbeacon.com/CoquilleSentinel/articles/1791/1/Ask-the-Commissioners-If/Page1.html http://www.oregonbeacon.com/CoquilleSentinel/articles/1768/1/Bryant-accepts-plea-bargain/Page1.html
In a plea bargain agreement, ex-Coquille Police Officer, James Bryant, pled guilty to charges of furnishing alcohol to a minor but not guilty to the charges of attempting to contribute to the sexual delinquency of a minor in Judge Barron’s courtroom on Monday. According to Bryant's attorney, Allen Goldman, Bryant, while intoxicated, inadvertently poured whiskey into the glass of a minor during a party game of "Quarters" at a house party in Coos Bay on March 17th. He also argued that Bryant was not on the job when attending the party. Judge Barron disagreed, saying a police officer is on duty 24 hours a day.

Bryant was sentenced to 15 days in jail and ordered to pay $887.00 in fines. Bryant also agreed to having his Officer Certification revoked. He will not be able to get a job as a police officer in 48 states including Oregon. Bryant tried to get JudgeBarron to reconsider the 15 days in jail. Barron said, “No.” Bryant then asked to serve his time closer to his home in Sisters, OR. District attorney Paul Frasier, told the Sentinel he was satisfied with the outcome, stating his main goal was to get Bryant's Officer certification revoked. In a related case Bryant's wife Tammy’s charges of furnishing alcohol to a minor were dismissed.
]]> no@spam.com (Coquille Valley Sentinel Editor) http://www.oregonbeacon.com/CoquilleSentinel/articles/1768/1/Bryant-accepts-plea-bargain/Page1.html http://www.oregonbeacon.com/CoquilleSentinel/articles/1735/1/Zanni-to-run-for-County-Sheriff/Page1.html
On September 10th Craig Zanni filed with the Coos
County Board of Elections to run for the Office of Coos
County Sheriff. Craig has been a law enforcement officer
for 33 years, 30 of them with the Coos County Sheriff's
Office. In that capacity, Craig has served the citizens of
Coos County as the Chief of Detectives, head of the South
Coast Interagency Narcotics Team, with the SWAT Team,
and as a Patrol Sergeant. Craig and his wife Chris have
raised three children during their 39-year marriage, and are
very proud of their grandchildren. A military veteran, Craig
has spent his professional life in public service and would
consider it an honor to continue to serve the citizens of
Coos County as their Sheriff. Craig can be reached at 541-
824-0117, or at zanni4sheriff@live.com.
]]> no@spam.com (Coquille Valley Sentinel Editor) http://www.oregonbeacon.com/CoquilleSentinel/articles/1735/1/Zanni-to-run-for-County-Sheriff/Page1.html http://www.oregonbeacon.com/CoquilleSentinel/articles/1728/1/Celebrating-25-years-of-Beach-Cleanups-in-Oregon/Page1.html
All members of the media are invited to attend the kick-off, which will include Secretary of State Kate Brown announcing Governor Kulongoski’s proclamation and recognizing the two founders of beach cleanups in Oregon, Judie Hansen and Eleanor Dye. SOLV invites the public to commemorate the 25th anniversary by volunteering at the SOLV Great Oregon Fall Beach Cleanup from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, September 19. “Beach cleanups have become an honored tradition in Oregon,” said Jeff Farm, Ocean Shores Program Manager for OPRD.

 “Twice a year, Oregonians from every corner of state come together to ensure that every inch of the incredible Oregon Coastline is clean and pristine.” The first beach cleanup was the brainchild of Judie Hansen, who was then an employee of the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife. Working with SOLV and Eleanor Dye of the Oregon Refuse and Recycling Association, Hansen organized the first all-volunteer beach cleanup in the nation along the Oregon Coast on October 13, 1984. Two years later, OPRD partnered with SOLV to organize an additional spring beach cleanup event. In the 25 years that have followed, 189,216 dedicated SOLV volunteers have worked to remove 1227.24 tons of beach and marine debris from the Oregon coast during twice-yearly events. The SOLV Beach Cleanup has also provided a model to other states and countries around the world. Following the original cleanup effort in Oregon, coastal cleanups have spread to all U.S. states and to over 100 nations worldwide.

“Now as the grandmother of the beach cleanup, I can be proud of all my international grandchildren still out there making a difference, one piece of debris at a time,” said Hansen. In 2008, nearly 400,000 volunteers picked up 6.8 million pounds of trash from every major body of water across the globe. For 25 years, SOLV and OPRD and the Local Coast Haulers, have worked in partnership with local communities and volunteers from around the state to keep the coastline free of damaging debris. Along with the Governor’s proclamation in honor of the anniversary, Yachats Mayor Ron Brean has invited Oregon coastal communities to join in the commemoration.

Yachats is one of at least 10 coastal communities committed to passing a proclamation prior to the September cleanup. During the September 19th fall beach cleanup, SOLV and OPRD encourages all Oregonians to join in this nationally recognized event. Coordinators suggest that volunteers bring gloves, wear sturdy shoes, and be safe while removing marine debris and litter. Groups and individuals are encouraged to visit www.solv.org to pre-register online and view a map of volunteer registration locations, or volunteers can call SOLV at (503) 844 -9571 or 800-333-SOLV (7658) for more information. The 25th Anniversary SOLV Great Oregon Fall Beach Cleanup Sponsors are Fred Meyer, Portland General Electric, and Wells Fargo Bank. Major Sponsors include AAA Oregon/Idaho, Alaskan Brewing Company/Columbia Distributing, and The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde.

Zone sponsors are the Curry Coastal Pilot, Hawthorn Farm Athletic Club, and the Pelican Pub and The Inn at Cape Kiwanda. The beach cleanup is also supported by Zipcar and SOLV Members. Media sponsors are KGW NewsChannel 8 and KPOJ. Founded in 1969 by Oregon Governor Tom McCall to address litter and vandalism problems, SOLV’s mission has expanded to reach every county in the state and brings together government agencies, businesses and individuals in projects to enhance the livability of Oregon. Governor McCall also signed the 1967 Beach Bill into law, creating the Ocean Shore Recreation Area, managed by the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department for the benefit of all Oregonians.
]]> no@spam.com (Coquille Valley Sentinel Editor) http://www.oregonbeacon.com/CoquilleSentinel/articles/1728/1/Celebrating-25-years-of-Beach-Cleanups-in-Oregon/Page1.html http://www.oregonbeacon.com/CoquilleSentinel/articles/1727/1/Ask-the-Commissioners/Page1.html What do you enjoy most about your job, and what is the most positive thing you see on the horizon
for Coos County?
Thank you,
The Sentinel

Nikki Whitty
My favorite things about my job are those times we can be of help to someone. The most positive thing at least in the Coqulle Valley is we are seeing some much needed economic activity. I’m hoping its just the beginning of many good things to come.

Kevin Stufflebean
The part that I enjoy the most about being a commissioner is serving the public. It is always so easy to come to work everyday when you enjoy what you do. I have learned over the last 4 terms of being an elected official that you cannot always make everyone happy. You have the public who believes in government and processes, those that want to see changes, and those that don't want to know the facts as they will make up their own facts and will be objectors regardless of what position you take on an issue.

The vigilant objectors are my favorite, as it does not matter what information you give them they will misinterpret it. The best part about vigilant objectors is that if you agree with them, they will find something wrong with that and add that "BUT" just to have an oposite view. Those folks are some of the most intriguing and keep my clock ticking. The other component that I enjoy is working with our constituents and figuring out how to make things happen, even with all the bureaucracy that we deal with on a day-to-day basis. I believe because of the changes we have made in our county budget over the last couple of years, we will financially be more solvent than we would have been and we will continue to make it through this recession.

Bob Main
I really enjoy being one of your Coos County Commissioners. Several times per day something new presents itself, which makes the commissioner position very interesting. What is the most positive thing on the horizon? There are several things. The new dry kiln / planer mill that will add 25 new family wage jobs to the area.

 The possibility of revitalizing the railroad from Coquille to Eugene along with a cargo container facility would add many needed jobs. Coos County is in the testing stage to site a 40-50 megawatt wind farm. The site would be located northwest of Beaver Hill. If this wind farm comes to reality, it would produce much needed revenues for Coos County. There seems to be a push to utilize more of the waste wood products in our area. Biofuel discussions are happening at the federal, state and local levels.
]]> no@spam.com (Coquille Valley Sentinel Editor) http://www.oregonbeacon.com/CoquilleSentinel/articles/1727/1/Ask-the-Commissioners/Page1.html