Newport Police were alerted Thursday to a viral video showing an on-duty front-desk manager harassing an employee at the Comfort Inn in Newport.
The alleged victim, Alexandra McMillin of Newport, called 911 Thursday morning to report she was working the reception desk when her supervisor, Charles E. Cummings, grabbed her by the face while reprimanding her.
Newport Police contacted McMillin, who reported that the abuse occurred May 29 at the hotel at 531 SW Fall St. McMillan did not report any injuries from the alleged altercation, a Newport Police officer said.
Officers obtained video surveillance from the location and observed Cummings and McMillin in conversation, when Cummings grabbed her face and then released his hold.
Cummings was located around 4 p.m. at his residence, where Newport Police issued a citation in lieu of custody. The no-contact order charged him with harassment and a mandatory court appearance.
Cummings could not be reached for comment.
“I just want people to know that I didn’t expect this to go viral,” McMillin said. “I posted it to raise awareness. I wanted to help add to the prevention of this type of thing.
“The harassment was a reoccurring issue, once I had raw evidence of this kind of thing happening, I knew I had to say something and warn my local community.
“I’m coming forward and speaking on it to be brave for the women who can’t be, for every woman who spoke up and was silenced, for every woman thinking that they don’t have a voice. I hope this is used as a catalyst to stop this abuse that happens to so many women every day.”
On August 15th, 2018, Newport Police Department Officers were dispatched to a call on report of a subject, later identified as Christopher Michael Schaffer, 27 of Toledo, menacing another driver with a firearm.
The victim accidentally cut Schaffer off in traffic. Schaffer then began tailgating and following the victim through town. Schaffer then brandished a handgun and pointed it at the victim. The victim made several turns trying to elude Schaffer, but he continued to follow the victim.
The victim called 911 and was instructed by dispatchers to drive to the Newport Police Department. Officers were on scene and conducted a traffic stop on Schaffer’s vehicle.
Officers detained Schaffer and located a handgun in the dash of Schaffer’s vehicle.
Schaffer was arrested at the scene and lodged in the Lincoln County Jail for the following charges:
Henrik Bothe entertained with a hilarious, physical “Family Night” comedy show Wednesday night that included magic, jokes and child volunteers at Driftwood Public Library.
From producing a seemingly endless supply of ping pong balls from the mouth and other places — to spinning plates amidst a cacophony of screaming kids — Bothe captivated a packed audience with his customized headline comedy performance.
The highly engaging Bothe had children and parents laughing and clapping throughout the show.
Longtime national award-winning journalist Jim Fossum has been promoted to Executive Editor of Lincoln City Homepage, Publisher Justin Werner has announced.
“Jim Fossum has repeatedly gone above and beyond what has been asked of him on too many occasions to list,” Werner said. “He has taken initiative when it was needed most and has been instrumental in propelling our news organization into the forefront of Lincoln City news by keeping our level of quality and integrity intact.”
Jim and Patty Fossum
Fossum, Homepage’s Senior Reporter and Sports Editor for the past five months, brings almost 40 years of professional experience covering virtually every facet of print and digital journalism to the area’s most comprehensive media site.
“It’s a great honor to oversee a media outlet that has quickly established itself as the leading source of news coverage in North Lincoln County,” Fossum said. “No one rivals Homepage for its fair, accurate, professional and innovative approach to the presentation of local news.”
Sports Editor of the 175,000 circulation Las Vegas Review-Journal for 16 years, Fossum, 60, has covered news and youth sports throughout Lincoln County for more than 10 years as Owner/Publisher/Editor of SportsLincolnCounty.com, and Sports Editor/Reporter at the Lincoln City News Guard and Newport News-Times. He will continue in his capacity as Editor-in-Chief and Senior Columnist for the multimedia Internet site Silver and Black Today, which covers the Oakland Raiders and the NFL team’s impending move to Las Vegas in 2020.
Fossum, who retired to the Oregon Coast in July 2006, worked for a year at the News-Times and six at the News Guard before founding SportsLincolnCounty.com (later OregonCoastSports.com) in March 2014. He covered all six Lincoln County high schools (Newport, Taft, Toledo, Waldport, Siletz Valley and Eddyville) in all sports, boys and girls, as well as community sports during his two years operating SportsLincolnCounty.com.
Retired from full-time work due to vision disabilities, the 1980 Northern Arizona University graduate began his 25-year Las Vegas Review-Journal career in January 1981 as tennis, golf and football beat writer. He was lead reporter for the annual Alan King/Caesars Palace Tennis Classic, featuring Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg, and all three of Las Vegas’ major professional golf tour stops (PGA Tour, Senior PGA Tour and LPGA Tour) as a longtime member of the Golf Writers Association of America.
Also a copy editor and page designer, Fossum became one of the nation’s youngest sports editors at a major metropolitan daily when he was promoted by the Review-Journal at age 33 shortly after covering No. 1-ranked UNLV in the 1991 Final Four in Indianapolis. He was named Nevada Sportswriter of the Year in 1998 by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association.
Winner of numerous writing awards from the Nevada Press Association, his reporting experience includes ringside coverage of several of boxing’s most celebrated world championship prize fights, including title bouts featuring Mike Tyson, Oscar De La Hoya, Alexis Arguello, Marvin Hagler, Sugar Ray Leonard, Evander Holyfield, Riddick Bowe, Roberto Duran and Thomas Hearns.
Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Nancy Lopez, Annika Sorenstam, Julius Erving, Larry Bird and Wayne Gretzky are among the many sports superstars he has interviewed, in addition to documenting the careers of Las Vegans Randall Cunningham, Andre Agassi and Greg Maddux.
Honored with numerous Las Vegas community service awards from charitable organizations such as the Muscular Dystrophy Association and the American Cancer Society, Fossum was cited in the late 1990s by the Southern Nevada Sports Hall of Fame for his contributions to Las Vegas-area athletics.
A longtime member of the Associated Press Sports Editors (APSE), he helped oversee the organization’s annual West Regional Convention for several years at various Las Vegas Strip resorts. He helped recruit APSE’s national convention to the MGM Grand in 2006 after annually attending extensive journalism seminars at many of the country’s largest and most respected major dailies, including the Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, Baltimore Sun, Philadelphia Inquirer, Orlando Sentinel, Seattle Times, San Diego Union-Tribune and Dallas Morning News.
As a reporter and columnist, he has covered various world-class sporting events such as NASCAR, the Skins Game, the U.S. Open, major college bowl games and the National Finals Rodeo.
Prior to working at the Review-Journal, he was a sports reporter at the Arizona Daily Sun in Flagstaff, and a correspondent for The Arizona Republic and The Associated Press. He has written numerous advertorials for Golf and Golf Digest magazines and been a regular contributor to Sports Illustrated.
In 2005, Fossum was honored with Lake Havasu (Ariz.) High School’s Distinguished Alumni Award and delivered his alma mater’s Class of 2006 commencement speech 30 years after graduating.
Two Lincoln City men and a Cloverdale resident face drug and weapons charges after Special Agents from the ATF Seattle Field Division executed multiple federal search and arrest warrants Tuesday in Lincoln City.
Three men were arraigned and charged Wednesday afternoon in U.S. Federal Court in Eugene following the city-wide raid, U.S. Attorney’s Office District of Oregon Public Affairs Officer Kevin Sonoff said.
Billy Jack Reese Jr., 40, of Lincoln City, was charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense.
James Levi Boyer, 49, of Cloverdale, was charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
David Williams, 62, of Lincoln City, was charged with possession of a stolen firearm.
Additional defendants will appear in federal court Thursday, Sonoff said via email from his Portland District Field Office.
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) agents, including officers from the Lincoln City Police Department, surrounded the Terrace Garden Apartments at 3456 NE West Devils Lake Road in Lincoln City around 4 p.m. Tuesday.
Witnesses said SWAT and ATF agents in tactical gear entered an apartment at the complex at approximately 6 p.m and exited with bagged items. A resident said they could not enter their apartment because the area was barricaded.
Other locations, including Lincoln City Storage, 3796 SW Highway 101, also were searched by federal agents during Tuesday’s sting operation.
ATF at Lincoln City residence off Beach Ave (photo has been altered to protect agents) – Photo by Brynna Keel Blanchard Agents from the ATF at Lincoln City Storage – Photo courtesy David Madaus
The ATF is a law enforcement agency in the United States’ Department of Justice that protects communities from violent criminals, criminal organizations, the illegal use and trafficking of firearms, the illegal use and storage of explosives, acts of arson and bombings, acts of terrorism, and the illegal diversion of alcohol and tobacco products.
More information about ATF and its programs is available at www.atf.gov.
Lincoln City Homepage wants to know what you know about our fine community.
We are conducting a readers’ survey/poll for publication to help tourists and residents alike identify places to go, people to meet and things to do in Lincoln City. Periodically, Homepage is going to be running polls of the various restaurants, events, parks, beaches and so on.
This poll will be up until Aug. 31, and at the end of voting we will be presenting an award for “Best Breakfast Restaurant” as voted by Homepage readers.
Below, please find the breakfast restaurants that can be found in the Lincoln City area.
For men who can’t sleep through the night or get through a round of golf without making a trip to the bathroom, there is a solution.
Join board-certified urologist Jeffrey Palmgren, MD, at a free seminar where he’ll share information about the signs and symptoms of an enlarged prostate, and the surgical and non-surgical treatment options available.
The seminar will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m., on Thursday, Sept. 20, at the Health Professions Education Center in Lincoln City, located on the campus of Samaritan North Lincoln Hospital.
Registration is required and space is limited. To register, visit samhealth.org/BeHealthy or call 855-873-0647.
Taft High football players past, present and future gathered at Voris Field in Lincoln City on Monday for the Youth Football Camp for first through eighth graders.
Taft players and coaches will lead the youngsters through drills from 5-7 p.m. through Thursday at a cost of $20 for the four-day camp.
The Tigers, who conducted their first official practice of the season earlier in the day, will gather again Tuesday morning to resume drills for the 2018 season.
The ATF is a law enforcement agency in the United States’ Department of Justice that protects communities from violent criminals, criminal organizations, the illegal use and trafficking of firearms, the illegal use and storage of explosives, acts of arson and bombings, acts of terrorism, and the illegal diversion of alcohol and tobacco products.
