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Siletz Tribe opposes liquefied natural gas export facility

Jim Fossum
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Siletz Tribe opposes liquefied natural gas export facility

 

Lincoln City Homepage Letters to the editor

In a resolution passed March 15, the Tribal Council of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians made official its opposition to the planning, approval, construction and maintenance of the Malin to Coos Bay LNG (liquefied natural gas) transmission line and the Jordan Cove LNG export facility in Coos Bay.

“After careful consideration, the Siletz Tribal Council voted to oppose the transmission line, export facility and all construction that goes with it,” Delores Pigsley, chairman of the Siletz Tribal Council, said “We join other Oregon Tribes and many citizens in the state who don’t want to put land and resources in Oregon at risk.”

The Council listed the following as reasons for its decision:

  • The Siletz Tribe is a confederation of many bands and Tribes whose ancestral homeland combined includes all of Western Oregon from what is now Northern California to the Columbia River and from the summit of the Cascades to the Pacific. This territory includes portions of the proposed Pacific Connector Gas Line route, which would transmit LNG from Malin to Coos Bay, and the site of the proposed Jordan Cove LNG export facility.
  • The Siletz Tribe has never ceded its aboriginal title interests to Coos ancestral territory. The Court of Claims in 1938 found that the historic Coos Tribe (among others) had been removed to, and confederated with, other Tribes on the Siletz Reservation.
  • The gas line poses multiple major cultural, natural resource and environmental/habitat losses and ongoing threats throughout its proposed footprint.
  • The LNG transmission line and export facility are not operated by a U.S. company and do not supply energy to U.S. companies or citizen consumers. It is a proposed Canadian LNG export business.
  • The Siletz Tribe believes construction of the transmission line and export facility will directly negatively affect sensitive aquatic and terrestrial habitat and vitally important species, many of which would be permanent losses that cannot be mitigated.
  • Any long-term operation of the transmission line and export facility would pose an ongoing threat of catastrophic failures during a major Cascadia Subduction Zone seismic event, of which is there is a long-proven geologic record.

Because of these concerns, the Siletz Tribe cannot support the planning, approval, construction and maintenance of the Malin to Coos Bay LNG transmission line or the proposed Jordan Cove LNG export facility, nor the associated proposed Jordan Cove to mouth channel widening, turning basin and shipping berths proposed for the north shore of Coos Bay, and all related planning and construction.

“We really cannot support a project that’s potentially this degrading to the environment and to sensitive habitat for several species, and could compound the disastrous effects of a Cascadia earthquake,” said Robert Kentta, cultural director and a member of the Tribal Council. “We don’t believe this project will continue our tradition of being good stewards of our land, which we need to protect in all ways that we can.”

Delores Pigsley, Tribal Chairman

Alfred “Bud” Lane III, Vice Chairman

Safety corridor designation dropped on nearby Highway 101

Homepage Staff
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Safety corridor designation dropped on nearby Highway 101

The fatal and serious injury crash rate on the nine-mile stretch of Highway 101 between Depoe Bay and Newport has declined enough to eliminate its designation as a safety corridor.

Beginning April 10, all safety corridor and doubling of fines signs will be removed, the Oregon Department of Transportation said in a news release.

It is one of four remaining Safety Corridors, and becomes the 15th corridor to be decommissioned since the program began in 1989.

“The decommissioning of this corridor, in effect since 1996, reflects the successful coordination and hard work of the Oregon Department of Transportation, Lincoln County, Oregon State Police, and citizens committed to safety,” Nicole Charlson, ODOT traffic safety coordinator said. “It has been our experience that fatal and serious injury crash rates do not increase after a safety corridor is decommissioned.”

Since the first signs were installed, the state has invested in safety improvements in the corridor including:

  • Updated curve warning signs providing consistent curve advisories that meets federal standards. More updates are planned.
  • A public education program including public service ads, billboards, and presentations to schools and civic groups that increased public awareness.
  • Increased police enforcement through overtime patrol grants totaling $135,000. Police enforcement is a very effective way to reduce traffic crashes, because drivers slow down, pay better attention, and follow the laws when they see a patrol vehicle.
  • Road striping through the corridor (most recently in October 2018).
  • Highway sign, pavement marking, and reflector improvements to better direct and control highway traffic.
  • Investigated passing lanes at several locations for No Pass Zones to reduce head-on collisions.

“Our safety efforts aren’t finished yet,” ODOT Area 4 manager John Huestis said. “We are working with community members to continue to find solutions to improve safety in this corridor.”

ODOT will also continue the partnerships that have proven successful, Charlson said

“The community’s commitment to safety is really what has made the difference,” she said. “We will continue to monitor crashes, patrol the highway, provide important education, and work with the community on other ways to further improve safety in the area.”

For more information on transportation safety, visit: https://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/Safety/.

Local safety, health agencies to conduct drill Monday morning at D River Wayside

Homepage Staff
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Local safety, health agencies to conduct drill Monday morning at D River Wayside

Local fire, ambulance, hospital and Life Flight staff will be working in unison Monday morning at D River Wayside in a training exercise designed to test the communications and response capabilities of the respective agencies and departments.

It is only a drill, according to North Lincoln Samaritan Hospital officials.

Tigers tumble in final game of Madras spring break tournament

Jim Fossum
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Tigers tumble in final game of Madras spring break tournament
(File photos by Eric DeMello)

Taft High erupted for four first-inning runs but couldn’t hold off Class 4A Cascade despite six innings of work and three hits and two runs from junior starter Eli DeMello in a 7-5 defeat Saturday at the Madras Spring Break Baseball Tournament.

“We played much better today,” Taft coach Matt Hilgers said following a 11-3 defeat to Class 5A Crook County on Friday. “We came out with a lot of energy and it showed the first inning. We need work on continuing to carry that energy throughout the game.”

Senior outfielder Tyee Fisher had the Tigers other hit and drove home a run. Junior Trenton Fisher and seniors Cody Knott and Bleiz Kimbrough scored for Class 3A Taft against the Cougars (2-3) of the Oregon West Conference.

“Cascade was a good team and we competed with them,” Hilgers said. “We have found some of our areas of improvement and we will work on those this upcoming week before we have our final tune-up games and then head into league play the second week of April.”

The Tigers (3-5) open a five-game home stand when they meet Santiam Christian and Dayton in 4:30 p.m. games Thursday and Friday before opening Special District 2 play Tuesday, April 9, at against Rainier.

Cascade 7, Taft 5

TAFT                 AB  R  H BI   CASCADE          AB  R  H BI
Trenton Fisher        4  1  0  0  Jake Whisman       4  1  2  0  
Eli DeMello           4  2  3  0  Colton Gumc        3  1  1  0  
Cody Knott            2  1  0  0  Kyle Mcalister     1  0  0  0  
Tyee Fisher           3  0  1  1   Grayson Reeder    2  1  1  1  
Bleiz Kimbrough       2  1  0  0  Jared Powell       2  0  0  1  
Kaden Hindman         3  0  0  0   Caleb Boyles      1  0  0  0  
Lucas Hindman         3  0  0  0  Tommy Mcguire      3  1  1  1  
FCO Ramos             3  0  0  0  Chance Tobiasson   3  2  1  0  
Ethan Thomas          3  0  0  0  Isaac Schnepp      3  1  2  0  
                                  TJ Marquez         3  0  1  0  
                                  Will Ramos         3  0  1  2  
TOTALS               27  5  4  1  TOTALS            28  7 10  5

TAFT                       400 010 0 -- 5  
CASCADE                    000 412 x -- 7  

LOB--Taft3, Cascade 5. E--Jordan Hall, Chance
Tobiasson, Isaac Schnepp, TJ Marquez (2), Tommy Mcguire.
2B--Tyee Fisher, Eli DeMello. SACF--Grayson Reeder.
SB--Lucas Hindman, Bleiz Kimbrough, Jake Whisman, Tommy
Mcguire, Colton Gumc.

 TAFT                     IP    H    R   ER   BB   SO   HR
Eli DeMello (L)         6.00   10    7    5    1   10    0
 CASCADE                  
Kyle Mcalister          1.00    1    4    1    2    1    0
Grayson Reeder (W)      6.00    3    1    0    0    4    0

PB--Kaden Hindman. WP--Eli DeMello, Kyle Mcalister (3).
SO--Tyee Fisher, Lucas Hindman, Ethan Thomas, Bleize
Kimbrogh, FCO Ramos, Jared Powell, Jake Whisman, Grayson
Reeder, Isaac Schnepp, Caleb Boyles, TJ Marquez, Tommy
Mcguire (2), Colton Gumc (2). BB--Bleize Kimbrogh, Cody
Knott, Colton Gumc.

Beloved local youth coach Summers dies from cancer at age 30

Jim Fossum
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Beloved local youth coach Summers dies from cancer at age 30

Lifelong local resident Daniel Summers, a beloved and respected youth coach who many say cared for all children like his own and united a community in a common cause, lost his battle with cancer Friday at age 30.

Summers, whose courageous fight was fueled by area and outside interests, local media support and fundraisers inspired by his players, died from osteosarcoma, a form of bone cancer, while surrounded by friends and family at his Otis home.

Summers was adored by the kids he coached
Ryan Best’s car wash earned $2,500 for his coach

“He grew up here and knew so many people,” said Hannah Maben-Best, whose 12-year-old son, Ryan, staged a citywide car wash that generated $2,500 to help ease the financial burden on the family from the many chemotherapy and radiation treatments and long-distance hospital visits and inpatient stays Summers endured. “He has many kids in the community who looked up to him and loved him as a coach.”

Summers, who loved playing mushball and coed softball, “was definitely a fighter during this whole battle with cancer and had a great outlook and positive attitude until the very end,” Maben-Best said.

A graduate of Taft High who served in the U.S. Navy, Daniel Jerome Summers leaves behind his wife, Abbie, and sons, Trenton Lee Battle, 11, and Daniel Joseph Summers, 7.

Daniel Summers and kids
Summers and his kids, Daniel and Trenton

Area residents and friends paid tribute to Summers on social media throughout the night Friday, but his story reached far beyond the borders of Lincoln County. The Willamette Valley Cancer Foundation and employees from Oregon Mutual Insurance of McMinnville contributed to his lengthy fight with Christmastime donations of goods and money.

Born May 9, 1988, in Salem, Summers was diagnosed with desmoid tumors on his spine and sciatic nerve in 2011. He was referred to Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, where radiation treatments to stunt the growth of the tumors began.

Following radiation, Summers enjoyed years of what his family referred to as “normal living,” but began experiencing more pain at the beginning of last year.

In May, scans revealed more abnormalities and a biopsy determined it was bone cancer. Half of his sacrum and a third of his pelvis were removed.

Summers underwent an 11-hour surgery on Oct. 18. When he woke, his doctor asked how it felt to be cancer-free. However, on the day he was to be released, he was informed cancerous cells remained.

After enduring aggressive chemotherapy, he had another operation to remove more of his pelvic bone. Prognosis improved and Summers expressed encouragement late last year before his health took a turn for the worse.

A memorial service will be held at noon Saturday in the commons at Taft High.

Pacific View Memorial Chapel obituary

RSVP Form

Summers Family

Pay tribute to Summers with a donation or with words of praise below …

Lincoln City Police Crime Log March 22-28

Justin Werner
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Lincoln City Police Crime Log March 22-28

Police Log

The Lincoln City Police Dispatch Daily Desk Log is a public record of police calls. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Friday, March 22

Found Property – 1:33 p.m. – NE 15th & Highway 101 – Collectible coins holders and pages found under a bush. Items recovered and report taken.

Extra Patrol Request – 2:35 p.m. – Roads End State Park – Report of a male with dreadlocks looking into vehicles and damaging a fence. Honda keys reported stolen from beach area later in the day.

Extra Patrol Request – 3:45 p.m. – 2137 NW Highway 101, Suite C – Owner of vacant medical office reports transients staying overnight on office porch.

Crash – 4:01 p.m. – 3200 Block NE Highway 101 – Three vehicle crash with injury in front of Lil Sambos Family Restaurant.

Fraud – 6:06 p.m. – Taco Bell – Counterfeit $20 passed. Item seized. Report taken.

Saturday, March 23

Illegal Parking – 9:30 a.m. – 1330 NE Highway 101 – Black sedan parked on a yellow curb sticking out in traffic. Vehicle was unoccupied and no owner information on registration. Vehicle was towed as a hazard.

Shoplifting – 10:10 a.m. – McKay’s – Caller says two females grabbed several items, left the store and drove away southbound on highway 101. The caller was able to get a plate and an officer contacted the registered owner who said she recently sold the vehicle.

Fraud – 3:41 p.m. – Chinook Winds Casino – Security has a counterfeit bill from valet. Item seized and report taken.

Crash – 5:02 p.m. – 3126 NE Highway 101 – Minor fender-bender at location.

Disturbance – 11:55 p.m. – Chinook Winds Casino – Rashaad W. Pilcher (4/2/87) taken into custody after a disturbance in front of the main entrance to casino. Pilcher was charged with criminal mischief, disorderly conduct and transported to Lincoln County Jail.

Sunday, March 24

Assisting Other Agency – 2:56 a.m. – Chinook Winds Casino – Casino security advised a trespassed subject on main gaming floor. Michael Troy Christerson (9/1/85) taken into custody on warrant out of Lincoln County for probation violation, DUII and criminal trespass. He was taken to Lincoln County Jail.

Warrant Arrest – 6:14 a.m. – 2166 NE Highway 101 – Marissa Anne Baker (8/20/78) taken into custody on statewide felony warrant from Oregon State Parole Board for dangerous drugs. Baker was transported to Lincoln County Jail.

Burglary – 7:22 a.m. – Subway, 247 SW Highway 101 – Break in at south Subway.

Burglary – 8:49 a.m. – 5217 NW Keel Ave. – Home found broken into. Report taken.

Extra Patrol – 7:44 a.m. – SW 50th & Keel – Report of people camping in an RV for last 4-5 days. Lots of activity in the area with loud vehicles and doing donuts in the area.

Disorderly Conduct – 10:16 p.m. – NW Highway 101 & NW Logan Rd. – Multiple callers, possible 10+, reported a male was screaming in traffic and throwing himself in front of cars. A bystander was able to coax the man out of traffic and into McDonald’s parking lot prior to arrival of police. John Doe taken into custody for disorderly conduct and transported to Lincoln County Jail.

Monday, March 25

Car Clout – 7:54 a.m. – 1521 NW 37th St. – Vehicle broken into and wallet taken.

Suspicious Activity – 8:10 a.m. – SE 3rd St. & SE Jetty Ave. – Mail found in bushes on 3rd St.

Crash – 3:10 p.m. – 1400 NW Highway 101 – Transit bus struck a parked car.

Warrant Arrest – 11:42 p.m. – Chinook Winds Casino – Casino security notified officers of subject with a warrant. Located vehicle of subject in McDonald’s parking lot. Jeremy Bowden (7/7/80) taken into custody on warrant out of Roseburg PD. Cited for DWS and transported to Lincoln County Jail.

Tuesday, March 26

Fraud – 9:04 a.m. – 4659 SW Highway 101 – Counterfeit bill turned in to bank.

Theft – 9:13 a.m. – 5057 SW Beach Ave. – Job site cargo trailer broken into.

Theft – 9:16 a.m. – 2747 SW Beach Ave. – Vehicle broken into. Metal detector taken.

Theft – 10 a.m. – 4722 SW Coast Ave. – Chop saw stolen from construction site.

Theft – 4:25 p.m. – 3130 SW Beach Ave. – iPad stolen from vehicle.

Wednesday, March 27

Found Property – 3:10 p.m. – 1301 NW 21st St. – Found Oregon drivers license.

Crash – 5:27 p.m. – SE Highway 101 & SE High School Dr. – Three car crash with no injuries.

Menacing – 7 p.m. – 923 SW 50th St. – Report of one man holding another on the ground, yelling for police to be called. Emigdio Lopez Reyez (4/30/76) was taken into custody for menacing, disorderly conduct and transported to Lincoln County Jail.

Fight – 8:31 p.m. – 1015 SW 50th St. – Caller reported that her husband is fighting with a transient. Officer responded. Report taken.

Thursday, March 28

Domestic – 1:42 a.m. – 2020 NE Highway 101 – Caller reporting possible fight at location with breaking glass. Officers arrived. Vehicle damaged with broken windows and mirrors. Suspect left prior to arrival.

Follow Up – 6:36 a.m. – Follow up to call of a male seen on Ring camera trying to enter residence.

Extra Patrol Request – Canyon Drive Park – Caller reporting ongoing issues with people climbing on the sea cliffs.

Welfare Check – 9:48 a.m. – 950 SE 32nd St., #39 – Caller reported two small children sitting against a 2nd floor window. Caller was concerned about the children possibly falling.

Drugs – 5:06 p.m. – Gabrielle Ward (5/16/99) taken into custody and transported to Lincoln County Jail for possession of meth.

Tigers fall to Class 5A Crook County in spring break baseball tourney

Jim Fossum
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Tigers fall to Class 5A Crook County in spring break baseball tourney
(File photo)

Class 5A Crook County jumped to an early 8-0 lead and took advantage of errant pitching, fielding woes and stranded runners to defeat Taft 11-3 Friday in the Madras Spring Break Baseball Tournament.

“We had some positives, but they were outweighed by the negative,” Taft coach Matt Hilgers said. “We really struggled to throw strikes early on.”

The Class 3A Tigers walked or hit 13 batters, committed three errors and left 13 runners on base in falling to 3-4 this season.

“That makes it very hard to win a game when you allow another team that many free passes to first base,” Hilgers said. “We have to do a better job of throwing strikes and making solid contact with runners on base.”

Crook County of the Intermountain Conference, which defeated host Madras 11-1 on Thursday’s opening day of play, improved to 5-3 with its third straight win.

“We will continue to struggle and find ourselves on the losing end of the game if we cannot start making progress with these two aspects of the game,” Hilgers said.

Senior Cody Knott, who doubled twice, and cousins Tyee and Trenton Fisher had two hits each, while Trenton Fisher, Bleiz Kimbrough and Lucas Hindman drove home runs for the Tigers. Kaden Hindman, Tyee Fisher and Knott scored for Taft.

Taft returns to play at 2 p.m. Saturday.

Crook County 11, Taft 3

CROOK COUNTY        AB  R  H BI   TAFT             AB  R  H BI
Brody Connell        2  2  1  1   Trenton Fisher    5  0  2  1  
Hunter Bishop        4  2  1  1   Eli DeMello       4  0  0  0  
Kyle Knudtson        5  0  0  0   Cody Knott        4  1  2  0  
Ethan Cossitt        3  3  1  0   Tyee Fisher       3  1  2  0  
Garrett Bernard      3  2  1  1   Bleiz Kimbrough   4  0  1  1  
Justin Smith         1  1  0  1   Kaden Hindman     3  1  1  1  
 Carson Smith        1  0  1  0   Lucas Hindman     3  0  1  0  
Clayton Wilkins      3  1  3  4   Trenton Hall      4  0  0  0  
Trentyn Maryanski    3  0  1  1   Graden Kehr       2  0  0  0  
Louis Duran          4  0  2  2   FCO Ramos         1  0  0  0  
TOTALS              29 11 11 11   TOTALS           33  3  9  3

CROOK COUNTY             350 100 2 -- 11 
TAFT                     012 000 0 --  3  

LOB--Crook County 13, Taft 13. E--Clayton
Wilkins (3), Eli DeMello, Jordan Hall. 2B--Garrett Bernard,
Hunter Bishop, Clayton Wilkins, Cody Knott (2). HBP--Garrett
Bernard, Ethan Cossitt, Justin Smith. SACF--Garrett Bernard,
Brody Connell, Clayton Wilkins. SB--Brody Connell (2), Cody
Knott.

 CROOK COUNTY               IP    H    R   ER   BB   SO   HR
Justin Smith (W)          2.00    3    1    1    3    1    0
Carson Smith              5.00    6    2    1    1    4    0
 TAFT                   
Tyee Fisher (L)           0.67    0    3    3    5    1    0
Lucas Hindman             0.67    1    5    5    2    0    0
Trenton Fisher            5.67   10    3    3    3    3    0

WP--Trenton Fisher (2). SO--Ethan Cossitt, Kyle Knudtson,
Hunter Bishop, Louis Duran, FCO Ramos, Graden Kehr (2),
Trenton Hall (2). BB--Ethan Cossitt, Justin Smith, Brody
Connell (2), Carson Smith, Hunter Bishop, Louis Duran,
Trentyn Maryanski (2), Clayton Wilkins, Tyee Fisher, Lucas
Hindman, Graden Kehr, Kaden Hindman.

 

Fridays for Future: Students warn against warming with climate change protest

Jim Fossum
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Fridays for Future: Students warn against warming with climate change protest
Maia Stout and Hailey Fueling are making their voices heard by standing for a cause they believe in

Lincoln County School District students Hailey Feuling and Maia Stout are warning against warming and the effects of climate change with their participation in the international school-strike protest movement “Fridays For Future.”

Feuling, 13, and Stout, 14, are Waldport Middle School students who have stood on the side of Highway 101 in Newport and Yachats every Friday for 13 straight weeks as part of a global movement inspired by 16-year-old Swedish activist Greta Thunberg.

“We first got involved with Friday’s For Future after we saw a video of Greta’s speech at the UN Climate Change Conference. She immediately inspired us to take action,” Feuling said.

Even though they’re on spring break, you can find them along the road in Yachats today, so their cause isn’t about skipping school.

“Our goals are to spread awareness to this issue to as many people as possible,” Feuling said. “We want our world leaders to talk more about climate change and what it means for future generations, including mine.”

Hundreds of thousands of like-minded students from nearly every country gather on Fridays to inform citizens of what they believe to be a climate crisis and demand that political leaders begin taking action to prevent global warming as outlined in the Paris Climate Agreement.

The girls encourage other students and concerned citizens to come out and stand with them.

“To educate people about climate change, we always bring it up in conversation, and we have had multiple articles, videos, and photos posted about us and what we are doing,” Feuling said. “This movement is growing each week with thousands of more and more students around the globe joining us.”

The school protests began taking place in more than 2,000 cities worldwide with a global strike on Friday, March 15. An estimated 1.4 million students from around the world have participated in the event, according to the organization’s website.

“Sadly, we are the only students in Lincoln County doing this,” Feuling said. “Our friends understand what is happening but choose not to join us. We post all over our social media about what we are doing, but we’ve yet to have other students join us.

“If you want the generations after you to have a future, then join us. Make your voice heard. I want to have a reason to go to school and get a job, not knowing that a few years from now everything will be gone because of the people who refuse to educate themselves on climate change and insist that it will not affect them. It does … and it will.”

 

Oceanlake Elementary School parent pushes for LCSD policy reform

Jim Fossum
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Oceanlake Elementary School parent pushes for LCSD policy reform

Saying, “I don’t need to be a hero, I just want change,” a local elementary school parent has embarked on a crusade for reform in Lincoln County School District policy aimed at improving student supervision, administrator communication and child safety.

“I won’t stop until it does,” said Tiffany Hill, whose Oceanlake Elementary School kindergartener’s unsupervised bathroom trip has led to an Oregon Department of Education (ODE) investigation into an incident involving alleged sexual misconduct last spring.

“I am so overwhelmed for these kids,” Hill said. “My overreaching goal is to see a positive change, smaller classroom sizes and better support for our staff at the school. Change has to happen. I have a fire and a desire in my heart.”

ODE has opened an appeal regarding complaints of sex discrimination and harassment in education that alleges the Lincoln County School District (LCSD) and Oceanlake administrators “did not conduct timely, fair and impartial discrimination, harassment, bullying and intimidation investigations” nor “remedy a hostile environment after complaints were made.”

The incident occurred after three young boys went unsupervised from their gym class for approximately 20 minutes on March 12, 2018, and allegedly exposed themselves and engaged in inappropriate sexual behavior in a school restroom.

“All of our children deserve to be valued and feel safe,” Hill said, adding that she doesn’t feel her child’s security was considered a priority after she waited nearly four hours to be notified of the incident. “A school day should not have these burdens. All children have a right to go to school and feel safe and to be able to learn without being stressed out all the time or worrying if they will be sexually harassed.”

Buoyed by overwhelming public support in a social media post, Hill defended sharing the details surrounding the incident’s handling. The issue is expected to be addressed in public forum April 9 at the regular session of the Lincoln County School Board.

“More and more parents are telling me stuff that my heart is so heavy for these kids and parents I no longer feel bad for going public,” she said. “Can you imagine if we didn’t share my story how many parents would think they were alone in this?”

ODE announced its appeal in a letter to LCSD Superintendent Karen Gray dated March 12, 2019. Prior to receipt of the notification, Hill communicated numerous times via email with Gray and Oceanlake Principal Sandy Mummey.

Gray apologized to Hill and assured her nothing like the “terrible incident” would happen again. Gray said the failure to supervise was a serious oversight of District policy and protocol.

“Because it caused a terrible incident to occur, the school could not be more sorry that it happened,” Gray said. “Failure to supervise is very serious to all of us.”

After conceding that the incident violated District standards, Gray told Hill that Mummey had addressed the unsupervised time with her staff and that it was dealt with to the fullest extent of personnel procedures, which she said she could not share under Human Resource confidentiality rules.

Gray said a teacher from another LCSD school was terminated earlier in the year over poor supervision practices. She said Mummey instituted a restroom procedure of sign-outs in response to the incident and that no similar events had occurred.

Gray made several other overtures to Hill to help resolve the situation.

“We know that we must always supervise our children and keep them safe,” said Gray, who said she met with Lincoln City Police detectives, a representative from the Lincoln County Children’s Advocacy Center (CAC) in Newport and Oceanlake staff. “We are going to do better parent education regarding developmentally appropriate child behavior versus deviant sexualized behavior and let parents and staff know how that is handled.”

Gray also told Hill that the District would have a CAC representative attend an all-admin meeting in April “to talk about what they do, and also what is appropriate-and- developmental student behavior versus what is not.”

“I think we can do a better job,” she said. “In addition, we are creating a student threat assessment in order to respond to sexually motivated threats versus physically harmful threats. [The] Salem Keiser [School District] has created a template procedure we can use. So, lot’s going on.”

In an email issued to the media Thursday, Gray said:

“The LCSD administration and superintendent have communicated and met at length with Ms. Hill in order to resolve issues. This included a meeting with the Children’s Advocacy Center. For your information, we have also met with the CAC and local law enforcement about the topic. We realized that the education of staff and parents is key.

“On April 9 at an all-admin meeting the CAC will be providing further training to our staff. We have offered to continue meeting with Ms. Hill to no avail. As the District, we are under strict FERPA [Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act] and confidentiality laws and we cannot comment about details publicly when they involve students and families.

“We look forward to working with the ODE at this point because the District appears unable to resolve this matter sufficiently with this parent. Social media is never the way to determine the truth in any situation in my opinion. It is one-sided and the District does not participate.”

Meanwhile, Hill and Laurie Porter, whose 5-year-old son was also involved in the incident, said any subsequent incidents of a similar nature should be addressed with immediate contact of the child’s parents.

“The School District’s parent communication needs to be far better,” Hill said. “There is nothing in our District policy that outlines the District’s commitment to parent communication. That needs to change. We, as parents, are told how we need to communicate with the school, but they don’t have any sort of policy that outlines the school’s expectation to communicate with parents.”

Hill thanked the community for its overwhelming support and expressed how difficult it has been to go public with her concerns.

“There needs to be immediate changes made to existing policies or create new policies and procedures to be followed for situations like my child experienced,” she said. “I’m speaking out for all the children at Oceanlake. I am not naive to the social and behavioral challenges our teachers and schools have today.

“Staffing, funding, assistance and pay issues are not new in the school system, but it is affecting our children in a negative way. I appreciate their challenges, but we are not giving these issues enough consideration.”

LCSD under investigation for handling of alleged sexual misconduct incident

Kimbrough pitches, DeMello hits Taft baseball team to 15-0 win

Jim Fossum
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Kimbrough pitches, DeMello hits Taft baseball team to 15-0 win
Eli DeMello
Taft junior catcher Eli DeMello collects one of his three hits in Thursday’s 15-0 win (Photos by Eric DeMello)

Senior starter Bleiz Kimbrough surrendered just two hits and struck out nine in going the five-inning distance Thursday, and junior catcher Eli DeMello went 3-for-3 with three RBIs to lead Taft High to a 15-0 victory over Elmira in the Madras Spring Break Baseball Tournament.

Bleiz Kimbrough
Senior Bleiz Kimbrough struck out nine and surrendered just two hits in his shutout win

Kimbrough didn’t walk a batter and DeMello scored three times for the Tigers, who improved to 3-3 with the nonleague win. Class 4A Elmira of the SkyEm Conference fell to 3-2.

“We played much better today,” Taft coach Matt Hilgers said. “We scored every inning for the first time all year. We didn’t have that lapse that we have had in some of our previous games.”

DeMello and seniors Tyee Fisher and Cody Knott doubled for Taft, with Knott driving home four runs, and Fisher and Kimbrough two apiece. Junior Trenton Fisher and sophomore Ethan Thomas scored three runs each for Taft.

“We did a good job of taking advantage of some of the mistakes that the other team made,” Hilgers said. “We threw strikes, limited their opportunities and made a couple plays in the field to keep them from scoring.”

The game was abbreviated to five innings due to the state’s 10-run mercy rule. The Tigers return to action at 2 p.m. Friday.

“We need to continue to focus on playing our best and trying to reach our potential every day,” Hilgers said. “We have a game tomorrow against Crook County. We are hoping to come out with the same energy and focus tomorrow as we had today.”

Photos by Eric DeMello
Taft 15, Elmira 0

ELMIRA               AB  R  H BI  TAFT              AB  R  H BI
Ayden Wolgamott       2  0  1  0  Trenton Fisher     1  3  1  1  
Cj Smith              2  0  0  0  Eli DeMello        3  3  3  3  
Cobyn Herbert         2  0  0  0  Cody Knott         3  2  1  4  
Gavin Parker          2  0  1  0  Tyee Fisher        4  1  1  2  
Bryson Estrella       2  0  0  0  Bleiz Kimbrough    3  0  1  2  
Blake Wigham          2  0  0  0  Kaden Hindman      2  1  1  0  
Tyler Feltz           2  0  0  0  FCO Ramos          1  1  0  0  
Hunter Stockinger     0  0  0  0  Jordan Hall        3  0  0  0  
 Koble Peterson       1  0  0  0  Ethan Thomas       0  3  0  1  
Landen Parker         2  0  0  0   Trenton Hall      0  1  0  0  
TOTALS               17  0  2  0  TOTALS            20 15  8 13

ELMIRA                        000 00 --  0  
TAFT                          331 8x -- 15 

LOB--Elmira 3, Taft 6. E--Bryson Estrella, Cj Smith.
2B--Tyee Fisher, Eli DeMello, Cody Knott. HBP--Koble
Peterson, Ethan Thomas (2), Trenton Fisher. SB--Ethan
Thomas, Cody Knott.

 ELMIRA                        IP    H    R   ER   BB   SO   HR
Ayden Wolgamott (L)          1.00    0    5    5    5    2    0
Koble Peterson               2.00    4    6    5    5    1    0
Hunter Stockinger            0.33    4    4    4    0    1    0
Bryce Sawyer                 0.67    0    0    0    0    0    0
 TAFT                   
Bleiz Kimbrough (W)          5.00    2    0    0    0    9    0

WP--Hunter Stockinger, Koble Peterson. SO--Cobyn Herbert
(2), Tyler Feltz, Landen Parker (2), Ayden Wolgamott, Koble
Peterson, Blake Wigham, Cj Smith, Tyee Fisher, Jordan Hall
(3). BB--Ethan Thomas, Bleize Kimbrogh, FCO Ramos (2), Eli
DeMello, Kaden Hindman (2), Trenton Fisher (2), Cody Knott.
1...125126127...244Page 126 of 244

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