Beverly Beach State Park, seven miles north of Newport, will extend its closure through July 31, 2024 due to delays in construction.
The popular campground and day-use area closed last September for construction. Work included moving power lines underground and replacing aging water lines to help better serve visitors in the future.
Some of the infrastructure at Beverly Beach is more than 80 years old and presented unexpected challenges and delays. The park is now slated to open Aug. 1, 2024.
“We appreciate everyone’s patience as we finish park improvements that will enhance the park for future visitors. Welcoming campers is one of our favorite parts of the job so we’re eager to open the gate in August,” said Park Manager Burke Martin.
The park improvements were made possible with GO Bond funds, a $50 million investment from the Oregon State Legislature for projects at several Oregon State Parks. Learn more about GO Bonds at bit.ly/gobonds
Sometimes, almost like a time machine, the simplest thing like a song, a smell, or a picture can transport us to a locked away memory.
For me, that simple thing was a text from a childhood friend.
The words “Jerry West passed away” immediately sent my mind back to my childhood. I knew that West was 86 years old and had been ill for some time, but I was still unprepared for that news.
West, affectionately named “Zeke from Cabin Creek” came from humble, yet difficult, beginnings near Cabin Creek in rural West Virginia. He never liked the moniker because it implied he was a hillbilly.
According to West, his father was abusive and many nights he went to bed with a shotgun under his pillow for self-defense.
And, despite knowing he would get a whipping from his mother for being late getting home, he would spend many long evenings shooting baskets in a neighbor’s yard to avoid going home.
While West was a basketball legend, I was a young basketball nerd and knew facts about players like West and other basketball players before I even knew what a jump shot was.
I appreciated West for his dedication to his craft. Many nights of my youth would find me shooting hoops in my driveway by the glow of the porch light pretending I was West taking the final shot to win the game.
West’s dedication to the game of basketball earned him a full ride scholarship to West Virginia University. At the 1960 Olympics, West was part of the iconic USA basketball team that won the gold medal. He was drafted in the 1960 National Basketball Association (NBA) draft by the Los Angeles Lakers. West played his entire stellar professional career from 1960 to 1974 with the Lakers. His dedication to the game earned him another, more positive nickname, “Mr. Clutch,” because he remained calm when a game was on the line and would often hit the winning shot.
A couple of years after his retirement as a player West became the head coach of his Lakers in 1976-77. This was when I first learned of him.
As an eight year old I began following the “local” NBA team – the Portland Trail Blazers. The 1977 season was when the Blazers, and my favorite player, the late Bill Walton, won their first and only NBA title. I was caught up in Blazermania. On their way to the Finals against the Philadelphia 76ers, the Blazers defeated the Lakers led by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and coached by West.
It is not lost on me that Walton and West, two idols from my youth, both passed away within weeks of each other. I will share my thoughts on Walton in a future article.
(Basketball nerd alert). When I was in grade school I combined my love of the Blazers with my fascination with numbers. For years after the Blazers championship, I kept a journal of game statistics for each player on the Blazers team. The morning after each game I would grab a bowl of cereal and The Oregonian sports section. I’m not sure which I devoured faster: the corn flakes or the game’s box score. I copied each players stats into my journal. (My mother kept everything from my youth. I’m going to have to look for those journals). What a joyous time for me.
I don’t apologize for my passion for hoops history. It brings up lots of memories, including Jerry West. Recently voted as the fourteenth greatest player in NBA history, West was a basketball legend.
Having Come from such humble beginnings, he worked tirelessly to become the best player he could be.
West will be forever recognized for his significant contribution to the NBA. (West’s most notable accomplishments can be found here) He earned his most iconic nickname: ‘The Logo’ because his silhouette is widely believed to be the basis for the NBA logo, which is a symbol of the league and its rich history.
West was a basketball genius. For almost four decades after his playing and coaching career ended, he made significant contributions to four NBA teams as an executive and consultant. He was successful in all of these endeavors because he learned to be present in whatever he was doing. He would never say things like, “Back in my day…” He understood the importance of adapting as things change.
Already in the Hall of Fame as a player and member of the 1960 U.S. Olympic Team, he will be enshrined for a third time later this year as a contributor.
While I can no longer emulate West’s smooth jump shot, I can learn from how West lived his life and impacted the lives of so many people. Adam Silver, current commissioner of the NBA summed up many peoples’ reaction to West’s passing: “Jerry West was a basketball genius and a defining figure in our league for more than 60 years. He distinguished himself not only as an NBA champion and an All-Star in all 14 of his playing seasons, but also as a consummate competitor who embraced the biggest moments.”
West was well-liked by so many people and had a positive impact on individuals, including me, for the better part of six decades. The way he lived his life taught me the value of hard work, respecting others, and living in the moment. Jerry West reflected these values for his entire life. He got the most out of himself and others.
No matter what our station in life, we should all strive to make such a positive impact on the world around us. Jerry West was not the tallest, the fastest, or the flashiest but to me he was simply the best.
This Saturday, June 15th at 12:00p,. The Oregon Disaster Airlift Response Team, (ODART) will be doing an emergency exercise at Devils Lake in Lincoln City. ODART will be landing two seaplanes and unloading supplies on the dock at Regatta Park in Lincoln City.
This exercise will be to train ODART volunteers to deliver supplies from inland airports to coastal communities in the event of a major disaster.
The entire exercise involves several coastal communities with this being for the North Lincoln County area.
The ODART team will be working in conjunction with Lincoln City Emergency Management, Lincoln City Parks & Recreation, and the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office–Marine Division.
For this exercise, the supplies being delivered from the planes will be donated to our local food banks.
All are invited to observe the event and share with the community.
According to Lincoln City Emergency Preparedness Coordinator Cassidy Boyle, “This exercise isn’t expected to last long, everything should be completed within the hour. Unfortunately, I will be out of town during the exercise.”
When asked if there was any plans or concerns about people fishing off the dock or boaters being on the water in the nearby area she said, “I don’t think they are expecting any problems with that.”
According to a spokesperson from the Siletz Bay Music Festival “We will be expanding on its tradition of bringing world-class orchestral, jazz and chamber music to the Oregon Coast. This year’s Siletz Bay Music Festival will add new twists and new faces to its virtuoso-packed program with 11 concerts scheduled over 10-days, August 16-25, providing music enthusiasts with an unforgettable experience. Tickets are now on sale at the festival’s website (www.SiletzBayMusic.org).
Concerts will be staged at four venues in Lincoln City and one in Newport and, in line with the festival’s commitment to community service and involvement, two concerts will be offered free of charge.
Mei-Ting Sun
New artistic director Mei-Ting Sun, who has participated as the festival’s star pianist since its inception in 2012, has embraced the vision of the festival’s late founder, Yaakov “Yaki” Bergman, in crafting a program that will feature new music from contemporary composers, beloved works with a fresh perspective and deep dives into diverse musical traditions.
Paquito D’Rivera
Asi Matathias
Highlights in this year’s program will include the Oregon Coast debut of multiple Grammy-winning Latin jazz superstar Paquito D’Rivera and the much-anticipated performance of Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto by renowned violinist Asi Matathias.
Deanna Tham
Making her debut this year, Deanna Tham, associate conductor of the Oregon Symphony, will be leading the Siletz Bay Music Festival Orchestra. The popular Musical Tapas program will again be offered, featuring delectable treats for the ear and palate.
Yaki Bergman
Yaki Bergman will be memorialized at two of this year’s festival events: the opening night program featuring a North American premiere of Mei-Ting Sun’s transcription of Sibelius’ Symphony No. 5 to be performed with fellow pianist Michelle Chow, as well as two Beethoven piano sonatas. Also dedicated to Bergman will be the free concert on August 20 featuring Olivier Messiaen’s “Quartet for the End of Time,” which was written and first performed at a World War II prison camp in Germany, where the composer had been confined. The other free concert, the August 24familyand children’s concert at Regatta Park, will feature the composition “Spirit Chief Names the Animal People,” by Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate (Chickasaw), a performance that honors Bergman’s interest and respect for native American history and culture.
Mei Ting Sun, who had a close relationship with the late Yaki Bergman, was a natural choice to succeed him in leading the festival. “Yaki Bergman was the glue holding the festival together,” said Sun. “It’s important to me to preserve Yaki’s vision, and to expand upon it with adventurous musical choices. Under his direction, the festival was a beacon for artists and music-lovers, drawing audiences to the beautiful Oregon Coast to hear great music in intimate settings. We plan to continue that tradition and broaden the audience’s musical horizons.”
Siletz Bay Music Festival is happy to offer incentives to encourage people to buy tickets early and often. Discount packages for multiple events are available as well as student ticket pricing for all concerts except Musical Tapas and the Benefit. To view the schedule and to purchase tickets, go to www.siletzbaymusic.org.
The Siletz Bay Music Festival was founded to bring multi-genre world-class music performed by outstanding musicians to the area, reaching across race, culture, age, social and economic barriers and providing extraordinary music and educational experiences.
The festival is made possible in part by grants from the Roundhouse Foundation, Pacific Power Foundation, the Marie Lamfrom Foundation, the James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation, the Lincoln County Cultural Commission – Sponenberg Memorial Trust, the Oregon Arts Commission and Ronni Lacroute through the Oregon Community Foundation. Sponsors include Lincoln City Gifts, Beachcrest Brewing Company, the Rosanne B. and W. Gregory Berton Fund, Edward Jones – Wendy C. Wilson, Financial Advisor, Classic Pianos – Portland, and Lincoln City Cultural Center. Community partners include Explore Lincoln City, Lincoln City Parks & Recreation, and Driftwood Public Library. Media sponsor is Oregon Coast Today.
Siletz Bay Music Festival is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation. All donations are tax deductible as allowed by law.
Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) staff will be at these upcoming farmers’ markets to hand out Farm Direct Nutrition Program (FDNP) vouchers to WIC participants.
• Newport Farmers Market at the corner of Highway 101 and Angle St., Saturday June 29, 9am – 1pm • Lincoln City Cultural Center at 540 NE Hwy 101(inside the building), Sunday June 30, 9am – 1pm
The FDNP provides fresh, unprepared, locally grown fruits and vegetables to WIC participants to expand the awareness, use of, and sales at farmers’ markets.
A variety of fresh, nutritious, unprepared, locally grown fruits, vegetables and herbs may be purchased with FDNP coupons.
WIC Farm Direct fruit & veggie vouchers come in a booklet to qualified participants.
From June through November 30, WIC recipients may spend their vouchers on fresh fruits and vegetables with authorized farmers at farm stands and farmers’ markets.
WIC receives enough funding to offer Farm Direct vouchers to approximately 25% of enrolled WIC participants each year.
WIC is a USDA public health program for families. The WIC Program provides supplemental foods, health care referrals and nutrition education at no cost to low income pregnant and/or post-partum women, and to infants and children up to 5 years of age, who are found to be at nutritional risk.
“It is said that as many days as there are in the whole journey, so many are the men and horses that stand along the road, each horse and man at the interval of a day’s journey; and these are stayed neither by snow nor rain nor heat nor darkness from accomplishing their appointed course with all speed.[5]”
Though this quote is often associated with the United States Postal Service (USPS) it could equally apply to the women and men that drive the vehicles that deliver our community’s children to school, school activities and home again.
Day in and day out the heroes of the local bus routes make their appointed rounds, greeting child after child.
As little (and some not so little) feet scamper past the folding door, up the rubber coated steps and find their way to the smooth vinyl seats it’s the bus driver that bears the heavy responsibility of delivering our kids to their destinations.
I have never met anyone that has not ridden on a school bus at one time or another in their lives. It’s a common rite of passage we share. Everyone has a school bus story.
And for every school bus story to exist, somehow, there had to be a driver attached.
As a youngster I lived just 5 houses away from my elementary school and didn’t need a bus. But every summer I and a dozen neighbors clambered aboard bus number 17 to catch a ride to the Parkrose High School swimming pool. Mrs. Gardner was our regular driver and she always had a pleasant hello for us. To this day I can see her eyes reflected in her mirror as she continually scanned her little band of outlaws that were determined to find as much mischief as we could on her bus. If caught violating a rule, she would simply call out our name(s), ask us to stop doing whatever it was we were doing and give us a “mom stare” via that mirror that would coax us immediately back into compliance.
She would drop us at the pool, park her bus and wait for us to finish. When done, we would climb aboard with eyes burning red from the chlorine in the water and we all were just a little quieter on the ride home, having exhausted most of our energy in the water. She made sure we got to our destination safely and that we would “go straight home.”
Thinking back, I don’t know if I fully appreciated the adults in my early life that took an interest in my well being. Mrs. Gardner and the thousands more bus drivers like her-along with our teachers, police, fire fighters, mail carriers, etc.. in my neighborhood all seemed to understand that kids need someone to look out for them; to get them where they belong.
I had the chance to speak with representatives of First Student (the student transportation provider company that serves our local school district) and a couple of Lincoln City school bus drivers about what it’s like to chauffeur a gaggle of youngsters around our town (and sometimes much further). What I expected were horror stories about awful kids and ungrateful parents. Instead what I heard was how much these drivers enjoyed their jobs and how fulfilling it was to them to help families get their kids to school and after-school activities.
Staci, for example, is a Lincoln City resident who has driven a bus for First Student for nine years. She said, “I see a lot of the community. I make a lot of friends and I got to watch my kids grow up as they rode along with me on my route.”
First Student is currently recruiting for new drivers in the area and shared one of the benefits of working for First Student is a driver (if room permits) may bring their child(ren) aboard the bus during their route.
Corrine of First Student adds, “This is a really good job for mom’s and stay-at-home moms that might want to pick up a few hours of work in between their kid’s school hours. It offers someone like Staci to ‘stay in the mix;’ before school, after school-it gives her a chance to have her own time in between.”
Craig, also of First Student interjected, “I think our stories are our biggest assets. I was talking to a driver-a military veteran named Wayne-he still tells me, ‘This is the best job I’ve ever had.”
Craig continued, “Wayne had a student rider who was in middle school-who was struggling through his school year. One day Wayne dropped the student off and the student said to him, ‘Bus driver Wayne, thank you for being here all year. My home life hasn’t been real good but you’re someone I can always count on.’
Wayne said to me, ‘I’m 75 years old and nobody has ever said anything like that to me before. It’s things like that that keep me coming back.'”
Kim, a 26 year bus driving veteran in Lincoln City says, “I’ve driven my kids and my grandkids to school. I just continue to love the job. All but one driver (who’s moving away) are returning to their routes. It’s a pretty happy place to be.”
Corrine adds, “We’re willing to work with people if they only have a couple of days per week availability. They can drive early mornings or afternoons. We’ve got drivers that only drive home-to-school routes. We have big bus driver, little bus driver, van driver and monitor positions available. We also have drivers that just do sports trips, field trips or private chartered events.
We work with people to give them what they need. We’d love to have their help and we are willing to be flexible to get it.”
There are licensing and training requirements to become a certified school bus driver and First Student will help applicants get through the process and provide paid training.
“We have driver trainers that will help applicants study for their commercial drivers license as well as third party testers with the Department of Motor Vehicles at our Toledo yards. the process, on average, takes about 40 days from beginning to end with approximately 60-75 hours of paid training.”
Considering becoming a bus driver? Now is a great time to make the plunge as First Student is offering a $5,000 sign on bonus! Currently, the entry level wage is $20.50 per hour through June 30, 2024, and moves to $22.45 per hour on July 1, 2024.
The students of this area depend on us all to get them to their schools. You could be that hero.
At the upcoming June tenth 2024 city council meeting, Explore Lincoln City (formerly the Visitors and Convention Bureau) will be asking council to approve hiring an outside advertising agency-DVA Advertising and Public Relations.
Each year, their contract would account for $950,000 in paid media, an annual retainer fee of $191,500 and an events promotions budget of up to $135,000.
The annual retainer would be applied against Explore Lincoln City’s Miscellaneous Contracted Services.
Paid media and the events promotions would be applied against Explore Lincoln City’s Advertising and Promotions line item in their budget.
Total cost will be $1,276,500.00 per year.
Lincoln City staff are recommending that the council vote “Yes.”
Newly hired Lincoln City City Attorney David James Robinson
On May 13, 2024, the City Council of Lincoln City voted unanimously to hire David James Robinson as its city attorney. He has been serving as Lincoln City’s pro tem (temporary) attorney under contract since September 2023.
Mr. Robinson was elected to the Oregon State Bar House of Delegates and the Solo and Small Firm executive committee. He is the treasurer for the Lincoln County Bar Association and current president of the Oregon Coast Community College Foundation. He is active in several business chambers and nonprofits.
He replaces Richard Appicello who was dismissed from his position by the city council.
According to Robinson’s business website he worked in the Portland area on a diverse list of legal subjects including estate planning, family law and municipal and election law.
As the Cascade Head Scenic Research Area (CHSRA) approaches its 50th anniversary, surrounding coastal community prepare to celebrate the occasion.
Established on December 22, 1974, by President Gerald Ford, CHSRA works for environmental protection and scientific exploration on Oregon’s North Central Coast.
Spanning 9,670 acres, CHSRA was the first non-wilderness land in the United States designated by Congress for its scenic, ecological, and scientific values. Over the years, it has served as a model for similar protected areas across the nation, including the Mono Basin and the Columbia River Gorge.
Housing diverse ecosystems including meadows, estuaries, and forests, CHSRA provides habitat for native flora and fauna, including the Oregon Silverspot butterfly. Its significance as a research site for Sitka spruce and Western hemlock forests is internationally recognized.
To commemorate this milestone, all are invited invites to join in a celebration at the Cascade Head Experimental Forest Headquarters on June 29th, 2024 from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM.
The event will feature speakers, a short film, music, and food, with many opportunities to learn more about CHSRA’s legacy of balancing cultural, environmental, scientific, and recreational activities.
According to a press release from the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT), Construction crews are hard at work on the east side of McKenzie Pass and plan to have the highway above the gate paved and open by the morning of July 4.
Earlier this week, crews began paving preparation work beyond the gate of this seasonally closed pass.
Only the east side of the pass is under construction, but the west side will also remain closed at the gate just beyond Linton Lake until July 4. Limited space for vehicles to turn around on the west side makes it unsafe to open any further towards the summit.
Once the freshly paved pass opens above the gate, there will still be some construction work happening. Tasks like striping, putting up signage and clean-up may cause minor delays.
Paving on the east side section of highway below the gate will continue through July and could also cause some delays. Unlike the upper highway, this section is wide enough to accommodate traffic and construction equipment with single lane closures and flaggers.
ODOT reminds drivers that when this road is closed, it’s closed to everyone. Entering the work zone is dangerous and can cause delays that may slow down the project timeline. Since crews will be working in a closed area, they may work any day of the week and heavy equipment will remain on the road until its open.
Funding from a Federal Lands Access Program grant is repaving OR 242 from the junction with U.S. 20 in Sisters to the summit at Dee Wright Observatory.
There is always the possibility that extreme weather or other unforeseen circumstances could delay the opening past July 4.
Beverly Beach State Park, seven miles north of Newport, will extend its closure through July 31, 2024 due to delays in construction. 
Sometimes, almost like a time machine, the simplest thing like a song, a smell, or a picture can transport us to a locked away memory.
Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) staff will be at these upcoming farmers’ markets to hand out Farm Direct Nutrition Program (FDNP) vouchers to WIC participants.
