Boy Scout Troop 47 is having a Christmas tree fundraiser at the Lincoln City Cultural Center to pay for the Scout’s summer camp.
Scouts and volunteers will sell trees seven days a week from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. on the north side of the Cultural Center’s building.
This is the only fundraiser Troop 47 has all year.
Special requests can be made to Scoutmaster Mike Freel by calling 503-713-7906.
North Lincoln Fire & Rescue (NLFR) Chief Doug Kerr will be retiring Feb. 28 after giving 90-day notice to the North Lincoln Fire & Rescue Board of Directors in November.
“I’ve known Doug Kerr from almost my entire time I’ve lived on the coast,” NLFR District Captain Jim Kusz said. “For the 24 years I’ve known him, Chief Kerr has proven to a loyal, dedicated and big hearted man.”
“Message from the Chief” from the nlfr.org website:
Most of you have heard by now, but just in case you haven’t, at our Board Meeting on November 14th, I gave my 90-day notice of retirement as the Fire Chief. My last day is scheduled for February 28, 2019.
This decision was one of the most difficult of my life but I feel it is the right one for my family and me. I didn’t make this decision as quickly as it might appear, as I have been looking into my financial status since early 2018. The information I was able to collect back in March showed I could retire and live comfortably. I really didn’t think much about it at first, thinking I would work until I was 65 or older, but the more I thought about it the more attractive it looked.
I will be 63 years old in March; I’ve lived in Lincoln City for over 56 years and have been involved with the fire service for just under 35 years. I was a Volunteer Firefighter with
Devils Lake for 13 years and have been currently employed by North Lincoln Fire & Rescue since 1997 – 9 years as a Division Chief, about 11 years as the Assistant Chief, and just under 2 years as your Fire Chief.
None of us know how much longer we have, and in our line of work we see that reality every day. Before making my decision, I thought a lot about all the changes we’ve been
through, the projects we have in progress, and the plans for the future. How could I possibly leave now? But I know the projects will get done and plans we’ve made will be followed through to completion.
The District has great people and resources, and will go on and continue to improve. The timing is right for me. I want you all to know that I retire with the utmost respect for our agency and everything WE have accomplished over the last 22 years. It has been my honor to work with each of you as our agency has grown and it has truly been my privilege and pleasure to serve as your Chief.
I really want to thank our Board of Directors for all their support and direction. The Staff is an outstanding group who will continue to get the job done at the highest level. I am very proud of our new career firefighters. They’ve done a great job of putting NLFR in the public eye while providing great emergency service response.
And a very special Thank You to our Volunteer Firefighters who continue to amaze and impress me with their dedication, work ethic, and commitment. We cannot provide the service we do without them. As we get close to the Christmas holiday, I wish you the
Happiest of Holiday Seasons and a great 2019!
Thank you for all you do!
Chief Kerr
“I’m proud to call him my friend and hope his next chapter with his wife Patti is full of fun and adventure!” Kusz said.
Seventh and eighth graders will join third through sixth graders in competition for the 2019-20 season in the Lincoln City Youth Cheerleading’s Recreation Division.
Cheerleaders will support seventh and eighth grade football and basketball teams and possibly compete across Oregon.
Open gym starts in February and coaches are looking for enthusiastic school-spirited individuals to build the team.
To participate, contact Tonia Anderson at 541-921-9962 or Nicole Kelso at 541-418-3074.
Samaritan Health Services, providing care to residents of Benton, Lincoln and Linn counties, has been named a champion of Mental Health First Aid by the National Council for Behavioral Health.
This designation celebrates organizations that taught five or more Mental Health First Aid courses between June and September 2018. These organizations educate their communities and improve the lives of people struggling with emotional and addictive problems. Samaritan Health Services is proud to have met that goal and to have been deemed a champion of the program.
Mental Health First Aid is a course that teaches participants a five-step action plan to identify, understand and respond to signs of mental health or substance use problems and offer support and help. In 10 years, it has become a movement—more than 1 million people have been certified, and that number is growing every day.
“Our commitment to Mental Health First Aid recognizes the need to increase community education, decrease stigma and give people the confidence to help someone going through a mental health struggle,” said Hilary Harrison, Samaritan health education coordinator for mental health. “We have trained more than 2,000 people across the region, including firefighters, police officers, non-profit organizations, faith leaders, teachers and community members.”
One in five Americans has a mental illness, but many are reluctant to seek help or might not know where to turn for care. Just as CPR helps people without clinical training assist an individual having a heart attack, Mental Health First Aid prepares participants to interact with a person experiencing a mental health crisis.
For more information or to participate in a Mental Health First Aid training, visit samhealth.org/MentalHealthFirstAid or call 866-243-7747. To learn more about Mental Health First Aid USA, visit MentalHealthFirstAid.org.
The National Council for Behavioral Health is the unifying voice of America’s health care organizations that deliver mental health and addictions treatment and services. Together with 2,900 member organizations serving more than 10 million adults, children and families living with mental illnesses and addictions, the National Council is committed to all Americans having access to comprehensive, high-quality care that affords every opportunity for recovery.
Not staying up to date on your student’s activities is a thing of the past with the Taft 7-12 app available now on Apple’s App Store and Google Play.
Taft High 7-12’s app gives parents access to many school resources from the comfort of their hand-held devices:
Social feeds are updated in real-time so parents can see what the school is posting on Facebook and Twitter from the app’s main screen.
The calendar gives updated information where the user can click on a day and see what the school has scheduled.
The app also includes a tip line form where anyone can report bullying, campus safety, academic integrity or other concerns to the appropriate school authority. These tips are anonymous unless the submitter gives contact information.
Taft High 7-12 sophomore JJ French and senior Maleah Smith were honored Wednesday by the Lincoln City Rotary Club as Students of the Month at the Salishan Spa & Golf Resort.
Also multi-sport stars, French and Smith were honored for their academic achievement and attendance.
The City of Lincoln City invites the public to a meet-and- greet with the finalists for the Planning and Community Development Director position from 6-8 p.m. tonight in the council chambers at City Hall.
The appointee will replace Planning Director Richard Townsend upon his retirement in March.
North Lincoln Fire and Rescue and Pacific Power responded at approximately 12:45 a.m Tuesday to news that high winds had blown a tree down onto the roof of a home at 2095 NE Tide Ave. in Lincoln City.
Power lines to the house were down, and initial reports stated the tree was on fire. Responding crews found no fire and the occupants uninjured.
Two occupants, including one sleeping in an upstairs bedroom where the tree crashed onto the roof, were uninjured.
A tree (above) was also blown down at SW Coast Avenue and SW 25th Lane.
Another tree was downed at approximately 2 a.m. this morning (below) at NE 22nd Street.
This Holiday Season in the shadow of the disasters we’ve seen globally, our first wind storm of the season and the devastating wildland fires in California, I’m suggesting giving the “Gift of Preparedness” to shed some light on how your family, and our community can better prepare for calamities that may occur, with a gift, the Severe Event Training (SET) book.
Ask yourself, are you SET for the next winter storm, wildland fire, or earthquake and tsunami to hit the Oregon coast?
If not, this simple workbook can assist you in planning for what “mother nature” may have in store for us.
SET the “Severe Event Training” book (and program) was developed to assist the general public with information from the American Red Cross and scenarios in the workbook to start the dialogue on preparation, response and recovery after a severe event. SET was funded by local businesses and every edition has been supported by Chinook Winds Casino & Resort, providing funding and the cover graphics for the books. No Taxpayer’s dollars went to SET publications.
We currently are freely giving the fourth edition of SET books, to assist individuals in planning, and give our community a place to start thinking about what they could do to better protect themselves in case of any severe event and what they (in their particular situation) might need. North Lincoln Fire & Rescue and our surrounding partners in Fire and Life Safety actively continues our outreach to educate people about fire prevention, storm readiness, and earthquake and tsunami.
It may seem odd, but taking some time to talk with family and friends near and far about how to better prepare before and response after a disaster may be the best gift ever. Being prepared gives peace of mind, knowing what you need and do after an event helps not only you, but our community.
Locations with “free” SET books:
North Lincoln Fire & Rescue
Bob Everest Station, Oceanlake / Lincoln City
St. Clair Station, Taft / Lincoln City
Lincoln City, City Hall 3rd floor / Lincoln City
News-Guard / Lincoln City
Oregon Coast Community College / Lincoln City
Yaquina Bay Communications Radio Stations / Newport
Newport Fire Station
News-Times / Newport
Depoe Bay Fire & Rescue’s Stations
In January 2019, I’ll be again teaching the Oregon Coast Community College course “Disaster Preparedness in the Pacific Northwest”, on January 24th and 31st. The two part six hour course is free, and goes into detail how individuals and communities can prepare.
For more information and to register, visit the Oregon Coast Community College at www.oregoncoastcc.org .
Have a safe, informed and wonderful holiday season.
Jim Kusz
Public Information, Education & Safety Officer
North Lincoln Fire & Rescue
Wind gusts brought a small tree down across NE 22nd Street causing emergency crews to cordon off the area from Oceanlake Elementary to NE West Devil Lake Road around 2 a.m. Tuesday.
There were reports of other trees down in the city, keeping North Lincoln Fire & Rescue and Lincoln City Police busy.
The National Weather Service had issued a warning for wind gusts of 55 to 60 mph possible for beaches and coastal headlands late Monday evening into Tuesday morning.
