Lincoln City Police took a man driving a Penske moving truck into custody after he led multiple law enforcement agencies on a high-speed chase involving more than 10 police cars from Lincoln City to Willamina.
The 30-mile chase ended with the arrest of George Parson, 49, on a bridge in front of the Hampton Lumber Mills on Willamina Creek Road.
“No one was hurt and there were no crashes,” LCPD Sgt. Jeffery Winn said. “We have a person in custody and everyone is OK.”
Chinook Winds Casino Resort security called police after witnessing a suspicious woman going in and out of a Penske truck and asked that the truck be moved, Winn said. Officers made contact with a married couple that had rented the truck and discovered there was a no-contact order in place for the husband from an earlier domestic altercation.
Winn said police tracked down out-of-state warrants from Colorado and New York for the man, but they were not serviceable. Believing they were, the man fled from police at high speeds through Lincoln City and onto Highway 18 headed east, he said.
Police tried to stop the vehicle with spikes and the driver evaded them by entering oncoming lanes. Law enforcement was able to lay spikes across the bridge in front of Hampton Lumber Mills and the driver stopped the truck and was arrested.
Winn said the couple was living out of the truck, which was being rented monthly and was paid up.
Authorities said they used a combination of cell phones, radio and Mobile Data Terminals to coordinate with each other.
Winn said the chase started at NW Jetty and 39th Street, then went north on Highway 101 to West Devils Lake Road, back to Highway 101 and east on Highway 18 past Spirit Mountain Casino and took the new on-ramp to Forthill Road.
The man faces felony eluding, reckless endangering, reckless driving and violation of a protection order. He is being lodged at the Lincoln County Jail.
The woman was not taken into custody or charged.
Three LCPD, four Oregon State Police, two Yamhill Police and a Grand Ronde Tribal Police car were among those involved in the chase after being radioed in for backup, Winn said.
This was LCPD’s fourth pursuit in a month, Winn said.
Taft High qualified a school-record eight team members Saturday into next week’s Class 3A OSAA State Wrestling Championships at Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Portland.
Taft placed third behind team winner and defending Class 3A State champion Willamina, and just seven points behind second-place Dayton. The Tigers finished ahead of Rainier for the first time.
“Hard work pays off,” Taft coach Robb Ellis said.
Senior Cody Knott won the Class 3A Special District 1 160-pound title to lead the way for Taft, which wrestled approximately 65 matches over two days of competition at Warrenton High School.
Senior Gio Salazar (126), freshman Riley Ellis (138) and senior David Jin (170) advanced to State with second-place showings.
Sophomore William Calderon (138), senior DeVon Lindquist (145), senior Eric Aquino (195 and junior Jace Phippen (220) moved on with third-place finishes.
Taft’s previous most wrestlers to advance to State was five.
Taft wrestlers break from the locker room and head to the mat Saturday at the District championships
The first Itty Bitty S***** Wave Contest is happening this weekend with the coinciding of King tides and a large ocean swell that allows surfers to ride waves up the D River.
The “World’s Shortest River” saw action from professional surfers Wade Lawson and Anthony Tashnick, as well as locals Jon “Headstand” Monroe and Jonee Wright.
Professional big wave surfer and helicopter pilot Lawson said he was alerted to the contest at the last minute by Nelcott Reef Big Wave Classic organizer John Forse. Lawson chose to SUP (stand up paddle) the river.
“I can’t feel my feet or my hands,” he said. “I’m just glad to be a part of this.”
Big wave surfer Tashnick showed off his skills on the waves by getting the longest ride of the day.
“I’m a firm believer in the twin fin,” Tashnick said. “People try to talk s*** but really it’s unfair. Twin fin is what it’s all about.”
From left, assistant coach Maria Cortes, Sam Cortes, Tanner Landry, Hunter Lunstedt, Joram Hoff and Lissa Parker
Taft High’s Tanner Landry, Hunter Lunstedt, Sam Cortes and Joram Hoff teamed to place fourth Saturday in a school record-shattering time in the 400-yard freestyle relay at the Class 4A/3A/2A/1A OSAA State Swimming Championships in Beaverton.
from left, Joram Hoff, Sam Cortes, Tanner Landry and Hunter Lunstedt pose with coach Lissa Parker
The Tigers’ tandem of Landry, Lunstedt, Cortes and Hoff finished in a season-best 3:31.14 to place where it was seeded entering the finals following Friday’s preliminary time of 3:32.16.
The time broke the school record of 3:47.21 set in 2007 by Keith Lewis, Aaron Roberts, Brandon Gilman and Trevor Hoagland by more than 16 seconds.
Meanwhile, fellow Special District 1 member Newport won the State boys championship 90-46 over SD4 representative Marshfield at Tualatin Hills Aquatic Center. Taft’s showing in the 400 free relay allowed the Tigers to place 12th as a team.
SD3 member Sweet Home claimed the girls crown 69-50 over SD2’s Catlin Gabel.
Newport senior Lucas Ellingson won the State 200-yard individual medley and 500 freestyle titles and junior Caden Shanks won the 100 backstroke.
Newport’s 200 free relay team of Cole Braxling, Brennen Wood, Kai Daniels and Luke Bachart, and 200 medley relay team of Caden Shanks, Nick Topar, Daniels and Ellingson also claimed State championships.
In Friday’s prelims, Hoff, an 18-year-old senior, placed seventh in the 200-yard freestyle after entering the meet seeded ninth. He matched his seeding by placing ninth in the 100-yard backstroke.
Sam Cortes with mom Maria and dad Jorge
Cortes, a 14-year-old freshman, finished eighth in a school-record 1:00.30 in the 100 back that broke Hoff’s 2017 mark of 1:01.81 after starting as the 10th seed. He matched his position with an eighth-place showing in the 100 free.
Landry, a 17-year-old senior, moved up two spots for 10th in the 200-yard individual medley.
Coach Lissa Parker
Lunstedt and Sammy Halferty, the Tigers’ only girl representative, placed 11th and 12th, respectively, in the 100 breaststroke.
Senior Micah McLeish also represented Taft as an alternate.
From left, Joram Hoff, Tanner Landry, Sam Cortes, Mich McLeish, Samantha Halferty, Hunter Lunstedt
From left, Joram Hoff, Sam Cortes, Hunter Lunstedt, Micah McLeish
Saying they were “getting our win on at Districts,” Taft High stood in second place Friday night following the first day of action in the Class 3A Special District 1 Wrestling Championships at Warrenton.
Taft enters Saturday’s final matches at 10 a.m. in second place behind defending State champion and heavily favored Willamina 136-81 in the seven-team tournament, “but we have a long ways to go tomorrow,” coach Robb Ellis said.
Ellis said David Jin, Biz Byrum, Riley Ellis, Gio Salazar and DeVon Lindquist “got some great wins.” He said senior Jacob Mayoral lost a close first match to the first seed in the 145-pound division, but fought back to win two in the consolation bracket to keep his chances for a trip to State alive.
“Some of our wrestlers will not have their first match until tomorrow because there were a lot of byes,” he said. “We have to get a good night’s sleep, wake up and wrestle our best.”
Taft is attempting to set a school record by advancing six or more wrestlers to the OSAA State Wrestling Championships, Feb. 22-23 at Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Portland.
Prepping for Districts — By Taft Wrestling Coach Robb Ellis
Other sports have no idea what wrestlers have to go through. Other sports just show up and compete.
Wrestlers have to make the right weight, have their hair cut the right length, nails clipped, perfectly shaved, mouth guards for braces, laces taped, no skin disease on your body – or you can show up and be told when you get there that you don’t compete that day.
Legislation to make Oregon the first state in the nation to adopt statewide rent control and make it more difficult for landlords to evict tenants without a reason has evoked swift and stern local reaction.
The Oregon Senate voted 17-11 Tuesday to adopt Senate Bill 608, which allows landlords to raise rent no more than 7 percent per year, plus the annual change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). While the bill provides an exemption for rental properties that are less than 15 years old, the measure also reduces a landlord’s ability to evict tenants without a reason after they have lived in the building for a year.
Former Lincoln City Mayor Don Williams
“This will do nothing to alleviate any housing shortage,” former Lincoln City mayor and landlord Don Williams said. “Instead, it will cause fewer people to become landlords and drive landlords to sell or switch to year-to-year leases.”
“The questions no one seem to be asking are: ‘Why do we have fewer homes for rent than renters?’ and ‘Why aren’t landlords fighting to create or build rentals if there is such a demand?’
“I can answer that as a former landlord of both single-family and apartment rentals — Oregon’s landlord/tenant laws are so tilted against landlords as to make the liabilities greater than the profit. Business 101 says that is a prescription for failure.
“Now, the state of Oregon is barreling headlong into restricting the free market and the market will respond with one of three choices: 1) Go along with the law because it makes no significant financial impact; 2) Modify rental agreements that will create greater pressure on would-be tenants; 3) Leave the rental business.”
“This will just add to the housing shortage and ultimately increase the number of homeless in the state.”
Lincoln City resident Matthew Gerber
Proponents of the bill say it will prevent “price-gouging” and help address the rampant homelessness of children in the state by making it easier for Oregonians to stay in their homes.
Landlord Joe Barnes, who rents over 100 units, disagrees:
“I’m going to just raise rents every year by 7 percent,” he said. “I don’t usually raise rents on current tenants, so my tenants can thank this law for the increase.
“I am also revamping the application process and will be charging a larger deposit to help offset the potential of loss of rent for 60-day notices. Most tenants don’t pay rent after a notice. Higher deposits will help mitigate that. Other changes will evolve. Unfortunately, none will be in favor of the tenant. Rents will ultimately go up across the board.”
Williams summarized the situation:
“As written, SB 608 limits rent increases to 7 percent and a percentage of the Consumer Price Index and imposes a 60-day eviction notice period on landlords,” he said. “To the majority of people that are renters vs. the number of landlords, this will seem like a great idea. But much like the ever-increasing imposed minimum wage, they do not reflect reality and will only end up hurting those that it purports to help.”
The bill will now move to the Oregon State Legislature House of Representatives.
“SB608 will cause negative consequences for renters and decrease the number of people investing in rental properties,” Williams said. “And, much like the minimum wage argument, it’s not a moral question, it’s a math question.”
EDITOR’S NOTE: Homepage welcomes contrary comment from renters and local rental agencies regarding the adoption of SB608 and will update this post as warranted.
Senate Bill 608
For-Cause Eviction
Establishes a for-cause eviction standard after the first year of occupancy.
Landlords can continue to evict for a tenant-based cause (current law – i.e., non-payment, violation of the rental agreement, outrageous conduct, etc.).
Adds new landlord-based for-cause reasons to evict a tenant (sale to a person who will move in, landlord or family member move-in, repair or renovate, and demolish or remove unit from residential use).
If landlord uses one of these four landlord-based reasons, they must provide the tenant with 90-day notice and relocation expenses in the amount of one month’s rent.
Exceptions
Small landlords (four or fewer units) do not have to pay relocation expenses.
Landlords who live on the same property as their tenant (owner occupied, two units or less) may still use a no-cause eviction at any time.
Month-to-Month Tenancies
For the first 12 months of occupancy, a landlord may terminate the tenancy without cause with a 30-day notice.
After the first 12 months of occupancy, a landlord may only evict a tenant for cause, by using an existing tenant-based reason or by using one of the four new landlord-based reasons.
Fixed-Term Tenancies
For the first 12 months of occupancy, a landlord may terminate a fixed-term tenancy without cause by giving a 90-day notice.
After the first 12 months of occupancy, the fixed-term lease will automatically roll over to month-to-month unless the landlord has a tenant or landlord-based reason to terminate.
Exceptions:
A fixed-term lease might not automatically roll over at the end of the fixed term per landlord discretion if the tenant has violated the terms of the rental agreement three separate times during a 12-month period, with written warnings for each violation given contemporaneously with the violation.
Annual Rent Increase
Landlords may increase rent by no more than 7 percent plus CPI in a 12-month period.
Maintains current law regarding rent increases: prohibits rent increases in first year of month-to-month tenancy and requirement that landlords give 90-day notice of rent increases.
Exceptions:
New Construction: A landlord may increase the rent above 7 percent plus CPI in a 12-month period if the certificate of occupancy was issued less than 15 years ago.
New Tenancy: If the previous tenant vacated the unit voluntarily or their tenancy was otherwise terminated in compliance with other applicable law, the landlord may reset the rent on the new tenancy without limitation.
If the previous tenant received a no-cause notice or their fixed-term lease was terminated and not allowed to roll over, they did not leave voluntarily and the landlord may only increase the rent on the unit by 7 percent plus CPI above the previous rent.
Subsidized Housing: If the landlord is providing reduced rent to the tenant as part of a federal, state, or local program or subsidy, they are exempt.
Enforcement
If a landlord violates the new provisions, they are liable for three months’ rent plus actual damages.
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, Feb. 8
Found Property – 12:19 p.m. – Canyon Drive Park – Found licence and credit card. Items turned into LCPD.
Crash – 2:33 p.m. – 1631 NW Highway 101 – Two vehicle crash with airbag deployment and blocking the roadway.
Found Property – 3:50 p.m. – Chinook Winds Casino Resort – Backpack found in parking structure containing female personal items and identifying documents. Property seized for safekeeping.
Crash – 6:39 p.m. – NE 15th St. & NE Highway 101 – Two vehicle non-injury and non-blocking crash.
Saturday, Feb. 9
Crash – 1:39 p.m. – 801 SW Highway 101 – Two vehicle crash with injuries. One driver cited for failure to yield.
Sunday, Feb. 10
Trespass – 12:24 a.m. – Chinook Winds Casino – Chinook Winds Security reports a male who has been excluded is refusing to leave and getting verbal. Forrest Locke (12/17/97) was arrested for trespass and transported to Lincoln County Jail.
Animal – 9:04 a.m. – 1635 NW Harbor Ave. – Caller reports she was bitten by a dog.
Hit and Run – 9:23 p.m. – NW 44th St. & NW Logan Rd. – Caller reported a knocked over fire hydrant with a bumper and license plate left at the scene. Andrew Vasquez (11/17/94) cited for failure to perform duties of a driver when property is damaged and criminal mischief.
Monday, Feb. 11
Car Clout – 2:11 a.m. – 1400 SE 19th St. – Caller witnessed a 6-foot male wearing a black raincoat break in to her friends vehicle. Area searched for suspect and report taken.
Tuesday, Feb. 12
Theft – 9:55 a.m. – 2150 NE Oar Pl. – No information given.
Domestic – 11:00 a.m. – 3510 NE Highway 101 – Male and female fighting in parking lot.
Burglary – 11:57 a.m. – 1363 NW 26th St. – Victim reported that her vacation house was broken into. Report taken.
Warrant Arrest – 1:56 p.m. – Chinook Winds Casino – Marissa Baker (8/20/78) taken into custody on Oregon State Parole and Probation warrant. Transported to Lincoln County Jail.
Domestic – 5:30 p.m. – 1211 NE Lakewood – Domestic between husband and wife.
Wednesday, Feb. 13
Crash – 7:56 a.m. – 4239 SW Highway 101 – Pickup stopped in traffic causing other vehicles to rear-end each other.
Assault – 12:50 p.m. – Taft High School – Officer took report.
Thursday, Feb. 14
Graffiti – 1:07 a.m. – LC Auto Supply – Located graffiti while on routine patrol. Report taken.
Taft High’s boys 400-yard freestyle relay team, left, touches in fourth place Friday to reach the State finals
Taft High’s boys 400-yard freestyle relay team — comprised of Tanner Landry, Hunter Lunstedt, Sam Cortes and Joram Hoff — matched its seeded position by placing fourth Friday to reach the finals of the Class 4A/3A/2A/1A OSAA State Swimming Championships in Beaverton.
“They are very excited for their relay,” said longtime Taft Coach Lissa Parker, who also watched a couple of her swimmers touch in personal-best times.
Sam Cortes and Hunter Lunstedt
Hoff, an 18-year-old senior, also placed seventh in the 200-yard freestyle after entering the meet at Tualatin Hills Aquatic Center seeded ninth. He matched his seeding by placing ninth in the 100-yard backstroke.
Cortes, a 14-year-old freshman, finished eighth in the 100 back after starting with the 10th seed. He matched his position with an eighth-place showing in the 100 free.
Landry, a 17-year-old senior, moved up two spots for 10th in the 200-yard individual medley after entering the meet as the 12th seed.
1 of 4
Lunstedt and Sammy Halferty, Taft’s lone girl representative, placed 11th and 12th, respectively, in the 100 breaststroke.
“Tanner was very positive dropping five seconds and Sam was good with his PRs [personal records],” Parker said. “Joram and Samantha were a little disappointed, but it’s a high-pressure situation and early in the morning as we are used to swimming later in the day.”
Only the top six in each of Friday’s 12-participant events advance to Saturday’s 8:15 a.m. finals.
Emergency Medical Services Division Chief Rob Dahlman was elected interim North Lincoln Fire & Rescue Department (NLFR) fire chief Wednesday following the recent retirement of longtime Chief Doug Kerr.
Rob Dahlman
Dahlman was elected in a 4-1 vote following a motion by NLFR Board of Directors President Jamie Wright, with Board member Danny Curler casting the no vote.
Meanwhile, NLFR will hold a joint workshop with the Board of Directors of Depoe Bay Fire at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 27, at the St. Clair Fire Station, 4520 SE Highway 101 in Lincoln City, to discuss potential cooperative efforts between the North Lincoln and Depoe Bay fire departments.
At Tuesday’s monthly Depoe Bay Fire District Board meeting, Depoe Bay Fire Chief Bill Johnson posed the possible benefits of joint efforts with NLFR. In his power-point presentation, Johnson referenced a 2012 countywide Opportunities for Collaborative Efforts Feasibility Study conducted by Emergency Services Consulting International.
Sandy Wallace poses with her supervisor, Christopher Garrison, and hospital CEO Dr. Lesley Ogden.
By a vote of her peers, Sandy Wallace was named 2018 Employee of the Year at Samaritan North Lincoln Hospital (SNLH).
Wallace has worked at the hospital as a housekeeper for the past 18 years. When accepting the award, she commented that working at Samaritan is a joy and that everyone in her department and throughout the hospital are like family to her.
Wallace was originally named employee of the month this past September, which made her eligible for consideration as employee of the year. At that time, several nominators praised her with such comments as:
Sandy is a joy to work with. She brings such a positive energy to our Environmental Services family. Sandy is a dedicated and hard-working employee. She is always willing to help and is appreciated so much.
She always has a smile. She will go out of her way to help other people. She is always so cheerful and good for a laugh if you need it.
She cleans and organizes the pre-op/PACU [surgical services] area for us and does this with a smile on her face! She has the best, positive, can-do attitude! We all appreciate her so much!
She is pleasant, hard-working and never complains. She transforms our workspace from being a disaster to a clean, comfortable and organized work space!
Each month throughout the year, SNLH employees are invited to submit nominations and the Employee Appreciation Committee is responsible for making the final selection. Those selected to be honored demonstrate a commitment to work excellence, provide high quality customer service and are enthusiastic and valuable team members. They also show a commitment to Samaritan’s PRIDE values: passion, respect, integrity, dedication and excellence.
At the end of the year, all SNLH staff are invited to vote for one of the 12 monthly winners to receive the top honor. The recipient receives a nice monetary reward, a traveling trophy and smaller prizes in appreciation.
Ellis said David Jin, Biz Byrum, Riley Ellis, Gio Salazar and DeVon Lindquist “got some great wins.” He said senior Jacob Mayoral lost a close first match to the first seed in the 145-pound division, but fought back to win two in the consolation bracket to keep his chances for a trip to State alive.
Wrestlers have to make the right weight, have their hair cut the right length, nails clipped, perfectly shaved, mouth guards for braces, laces taped, no skin disease on your body – or you can show up and be told when you get there that you don’t compete that day.
