Here are some of the salary’s listed in the 2018-19 budget, and I am sure as citizens you are going to find the numbers hard to believe.
The average cost for all employees from lifeguard to city manager, salary plus benefits, is $95,667.50. The total cost of all employees is $13,882,439.
The city manager is proposing an increase for the budget year of $681,631 for salaries and benefits.
Here are some of the salary plus benefit costs for administration and department heads: City manager $203,158; city attorney $182,212; finance director $167,353; police chief $191,114; public works director $170,510; VCB director $167,355. For 6 employees this is a total of $1,081,702, or an average for each of these employees of $182,283, with 64% overhead.
The city has 143.48 employees which makes one employee for every 57 citizens in Lincoln City.
The city manager is asking for a 3.9% permanent rate increase for sewer and water. With a small usage of 700 cubic feet per month, your bill will have increased by 79% since 2006. The city council has approved rate increases every year for over 10 years. I have watched city council pass rate increases without any rate studies and without hardly any questions.
We elect people to the city council to represent the citizens in this community, however in my opinion they have failed in their responsibility to the citizens over the last ten years.
Do you make your voice heard? It is time for change.
Taft High 7-12 was one of 11 high schools honored Sunday night in Portland by the Oregon Association of Student Councils (OASC) for outstanding achievement by its governing body.
“I think it really shows how far we’ve come,” Associated Student Body President Margery Price said. “We’re one of the smallest schools to get Gold Council, and it’s proof of years of hard work and dedication to what we do.“
The schools were recognized at the annual Spring Conference banquet at the Red Lion Hotel on the River. Senior Alyssa Tanksley is ASB vice president, and seniors Maya Hatton and Naomi Rini are Taft Senior Class co-presidents.
“I’m proud of our students’ dedication to their school,” Taft High Principal Majalise Tolan said. “They continue to volunteer to help make Taft 7-12 and Lincoln City a better place to learn and grow.”
Tolan said Taft school leaders set a goal at the beginning of the year to apply for OASC recognition and submitted a Gold Level portfolio in quest of the highest honor available. Taft ASB students have been reviewing recognition requirements for two years and made it a goal to see the portfolio development through to completion this year.
“This was truly a school-wide effort,” she said.
The OASC-sponsored award sets high standards for councils and recognizes their accomplishment when standards are met, OASC Executive Director Sara Nilles said.
“Student leaders have the opportunity to make a tremendous impact on the culture and climate of their school and the academic success of their student body by the activities they sponsor,” she said.
In order to receive the award, councils must be involved in community service, activities that promote school spirit and pride, sportsmanship, unity, recognition and involvement in leadership training.
Councils begin by setting goals in the fall and work hard all year to achieve them, Nilles said.
The OASC serves middle and high school student councils around the state and is a department within the Confederations of Oregon School Administrators.
High Schools will be recognized again at the annual Fall Conference in November in Seaside.
“Taft is making a name for itself in the OASC circles,” Price said. “I have no doubt we will continue the trend in the future.”
EDITOR’S NOTE: This post was written by Mark Meister, Administrative Patrol Sergeant, Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office.
The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office will be joining other police agencies throughout Oregon to enforce traffic occupant protection and other traffic related laws during the safety belt enforcement blitz scheduled May 14 through May 27.
The enforcement blitz is funded through the Oregon Department of Transportation. Overtime patrols are scheduled through the blitz period with enforcement focused on safety belt/child safety restraint systems and juveniles riding in open pickup beds.
Oregon law requirements for Carrying Minor on External Part of Vehicle 811.205:
No person may operate a vehicle upon a public roadway while carrying a person under 18 years old on any external part of a vehicle which includes the open bed of a vehicle.
Additional information regarding child safety seats can be located at the ODOT web page: ODOT
Your sheriff’s office would like to remind you to buckle up- it’s the way to go!
Underwater robots were everywhere at the Lincoln City Community Center for the 2018 MATE ROV competition. Elementary school, high school and college level teams demonstrated their robots in the Lincoln City Community Center pools.
Over 40 teams brought their remotely operated vehicles (ROV) to Lincoln City with the intent to perform underwater tasks and get the most points. Points were given for smallest and lightest vehicle. Points were also given for performing tasks such as recovering a plane tail section and installing power generation equipment. Additional points were awarded for a presentation on how the team would get the job done and keeping to a budget.
The top teams from the Explorer (college) and Ranger (high school) levels will be qualified to go to The 2018 MATE international ROV competition, which will take place June 21-23 at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way, Wash., USA.
Taft High players traded prom-night formals for game-day jerseys Saturday and waltzed off with a non-conference doubleheader home sweep of Colton.
“Today was an interesting day,” said Taft softball coach Sandy Stuart, whose squad overcame illness and injury to slay the Vikings in two games shortened by the state’s 10-run mercy rule.
Emma Coulter
Sophomore starter Emma Coulter conquered Colton with a pair of four-hitters for 11-1 and 12-2 victories despite fighting off the effects of a fever. Sophomore catcher Hailee Danneker went 3-for-3 with three runs in the first game, while freshman outfielder Kyla Knott went 4-for-4 with three runs in the second.
Hailee DannekerKyla Knott
“Emma has a lot of weight on her shoulders being sick and the only pitcher on the team,” Stuart said. “She has to come out and throw when she isn’t feeling good at all. She pushed through and was able to throw both games.”
Coulter pitched nine shutout innings — surrendering just one run in the third inning of the six-inning first game, and two in the third inning of the five-inning second – to help the Lady Tigers improve to 14-7 in the non-league twinbill.
“We are still battling the same illnesses and injuries as before,” Stuart said, “but we made some solid contact at the plate, which was important.”
Free-swinging freshman Claira Tolan returned to the lineup at shortstop after suffering a sprained ankle and contributed three hits in six trips, including two doubles, scored three runs and drove in one for the Tigers.
Claira Tolan
“Having Claira’s bat back in the lineup was huge for us,” Stuart said. “She is aggressive and makes good contact.”
Corey VanDamme
Sophomore Corey VanDamme had two hits and three RBIs in the opener for the Tigers, who scored seven times in the fourth, while freshman Kayla Lininger drove in two runs.
Kayla Lininger
Lininger drove in four runs, and Coulter three in the second game, while Danneker went 3-for-3 with a triple, two runs and an RBI. Senior Naomi Rini, junior Anna Ortiz and Tolan also scored two runs each for the Tigers, who scored four runs in the third inning and six in the fourth.
Naomi Rini
Knott stole three bases in the sweep for fourth-ranked Taft, in first place and undefeated in West Valley League play at 4-0.
Freshman first baseman Madelyn Robinson had three of the eight hits, including a triple, for the Vikings (6-9, 3-2 Class 3A PacWest).
Taft resumes league play at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday at Amity (7-6, 3-2).
“Now we need to rest and get ready for Amity,” Stuart said. “Hopefully, some of these ailments will start to go away.”
Familiar faces in crowd
Taft 11, Colton 1
COLTON AB R H BI
Madison Olsen 3 0 1 1
Anna Wimsatt 3 0 0 0
Brooklyn Olsen 3 0 1 0
Courtney Weinberger 3 0 0 0
Madelyn Robinson 2 0 2 0
Madelynne Pierce 2 0 0 0
Katelyn Dutton 3 0 0 0
Kaia Schrosk 2 1 0 0
Renee Richardson 1 0 0 0
Lauren Reed 1 0 0 0 TOTALS 23 1 4 1
EDITOR’S NOTE: This was written by Virginia “Jenny” Demaris, Emergency Manager,
Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office. [email protected]
USS Portland
Lincoln County Emergency Managers participated in a VIP tour of the new USS Portland on Tuesday, April 17th. The invitation to Coastal Emergency Managers was an extension of the relationship building and continued planning efforts for a Cascadia earthquake and tsunami response with Federal Naval partners.
County Emergency Managers (left to right), Jenny Demaris, Lincoln County, Oregon, Chuck Wallace, Grays Harbor County, Washington, Tiffany Brown, Clatsop County, Oregon
As part of the tour of the USS Portland, County Emergency Managers with representatives from the Port of Portland, Northwest Natural Gas, and Oregon Military Department and Naval dignitaries continued discussions on resource needs, capability assessments, communication strategies and ship-to-shore deployments of resources.
Lincoln County, Oregon:
“The ship-to-shore pre identified locations is one of the most valuable pieces of information for a local Emergency Manager and Planning Team” said Lincoln County Emergency Manager, Jenny Demaris. “Knowing in advance where marine or military assets may come ashore allows us to validate our pre staging locations and community points of distribution for supplies to local communities. Once we receive the preferred locations from our naval partners we will match up our on shore locations and map out routes to receive supplies and resources from marine assets. It is important to note these are planning assumptions; the devastating effects of the earthquake, tsunami and current weather conditions at the time of the event may change our original plans but we feel confident our overall strategy will decrease confusion and response time.”
The next steps for planning partners will be to convene a local meeting of subject matter experts to vet the identified ship-to-shore locations (once received) with local US Coast Guard Officials, Oregon State Parks, Public Safety Officials and local Fishing Industry partners who provide valuable knowledge of our coastal waters and behavior.
LCAC, Landing Craft – Air Cushion
Clatsop County, Oregon:
Tiffany Brown, Clatsop County Emergency Manager also suggested the meeting was timely from a citizen perspective. “Coastal communities are beginning to understand the vital role off-shore resources will play in the response to a Cascadia event and with their increased awareness and understanding are seeking more answers to the ‘what if’ questions. Beyond the obvious benefit to those of us responsible for catastrophic planning, efforts like the VIP event and the Lincoln and Grays Harbor County demonstrations provide answers to some of those questions while sending an important message we aren’t just talking—we’re doing something about it.”
“The prospect of the Cascadia earthquake/tsunami may be worrisome or even overwhelming for the general public, so understanding the military plans to make haste to assist local communities when it happens provides a degree of comfort for citizens and first responders alike. Seeing the resources up close is helpful from a planning standpoint and tends to increase that sense of comfort for people, but the promise isn’t made whole until we’ve managed to come together and plan extensively for that anticipated coordination.”
Ospreys Aircraft
Grays Harbor County, Washington:
Chuck Wallace, Grays Harbor Deputy Director Emergency Management stated “The coordination, cooperation and alliance we have built with the Navy and all other military branches, continues to grow stronger, benefiting all coastal jurisdictions as well as disaster military operations. During times of disaster, we are all dependent upon the ability of the Navy and other military branches to arrive and assist affected communities who may be isolated or completely impacted by disaster. As potentially disaster impacted communities, we must continue to be forthcoming with our vulnerabilities, abilities, risk and hazard to all types of disaster to assist the Navy and other military branches in their abilities to assist our communities. A partnership between all coastal communities and the Navy and other military branches has been cultivated. Through our continued cooperation and communication, it will mature and flourish, reducing the impact of disaster upon our people and the communities we all live in.”
The USS Portland (LPD-27) is the third Navy ship to be named Portland, but the first to be named exclusively for the great maritime city Portland, Oregon.
She is a San Antonio class amphibious transport 684 feet long and displaces 25,000 tons.
USS Portland (LPD-27) will be commissioned in Portland, Oregon in the winter/spring 2018.
The first USS Portland was named for the city in Maine.
The USS Portland (CA-33) was a Portland-class heavy cruiser.
This famous WWII ship was launched in 1932 and decommissioned in 1946.
She was 613 feet long and displaced 9,800 tons.
During her extensive service she accrued 16 battle stars, making her one of the most decorated ships in WWII.
The second USS Portland (LSD-37) was named after both the Maine and Oregon cities.
The USS Portland (LSD-37) was an Anchorage-class landing ship dock in service from 1970 to 2003 and was an east coast-based ship 553 feet long and displaced 14,000 tons.
USS Portland VIP Tour, Oregon Military Department, Naval Dignitaries, Local Emergency Managers
Senior distance runner Preston Nightingale won two events to lead four individual winners on the boys side, and five girls claimed gold medals Thursday in a sweep of team competition at a Northwest Oregon League track and field meet in Nestucca.
1 of 43
The Tigers defeated Delphian 212-136.5 to capture the boys title, and Neah-Kah-Nie 181.5-153 to claim the girls.
Senior Gabe Arce-Torres won the 200-meter dash, junior Mad Scott the javelin and freshman JJ French the pole vault for the Taft boys.
Nightingale won the 800-meter and 1,500-meter runs.
Ella Knott
Senior Noelani Napoleon won the discus, junior Savannah Russo the javelin, junior Kayla Brown the high jump, senior Margery Price the long jump and sophomore Ella Knott the pole vault for the girls.
Sophomore Kaden Wright (100), junior Brigido Zacarias (800), junior Micah McLeish (1,500) and sophomore Elin Fitch (300 hurdles) posted runner-up finishes for the boys.
Sophomore Edison Fuentes (100), senior Juan Perez (1,500), junior Jacob Mayoral (300 hurdles), freshman Degan Sawyer (javelin), McLeish (3,000) and Scott (discus) posted third-place finishes.
William Calderon and Alex Del Valle joined Wright and Arce-Torres for first place in the 4×100 relay. Nightingale, Mayoral, Wright and freshman Jose Flores won the 4×400 event.
Freshman Jordyn Ramsey (800, 1,500), junior Maleah Smith (shot put), sophomore Brooke Orendorff (high jump), Russo (200) and Brown (pole vault) placed second for the Taft girls.
Freshman Brie LeBoeuf (100, 200), junior Lydia Prins (800, 3,000), freshman Elizabeth Kirkendall (discus) and Napoleon (shot put) had third-place finishes.
Knott, Russo, Price and Ramsey teamed to win the 4×400 relay.
Taft returns to the track Thursday, May 3, for a West Valley League meet at Sheridan.
Each May, health care organizations across the nation recognize and celebrate the collective efforts of nurses and other health care professionals by recognizing both National Nurses Day and National Hospital Week, May 6-12.
Locally, Samaritan Health Services is fortunate and grateful to have a team of dedicated and compassionate employees working every day to support our mission of “Building Healthier Communities Together.”
Each of our employees plays an important role as part of our care team. Their passion and commitment to excellence is what allows us to be a trusted provider of health care for our residents and visitors. We are pleased to take this opportunity to say thank you to these talented professionals for the exemplary work they do every day.
Signed,
Lesley Ogden, MD
Chief Executive Officer
Samaritan North Lincoln Hospital
Samaritan Pacific Communities Hospital
The Taft High softball team, riddled by illness, injuries and travel, lost for the first time in Oregon this season Thursday in a battle of top-five ranked Class 3A teams, 8-4 at Claskanie.
“After the three-hour plus bus ride, we came out pretty flat,” Lady Tigers Coach Sandy Stuart said. “We had some girls suffering from illness, both caused by the ride and just bugs. We just couldn’t get the momentum needed early on.”
Clatskanie, also nicknamed the Tigers, improved to 16-2, in the non-league game behind the combined pitching efforts of freshmen Shelby Blodgett and Katy Sizemore. Starter Blodgett struck out eight and scattered six hits over five innings, while Sizemore silenced Taft over the final two stanzas.
Taft sophomore starter Emma Coulter, who has fought a fever all week, took a line drive off the hip in the first inning before going the distance and walking five against three strikeouts.
Emma Coulter
The Tigers also played without starting freshman shortstop Claira Tolan, one of the squad’s leading hitters, who sprained an ankle while sliding into a base Tuesday at Sheridan.
“It definitely hurt not having Claira’s bat in the lineup today, but we did collect more hits than they did,” Stuart said. “A couple of moments could have changed that whole game.”
Alyssa Tanksley
Seniors McKenzie Evenson and Alyssa Tanksley, freshman Makena Cole and Coulter had two hits each for Taft, while Coulter drove home two runs. Evenson and Cole had Taft’s other RBIs.
Catcher Hailee Danneker gives a thumbs up
Senior Naomi Rini, junior Lilly Salsbery sophomore Hailee Danneker and Cole scored for the Tigers.
Naomi Rini
“I feel like we need to just learn from our mistakes and build on this,” Stuart said. “This doesn’t change any of our goals, and we know what we need to work on to move forward.”
The loss snapped a six-game winning streak for the Tigers (12-7, 4-0 Class 3A West Valley League), who started the season 6-0 before dropping five straight games to bigger schools in a spring break tournament in California.
Taft returns to the diamond Saturday at home for a noon doubleheader against Colton (6-6, 3-1 3A PacWest). The Tigers resume league play at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday at Amity.
Clatskanie 8, Taft 4
TAFT AB R H BI
Kyla Knott 4 0 0 0
Naomi Rini 3 1 1 0
Hailee Danneker 4 1 1 0
Emma Coulter 3 0 2 2
Makena Cole 4 1 2 1
Alyssa Tanksley 4 0 2 0
McKenzie Evenson 2 0 2 1
Corey VanDamme 3 0 0 0
Madison Clanton 2 0 0 0
*Lilly Salsbery 0 1 0 0 TOTALS 29 4 10 4
CLATSKANIE AB R H BI
O Spague 3 2 1 2
A Smith 4 2 2 0
O Warren 2 1 1 0
S Blodgett 2 1 1 2
T Hamm 3 0 1 4
J Maris 4 0 1 0
J Makinson 3 0 0 0
K Sizemore 1 1 0 0
K Aersmus 3 1 0 0 TOTALS 25 8 7 8
LOB–TAFT 8, CLATSKANIE 8. ERR–Kayla Lininger, S Hummer, K Aersmus. 2B–Makena Cole, Alyssa Tanksley, A Smith, S Blodgett, T Hamm. 3B–O Spague. HBP—McKenzie Evenson, S Blodgett (2), O Warren. SACF–Emma Coulter, T Hamm. SB–O Warren.
TAFT IP H R ER BB SO HR
Emma Coulter 6.00 7 8 8 5 3 0 CLATSKANIE
S Blodgett 5.00 6 4 2 1 8 0
K Sizemore 2.00 4 0 0 1 0 0 PB–T Hamm. BB–Naomi Rini, Madison Clanton, O Spague, O Warren, J Makinson, K Sizemore (2).
History — and sheer common sense — said it wasn’t supposed to be like this Thursday afternoon at The Pit in a showdown of highly regarded Class 3A high school baseball teams.
Jack Stempel
First baseman Jack Stempel drove home three runs, including one in the bottom of the first inning behind winner Caleb King, to get No. 1-ranked Taft off and running to its 11th straight victory — 11-1 over fifth-rated Horizon Christian/Tualatin.
Caleb King
“We came out with lots of energy, hit the ball and Caleb pitched a heck of a game,” shortstop Josh Salsbery said of Taft’s eighth West Valley League win without a loss. “It was a great game all around for everybody.”
Josh Salsbery
Taft flexed its muscle on Senior Night by tallying eight more runs in the third inning and two in the bottom of the fifth in their eighth straight game abbreviated by the state’s 10-run mercy rule.
“Mercy, mercy, me . . . things ain’t what they used to be . . .”
Apologies to Marvin Gaye and his 1971 classic, but the Tigers, who reached the second round of the State playoffs last season for the first time in 49 years, have now outscored their league opponents 105-3 — or by better than 13 runs per game.
“It’s always more comforting when you’re at the plate knowing you can relax, know your defense is going to show up no matter what, and know the guys behind you are going to have your back,” Salsbery said.
The Hawks (10-4, 4-2) entered Thursday’s game as the last team to hold Taft under 10 runs, which they accomplished more than three weeks ago in a 4-1 home loss on April 3. Taft, which swept its first tour through conference play, stayed unbeaten in the second half of its home-and-home series with league opposition by limiting Horizon Christian to three hits and a lone run in the top of the fifth.
“Our defense showed up and made some outstanding plays in the field to back me up on the mound,” King said of layout and sliding circus catches by sophomore Caleb Jones and junior Tyee Fisher, respectively. “On the offensive side, we did what we always do and put pressure on them. We took care of business today.”
Even the Lincoln City Fire Department, there to cheer on the Tigers, couldn’t cool off the graduating senior triumvirate of tri-captains Salsbery, Stempel and King. They accounted for five of Taft’s RBIs and four of the Tigers’ runs.
North Lincoln Fire & Rescue
“We came out and hit the ball really well and our defense was on lockdown,” Stempel said.
Eli DeMello, Fisher and Jones had two hits each, while DeMello scored three runs and Salsbery two for the Tigers. Eight different Tigers touched home plate, while DeMello, a sophomore catcher, had four of Taft’s six stolen bases.
Eli DeMello stole four bases
“This was another big win tonight. It’s nice to get a win on Senior Night,” Taft Coach Matt Hilgers said. “We have been a tough team to beat at home, and tonight was another example of us playing some of our better baseball at home.”
King struck out four and surrendered just three hits in notching the win on the hill for the Tigers.
“Caleb threw great tonight, just like he always does,” Stempel said. “It is nice to have a guy on the mound that pounds the strike zone and is so reliable.”
Taft concludes its season with five straight road games, beginning Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. against Amity (5-6, 3-4).
“This was a huge game for us,” said Stempel, whose Tigers built a two-game league cushion over Santiam Christian (12-6, 6-2), which was idle.
“We will be on the road for the next couple of weeks and that is going to challenge us,” Hilgers said. “We are focused on the next game and its importance.”
Taft 11, Horizon Christian 1
HORIZON CHRISTIAN AB R H BI
Luke Klein 3 0 2 1
Greyson Pihas 1 0 0 0
Brannon Macfarlane 2 0 0 0
Sam Romero 1 0 0 0
Cole Armstrong 2 0 0 0
Nathan Murrell 2 0 0 0
Nathan Brucker 1 1 0 0
Cade Tillema 2 0 1 0
Matt Brennan 0 0 0 0
Anthony Petit 1 0 0 0 TOTALS 15 1 3 1
TAFT AB R H BI
Josh Salsbery 4 2 2 1
Eli DeMello 2 3 2 0
Caleb King 0 1 0 1
Jack Stempel 2 1 2 3
Cody Knott 2 1 0 0
Kam Kessler 3 1 0 0
Tyee Fisher 3 1 2 2
Caleb Jones 3 1 2 0
Trenton Fisher 3 0 0 0 TOTALS 22 11 10 7
HORIZON CHRISTIAN 000 01 — 1 TAFT 108 02 — 11
LOB–HORIZON CHRISTIAN 3, TAFT 7. ERR—Nathan Brucker, Nathan Murrell. 2B–Luke Klein, Josh Salsbery, Eli DeMello, Caleb Jones. HBP–Caleb King, Eli DeMello, Cody Knott. SACF–Caleb King. SB--Caleb King, Eli DeMello (4), Jack Stempel.
HORIZON CHRISTIAN IP H R ER BB SO HR
Matt Brennan (L) 3.33 7 9 9 5 1 0
Brannon Macfarlane 1.00 3 2 2 0 0 0 TAFT
Caleb King (W) 5.00 3 1 1 4 4 0 PB–Nathan Brucker (2). BB–Sam Romero, Nathan Brucker, Greyson Pihas, Matt Brennan, Caleb King (2), Eli DeMello, Jack Stempel (2).
