Sasquatch outside the former Sambo’s restaurant seems mad about the ice
“In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan, Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone; Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow, In the bleak midwinter, long ago …” Christina Rossetti, ‘In the Bleak Midwinter’
The first winter storm of 2024 to hit Lincoln City and surrounding towns left most of the area glazed in an ever thickening sheath of ice.
From D River to Roads End the falling rain clung to road signs and cars and gutters forming icicles that caused the town to shimmer against the dull gray sky surrounding us.
A bright dash of color under the iceFrozen sign at Roads End State parkKayaks covered in ice
A familiar sight around the north end of townSasquatch glares at drivers that won’t slow down
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A power line weakened by gusts from an approaching storm upended the small coast city of Depoe Bay Thursday, January 11 when a fallen live overhead wire set fire to cars at an auto repair shop.
Electricity to about half the town was abruptly curtailed at about 2:45p.m. when the power line fell into the parking lot of Car Audio 101 at 473 SW Hwy 101.
The businesses parking lot was jammed with vehicles awaiting service. Traffic on Highway 101 was brought to a standstill, as was internet service.
The owner of the business tried to subdue the initial blaze with a fire extinguisher but was driven back by the sparking powerline.
A city official who closed the nearby city hall after the blackout said it took 25 minutes for fire trucks to arrive.
Though a fire station was within 100 yards of the incident, all fire department personnel from the Depoe Bay Fire District were at the Gleneden Beach station, about six miles away.
Finally, upon arrival, firefighters had to stand by until power was cut off by the local utility company.
URGENT – WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Portland OR 1201 PM PST Fri Jan 12 2024 ICE STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 10 PM THIS EVENING TO 10 PM PST SATURDAY…
* WHAT…Significant icing expected. Total snow accumulations of up to 3 inches and ice accumulations of one tenth to one half of an inch. Winds gusting as high as 40 mph.
* WHERE…Central Coast Range of Western Oregon.
* WHEN…From 10 PM this evening to 10 PM PST Saturday.
* IMPACTS…Expect power outages and tree damage due to the ice. Travel will be very difficult.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…
Travel is strongly discouraged. If you must travel, keep an extra flashlight, food and water in your vehicle in case of an emergency. Prepare for possible power outages.
For the latest road conditions call 5 1 1, or visit for Oregon: https://www.tripcheck.com and for Washington: https://wsdot.com/travel/real-time/map
Oregon is facing a five-alarm fire of drug abuse, addiction and death. Instead of dousing the flames, politicians continue to pour gasoline on the fire by refusing to confront this crisis head-on. Every day our elected officials waste on inaction and political excuses, more people will die.
Approved by voters in 2020, Measure 110 decriminalized the possession of small amounts of fentanyl, methamphetamine, and other hard drugs and directed existing cannabis tax revenue to fund addiction services. Ever since, we have seen overdose deaths skyrocket and drug use take root in in public spaces.
By removing consequences for drug use, Measure 110 removed essential tools to connect those struggling with addiction to treatment. I’ll say what the politicians in power in Salem won’t: Measure 110 must be repealed. Full stop.
Measure 110 apologists point to the measure’s investments in behavioral health. But it’s a false choice to assume we must preserve the measure to maintain that investment. We do not have to accept the widespread decriminalization and proliferation of hard drugs to access additional funding for these services — which the state has miserably failed to deliver on, even years later.
I have met with behavioral health experts, service providers, law enforcement officers, housing providers, legislators, and community leaders from both sides of the aisle to better understand what’s working, what is not, and how specifically our state should move forward. In addition to repealing Measure 110, the following five recommendations are grounded in these discussions:
Drug use should be discouraged: Drug use is not a neutral personal decision. There is no safe way to use today’s street drugs. Oregonians risk death every single day they knowingly – or unknowingly – use fentanyl. Every person on the street who is actively using is a person worthy of our persistent efforts to help them get into long-term, life-changing recovery.
Addiction services must prioritize sobriety: Sobriety must be the ultimate goal of public investment. Shockingly, politicians in Oregon don’t even aim for sobriety in their statutory definition of recovery. We won’t effectively help people get clean and sober if that’s not even our stated goal. This must change.
Data must drive investment: We must prioritize services that lead to sobriety and long-term recovery. To do that, we need real data on outcomes—we don’t need anecdotes or storytelling to stand in for population data. We shouldn’t just track the number of services provided or the race and ethnicity of the person served, but the effectiveness of those services.
Kids aren’t adults: Measure 110 treated adults and kids the same – and the results have been devastating. The death rate for Oregon’s teenagers from drug overdoses has grown faster than any other state in the nation —up 666% between 2019 and 2021—with 73 deaths in 2021 alone, according to The Lund Report. We are third in the nation for teen addiction rates.
We must support not only access to overdose reversal medications but ongoing drug use prevention efforts in our schools. We have one recovery high school in the state and not nearly enough youth treatment beds. We must support students who struggle with drug use by providing treatment, support and a commitment to help them reach their bright, healthy future through an abstinence-based recovery.
Accountability saves lives: As unpopular as it is with Measure 110 apologists, we must throw the book at dealers, and create penalties for possession that discourage drug use while diverting those facing addiction to recovery services. We deny those facing addiction a compassionate response if we deny them the opportunity for accountable pathways that lead to life-saving sobriety.
It’s time to confront the crisis in our streets head-on. We must intervene to save lives. There must be accountability and a commitment to fund the programs that work. We have to get people into treatment that helps them stay sober. We can make progress on this crisis, but we must have a definition of recovery that includes sobriety. We must repeal Measure 110 and build a rational outcome-based system that saves Oregon. It’s time to put out the fire.
Christine Drazan
Drazan is the founder of A New Direction and was the 2022 Republican nominee for governor. She lives outside of Canby.
An Oath of Office Ceremony and Seating of Councilors Marci Baker, ward 2 and Todd Barker, ward 1 was held at city hall on Monday January 8. The City recorder administered the oath to both councilors at the same time. The oath was followed by a break for some refreshments.
After returning the council presented employee service awards. First was to Mark Irmscher for 20 years of service followed by Star Kahn for her 10 years of service. mayor Susan Wahlke presented the awards.
Following that the city passed a resolution accepting offers from the Oregon Department of Transportation, (ODOT) for easements for construction and highway right-of-way purposes on City property.
Last night I-84 in eastern Oregon saw multiple closures for crashes and spun-out vehicles that struggled to gain traction on snowy roads.
U.S 97 is snow covered from Redmond south to the border with California and blizzard conditions are due to hit the corridor south of Bend.
All mountain passes, both high and low elevation, are already seeing the impacts of this storm. High winds combined with heavy precipitation will cause travel impacts. Expect to encounter chain restrictions if traveling these areas. Delays and closures are common during storms of this magnitude.
The Portland area may get some light snow Tuesday night or Wednesday morning. Be prepared to drive in the snow and make sure you have a capable vehicle to get you where you need to go. Cars with low clearance will struggle in packed snow or where roads have been plowed onto side streets.
Tripcheck.com has real time updates for conditions happening on the roads.
No matter where you are in Oregon, prepare for challenging conditions in the days to come.
The city of Lincoln City announced several volunteer vacancies on committees, boards and planning commission.
THE CITY OF LINCOLN CITY NEEDS VOLUNTEERS FOR THE FOLLOWING COMMITTEES: PLANNING COMMISSION: (1) Vacancy Expiring: 12/31/2024 LIBRARY BOARD: One Partial Term Expiring: 6/30/25 One Student Position: 6/30/25 ARTS COMMITTEE: (1) Vacancy Expiring: 12/31/2026 BUDGET COMMITTEE: (1)Position Expiring 12/31/26 (1) Position Expiring 12/31/24
Applications are always accepted for any committee Deadline for consideration of current vacancies is: open until filled. Please email: [email protected] for an application or www.lincolncity.org
Special Weather Statement National Weather Service Portland OR 354 AM PST Sat Jan 6 2024 …A PROLONGED PERIOD OF HEAVY CASCADE SNOW IS BECOMING INCREASINGLY LIKELY JANUARY 9-11, 2024…
…AFTER A RELATIVELY MILD WINTER THUS FAR, THE POTENTIAL EXISTS FOR THE COLDEST TEMPERATURES OF THE SEASON JANUARY 12-15, 2024…
An active weather pattern will impact the region over the next seven days or more as a series of storm systems brings additional rounds of valley rain and heavy Cascade snow.
Heavy snow in the Cascades on Saturday, January 6 will become much lighter Sunday into Monday, January 7-8. However, snow will likely become heavy again in the Cascades on Tuesday, January 9th and then remain heavy much of the time through Thursday, January 11th.
Given the prolonged period of heavy snow expected in the Cascades, total snow amounts are shaping up to be the highest so far this season.
There is a 50-80% chance for 48-hour snow amounts in excess of 30 inches for elevations above 2000-2500 feet from 4 a.m. January 9 through 4 a.m. January 11.
Several inches of snow is also in the forecast for elevations above 2000 feet in the Coast Range.
Westerly winds will increase during that time with gusts to around 40 mph, except over 50-60 mph in the high Cascades.
Anyone with travel plans over the Cascade passes and/or through the coastal mountains will need to be well prepared for dangerous travel conditions due to a combination of heavy snow and blowing snow.
Beyond January 11, possible coldest temperatures of the season across the region. However, “possible” is the key word here as forecast confidence is currently low.
In fact, the warmest model solutions are showing temperatures several degrees above normal for this time of year while the coldest model solutions are showing temperatures over 20 degrees below normal.
Nevertheless, the probability of below freezing overnight temperatures currently ranges between 50-70 percent across the lowlands of northwest Oregon and southwest Washington January 12-14, including the coast.
With the potential for below freezing temperatures down to the valley floor, there is also a chance of accumulating lowland snow during that time. While the details remain unclear, it is worth monitoring the forecast for potential changes and additional information over the next several days.
The businesses parking lot was jammed with vehicles awaiting service. Traffic on Highway 101 was brought to a standstill, as was internet service.
Lincoln City, OR
URGENT – WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
After returning the council presented employee service awards. First was to Mark Irmscher for 20 years of service followed by Star Kahn for her 10 years of service. mayor Susan Wahlke presented the awards.
Severe winter storm hitting many parts of the state
Special Weather Statement
