Lincoln City Homepage

DHS announces delay in meal benefit program

Local News

-

June 25, 2018

In an email received by the Lincoln County School District on June 20, the Department of Human Services reported that benefits are late due to a budget processing delay out of Washington D.C. Benefit cards should arrive near the end of July. When you receive your card, you will have June and July benefits available to use. Questions may be directed to DHS at 503-373-7650.

In addition, all Lincoln County youth are encouraged to eat free breakfast and lunch at one of the 14 summer meal sites. A complete list of summer meal site locations can be found on our website: www.lincoln.k12.or.us Adult meals may be purchased for $3.

ORIGINAL MEDIA RELEASE: If you have a student in the Lincoln County School District expect to see a card in the mail that will be pre-loaded with $30 to spend in June, then $30 to spend in July and $30 to spend in August on groceries for your student. The cards are loaded with this amount at the 1^st of each month.

Students to Receive $30 per Month for Food this Summer

This is a benefit funded by the Child Nutrition Program and is a joint project of USDA, Food and Nutrition Services Child Nutrition Program, Department of Human Services and the Oregon Department of Education.

There is no income limit to families, this is just a nice support offered to all LCSD students during summer months. Each registered student in the LCSD qualifies for this benefit because we participate in the Community Eligibility Program, which provides no cost breakfast and lunch to all of our students.

If your family cannot use the card please consider simply not activating the card or buying non-perishable food items that you can donate to a cause of your choosing such as a family in need.

Here is a link to all the items you can buy with the card: https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/eligible-food-items

If you have questions, you may contact Jamie Nicholson at 541-265-4420.

Some ideas to keep in mind is that:

You can receive the benefits for your child even if a non-citizen.
There is no application required
The child may still be eligible if they have graduated this year
The child must be at least 5 years of age and have gone through kindergarten
SEBTC benefits will automatically be added to eligible children on SNAP. This action will occur on June 1, 2018.
SEBTC benefits must be used by September 4, 2018
If the household moves out of state, the SEBTC will be closed.

Boys’ no-hitter lifts Dungies to 7-1 start to Legion season

Sports

Jim Fossum

-

June 24, 2018

0

Clark Boys threw a no-hitter, and outfielder Joe Hixenbaugh and second baseman Cole Strober drove in two runs each Friday to lead the Mid-Coast Dungies to a 10-0 American Legion baseball victory over North Marion (Aurora) at Frank Wade Field in Newport.

Boys, a Newport High graduate playing for a Washington State club team, was supported by two hits each from catcher Griffin Lavigne of Reedsport High, infielder Bryce Bridge of Nea-Kah-Nie and Hixenbaugh of Blue Mountain Community College while improving to 7-1.

The Dungies lost for the first time this season, 6-3 Tuesday to the Post 20 Demarini Dirtbags at Wade Field.

Taft High graduate Josh Salsbery had two hits for the Dungies, who committed three errors in the game and fell behind 6-0 following a four-run fourth.

The Dungies responded to the defeat by beating the Eastside Cutters 11-0 Thursday behind two hits each from Hixenbaugh, Taft junior catcher Eli DeMello and Newport’s Dylan Crowell at Madison High School in Portland.

Crowell drove in three runs and DeMello two for the Dungies behind pitchers JJ Russell of Eddyville High and Jacob Riley of Newport.

The Dungies return to action Monday against the 503 baseball club at 5 p.m. at Wade Field. The Dungies play the Mid-Valley Southpaws at 5 p.m. Tuesday at Wade Field, and in a 5 p.m. road doubleheader Wednesday at West Albany High School.

Coach Taylor Plesha’s Dungies return to Wade Field for a 3 p.m. home game Friday against the Portland Baseball Club.

Mid-Coast Dungies AAA Legion Baseball

Gagging the leaders of our children is no laughing matter

Local News

Jim Fossum

-

June 23, 2018

5

EDITORIALLY SPEAKING

(See original story below)

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

– First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America

The best thing about having to leave my old home on the majestic Oregon Coast is that there is anything and everything you can think of to do in glitzy, glittery, glamorous Las Vegas. While there may be no substitute for oceanfront living in the Great Pacific Northwest, among the many things you can enjoy most in “Sin City” is the entertainment — especially if you enjoy a good laugh.

But what’s going on in the northern portion of the county I used to live in is no laughing matter . . . laughable, maybe, if it wasn’t so sad. There, the adults in charge need to start learning from the kids they are teaching. Those lessons should begin with brushing up on the U.S. Constitution that this great land of ours is built on.

Not all jokes are funny, especially this one. The Lincoln County School District is effectively telling the admired teachers of the children it serves who they can and cannot talk to. After hearing the news of a de facto gag order being placed on its workers, I choose not to laugh.

I joined others in laughing heartily, however, when we read online in the Lincoln City paper that an elementary school principal served “snakes,” rather than “snacks,” to his students at an end-of-school gathering. Bite your lip — what followed was a chain of events that has been almost beyond comprehension.

Listed in the “Comedy” entertainment section under the headline “Snake charmer Lupo serves reptiles to kids,” Lincoln City Homepage ran a satirical piece on its social site making light of the glaring typo. Never mind that the post didn’t appear on the official Homepage website, or that not a single reader construed the humorous blunder as fact.

Incredibly, publication of the brief, six-paragraph item led to a suppression order issued immediately and without discussion with Homepage against all North County LCSD employees by their bosses. The muzzling prevents all teachers and coaches from communicating with Homepage, a multimedia Internet site that just concluded covering Taft High School to an extent it has never seen before – and now will never see again. The narrow-minded edict should make them – and you – want to gag.

The decision comes on the heels of a previous command by administrators that stymied Homepage’s unprecedented coverage of the school’s athletic programs. Saying it was now District protocol, Taft administration arbitrarily adopted a policy virtually overnight late in the spring season that dictated that all correspondence on sporting events be spoon-fed to all county media in the form of a “press release” issued by coaches.

Not that it does now, but until that time, Lincoln City’s “community newspaper,” the News Guard, barely touched a keyboard to cover the Tigers. The policy resulted because of a coach’s desperate desire to promote their program at the expense of the long-standing and universally understood source-reporter relationship. Seeing how Homepage had been doing all the work, I found little humor in that.

It’s amusing only because in this great democracy we live in, you have the right to not only laugh, but say virtually anything you want under numerous protections. In order to form a more perfect Union, our Founding Fathers identified the need to address an oversight in the law of the land by making freedom of speech and the press the very first addendum to the framework for the regulations that govern our nation and its people.

Despite all of their many grand contributions to the betterment of area youth, until they can recite the First Amendment, perhaps those making these dictatorial decisions, and those with egocentric motives, should sit in the corner facing the wall wearing dunce caps. Together, they’ve teamed to foster the inexplicable treatment of the media outlet that has served them best.

Prior restraint law and legalities aside, by demanding its employees to agree to agree to be silenced, the District also muzzled and caged the watchdog. The most respected colleague I ever worked with constantly reminded me of two things in presenting the news when I expressed concern over whether or not I should stay in the business because of who I might upset:

1) “The truth hurts, so you’re going to hurt people.”

2) “They need us more than we need them.”

Clearly, the administration in charge of educating your children doesn’t understand that. If it did, you’d be able to continue to read about its students’ great accomplishments. Until now, I never truly understood what they meant when they said don’t listen to people who fear a free and open press.

As sports editor and senior reporter for Homepage, and executive editor and senior columnist of a multimedia outlet that covers the Oakland (Las Vegas) Raiders, guess which website garners most of my attention?

Truth be told, I cherished being part of the Tigers’ improbable run to the most successful sports season the school has ever had. Half blind and for no pay, I wrote more than 100 positive stories and zero negative ones on Taft High in barely two months. I watched your team’s baseball games from a thousand miles away via Internet so that I could better inform you about them.

Nothing thrilled me more than when I was told how those same boys would sit eagerly on the bus ride home, anxiously waiting to share my deadline account of their most recent win. I spent 10 glorious years in semi-retirement in Lincoln City reporting about – and suffering with – many of the most bullied teams in the state at Taft. How ironic that the school is now bullying the press.

Despite 25 years of covering sports in Las Vegas at the very highest levels, I’ve seldom dealt with coaches who try to curry favor for their own program by leveraging fellow teams, the media, their administration and even their friends by “venting” to me in the interest of gaining attention for themselves and their players. And, I’ve rarely seen community leaders put their personal agendas ahead of the promotion and recognition of the very children they are supposed to teach, protect and represent.

I find nothing funny in that.

UPDATED: LCSD order denies Homepage access

New Facebook group Lincoln City Community Discussion goes viral

Local News

Justin Werner

-

June 22, 2018

0

New Facebook group Lincoln City Community Discussion goes viral

A new Facebook group centered around community discussion is taking Lincoln City by storm. Lincoln City Community Discussion started yesterday and now has close to 900 members.

The administrators have encouraged everyone to join and share the group in an effort to grow membership and it’s growing faster than expected.

“This group started yesterday afternoon [and] over 700 people have joined! That’s 10% of Lincoln City!” said one member.

The group’s administration said Lincoln City Community Discussion will be a place to talk about local events, local concerns, recommendations, school functions and even air grievances. These policies are in stark contrast to where some of the group’s member base comes from, another Facebook group, where the “ban hammer” is often abused according to a large number of users.

The Banhammer refers to the figurative banning tool used by group administrators to prohibit “undesirable” members from accessing the group

Admins are asking members not to break two cardinal rules: no politics and no religion. Independent Facebook studies suggest those two topics cause the most “unfriending.”

There is no selling or advertising of any kind allowed in the group except on “Small Business Saturdays” and “Work-it Wednesdays.” Business owners can post about their business, but no direct sales.

The following quote is from the admin account for the page:

“I believe as a small community it is vital for us to have a way to quickly communicate when there is an accident on the highway, if head lice broke out in school, power went out, etc.

I also believe as adults we should be able to have discussions -even debates- without calling names, or being down right nasty to one another.

My hope for this page is for people to have a place to voice their opinions, without fear of being hit with the Ban Hammer.

Thank you for your support! Let’s make this page GREAT!”

New members are asked to comment “read” at the bottom of the pinned post to acknowledge they have understood the rules.

CHECK IT OUT

Fire Marshal says ‘Keep it safe, keep it legal’ with fireworks

Local News

Justin Werner

-

June 22, 2018

0

The State Fire Marshal, Oregon fire service, Keep Oregon Green, the Pacific Northwest Wildfire Coordination Group, natural resource agencies, and Oregon licensed fireworks wholesalers encourage Oregonians to “Keep it Legal and Keep it Safe” when using fireworks.

Fireworks retail sales season opens Saturday, June 23 and runs through Friday, July 6. The State Fire Marshal and its partners want everyone to know which fireworks are legal to use in Oregon without a permit, where they are permitted to be used, and the important safety steps to take when using fireworks.

“I want to remind all Oregonians that consumer legal fireworks can only be purchased from Oregon permitted fireworks retailers and stands,” says State Fire Marshal Jim Walker. “And, regulations limit where those fireworks may be used. Fire risk in Oregon is approaching extreme conditions and there is no room for error in fireworks safety.”

July 4th holiday public land visitors are advised to leave all fireworks at home. The use of fireworks is prohibited on all national forestland, Oregon state parks, and beaches. “It’s best to leave fireworks to the professionals,” states Keep Oregon Green President Kristin Babbs. “Support your local community by enjoying fireworks at sponsored events. If you choose to use fireworks at home, make sure they stay on the pavement and always keep a bucket of water nearby for safety and to extinguish spent fireworks.”

Oregon law prohibits possession, use, or sale of any firework that flies into the air, explodes, or travels more than 12 feet horizontally on the ground, without a permit issued by the OSFM. Fireworks commonly called bottle rockets, Roman candles, and firecrackers are illegal in Oregon, without a permit.

There were 318 reported fireworks-related fires in Oregon during 2017, resulting in eight injuries and more than $861,000 in property damage. Over the past five years, from 2013 through 2017, there were 1,355 reported fireworks-related fires in Oregon resulting in one death, 34 injuries, and more than $3 million in property damage.

Officials may seize illegal fireworks and charge offenders with a class B misdemeanor which could result in a fine of up to $2,500 per violation and a civil penalty of up to $500. Those who misuse fireworks or allow fireworks to cause damage are liable and may be required to pay fire suppression costs or other damage. Parents are also liable for fireworks damage caused by their children.

“All Oregonians share the responsibility to use only consumer legal fireworks and use them carefully,” adds Walker. And we encourage you to be aware and considerate of neighbors and their pets, before deciding on when and where you choose to light fireworks.”

The State Fire Marshal encourages everyone to use the four B’s of safe fireworks use:

Be Prepared before lighting fireworks: keep water available by using a garden hose or bucket.
Be Safe when lighting fireworks: keep children and pets away from fireworks.
Be Responsible after lighting fireworks: never relight a dud. Wait 15 to 20 minutes then soak it in a bucket of water before disposal.
Be Aware: use only legal fireworks and use them only in legal places.

The four B’s of fireworks safety brochure is available here:

http://www.oregon.gov/OSP/SFM/docs/Licensing_permits/fireworks/4BesFireworks.pdf.

Tips in Spanish are also available at: http://www.oregon.gov/OSP/SFM/docs/Licensing_permits/fireworks/Fireworks_4Bs_Spanish.pdf

UPDATED: LCSD order denies Homepage access

Local News

Homepage Staff

-

June 21, 2018

0

The issue has been resolved.

LCSD letter allows Homepage to resume coverage of Taft High

Lincoln City Homepage’s coverage of Taft High 7-12 has been silenced by a “gag order” imposed by the Lincoln County School District on its employees, preventing them from communicating with the news site and blocking access to all sources and contacts at all North County schools.

“Due to the nature of athletic issues this spring, concerns over graduation, and the most recent article featuring [incoming Taft High Principal] Nick Lupo, LCSD North Area Schools will no longer respond to communication requests or emails from Lincoln City Homepage,” new School Improvement and Secondary Curriculum Administrator Majalise Tolan wrote Monday in an email.

Lincoln City Homepage, a multimedia Internet and publishing site serving North Lincoln County, has published more than 100 stories and hundreds of photos and videos trumpeting Taft High academics, student government, sports, music and other extracurricular activities in the past three months alone.

“We cannot operate in the blind. It’s impossible to recognize the accomplishments of the kids without the ability to connect with administrators, teachers and coaches,” Homepage Publisher Justin Werner said. “There is a law in this country that prevents governing bodies from censoring future publication and what we can and cannot write. Prior restraint on publication or the sources of information should not be imposed. The courts understand the First Amendment well. We have the right to gather the news.”

According to Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, “News organizations should make every effort to challenge even the most routine gag orders because they represent the slow but steady erosion of First Amendment rights.”

Tolan did not return requests for comment made in the interest of fairness on this story.

The announcement follows the posting of a lighthearted satirical piece making light of a Lincoln City News Guard article (since removed) that included a typographical error saying then-Taft Elementary School Principal Lupo “served snakes” (rather than snacks) to kids at an end-of-school gathering. The post did not appear on Homepage’s website or Facebook page, rather a newly developed social site akin to Facebook designed to encourage interaction among Lincoln City residents. The post was also shared on Werner’s personal Facebook page.

Listed in the “Comedy” section and under the headline “Snake charmer Lupo serves reptiles to kids,” the tongue-in-cheek post was not misconstrued as fact by readers. Lupo has not responded to Werner’s apology for any grief the post might have caused.

The email’s reference to “athletic issues this spring” is in regard to a previous command from Tolan to coaches requiring them to share game information previously sought solely by Homepage in the form of a “press release” to all county media. The edict was issued after Homepage objected to a Taft High coach sharing an email response to its exclusive inquiry with the News Guard and Newport News Times.

The former Taft High principal’s “concerns over graduation” arose after Homepage inquired about the possibility of publishing text from a News Guard “guest column” she wrote previewing the 2018 graduation ceremonies in keeping with her previously adopted “press release” policy. The following day, in an attempt to obtain original material to enhance its commencement coverage, Homepage asked Tolan if she would share her graduation speech in lieu of the column, which she did.

Unbeknownst to Homepage, the column and speech were one and the same. Upon the speech’s publication following its delivery to hundreds of parents, teachers, students and family (and videotaped by Homepage), Tolan asked that credit be given to the News Guard due to her arrangement with the paper to produce a “guest column” in past years. Homepage declined to do so as the content of the speech was now public record and in no way “exclusive.”

After censoring her employees, Tolan told Homepage it could arrange a meeting with School District officials to discuss the aforementioned matters:

“If interested, Majalise Tolan and Dr. Karen Gray [incoming LCSD superintendent] will be happy to sit down with you to discuss these concerns. A meeting may be scheduled by contacting Sheena Scarberry [LCSD secretary] at the Lincoln County School District main office: 541-265-9211. Sincerely, Majalise Tolan,” the email read.

A meeting has been proposed for Wednesday, June 27, at District headquarters in Newport. Homepage is considering its options on how to proceed to ensure its continuing coverage of North County schools and their students.

Homepage is prepared to produce emails and other communication confirming the aforementioned version of events and stands by its commitment to promote and document the many deeds and accomplishments of the youth in Lincoln County.

“The only thing this hurts besides our First Amendment rights are the kids,” Werner said.

Registration open for Police Department’s ‘Fun Summer Games’

Jim Fossum

-

June 20, 2018

0

Registration open for Police Department’s ‘Fun Summer Games’

The Lincoln City Police Department will sponsor the “Fun Summer Games” program for kindergarteners to eighth-graders Aug. 27-30 at Oceanlake Elementary School.

Prizes will be awarded and lunch served in the 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. event to the first 60 registered participants. Students from ninth to 12^th grade can participate as team leaders/coaches.

Registration forms are available at the Lincoln City Police Department, 1503 S.E. East Devils Lake Road; or the Community Center, 2150 Oar Place. Return registration forms to Officer Summer Danneker (sdannaker.lincolncity.org).

Taft to host 7-on-7 football competition; co-ed softball meeting set

Sports

Jim Fossum

-

June 19, 2018

0

Taft High football already has competed in one 7-on-7 competition, going 4-0 at Jefferson High earlier this month. The Tigers will hold their own 7-on-7 scrimmage against Class 4A Tillamook at 5 p.m. Wednesday at Voris Field.

Taft athletes in all sports have already begun taking advantage of an open weight room at the school from 9-10 a.m. Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Football field workouts are conducted immediately following the open weight and conditioning sessions.

Taft will be leaving the Class 3A West Valley League for the newly formed Class 3A Coastal Range League, where it will join the Clatskanie Tigers, Rainier Columbians, Warrenton Warriors and Willamina Bulldogs. Taft will be a member of the five-school Coastal Range League through at least 2022. Details about a new “super league” involving football are pending.

Meanwhile, community co-ed softball will resume shortly with an organizational meeting scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Kirtsis Field. Call Taft High softball coach Sandy Stuart at 541-992-4616 for information on how to register or start a new team.

In baseball, the Mid-Coast Dungies, sponsored by American Legion Post 116 and supported by local dungeness crab fisheries, have started their season 5-0 and won a tournament last weekend in Hood River.

The Dungies are scheduled to play at 4 p.m. Tuesday against the Demarini Dirtbags at Frank Wade Field in Newport; at 4 p.m. Wednesday against 503 Baseball Club at the Pit at Taft High; at 2 p.m. Thursday against the Eastside Cutters at Wade Field; and at 4:30 p.m. Friday against North Willamette Valley at Wade Field.

Taft boys basketball also competes regularly this summer, with two games scheduled Wednesday at Waldport, a tournament Saturday and Sunday in Florence and a team camp at Taft High June 30.

Hospital CEO pledges $125,000 gift for new hospitals

Local News

Mary Jo Kerlin

-

June 18, 2018

0

Hospital CEO pledges $125,000 gift for new hospitals

Architects rendering of northwest side of new hospital — Architects rendering of northwest side of new Lincoln City hospital

Lincoln City – The campaigns supporting the new Samaritan hospitals being built in Lincoln County have received a tremendous boost with the announcement of a $125,000 gift from Lesley Ogden, MD, and her husband, William Arens.

Lesley Ogden, MD

As Chief Executive Officer of Samaritan North Lincoln Hospital in Lincoln City and Samaritan Pacific Communities Hospital in Newport, Dr. Ogden oversees the construction projects at both sites. After considering the difference a single large gift could make in the delivery of quality health care to these rural communities, Ogden and Arens decided to make this personal investment.

“We both felt compelled to make this gift because it’s simply the right thing to do,” Dr. Ogden said. “We are fortunate enough to have the means, and we know this donation will have a long-lasting and meaningful impact on the future of health care in our county. We ask others who have the means to thoughtfully consider doing the same because it’s so important to those we serve.”

Because Samaritan Health Services is a not-for-profit health care provider, she encourages community support for each hospital’s fundraising campaign. Two Samaritan foundations, the North Lincoln Hospital Foundation (NLHF) and the Pacific Communities Health District Foundation (PCHDF), are charged with raising funds for furnishings, fixtures and medical equipment for the new hospitals now under construction.

“Our communities have a rich history of supporting our local hospitals, and Dr. Ogden’s gift amplifies that spirit,” said PCHDF Executive Director Ursula Marinelli. “Because Samaritan Health Services is a not-for-profit health care provider, we don’t turn anyone away for inability to pay. That’s what makes gifts like Dr. Ogden’s critical to our mission. We are so grateful for this gift.”

In accepting the gift on behalf of the NLHF, Executive Director Cathy Sandoval commented that an organization’s leader helps to create the larger environment and the individual relationships that are conducive to commitment and giving.

“Dr. Ogden’s role-modeling will surely radiate onto the entire team,” Sandoval said. “When leaders radiate this kind of generous energy, it inspires others to do the same.”

Dr. Ogden agreed that role-modeling is just one benefit of making the large gift.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be part of something that is bigger than us and that will have an impact for years to come. This gift and gifts from others will help to secure the future of health care in our rural community,” Dr. Ogden said.

New Samaritan Hospital — Architectural rendering of southwest side of new Lincoln City hospital

The new hospital project in Lincoln City is being funded by Samaritan Health Services and will entirely replace the existing Samaritan North Lincoln Hospital building, which turns 50 years old in October. The hospital expansion, reconstruction and remodeling at Samaritan Pacific Communities Hospital in Newport is made possible by a bond funded by taxpayers in the Pacific Communities Health District and support from Samaritan Health Services.

For more information about the new hospital projects in each community, visit samhealth.org/NewHospitalLincolnCity and samhealth.org/NewHospitalNewport.

Samaritan North Lincoln Hospital

Dungies open Legion baseball season with 5-0 start, tourney win

Sports

Jim Fossum

-

June 18, 2018

1

Josh Salsbery drove in three runs with two hits and Tyee Fisher and Mitchell Richwine also had two hits Wednesday as the Mid-Coast Dungies opened the 2018 American Legion baseball season with a 10-1 victory over Newport at Frank Wade Field.

The Dungies then posted three shutout victories Friday and Saturday behind starting pitchers Bryce Bridge, Clark Boys and Jack Stempel in a tournament in Hood River before winning the title Sunday night over Columbia Gorge.

Cole Strober drove in three runs in Wednesday’s opener for the Dungies , who scored six runs in the sixth inning after building a 4-1 lead with two runs in both the third and fourth innings.

The Dungies defeated La Salle 12-0 Friday behind a 10-run fourth inning. Stober collected two hits and Salsbery, Boys and Stempel drove in two runs each in support of Bridge.

The Dungies defeated NW Futures 6-0 in the first game of a Saturday doubleheader behind Boys. Strober and Eli DeMello had three hits each for the Dungies.

The Dungies downed Redmond 9-0 in Saturday’s second game behind Stempel. Joe Hixenbaugh and Salsbery had two hits each and drove in two runs and one run, respectively.

Bridge allowed two earned runs in five innings for an 11-3 win Sunday night over the Columbia Gorge Hustlers for the Hood River title.

The Dungies are scheduled to play at 4 p.m. Tuesday against the Demarini Dirtbags at Wade Field; 4 p.m. Wednesday against 503 Baseball Club at the Pit at Taft High School in Lincoln City; 2 p.m. Thursday against the Eastside Cutters at Wade Field; and 4:30 p.m. Friday against North Willamette Valley at Wade Field.

1 of 5