4-12 | The Oregon State Police would like anyone who witnessed the pedestrian between Faith Baptist Church and Neotsu Drive the night of the crash to call (541) 265-5354 refer to Trooper Wertz.
4-11 | Herbert Ware was not arrested for DUII. The case will be referred to the Lincoln County District Attorney’s Office. Ware voluntarily submitted to blood tests and was allowed to go home.
Lincoln City, OR – On April 10, 2018 at approximately 8:25 p.m., Oregon State Police and emergency personnel responded to a vehicle versus pedestrian fatal crash in US Hwy 101 near Milepost 112 (near Neotsu).
A resident from Otis, Thomas H. Wilson, 43, was struck in the southbound lane of Hwy 101. Wilson was pronounced dead at the scene.
The vehicle that struck Wilson was a 1990 Chevrolet Suburban and was driven by Herbert E. Ware (age 71, Otis). Ware and his passenger, Janie L. Ware (age 53, Otis) were not injured.
At the time of the crash, Herbert Ware was showing signs of impairment. Ware was arrested for driving while under the influence of intoxicants (and/or controlled substance). Ware was released from Lincoln City Police Department.
The case is being referred to the Lincoln County District Attorney’s Office for review of criminal charges.
Oregon State Police was assisted by Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, Lincoln City Police Department, Oregon Department of Transportation, North Lincoln Fire and Rescue, and the Lincoln County District Attorney and Medical Examiner.
Salem, Oregon – The Task Force on Autonomous Vehicles, created by House Bill 4063 and signed by Gov. Kate Brown on April 10, will hold its first meeting at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, April 18, 2018.
House Bill 4063 designates the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) the state’s lead agency responsible for coordination of autonomous vehicle programs and policies and directs ODOT to convene the task force.
The Task Force on Autonomous Vehicles will look into issues including how autonomous vehicles intersect with licensing and registration, insurance and liability, law enforcement and accident reporting, and cybersecurity and report to the legislature with legislative recommendations by Sept. 15, 2018.
HB 4063, which was sponsored by Rep. Susan McLain of Forest Grove, names 31 stakeholders to be members of the Task Force. Under the legislation, four legislators will be named by the Senate President and House Speaker, with the remaining 27, including six state agency representatives, named by ODOT Director Matthew Garrett.
“We are eager to get everyone together to start working on this complex and quickly changing transportation topic,” Director Garrett said. “We take this responsibility very seriously,” Director Garrett said. “House Bill 4063 will allow the state to take an informed step toward putting in place a policy framework for this new industry, keeping safety and increased mobility at the forefront.”
The group has a lot of work ahead of it on a short deadline. Subcommittee meetings will be scheduled soon after the initial task force meeting.
The April 18 meeting will take place at 9 a.m. in Room 101 at the Chemeketa Center for Business and Industry (CCBI), 626 High St. NE, Salem, OR 97301.
Accommodations will be provided to people with disabilities. To request an accommodation to participate in this meeting, please call Alyssa Rash at 503-986-3998 or call statewide relay at 7-1-1 at least 48 hours prior to the meeting.
Accessible parking is located directly behind the CCBI building.
Ella Knott won two events and Autumn Ellis one for the girls, while Preston Nightingale, Gabe Arce-Torres, JJ French and Logan Mclendon won individual titles for the boys to lead Taft High to both team championships Tuesday in a track and field meet at Voris Field.
The Tigers defeated Amity 79-63 for the girls title and 101-57 for the boys in the four-team West Valley League event that included Horizon Christian and Dayton.
“We have a very young team,” first-year Coach Joey Arce-Torres said. “We are raw in technique, but make up our limited experience through tenacious competitive drive.”
Knott won the girls 200-meter dash and javelin, while Ellis captured the 1,500-meter run. Nightingale claimed the 800- and 1,500-meter boys championships, with Arce-Torres first in the 200 and 400, French first in the pole vault and Mclendon first in the long jump.
Jacob Mayoral joined Mclendon, Nightingale and Arce-Torres for victory in the boys 4×400 relay.
“We overcame a big lead in the 4×4 by Horizon to catch and passed their best runner to win the event in dynamic fashion,” Arce-Torre said. “Our kids ran as if losing wasn’t an option.”
Kaden Wright was second for Taft in the boys 100- and 200-meter races.
Also earning runner-up finishes in boys competition were David Jin (110-meter hurdles and pole vault), Juan Perez (1,500), Micah McLeish (3,000 ), Mad Scott (javelin), Elin Fitch (high jump) and Oscar Rodriguez-Meza (long jump). Brigido Zacarias was third in the 3,000-meter run and Alex Del Valle third in the high jump.
Ellis was second in the girls 800 and third in the 400, while Knott was second in the pole vault.
Jordan Ramsey was second in the 1,500, while Lydia Prins placed second in the 3,000 and third in the 1,500. Maleah Smith was second in the shot put.
Margery Price placed third in the 100 and long jump, Brooke Orendorff third in the 3,000, Noe Napoleon third in the discus and Kayla Brown third in the high jump and pole vault.
Price, Ramsey, Savannah Russo and Olivia Williams were second in the 4×400 relay.
“Our field participants took advantage of our better-than-expected weather and mustered out multiple PRs,” Arce-Torres said.
Taft returns to the track Saturday for the Prefontaine Rotary Invite at Marshfield High School.
“We feel like a team, we practice hard and we celebrate humbly,” he said. “I like where we are this season to date.””
Additional comments from the coach:
“I push our kids to their limits on a daily basis and most had never been challenged in that way within their short varsity lives. I remind them continually that although their minds are telling them they are not ready or incapable of completing a event, I have conditioned them physically to make it happen, thus simply needing to trust their bodies for they are strong and capable.
“As a coach hosting a meet, I cannot assist them as they are accustomed to, all the assistant coaches were also tied up with events and being official judges so they too were not able to coddle kids. Our athletes warmed up on their own, assisted with set-up and made sure they were prepared to compete with little communication from me or the rest of my staff.
“They rose to the occasion and established themselves as a team to be reckoned with. I am more impressed with their awareness and maturity of being a student-athlete at this point than even their athletic prowess. My goal is simple, get these kids a diploma first and assist them in building their overall confidence to a point that obstacles are simply hurdles to clear over (with good technique) or shin splits to ice, they know how to handle it. The times and distances are just plots in their timelines but, yes, they are doing well and I look forward to districts.”
They say a win is a win is a win, but you’d never know it from Taft High softball Coach Sandy Stuart despite her team’s 5-4 extra-inning league home victory Tuesday over Santiam Christian.
“Tonight was a rough game for us,” she said. “We did not come out with the enthusiasm and the offense that we started the season off with.”
The Lady Tigers did emerge with the victory, however, on the strength of sophomore starting pitcher Emma Coulter’s leadoff hit in the bottom of the ninth inning that landed her on third base. Junior outfielder Caitlyn Rundstrom then slapped a hit out of the infield to score Coulter for a West Valley League victory that returned the Lady Tigers to the top of the state’s Class 3A rankings.
Emma Coulter’s leadoff hit in the bottom of the ninth inningCaitlyn Rundstrom winning hit
“Overall, I was a little disappointed in our lack of effort and drive today,” said Stuart, whose team improved to 8-5 and 2-0 in league play. “We have been working so hard in practice on relaxed offense, and I don’t feel like the competitive team we have had showed up tonight.”
Senior third baseman Naomi Rini had four hits, drove home two runs and scored twice in five plate appearances for Taft.
Naomi Rini
Senior centerfielder Alyssa Tanksley, sophomore catcher Hailee Dannecker, freshman shortstop Claira Tolan and Coulter had two hits each for Taft.
Tanksley and Rundstrom also drove home runs for the Tigers, while Tolan and freshman second baseman Kayla Lininger also scored for the Tigers.
“We were timid and nervous and got down on ourselves after a couple of costly mistakes,” Stuart said as Taft fell behind 4-1 in the top of the sixth against the 25th-rated Eagles (3-4, 2-2) before rallying for three runs to tie the game in the bottom of the inning.
Coulter struck out 11 and walked two in earning the victory.
Emma Coulter
“I am happy that we pushed through to the end and came back from being down to win, and I am happy that Emma was able to throw hard all nine innings,” Stuart said. “But I am frustrated that we did not play our game. We are a playoff-caliber team that had a bit of an off day. We will learn from it and move on to the next.”
Taft is scheduled to travel to Willamina (2-12, 0-3) for league play at 4:30 p.m. Friday and to Pleasant Hill (2-10, 0-3 Class 3A Mountain View) for non-conference action at 1 p.m. Saturday.
Taft 5, Santiam Christian 4
SANTIAM CHRISTIAN AB R H BI
A Atkins 4 0 2 0
J Risinger 4 2 2 0
S Carley 5 1 1 0
I Montoya 4 0 2 2
K Boruff 4 1 1 0
L Penner 3 0 0 0
S Roberts 4 0 1 0
C Wilfong 4 0 0 0
A Lee 4 0 0 0
TOTALS 36 4 9 2
TAFT AB R H BI
Kyla Knott 2 0 0 0
Makena Cole 3 0 0 0
Naomi Rini 5 2 4 2
Hailee Dannecker 4 0 2 0
Emma Coulter 5 1 2 0
Alyssa Tanksley 5 0 2 1
Caitlyn Rundstrom 3 0 1 1
McKenzie Evenson 2 0 0 0
Kayla Lininger 2 1 0 0
Claira Tolan 4 1 2 0
Madison Clanton 4 0 0 0
TOTALS 39 5 13 4
SANTIAM CHRISTIAN 102 001 000 — 4
TAFT 100 003 001 — 5
LOB–SANTIAM CHRISTIAN 8, TAFT TIGERS 12. ERR–C Wilfong (2), A Atkins, I Montoya, Hailee Dannecker (2). 2B—J Risinger, A Atkins, S Carley, Naomi Rini (3). HBP–Hailee Dannecker. SACB–L Penner, Kayla Lininger.
They have a 10-run mercy rule in Oregon high school baseball for a reason — and that reason might be pitching ace Jack Stempel and the players supporting him at the plate and on the field for the Taft High Tigers.
The senior right-hander notched his second 10-0 West Valley League home win in four days Tuesday with a two-hit, six-inning victory over Santiam Christian.
Ace Jack Stempel
“We’ve been looking forward to this game all week,” senior hitting star Caleb King said, “so, to see our lineup hitting top to bottom and putting constant pressure on them was a great sight. Jack threw an absolute gem, and our defense was everywhere to back it up.”
Caleb King
Stempel struck out six and walked none on the heels of a nine-strikeout, no-walk one-hitter Friday over Amity in five innings.
“We played outstanding tonight, offensively and defensively,” Stempel said. “I felt confident on the mound, and our defense made all the plays.”
King, a senior outfielder and fellow pitching star for the Tigers, had three hits, drove in two runs and scored three times in support of Stempel, who benefitted from a five-run first inning.
“We came out ready to play today,” said first-year Taft Coach Matt Hilgers, whose Class 3A Tigers (11-2, 4-0) took over the state’s top ranking with the win. “We were focused from pitch one. Everybody, including guys in the dugout, wanted this one.”
The 12th-rated Eagles, who shared first place with Taft entering Tuesday’s game, fell to 8-5, 3-1 as the Tigers followed their five-run opening frame with two runs in the second inning, one in the fourth and two in the sixth — the last coming on an RBI single from junior Kameron Kessler, who made several key grabs at third base.
Kam Kessler
“We had another solid pitching performance from Jack and made plays behind him,” Hilgers said. “We put the pressure on them early and that propelled us throughout the game.”
Senior shortstop Josh Salsbery had two hits and scored twice from the leadoff spot, and sophomore catcher Eli DeMello drove in a run and scored three times for the Tigers, who won their fifth straight.
Josh Salsbery
“Eli DeMello was a wall behind the plate and threw a few guys out in big situations,” said Stempel, who had two hits and scored a run from the cleanup slot.
Eli DeMello
Junior outfielder Tyee Fisher doubled in two runs for Taft.
Tyee Fisher
The Tigers are scheduled to compete again at 4:30 p.m. Friday in a league game at Willamina (0-4, 2-10) and at 1 p.m. Saturday in a non-conference contest at Pleasant Hill (5-3, 2-0 Class 3A Mountain Valley).
“We look forward to playing Willamina on Friday and hope to carry this momentum into the rest of the season,” Stempel said.
Spider-DeMello
Taft 10, Santian Christian 0
SANTIAM CHRISTIAN AB R H BI
Patrick Otis 3 0 0 0
Ryan Hall 3 0 1 0
Grant Carley 2 0 0 0
Sean Riley 2 0 0 0
Mason Wirth 2 0 1 0
Vandon Haugen 2 0 0 0
Ryan Mendenhall 2 0 0 0
Zeke Gilbert 1 0 0 0
Ben Galceran 2 0 0 0
TOTALS 19 0 2 0
TAFT AB R H BI
Josh Salsbery 3 2 2 0
Eli DeMello 4 3 1 0
Caleb King 4 3 3 2
Jack Stempel 4 1 2 1
Cody Knott 3 1 1 0
Kam Kessler 4 0 1 1
Tyee Fisher 3 0 1 2
Bleiz Kimbrough 3 0 0 0
Trenton Fisher 3 0 0 0 TOTALS 31 10 11 6
LOB–SANTIAM CHRISTIAN 2, TAFT 7. ERR–Vandon Haugen, Ryan Mendenhall, Ben Galceran (2), Zeke Gilbert (3), Kam Kessler. 2B–Caleb King, Tyee Fisher. HBP–Zeke Gilbert, Josh Salsbery. SB–Josh Salsbery (2), Eli DeMello (2), Jack Stempel.
SANTIAM CHRISTIAN IP H R ER BB SO HR
Grant Carley (L) 2.00 6 7 4 0 2 0
Sean Riley 3.33 5 3 3 1 2 0 TAFT
Jack Stempel (W) 6.00 2 0 0 0 6 0 WP–Jack Stempel. BB–Cody Knott.
Austin Winters won the 1,500-meter run, MaKaden Melton the 100-meter hurdles and sprinter Aubrey Sciarrotta was second in two events Monday in a Coast Valley League middle school track and field meet at Voris Field.
The Tigers placed second to Nestucca Valley 86-75 in the boys competition, and runner-up to Amity 130-39 in the girls. Toledo and Gaston also competed in the five-team event.
Brayan Mateo was second in the 100- and 200-meter dashes for Taft, while Sciarrotta paced the girls by finishing second in the same events.
Mario Frias Cortes was third in the 800-meter run, Jayden Howland third in the 1,500 and Nasj Kehr third in the 100-meter hurdles.
Sammy Vasquez was fourth in the 100 and third in the 200.
Gavin Koceja, Riley Ellis, Eston Whisler and Cortes finished third in the 4X100-meter relay.
In boys field events, Joshua Ruiz was second in the shot put and J.J. Lupercio second in the long jump.
Makaia Kessinger was second in the 1,500 and third in the 800 for the girls.
Shelline Nerup finished third in the shot put, Aleah Bailey third in the javelin and Kadence James fourth in the high jump.
Lincoln City Council accepts Tree City USA 2017 award
Lincoln City, OR – Monday’s Lincoln City Council meeting was a three hour affair that dealt with the questions of municipal internet, who would be appointed to the Budget Committee, and how to prioritize efforts to address our affordable housing needs.
Kaety Jacobson running for Lincoln County Commissioner Position 3
Kaety Jacobson
Born and raised in Lincoln County, Kaety Jacobson has a Bachelor’s Degree in natural resources and a Master’s Degree in Coastal Zone Management. She has spent the last 15 years working for OSU on issues relating to coastal communities. She wants to run for commissioner as she claims it’s time for a fresh perspective on county leadership. Kaety Jacobson is a foster parent and because of that she deals with a lot of social services. She wants to build a strong relationship with Lincoln City and the citizens here. Her website is: ElectKaetyJacobson.com.
Russ Baldwin running for Circuit Court Judge
55 year old Russ Baldwin seeks to get elected as judge and is running against the incumbent, Thomas Branford. Baldwin said “we need to address people’s problems in the civil arena in a timely manner, and we need to do it in a way that people understand what has happened, and that should also reduce appeals.”
Awarded – Tree City USA 2017
A special award given to Lincoln City on behalf of the Arbor Day Foundation and Oregon Department of Forestry: Tree City Oregon USA for 2017.
Budget Committee Applicants Interviewed for three openings
Lincoln City Budget Committee interview
Counselors asked a series of questions to potential budget committee members and voted for three applicants out of five.
Larry Armstrong, Rick Mark, Nancy Oksenholt were appointed to the budget committee.
Municipal Broadband
City Manager Ron Chandler said “the city is not considered to be underserved.”
The FCC says Lincoln City is getting enough internet and is not rural. FCC defines underserved as a download speed under 25 MB/s and an upload speed as under 3 MB/s. Chandler said there would be a heavy taxpayer cost to have municipal broadband. Mayor Don Williams thanked Councilor Judy Casper for taking the time to do the research.
The city’s IT Director Tony LeSoya said the city should go to internet service providers (ISPs) and ask for more bandwidth. “The bandwidth is there,” said LeSoya.
Cutler SW Jetty Realignment vacation process
Urban Renewal’s Allison Robertson said a project would make it safer and more visible. A land swap would give a private property owner better access to his property.
Passed by unanimous decision.
Dick Anderson: “All hands on deck” for housing crisis
Dick Anderson said Lincoln City is losing money because of housing and we need to address affordable housing as the top priority. Casper also supported making affordable housing a top priority. Anderson wants the council to be able to focus and get things done. Big picture items will be focused as agenda items. A motion to shorten a memo to prioritize police services, economic development, infrastructure, and housingfailed 3-3 with Anderson, Casper, and Williamsvoting “nay.” After discussion, an amended version passed 4-2 with Hinton and Hoagland voting “nay.”
Michelle Gaylor from My Sister’s Place on Sexual Assault Awareness Month
Gaylor, shelter advocate for My Sister’s Place, wanted to point out that the Lincoln City community has been “very generous” with donations. Gaylor is a certified sexual assault victims advocate. She wants to alert the public that April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. One in five women have been or will be sexually assaulted in their lifetime.
Gorgeous weather greeted the Taft High girls golf team Monday at Creekside Golf Course in Salem, but the scores weren’t nearly as favorable in an eight-team event hosted by Blanchet High School.
“We had a high team score, but many of our girls are working on fine-tuning their swings getting ready for the District tournament in a few weeks,” Taft coach Heather Hatton said. “I don’t say this often, but I’m really disappointed in their play today.”
Sophomore Sammy Halferty was an exception, however, carding a career-low 114 on the most difficult layout Taft plays on the Class 4A/3A/2A/1A Special District 2 circuit.
“We have been working hard on her tempo,” Hatton said. “She is a very powerful player. Her swing is so fast, but her tempo creates a situation where she has a tough time squaring up at impact. With a more controlled swing, and her focusing now on scoring better, she is putting herself in a position to post more competitive scores. “
Senior Maya Hatton, the team’s No. 1 player who is headed to the College of Idaho on a golf scholarship, shot 90, three shots behind Blanchet Catholic’s Katie Goodwin on her home course.
“ I’m proud of how she handled her struggles,” Maya’s coach and mother said. “It’s tough when you play at such a high level and you have a bad day, but she handled it very well. She came away with an attitude of perseverance.”
Juniors Olivia Baker and Violet Palermini both posted season-high scores, Hatton said.
“They are key players and have been working on different parts of their game in the past few weeks,” she said. “Today, I saw moments of hard work coming together.
“There is always a period of time when athletes are working on different aspects of their game and struggle, but they keep their eye on the ultimate goal of getting better. They will come through with lower scores next week.”
Hatton said sophomore Noa Stoll showed great improvement by posting a 140 in her first 18-hole varsity match in her two years with the Lady Tigers.
Noa Stoll
Freshman Grace Cawley, sophomore Hannah Weaver and senior twin sisters Jocelyn and Jorja Aguello participated Monday at the junior varsity level.
“They are showing the progress we need to see,” said Hatton, whose team returns to play Monday, April 16, at North Marion, and Thursday, April 19, when it hosts a tournament at Chinook Winds Golf Resort.
“We need to focus on scoring and positive attitudes,” Hatton said. “A few good shots here and there aren’t good enough. We need to put 18-hole rounds together.”
Junior Logan Merry placed fourth with an 11-over-par 82 Monday to help lead the Taft High boys golf team to a third-place finish in the Trysting Tree Open in Corvallis.
“Our short game is improving, reflected by the scores,” first-year Taft coach Andy Morgan said after the Tigers shaved 23 strokes from their team score from a week ago, when they finished third in the Amity Invite at Cross Creek Golf Course.
Blanchet Catholic won Monday’s tournament at par-71 Trysting Tree Golf Club with a 342, followed by Regis, 361; Taft, 378; East Linn Christian, 407; and Santiam Christian, 409.
Merry’s season-best 41-41—82 paced the way for Taft, which got a 45-48—93 from senior Bonny Patel; a 49-50—99 from junior William Brooks, a 52-52—104 from junior Devon Lindquist and a 52-58—110 from senior Dawson Wood.
Brooks, Lindquist and Wood all posted personal-best rounds, while Patel closed with back-to-back birdies. The top four scores contribute to the team scoring.
Morgan said the Tigers would continue to benefit from competition between players vying for the fourth and fifth spots in tournament play. The top three finishers automatically represent the team in the following week’s competition, while the other two slots are contested in a Friday practice round.
“Devon Lindquist is a first-year golfer, challenging each week for a spot to prove himself, as he did today with a contributing score of 104,” Morgan said.
Not competing, but adding to the intrasquad competition, were senior Ean Wood and junior Jonathan Freilinger.
Taft travels to Mallard Creek for more District competition in the East Linn Open on Monday, April 16.
The Tigers will compete Monday, April 23, at Emerald Valley Golf Club near Eugene before finishing the regular season Monday, April 30, with a match at Quail Run Golf Course, hosted by La Pine.
Taft will host the Special District 2 Championships May 7-8 at Salishan Spa & Golf Resort in Gleneden Beach.
The largest one-day food drive in Oregon and the nation is Saturday, May 12, 2018 and Oregon Food Bank needs your help. Volunteers will collect food on behalf of the National Association of Letter Carriers’ (NALC) Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive. Shifts are available between 12:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. in locations around the metro area.
More than 4,000 letter carriers in Oregon and Clark County, Washington will be collecting canned and shelf stable foods set out at mailboxes of postal customers. Last year, they collected one million pounds. While this is a national campaign, donated food stays in the community where it is collected.
Here’s how you can help:
Adopt-A-Route. Donate your time and vehicle by following letter carrier routes, picking up food set out by postal customers and delivering to the local post office.
Pack boxes at a post office. Greet letter carriers and Adopt-A-Route volunteers as they return with non-perishable food. Help unload the food from their vehicles and prepare it for delivery to Oregon Food Bank.
Oregon Food Bank works to eliminate hunger and its root causes… because no one should be hungry. Oregon Food Bank believes that hunger starves the human spirit, that communities thrive when people are nourished, and that everyone deserves healthy and fresh food. Oregon Food Bank helps feed the human spirit of 740,000 people through a food distribution network of 21 regional food banks serving Oregon and Clark County, Washington. Oregon Food Bank also leads statewide efforts to increase resources for hungry families and to eliminate the root causes of hunger through public policy, local food systems work, nutrition and garden education, health care screening and innovative programming. Find out how to feed the human spirit at oregonfoodbank.org.
