COOS COUNTY, Ore. — A death investigation is underway in Coos County. Around 10 a.m. Tuesday (April 15), the North Coos Dispatch Center received a report of a deceased male on the tidal flats in the Coos Bay approximate to Hedge Lane near Cape Arago Highway. The Coos County Sheriff’s Office responded and "found the male clearly deceased," the sheriff's office said. The man did not have any identification on his person. Fingerprints were obtained and the man was identified as 27-year-old George L. Watson IV. There were no apparent signs of foul play, authorities said. Next of kin have been notified and the cause of death remains under investigation. Sorry, you have been blocked. You are unable to access kobi5.com This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. 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If you feel this has is an error, please perform a WhoIs lookup on kobi5.com and contact the registered owner. a small corporate aircraft skidded off the runway at the Southwest Oregon Regional Airport The plane landed in the water and the five people on board were rescued Courtesy Southwest Oregon Regional Airport A small corporate plane skidded off a runway and into the water in southern Oregon Monday The aircraft left the runway in North Bend at the Southwest Oregon Regional Airport and went into Coos Bay just before 6:15 a.m The pilot and four passengers that were on the plane were rescued taken to a hospital and all were in stable condition the airport said two people had been released from the hospital another was still undergoing evaluation and the fifth person was transferred out of the area for further treatment The 2019 Honda HA-420 was removed from the water after authorization from the National Transportation Safety Board The plane was coming to Oregon from St. George, Utah, The World reported Tags: Coos Bay Stand with OPB and protect independent journalism for everyone Listen to the OPB News live stream (opens new window)Streaming Now All five people aboard the plane were rescued and treated at a local hospital (Courtesy photo from the Southwest Oregon Regional Airport) First responders and their vehicles with lights flashing converged onto the airport property at Coos Bay following reports of the small plane into to water Coos Bay World Editor Nate Schwartz contributed to this report Five people have been rescued following a small place crash into Coos Bay a small private aircraft skidded off Runway 23 at the Southwest Oregon Regional Airport All four passengers and one crew member have been rescued and transported to the hospital according to a release from the Southwest Oregon Regional Airport “The aircraft is located approximately 100 feet off the east end of the runway in the water It has been secured by emergency response teams Commercial Air Traffic on the airport’s main runway (05/23) has been shut down while the investigation is underway,” the release states First responders at the scene included include the Aircraft Rescue and Firefighter Team Bay Area Hospital in Coos Bay posted the following information on its webpage: Bay Area Hospital received notice that a small plane had overshot the runway at Southwest Oregon Regional Airport and crashed into Coos Bay All five individuals on board the plane have been recovered from the water and are receiving treatment primarily for minor injuries All five are in stable condition and being treated in our emergency department The hospital later updated the post with new details: transferred one out of the area for services not offered here Details about what caused the plane to skid off the runway into the bay were pending the outcome of the investigation The names of the individuals rescued were not immediately available We're always interested in hearing about news in our community View our Subscription offers and specials here Have the headlines delivered Monday through Friday so you don't miss out on updates there are no recent results for popular articles Your browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risks.We recommend switching to one of the following browsers: Account processing issue - the email address may already exist Invalid password or account does not exist Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account We're learning more about a plane crash Monday morning at the Southwest Oregon Regional Airport. Five people rescued from the site of the crash were all taken to a local hospital. Crews worked to remove the plane from Coos Bay after it skidded off the airport’s runway. Airport officials say they’re still looking into why it happened. "He was on the ground and skidded off the end of the runway, so I don't know if it was an equipment issue,” says Stephanie Kilmer with Southwest Oregon Regional Airport. “We know that the pilot didn't take evasive measures to avoid some critical navigational components at the end of the runway." The airport says it has been preparing for a scenario like this and that emergency services were able to handle the situation swiftly. The plane is considered a corporate jet and is meant to hold just a few passengers. Some of the passengers have already been released from the hospital. The five patients were treated for minor injuries, according to Bay Area Hospital. One patient was transferred to another hospital for services that BAH can't provide. Three others were discharged, and one is still receiving care in-house. "This is our first real big event, I would say, in the two-and-a-half years I've been here,” says BAH Chief Nursing Officer Jennifer Collins. “Probably six months ago, multi-agency did a drill of exactly this, so actually having this happen this morning, my first question was, is this for real? And our emergency manager was like, ‘No, I'm not running a drill this morning.’" The hospital says the three discharged patients will need some follow-up treatment from the crash. The Airport says it will provide further details on what led to the crash as the investigation continues. Multiple agencies respond to 868 8th Terrace in Coos Bay in search of a wanted man, Deven Dunn, 34, of Coos Bay, on Feb. 6, 2025. (Coos Bay Police Department photo) COOS BAY, Ore. — A Coos Bay man was arrested following two-vehicle pursuits and a search warrant at a Coos Bay residence. On Thursday, February 6, the Coos Bay Police Department (CBPD) responded to 868 8th Terrace in Coos Bay in search of Deven Dunn, 34, of Coos Bay. CBPD had probable cause to arrest Dunn after two vehicle pursuits on Feb. 5, and officers had used alternative investigative means to discover his location. During each pursuit, Dunn fled from officers at a high rate of speed in a vehicle that had been stolen from the Curry County area. During one pursuit, Dunn drove at a high rate of speed into a school zone during the school day, police said. In another, he drove through residential areas at a high rate of speed and ran through traffic signals. "Mr. Dunn’s reckless driving during each pursuit created an immediate risk to the public, and officers felt that the dangers of continuing each pursuit would pose more danger to the community." CBPD said. Officers had also been alerted that Dunn was in possession of a firearm and made statements that he intended to resist arrest by any means. Following the second pursuit, the stolen car was discovered crashed in North Bend, but Dunn was not located following a search of the area. CBPD officers confirmed Dunn's presence inside the residence and were granted a search warrant to enter. At approximately 3:15 p.m., CBPD officers returned to serve the search warrant, making announcements outside of the residence and deploying the Drone Team. Numerous people voluntarily left the house, and officers learned that Dunn had barricaded himself inside the basement and was armed. Due to the circumstances and safety concerns, CBPD requested the Oregon State Police (OSP) SWAT Team respond. OSP SWAT arrived several hours later to search for Dunn. During the search inside the residence, a person unrelated to the case was located and released. OSP SWAT was eventually able to safely locate Dunn inside the residence, and he was taken into custody by the CBPD on probable cause charges: two counts of elude in a vehicle, two counts of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, reckless driving, and escape in the third degree. The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office also had probable cause for Dunn’s arrests, charging him with possession of a stolen vehicle, eluding in a vehicle, theft in the first degree, attempt to commit a class C felony, and failure to perform the duties of a driver—property damage. Due to lodging limitations with the Coos County Jail, Dunn was transferred into the custody of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office to be transported and lodged at the Douglas County Jail. Additional responding agencies included Oregon State Police, North Bend Police Department, Bandon Police Department, Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, Coos Bay Fire Department, Bay Cities Ambulance, and the Drone Team. but federal funding could slowly be heading to a deep-water shipping container terminalA glimpse of the waterway just off Hwy 101 where the Port of Coos Bay plans to develop a shipping container terminal on Sept it seemed like Oregon’s south coast city of Coos Bay couldn’t catch a break — at least not economically taking hundreds if not thousands of jobs with it Fishing and tourism continue to be vital to the area’s financial health but no economic driver of the same caliber as timber has emerged projects – such as a controversial liquefied natural gas export terminal – have been proposed and then thwarted “I absolutely love this place,” Melissa Cribbins an attorney and former county commissioner born and raised in Coos Bay “I love the idea that more economic development helps the citizens here and gives us an opportunity to show the rest of the world what we know about it – which is this is an amazing place and there’s so many people that would like to be here Cribbins signed on to head a project she and others hope will bring 2,500 permanent jobs and 2,500 temporary construction jobs to the area: the Pacific Coast Intermodal Port It’s a wonky name for a $2.3 billion project that would create a massive deep-water terminal where large cargo ships drop off 20 to 40-foot-long shipping containers full of goods from across the Pacific Ocean. The only other such service in the state is more than 200 miles away in Portland And beyond the potential jobs the terminal would bring, proponents hope it can usher in a wave of investment and development to grow economic opportunities for the more than 60,000 people living in Coos County “The thing that people often miss about economic development “But what they don’t realize is there’s so much incidental business that comes from having something like this Port facility.” Cribbins said if the shipping container terminal comes to fruition it could also create close to 7,000 indirect jobs The area was a bustling timber shipping hub in the mid-1980s with hundreds of cargo ships visiting each year the Chief Operating Officer at the Port of Coos Bay there were about 350 vessel calls in Coos Bay who joined Port staff 12 years ago after two decades with the U.S that’s from the decline of the timber industry – this community suffered greatly when that happened and we’ve got to bring something here to change that and bring those jobs back into the community.” a Canadian oil and gas transport company had wanted to build an export terminal for liquefied natural gas The terminal would have been in a similar location as the proposed shipping container terminal also included building a more than 200-mile pipeline to transport gas to the terminal where it would be cooled to liquid and then loaded onto ships headed overseas But winning support, funding and permits for the Jordan Cove project was an uphill battle from the beginning. The project also faced steep opposition from potentially affected landowners and from environmental advocates, and it was eventually canceled Chief Operating Officer for the Port of Coos Bay poses on piece of Port property in Coos Bay “We were at about 90% design just before COVID when that project pulled out and went away,” Dunning said NorthPoint Development came forward with the idea of putting a container facility on the north spit.” NorthPoint Development would be responsible for running the shipping container terminal while the Port remains the land and rail owner the terminal could serve around 300 ships per year Dunning is confident the area can handle the increase in cargo ship activity because of the hundreds of ships that used to flock to the area each year for timber But cargo ships are larger than they were in the ’80s and the channel from the Pacific Ocean to Coos Bay’s terminal needs deepening – an expensive lengthy and environmentally fraught undertaking The shipping container terminal may not face the same fierce opposition as the liquefied natural gas export terminal – but there is still resistance Environmental advocates in Oregon have long opposed the act of dredging while some in the commercial or recreational fishing industry could raise concerns about the impact on the ocean ecosystem as the project moves forward A 2023 bill in the Oregon Legislature granted land-use exceptions to the Port of Coos Bay It was opposed by various conservation and environmental groups dozens of which testified against the bill saying proposed projects should go through the regular land-use permitting process State lawmakers ultimately approved the legislation creating an easier path for the Port in terms of winning state approval Dunning said they will have to work with multiple federal agencies to get the appropriate permits to ensure the project’s environmental safety And two major hurdles remain: securing the rest of the funding needed and getting the green light from all involved agencies To start the channel deepening design, engineering and permitting, Dunning said the Port has been using $60 million allocated from the state legislature nearly two decades ago for a since-canceled proposal Dunning said the work done on previous proposals helped the Port complete around 90% of the needed environmental reviews for the first leg of the terminal’s development But to continue the estimated $2.3 billion project Leaders are looking for that funding mostly in the form of federal grants – and so far it’s been a mixed bag the DOT followed up with a $29 million award for planning upgrades to the Port’s rail line the project has three components that need to go through the engineering design and permitting process: the widening of the channel in Coos Bay building the terminal and rail yard on the dock and upgrading the more than 100-mile rail corridor from Coos Bay to Eugene That planning process is nearly finished for the channel deepening “So there’s not a lot of funding needed for that,” Dunning said there’s a lot of work that’s got to be done.” Railroad tracks run alongside the waterfront in downtown Coos Bay The project at the Port is ambitious: it’s expensive involves multiple state and federal agencies The payoff could be huge – but many community members aren’t waiting for a major economic jumpstart parts of Coos Bay have been leaning into tourism fishing and the area’s culture and history when looking at ways to develop The Coquille Tribe owns and operates a number of businesses in the area. That includes the Mill Casino, where the tribe is investing in a distillery that could create 30 permanent jobs CEO of the Coquille Economic Development Corporation Simpson keeps her focus on tribal projects and said she hasn’t heard a lot of community responses to the proposed shipping container terminal But she’s following it because if the project comes to fruition it would affect Coquille businesses and tribal members “We need to be prepared for it,” Simpson said “Whether that’s going to be an influx of people that are coming in to work – and what we’re going to do with a situation that might further compromise our limited housing in the community and how that might affect our team members – or if we’re going to have additional guests and volume that we’ll be servicing and catering to Developer Greg Drobot says the limited amount of housing is a complicated barrier to growth in Coos Bay but there’s nowhere for them to live,’” Drobot who is also the founder of Bandon-based Face Rock Creamery it’s a huge headwind for future economic development Drobot spearheaded a number of development projects in the area dining and recreation area along the waterfront The next project he’s planning is a housing subdivision as a way to alleviate the housing crunch Regarding the Port’s shipping container terminal It’s still a big project that relies on funding the community has little control over he said it would “turbocharge” the work he’s doing “I’m not relying on any of that for anything that I’m working on,” Drobot said there are thousands of jobs potentially coming to the area – and good paying jobs And I think we’re starting to get the infrastructure in place to support something like that.” Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated the number of land-use exceptions granted by Oregon House Bill 3382 Tags: Coos Bay, Timber, Oregon, Funding, Economy A glimpse of the waterway just off Hwy 101 where the Port of Coos Bay plans to develop a shipping container terminal on Sept The Oregon International Port of Coos Bay is undergoing significant projects to uplift its infrastructure that would increase the capacity for imports and exports through a container terminal port called the Pacific Coast Intermodal Port (PCIP) This is one of many projects the Port of Coos Bay is undergoing a channel modification project for larger ships The flagship project lies with the port which is expected to take five years will consist of acquiring the necessary permits “The Port of Coos Bay project would drive economic opportunity for our coast “The project has broad bipartisan support and will create jobs and make it easier and greener for farmers and businesses to export their goods to the world.” the project has the potential to improve “our nation’s competitiveness” which strengthens the country’s national security “The people who lost their jobs in the timber industry were promised a just transition to new careers—but we all know that did not happen and this is an opportunity to deliver on the promises that were made to the people on the South Coast,” Hoyle said said there has been a lot of public support after engaging the local Coos Bay community addressing their concerns and driving interest “In addition to creating well-paying job opportunities for local residents it will boost property and income taxes locally,” Friesen said “This benefits local governments such as Coos County which is currently facing a $4 million deficit and will help support critical local services such as the Bay Area hospital which has faced insolvency largely because the payer mix locally is so dependent on government health insurance We need more career path private sector jobs that bring with it private health insurance.” The project itself has three components that encompass other projects like the rail line and the channel modification project the total cost is approximately $2.3 billion and could bring an estimated 6,900 jobs split between Coos PCIP announced it had secured two separate grants totaling $49 million the state provided $15 million to complete permitting on the channel and another $40 million to offset construction costs on the channel He said ODOT and the City of Reedsport secured a $3.9 million grant to “ensure traffic continues to flow through downtown Reedsport when trains are coming through.” “The Port of Coos Bay is the ideal location to construct the PCIP because not only does it have an existing rail line that connects with the Class I railway network it also has a naturally deep channel that is maintained annually by the U.S the PCIP project does not have any “hurdles.” However “We are currently working on completing our contracting phase then we will immediately go into the process of selecting contractors for design and permitting,” Friesen said we are also making sure to keep our community engaged in the status of the project and also be mindful and thoughtful about the community’s questions and concerns but also an incredibly economically significant project for the community the Port of Coos Bay plays a part in transportation and Southern Oregon’s economy The keystone operation for the port is Charleston Marina which serves a fishing fleet and other facilities like the Charleston Ice Dock The freight line was added to the Port of Coos Bay in 2009 for $16.6 million service is restored and rail shipments interchange at Eugene with the Union Pacific Railroad and other regional shortline rail operations The rail line is operating as a subsidiary of the Port of Coos Bay rail Line Inc western Douglas County and western Lane County.” Drew Winkelmaier is digital editor for The News-Review. He can be reached at dwinkelmaier@nrtoday.com Local journalism needs your support. Please become a subscriber at nrtoday.com/subscribe. Val Hoyle (D-Ore.) spoke with The News-Review on Monday following her appearance at the Roseburg Area Chamber of Commerce and ahead… Email notifications are only sent once a day Read the e-Edition here Please disable your ad blocker, whitelist our site, or purchase a subscription Would you like to receive our Daily Briefing? Signup today — A Coos Bay man was arrested for Domestic Assault and Strangulation on Sierra Road in Coos Bay on Tuesday (April 15) the Coos County Sheriff's Office reports in a media release a deputy responded to a domestic disturbance call at a residence on Sierra Road following reports of a woman being assaulted the deputy found the involved parties separated and initiated an investigation "The investigation revealed that a domestic violence incident had occurred physically assaulted the victim and restricted her breathing," CCSO stated Patterson was arrested at the scene and transported him to the Coos County Jail He was booked into the Coos County Jail on charges of Domestic Assault in the Fourth Degree A small plane overshot the runway at Southwest Oregon Regional Airport early Monday morning according to the North Bend Fire Department (NBFD) Emergency personnel were alerted at 6:12 a.m through an automated iPhone crash notification Five people were on board of the plane at the time of the crash NBFD says all on board were rescued from the water and and are currently receiving treatment for their injuries Public safety crews are actively working to contain a hazardous materials incident and secure the aircraft for removal Authorities have requested that the public avoid the area to allow emergency responders to work safely Bay Area Hospital was notified of the crash around 6:20 a.m and its incident command was activated five minutes later Two ambulances arrived with all five patients who were recovered from the water and received treatment primarily for minor injuries "All are stable at this time," the hospital stated around noon on Monday transferred another out of the area for services not offered here and are still evaluating one patient." The Oregon International Port of Coos Bay just received a large infusion of federal funds Department of Transportation has awarded $25 million in planning grants to expand the port project saying the port expansion will not only create 8,000 good paying jobs but also enhance the state’s geographical advantage with the Pacific Rim “People ask me what my strategy for economics is And then ship it all over the world because people love buying Oregon stuff.” The new funding will be used for environmental review The entire port expansion project will cost billions and take several years to complete the Port of Coos Bay will be the nation’s only fully rail-to-ship port facility on the West Coast whose 4th Congressional District includes much of the south coast said the port expansion will have numerous benefits including decreasing greenhouse emissions It’s going to be a green-energy powered port," said the Springfield Democrat "These are good middle-class jobs with benefits—and we’re bringing them to the south coast.” The $25 million investment comes from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Nationally Significant Multimodal Freight and Highways Projects (INFRA) grant program. The allocation is part of President Joe Biden’s infrastructure package. has contracted for hundreds of thousands of dollars in repair work with a man who has allegedly praised Hitler and led a chapter of White Lives Matter Now port officials are in a legal and economic quandary about how to move forward A contractor with the Port of Coos Bay is facing allegations of racism after recordings revealed him praising Hitler and using other anti-Jewish and anti-Black rhetoric. Reporters have connected the recordings from an antifascist infiltrator to Michael Whitworth Gantenbein which has received nearly $300,000 in contract work from the Port of Coos Bay over the last decade A coalition of human rights and environmental groups are calling for the port to cut ties with Gantenbein but port officials are struggling to find a path forward that doesn’t expose them to a free speech lawsuit Daniel Walters covers democracy and extremism at InvestigateWest through Report for America. He recently reported on this issue and joins us with more details Note: The following transcript was transcribed digitally and validated for accuracy readability and formatting by an OPB volunteer Dave Miller: This is Think Out Loud on OPB A contractor with the Port of Coos Bay is facing allegations of racism after recordings seem to have revealed him praising Hitler and using anti-Jewish and anti-Black rhetoric Reporters have connected recordings made by an anti-fascist infiltrator to Michael Whitworth Gantenbein which has received nearly $300,000 from the Port of Coos Bay over the last decade A coalition of human rights and environmental groups is calling for the port to cut ties with Gantenbein but port officials are struggling to find a path forward that does not expose them to a free speech lawsuit Daniel Walters covers democracy and extremism at InvestigateWest through Report for America Miller: How did you first hear about Michael Whitworth Gantenbein we were tipped off by the Western State Center a couple of months ago just that this was an issue that there had been this gentleman who was involved with this group called White Lives Matter kind of white supremacist group that he was one of the leaders of in Oregon And that he was a contractor that was getting a lot of public funds in particular because there was this possibility that he would end up taking a lot more of the port’s business because he would basically be buying this other Boatworks So there’s some real concern about that and there was a lot of community opposition there Miller: What kinds of audio or social media records did these anti-fascist infiltrators collect they ended up having all these different phone call conversations There was this private channel on Telegram that ended up recording a lot of the different correspondences there recorded it and then gave the raw documents to groups like Western State Center I could comb through these hours of recordings and see these raw conversations between these white supremacists with everything from their wife’s health issues to their love of Hitler So it’s a full gamut and really lended authenticity to the claims being made by these anonymous activists Miller: What exactly did they reveal that is most damning not only was Michael Whitworth Gantenbein a racist but he was actually recruiting other members of this white supremacist group to come and work for him in Coos Bay at his hydraulic shop and also with his vision of creating this kind of haven this compound for these white nationalist people and possibly even getting involved with politics and things like that we want to be left alone with our racist ideas we want to create more of a power center in Coos Bay as a part of this – which is particularly alarming Miller: How sure are you that the person in these recordings is Gantenbein There’s a part where he … Not only does everyone refer to him as “Whit,” he says like “I live on … " And he names the street address that he lives on in Coos Bay “There’s a crane in front of my house.” And on Google Maps listening to Michael Whitworth Gantenbein’s voicemail message It’s pretty clearly the same voice that’s a part of that I listened to … The same guy had been called by a kind of prank show comedian A prank phone call comedian had called the same guy earlier this year on his YouTube channel The voices matched and the guy also praises Hitler on the YouTube conversation You always kind of want to leave yourself a little bit of hedging But we were certain enough to name the guy like that and we’re not people who want to jump to conclusions very quickly Miller: How has Gantenbein responded to these allegations he didn’t respond to us at all when we called him he denied that he had been a part of White Lives Matter He admitted that he had met with the alleged representative of White Lives Matter via a picture that would have been leaked by these anti-fascists but claimed that he just walked away when he had heard about what the White Lives Matter activists was about [the] more conservative members of the community they might not be big fans of local media or just general like him a lot kind of ignored it and brushed off the accusations as rumors on Facebook we’ve looked through all this audio and Telegram footage Miller: Is it easier for members of the fishing community or other to dismiss these allegations because of where they originated because they came from a relatively secretive operative that’s generally one of the reasons why journalists try to get people on the record Coos Bay people were afraid of Antifa coming in and causing riots It was one of those communities where there were rumors during the George Floyd protests that Antifa was gonna travel to their community and cause problems Anti-fascists aren’t necessarily beloved in the Coos Bay area And if you were able to sit down with members of the fishing community and play them the recordings The people that have been his supporters haven’t been necessarily eager to try to do that Miller: The sense I get from your reporting and from reporting from The Oregonian is that the port officials involved here there’s no doubt in their minds that this is the man that they’ve had contracts or given $300,000 to for various work So what are port officials saying about that relationship now and that relationship going forward Walters: I would say the port officials are being cautious They don’t wanna necessarily make the accusation directly but I would say that they haven’t come up with a reason that it’s not him but I would say they’re trying to be cautious But they’re in this really difficult kind of dynamic because they’re currently contracting with the person to finish up work do you continue to give contracts to this person in the future And if this person ends up purchasing Giddings Boatworks sometime in the future – this other piece that he’s been apparently eyeing looking at purchasing at some point – does the port allow that lease to go through They have the sort of ability to deny or accept grant leases for certain properties So they’re sort of in this very difficult situation where there’s been this intense community opposition to Gantenbein threats of “we don’t wanna have money spent here in this port if this guy’s gonna be a part of it.” But simultaneously there’s this real challenge of the First Amendment which says if it turns out that a member of the port supported Kamala Harris or was a Muslim the First Amendment says that you can’t deny a person a contract just because of their speech or just because of their beliefs awful beliefs.” The First Amendment generally prevents the government effectively from acting on That’s kind of the conundrum that the port finds itself in you also learned about earlier criminal charges in Louisiana and having hundreds and hundreds of pounds of marijuana – if I read this correctly – in a car that he and his father were towing Is there still an active warrant for his arrest from Louisiana I called them up and a very nice lady on the phone explained where if he was in Louisiana and pulled over then the courts and the attorneys decide how to handle that – whether they would want to drop the case or keep it on in the neighboring state where his dad used to be a planning director it was kind of this ongoing mystery of this disappearance were writing about the disappearance of this former planning director that was his father But it turns out that they ended up showing up in Coos Bay kind of remaking their life there and becoming an important part of the port industry there where he was accused of this thing and then just sort of ducked the court systems Miller: Daniel Walters covers democracy and extremism for InvestigateWest If you’d like to comment on any of the topics in this show or suggest a topic of your own, please get in touch with us on Facebook, send an email to thinkoutloud@opb.org or you can leave a voicemail for us at 503-293-1983 The call-in phone number during the noon hour is 888-665-5865 Tags: Think Out Loud Gemma covered local news for WVPE in South Bend and helped produce a weekly news magazine at WUGA in Athens She graduated from the University of Georgia in 2020 with a degree in journalism and certificates in new media and sustainability.\n — The City of Coos Bay announced Wednesday that they will no longer provide the Community Grants program for nonprofits starting the fiscal Year 2025-2026 The announcement comes after The Trump Administration announced their freeze on federal grants and loans which was paused until Monday by US District Attorney U.S Historically the City of Coos Bay has offered grant funding to support local non-profit organizations; however due to “The abundance of external funding sources available to community organizations has led to a reassessment of the City’s direct grant offerings," according to the city “We are beginning budget planning for the next fiscal year and identified this area as a potential reduction area,” said Coos Bay City Manager Nichole Rutherford “With so many charitable organizations on the South Coast this allows Coos Bay to allocate this small amount of funding to [municipal] service delivery.” The City of Coos Bay is now encouraging non-profit organizations to explore other sources of funding through local local Coos County nonprofits like The Kids Hope Center are expressing their concerns on the matter “The funds we get from the city typically go toward our family funding which is held in April every year at John Topits Park so we will have to pull from other small funds from that,” said Director of the Kids Hope Center Julie Marshall But Marshall does not think the cut it will be a huge determent to the work that they do Marshall expressed that The Kids Hope Center is 100 percent grant funded and that any funding is helpful but she isn’t too worried because of the support the center receives with funding and donations given from the local community “We do get a lot of support from around the community For now I feel like this isn’t going to hit us too bad “I do feel that if this federal freeze goes back into effect and the federal funding is cut those local organizations and foundations who are supporting the community now They’re going to have a lot more of nonprofits or just groups in general at the door asking for funds and I think that is when it’s going to get a little bit scary for everybody across the board.” Local nonprofit Charleston Fishing Families President Melissa Clemens said that the cut is devastating saying that local connection is everything for nonprofits receiving the assistance “Anytime a funding source is going to stop grants for nonprofits it can be devastating,” Clemens said they operate completely funded on grants and donations,” Clemens says that even though there are other opportunities to receive funding “It’s going to be harder to get when you’re working with a national funding source or a larger corporation than it is with the smaller funding sources like the City of Coos Bay.” Clemens said that most nonprofits earn funds by participating in booth events and by selling things like merchandise or food “If you’re a nonprofit that doesn’t have that ability to try to go out and earn some money yourself by doing booth events or different things and to take that local funding away is pretty detrimental.” COOS BAY, Ore. — The Coos Bay Police Department recently launched a new online crime reporting tool on the CBPD website called MyPD Connect MyPDConnect will allow users to quickly and easily make an online report to the CBPD MyPD Connect guides users through the information needed to make a police report such as the location of the incident and victim information After the report has been submitted and accepted by a CBPD officer users will get an additional message with a log or case number or a reply that the officer needs additional information MyPD Connect should not be utilized to report in-progress crimes or crimes with identifiable suspects Those crimes should continue to be reported to the CBPD at 541-269-8911 EXT 1 or 9-1-1 if there is an emergency To make a report to CBPD via MyPD Connect, visit: https://coosbaypd.mypdconnect.com or text “Report” to 541-759-7802 This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page please perform a WhoIs lookup on kobi5.com and contact the registered owner Cape Arago and Shore Acres State Parks near Coos Bay are closed to vehicle traffic after a landslide undercut a portion of Cape Arago Highway just south of the Sunset Bay State Park on Friday The storm also led to flooding at Sunset Bay State Park where the campground was evacuated around 8 a.m The campground will remain closed possibly into next week The Sunset Bay day-use area remained open Friday but could close if flooding continues. For current park information, visit the Oregon State Parks website. The agency does not have an estimate on how long it will take to repair and reopen the Cape Arago Highway but said it could be closed for an extended period Park staff will assess the damage after the storm subsides this weekend The road slide is located between Sunset Bay and Shore Acres state parks Check the park webpages for any updates on closures or call the park office at 541-888-3778 — The Coos Bay North Bend Water Board is set to test the Pony Creek Dam warning system on Saturday The test is not only to check that the sirens are working but to make sure those in the breach evacuation zone know what to listen for The sirens being used for the test are at North Bend High School and the Water Board Service Center The test will consist of a three minute sequence If you hear the sirens at any time other than Saturday's test make sure to get higher ground immediately A freight rail line connecting Eugene with Coos Bay has received a $29.7 million federal grant It's meant to help upgrade the line in order to better serve the Port of Coos Bay Transporting cargo to and from the terminal is what this is all about and that’s what we’re focused on with the Coos Bay Rail Line," said Oregon U.S "And it’s going to be greater capacity for exporters.” Friday's grant for the rail line was announced in a press release from Wyden "Today’s award makes long overdue investments in the Coos Bay Rail Line and will improve sections of the line that have fallen into disrepair,” Hoyle said in the press release “Upgrades and repairs to rail line will help to move products across Oregon and the country faster." — Those behind the Port of Coos Bay project say they are confident in the Trump administration's support despite plans to freeze all federal funding The administration was prevented from carrying through with its plans Tuesday by US District Judge Loren L with the freeze temporality halted until Monday The port has two federal grants in the works a $25 million Infrastructure for Rebuilding America grant (IFRA) and the a $29.7 million Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements grant according to Pacific Coast Intermodal Port Project executive director Melissa Cribbins If the administration is allowed to freeze all federal funding on Monday Cribbins said the port would have to investigate alternative ways to move forward with the project as those funds are critical for the design and permitting of the port’s terminal and the railroad improvements there were the state officials that weighed in on our behalf as well as so many local governmental entities and businesses that went out of their way to talk about what this would mean for the community," Cribbins said "It would be a big disappointment all around.” Cribbins remains positive about the project's future “[It] will be supported by the new administration because it does achieve critical American priorities," she said "But you always want to make sure you have everything lined up and it goes as swimmingly as possible.” federal agencies will have to submit detailed information to the US Office of Management and Budget about programs and activities that could be affected by the pause as well as provide an analysis of whether these programs align with the administration’s policies — A robbery suspect wanted by Eugene authorities was arrested in Coos Bay Eugene PD responded to a robbery at Richard's Deli An unknown man had robbed the deli of cash at gunpoint and left EPD Property Crimes Unit detectives developed a suspect in the case A detective wrote and applied for a search warrant from a judge The Coos Bay Police Department and surrounding agencies on the Oregon coast assisted EPD with the case A vehicle associated with Outland was located in Coos Bay Coos County Metro SWAT attempted to stop the vehicle Outland was subsequently stopped and arrested The Metro SWAT team responded to the residence and secured the scene and EPD detectives followed up on the search warrant Numerous items of evidence from the robbery were recovered during the search Outland was lodged for Robbery in the First Degree executives at Bay Area Hospital in Coos Bay are courting a private equity-owned health company to “assume operations” of the facility nonprofit hospital — the largest on Oregon’s coast — said this week it has signed a non-binding letter of intent to negotiate a deal with Quorum Health which owns McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center in Springfield said the Coos Bay facility “is working toward an agreement where Quorum would enter into a lease transaction and assume operations of the hospital.” Hospital officials declined to say more about the financial terms of the deal saying the arrangement has yet to be finalized Winker said Bay Area Hospital would keep its name She said Quorum has so far agreed to maintain essential services for at least 10 years and keep employees in good standing with their existing pay Quorum would also ensure local representation on the hospital’s governing board and uphold existing charity care policies “Quorum has also agreed to capital commitments and is expected to contribute sales and property taxes which stand to benefit the community,” Winker said “They are experienced in supporting rural health care … and can provide support in a timeline consistent with our financial needs.” The two parties hope to complete the deal by the middle of 2025 pending further negotiations and approval from the state’s regulatory body that reviews business deals in health care The talks come as local hospitals across the country are struggling with rising costs staff shortages and lower payments from insurance companies The combination has made it harder for hospitals to stay financially viable on their own and helped drive a new wave of health care industry consolidation Bay Area Hospital is an independent hospital district that is officially a local government entity. While it can levy property taxes with voters’ approval, the hospital hasn’t done so since 1989. According to its website “Bay Area Hospital District is the only health district in Oregon that currently does not receive any county property tax funds.” Bay Area Hospital is also the largest employer in Oregon’s south coast with most of its employees represented by unions Bay Area Hospital leaders said the deal is aimed to stabilize the hospital’s finance and maintain health services in Coos Bay. The coastal hospital has been cash-strapped for years and was in such bad financial shape last year that independent auditors raised “substantial doubt about the Hospital’s ability to continue as a going concern for a reasonable period of time.” The hospital’s chief financial officer told The Lund Report last year that the hospital technically defaulted on a $47 million bank loan and would have to close down if the bank called in the loan because it didn’t have the cash to pay off the debt While Bay Area Hospital has made some strides in improving its financial situation over the last two years — reducing losses by $54 million during the period and increasing revenues by more than 27.6% to break even following COVID-19 setbacks — industry challenges remain too large for local efforts alone The hospital said it used to have a “healthy commercial insurance payer mix” but now nearly 87% of its patients are on Medicaid or Medicare Hospital leaders said that while costs to provide care and pay employees’ wages have climbed over the last 15 years “We’ve worked hard to turn things around and position Bay Area Hospital for a strong future and we believe partnering with Quorum Health is the right next step,” Brian Moore Bay Area Hospital leaders said its arrangement with Quorum Health could provide resources that the hospital can’t access on its own They said the partnership would help the hospital grow its services keep doctors and nurses on staff and invest in updated technology and facilities Quorum Health Corporation, a hospital system owned by private equity firms, has 12 hospitals across nine states. It started as a publicly traded company overseeing 38 hospitals in 2016. By 2020, after closing three and selling 11 of them, it had slimmed down to 22 hospitals across 13 states before entering Chapter 11 bankruptcy the private equity firm KKR was the largest holder of the company’s debt and owned approximately 9% of its public shares private equity firms Davidson Kempner Capital Management and Goldentree Asset Management gained control of the company Goldentree now owns the majority stake in Quorum Health Since emerging from bankruptcy, Quorum Health has continued to face financial challenges and has closed or sold off hospitals in recent years. Last year, it closed a rural hospital in eastern North Carolina that left a county with a population of 22,000 without a hospital Patients have to drive more than 20 miles to reach the nearest hospital As of August 2024, Quorum Health operated only 10 hospitals — down from 22 at the time of its 2020 bankruptcy filing. But the health system recently acquired two Steward Health Care hospitals in Texas through a bankruptcy court-approved sale Filed Under: Oregon News December 15, 2024 at 4:59 pm Sounds like Quorum isn’t doing all that well either I imagine there’s a ton of people in the Coastal area that are exceptionally nervous right now I’ve had a look at the one they run in Springfield and was not impressed I pray that the right solution happens for our community GARAGE SALE: Tell folks about your upcoming garage sale here LANDSCAPING SERVICES:  It’s that time of year Let everyone know what services you have to offer JOB OPENINGS: Need to let the community know that you need help Lincoln County Library District NOTICE OF PUBLIC COMMITTEE MEETING Central Oregon Coast Fire & Rescue District SECOND NOTICE OF BUDGET COMMITTEE MEETING Port of Alsea NOTICE OF BUDGET HEARING Yachats Rural Fire Protection District NOTICE OF BUDGET COMMITTEE MEETING Central Lincoln People’s Utility District LEGAL NOTICE OF BOARD VACANCY The cream certainly rose to the top at the OSAA 3A basketball tournaments in Coos Bay this week 1 seed Westside Christian mounted a huge second-half comeback to knock off Lewis & Clark League foe Oregon Episcopal 59-54 in Friday’s first semifinal game jumping to a 22-11 lead when Joe Schwalbach ripped the net with half-court heave at the first-quarter horn The Aardvarks expanded the gap to as many as 18 points in the second quarter but Westside Christian dominated action coming out of the halftime locker room The Eagles scored on their first seven possessions of the half Teammate Cole Chiong hit a pair of free throws that sent Westside into the fourth quarter with a two-point lead The teams traded the lead four times in the fourth quarter before Reid pulled down a defensive rebound and was fouled He made the long walk to the opposite hoop and sank both free throws to put Westside up 55-54 with 1:23 to play That would prove to hold up for the winning points The Eagles would take another step toward victory when Reid scooped up a loose ball along the baseline and whipped a quick pass across the lane where Jack Leland finished an easy layup OES attempted a tying 3-pointer in the final seconds while Chiong added 14 points and 10 rebounds Schwalbach led the Aardvarks with 22 points 2 Pleasant Hill rallied late to knock off Valley Catholic 46-42 The Valiants got off to a 15-10 first-quarter lead after Luke Jarussi converted back-to-back buckets in the paint Valley Catholic stayed a step ahead most of the way before Gavin Inglish hit a 3-pointer to put Pleasant Hill up a point early in the fourth quarter The teams traded the lead three times down the stretch before Inglish finished off a fastbreak to put the Billies ahead to stay with three minutes to play Jacob Neely would hit a free throw with 1:31 left for what proved to be the winning point Pleasant Hill surrendered only one bucket over the game’s final four minutes Inglish finished with a game-high 23 points while Jackson Farris led the Valiants with 12 Westside Christian takes on Pleasant Hill for the 3A title at 8:45 p.m undefeated Amity kept rolling with a 52-43 win over Jefferson with Haley Miersma coming off the bench to score 10 points on 5 of 7 (71.4%) shooting Teammates Alyssa McMullen and Saralynn Grove also scored 10 apiece Nylah Vanthom went 4-for-4 from the free-throw line in the final minute to supply the Braves with the winning points 1 Amity takes on Banks for the 3A girls crown at 6:30 p.m