Late morning August 3rd a neighbor reported seeing smoke coming from the back of the house at 1442 FircrestCourt in Waldport. Upon arrival Central Oregon Coast Fire and Seal Rock Fire’s engine crews observed active flames from the roof. Crews immediately entered the fire area to track down the source area of the flames. Yachats Firefighters arrived on scene within minutes to help battle the blaze. The fire had made its way through the entirety of the attic. By then Newport Fire arrived on scene to also assist.
Interior and exterior crew rotations over the next 4 hours got the fire under control and snuffed it out. The scene was turned over to the Oregon State Fire Marshal’s Office and the fire investigation team by mid-afternoon. No cause yet determined. No one was home at the time of the fire.
Pacific West Ambulance and the Lincoln County Sheriff’s office also assisted on scene. There were no injuries reported of civilians or emergency personnel and no other surrounding structures or vegetation were adversely affected.
Erich Knudson Public Information Officer P.O. Box 505 145 E. Alsea Hwy Waldport, Oregon 97394 (541) 563-3121 Office e.knudson@centralcoastfire.net
Coast Guard North Bend reports that a young man who was invited to go deep sea fishing today off Newport suddenly changed his mind and jumped overboard.
Reports says that the young fella was invited to go on a three day fishing excursion to take his mind off some things. But when the fishing boat started heading out toward the end of the Newport jetties he changed his mind. He grabbed a life jacket and jumped over the side and started swimming toward the south jetty.
Witnesses say the young man climbed up onto the jetty rocks and called a friend for a ride. Witnesses say he did not appear to be injured during his short swim and rock climb. He was last seen being driven back toward Newport.
Volunteers are missed at Samaritan Pacific Communities Hospital
Samaritan Pacific Communities Hospital is entering its fifth month of adhering to strict coronavirus safety precautions. This includes prohibiting hospital volunteers from serving in order to protect them and to limit the number of people entering the hospital.
Their smiling faces and helping hands have been sorely missed at the hospital, said Melissa Maxon, Volunteer Services coordinator for both the hospital and Samaritan Evergreen Hospice. “We have an amazing crew of men and women who serve in so many different capacities,” Maxon said. “Since mid-March, they have been missing from our halls but not far from our hearts.”
The most recent Volunteer Services Annual Report illustrates the value of volunteers to hospital staff and patients. Last year, 86 volunteers performed 13,631 hours of service in the hospital. This is the equivalent of 6.5 full-time paid staff with a value of $346,636. Seventeen specially trained volunteers served Evergreen Hospice on the coast, giving 530 hours last year.
The volunteers provide support to more than a dozen hospital departments. They hold fundraisers and manage the hospital gift shop – activities that have also been halted during the pandemic. They make sure patients find their way to appointments and are comforted by bedside visits and holiday trinkets added to their food trays. “Hug me” pillows, lovingly sewn and stuffed by volunteers, bring comfort to adults, and donated stuffed animals sooth pediatric patients.
“No wonder we are missing our volunteer friends so much,” Maxon said. “We think of them every single day and hope they are well during these strange times. Once it is safe, we look forward to their return.” For a copy of the annual report or information about volunteering, contact Maxon at maxonm@samhealth.org.
Newport City Councilors had a meeting agenda as long as a Chinese Dragon Monday….but they managed to survive it and got home before 10pm. But just barely.
It appears that the long back-and-forth between the city and Rogue Brewery is about to be settled not only appropriately but finally. Rogue some time back was called on the carpet for sending less than adequately treated brewing waste liquids into the city’s sewer treatment plant which pushed the plant’s capacity, on occasion, to its upper limits. After long months of deep discussions Rogue is in the final stages of upgrading their filtration facilities there at South Beach. You could almost see the City Council’s collective exhale as they realized that this multi-year saga is coming to an end in a couple of months as Rogue installs more effective filtration equipment. Still great beer but now higher quality wastewater being processed – less abrasive on the environment…starting October 1st according to Rogue Brewery.
City Councilors also went back up memory lane remembering all the dreaming out loud when years ago the Big Creek Dam was built – which today is a sitting duck for a major earthquake – which will fail and send thundering water down stream into the ocean. Lots of houses in its path. There has been a lot talk for years about strengthening Big Creek Dam by building a new dam-face just downstream. It’s caused the city council and the Lincoln County Commission to scramble for money that so far has been hard to raise. It’s prompted the council to begin coveting a new larger dam on Rocky Creek just up the coast that could be situated in a more rugged mountain cradle capable of withstanding a strong earthquake. City Councilors seemed interested in exploring the idea of building a big reservoir tucked in the coastal mountains near Depoe Bay. It could provide a lot of water for a growing Central Coast. City Councilors winced at the thought of how much a new big dam would cost – some councilors hoping that big bucks from Uncle Sam may some day make it real. The coast IS growing.
The City Council also spent some time talking about the big earthquake that hits the Oregon Coast just like clockwork. The last quake was a brutal monster as the Native North Americans rode out a 9+ Richter shaker on January 26, 1700. The Native Americans wrote down the date – in their terms. Modern geologists predict another Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake will strike soon because the offshore zone slips every 250 to 350 years. If you do the calendar math we’re due anytime. Therefore local land use planners are hoping to get the neighborhoods eventually moved up the hillsides and the commercial businesses just underneath them – still out of reach of the merciless surge of 50 to 100 foot waves. But that’s Mother Nature for ya.
