To help get landowners excited about the Devils Lake Water Improvement District’s new Save our Shoreline campaign the district is offering to pay up to 75% of the cost for a native planting or landscaping project. DLWID created the SOS campaign to encourage homeowners to move away from traditional lawns and embrace native and natural shorelines. 

Lincoln County was awarded funding from the US Department of Energy along with five other transit agencies in the NW Oregon Region. Lincoln County hopes to use its portion of the grant money to increase transportation dates from Newport to Corvallis; from three days to seven days a week.

Local community teams working on three potential marine reserve sites for the Oregon Coast want a better idea of the biological, social and economic characteristics of their site and are asking for additional public input. The teams will be most interested in hearing how the areas are currently being used and enjoyed and what species and habitats are present at each site. To provide comment go online to www.oregonocean.info.

A suicidal Elmira-area man was rescued by Siuslaw fire and rescue personnel after Oregon State Police troopers found the man on the side of a cliff after he had jumped from an ocean overlook parking lot along Highway 101 about two miles north of Florence.  The man was transported to a Florence-area hospital for treatment of possible serious injuries and mental evaluation.

The Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission announced it has taken a major sponsorship role in SOLV’s annual fall beach clean-up along the Oregon coast. The industry-funded group joined nine other well-known sponsors contributing to this year’s expanded ‘beach and riverside’ clean-up scheduled for September 25^th.

The Red Cross closely monitors national and local blood supplies to ensure donations are keeping pace with hospital need for blood products in order to meet ongoing and emergency patient care. Right now there is a critical need for blood donors, especially Type O negative blood. For information about hosting a blood drive call 1-800-GIVE LIFE.

Impaired driving is a serious problem, one that law enforcement officers in Oregon and here in Lincoln County will continue to target through the Labor Day holiday weekend as part of a national campaign, Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest.  You can report aggressive, dangerous, and intoxicated drivers to the Oregon State Police at 1-800-24-DRUNK.

After months of discussion the Lincoln City council approved an ordinance with amendments regarding the removal of trees within the city. According to staff this is a step in the right direction to protect the trees within the city. City manager David Hawker said now staff can get started to bring back additional changes as they move forward.

Crews at the Toledo Wastewater Treatment Plant discovered a leak from one of the main intake pipes. A plan has been developed that includes drilling pipe underneath the railroad, and bypassing an already existing length of pipe. They hope to begin drilling on September 13th, and be fully operational by the end of September.

Residents living in Clatsop, Tillamook and Lincoln counties are receiving phone calls that appear to be from TLC Federal Credit Union, but actually are from Identity Thieves. Citizens are reminded that they should NEVER give out their personal banking information over the phone unless they initiate the call. Anyone who may have fallen for the scam is asked to contact their local TLC branch right away.

Newport Police Detectives Division recently completed a four-month investigation into a reported sexual assault case. Two victims reported to the Newport Police that the suspect sexually assaulted them while they were between 14 to 17 years old. The grand jury incited the suspect on 87 counts of various charges of sexual abuse.

The board of commissioners proclaimed September as Alcohol and Drug addiction wellbriety month in Lincoln County. This is also Native American Wellbriety month. This is a chance to recognize people who are in recovery from alcohol and drug use disorders and to help more people enter into a path to recovery.

The Wilder Dog Park is now open and the City of Newport will operate and maintain the dog park, located temporarily next to Oregon Coast Community College. The developer of Wilder, Landwaves fully-fenced about .7 acres for the park, adding a transitional entry and exit corral and a water spigot for thirsty pups.  

Years of hard work have paid off for tsunami response on the Oregon coast. The Uniform Tsunami Warning signal is now in place and local communities have up to five years to transition to the new standard signal.  Applying a uniform siren signal to inform the public of an approaching tsunami on the Oregon coast will reduce risk to lives.

A health advisory for contact with marine water at D River Wayside in Lincoln City has been lifted. The advisory was issued on August 24th after water samples at D-River showed higher-than-normal levels of a type of fecal bacteria, in the marine water. Subsequent testing shows the concerns about contamination have subsided and the waters no longer pose a higher-than-normal risk associated with water contact activities.

The Lincoln County school district has 29 new teachers going into the new school year. They along with staff members recently attended a four-day orientation mentor program. The concept behind the Mentor Program is that new teachers come to work with four or five years of college education that has them well prepared to do the job, however, they haven’t yet had much practical experience.

Road restrictions will be back this fall in the western part of the Tillamook State Forest to improve deer and elk survival during hunting season. Some roads will be closed to motor vehicles during general archery and rifle hunting seasons through November. The statewide general archery opener for deer and elk started on August 28th.

Governor Kulongoski has proclaimed September as National Preparedness Month.  The Oregon Emergency Management and other agencies around the state are encouraging citizens to take steps now to ensure that their family and community are prepared to care for each other during the next emergency. More information on emergency preparedness is available at www.ready.gov.

Senator Jeff Merkley praised Oregon as a pioneer in the development of wave energy and highlighted almost $2.5 million in federal funding moving through the Senate for two Oregon wave energy projects. The funding will support a project that measures wave energy along the Oregon coastline and another developing a commercial wave energy project in Reedsport.

Lincoln County public health, Lincoln Community Health Centers and the four county school based health centers are partnering to offer the Tdap, tetanus, dipheria and pertussis shots along with other important school required vaccines to all students. This is an effort to make sure that all students are immunized for the start of the school year. Call 541-265-4112 for information.