Do you value public radio, music, libraries, museums and monuments? If so, please take advantage of Oregon’s most generous offer to support them.
Every Oregonian has the right to direct a portion of their state taxes to fund arts and culture, but only a small percentage act on it.
Here’s how it works: Make a donation to one or more of Oregon’s 1,400+ cultural nonprofits, then make a matching gift to the Oregon Cultural Trust by Dec. 31. You get 100 percent of the Cultural Trust donation back when you file your state taxes – by claiming the cultural tax credit – and the state legislature invests that same amount in Oregon culture.
Since its creation in 2001, the Cultural Trust has awarded more than $30 million to Oregon cultural nonprofits. In Lincoln County those grant awards have exceeded $421,577, including FY2020 grant awards to the Lincoln County Cultural Coalition, the Lincoln City Cultural Center, the Oregon Coast Council for the Arts and the Oregon Coast Youth Symphony Festival Association. A 10-year impact study by ECONorthwest calls the Trust’s geographic reach “remarkable.”
And now the Cultural Trust tax credit is an even more important tool for Oregon taxpayers. While the new tax laws reduced the number of Oregonians who itemize deductions at the federal level, the benefits of investing in Oregon culture remain the same. Whether or not you itemize, your donation to the Cultural Trust still prompts a 100 percent tax credit on your state taxes!
Contributions to the Cultural Trust are easy to make and can be done online at www.culturaltrust.org. The Trust can accept appreciated stock as well as IRA distributions, which may provide additional tax benefits. For clients using Donor Advised Funds to make donations, their matching gift to the Trust must come from an alternate source of funds to qualify for the tax credit. The tax credit is limited to $500 for individual filers, $1,000 for joint filers and $2,500 for C-corporations.
If you enjoy Oregon’s arts and culture community, participating in the Cultural Trust tax credit program is the best way to give back. Make sure a portion of your state taxes supports arts and culture. It’s a win-win for everyone.
The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office Animal Shelter resumed operations in a new temporary facility at 510 NE Harney Street, Newport, Oregon. The new facility consists of a modular building with space for animals, public and offices; additionally, new kennels have been delivered onsite to house our dog population.
All essential programs and services including adoptions, reunification of lost and found pets, licensing, protective custody care, food bank distribution, and emergency boarding will continue at the new facility.
Now that a new temporary location is in operation, we are concentrating our efforts on identifying a new location and facility. Our goal is to find a location to design an Animal Shelter that will provide our citizens with services for decades to come. A work group consisting of Commissioner Kaety Jacobson, Sheriff Curtis Landers, Animal Services Director Laura Braxling, Friends of Lincoln County Animals member Erica Fruh and County Counsel Wayne Belmont meet frequently to work on details of a new facility. We are excited to plan a facility that will take us into the future.
We want to thank all our employees and volunteers who have contributed time and effort to help the Animal Shelter. The commitment and dedication from our Facilities crew, Information Technology (IT) and others helped us transition into the new temporary facility as quickly as possible. We also want to thank the Newport Farmers Market for working with us and postponing their date for their indoor winter market at the Fairgrounds. This truly was a joint effort that came together and developed a working solution.
Urban Renewal Agency Director Alison Robertson, left, and Jodi Mescher at the Dec. 9 City Council meeting
The newest addition to the City of Lincoln City is coming off a stint as a Peace Corps Rural Aquaculture Extension Agent in Zambia, and will now turn her attention to historic preservation and improving our economic development toolbox.
Jodi Mescher will spend 11 months working as Economic Development Coordinator alongside Urban Renewal Agency Director Alison Robertson doing what Urban Renewal does: attracting job producing private investments that will improve property values, improve the area’s visual quality and establish a positive linkage between the area and the Pacific Ocean.
“I’m happy to be here,” Mescher said. “I’m excited to see what we can do while I’m here.”
Mescher is here as part of the Resource Assistance for Rural Environments (RARE) program, connecting trained graduate-level people with rural communities for an 11-month period. Administered by the University of Oregon and funded by Americorps, Meshner is here to assist Lincoln City in the development and implementation of plans for achieving a sustainable natural resource base and improving rural economic conditions while gaining community building and leadership skills.
Mescher will focus on the economic development toolbox and identifying underutilized properties. She’d also like to make Lincoln City a Certified Local Government (CLG) to qualify for federal grants from the National Park Service to promote historic preservation.
She received her Bachelor of Science degree from Ohio State University in 2015 for Environmental Economics and Sustainability and was a Student Assistant in the Department of Planning and Design at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium in Ohio in 2016. She spent time in Africa with the Peace Corps, providing technical assistance selecting and constructing fish and rice farm sites, increasing the local economy and nutrition.
Mescher in Zambia
Mescher is overflowing with ambition as evidenced by traveling halfway across the world to teach people how to farm fish and rice. It will be interesting to see what the future has in store for this go getter.
From left, OCCC Development Director Emily Fasnacht, Annette Mulee, and OCCC President Dr. Birgitte Ryslinge
The need for more and varied career and technical education programs in Lincoln County has never been clearer than it is today. Not only are local and regional employers aching for qualified tradespeople, but interest is growing among a population of students for whom a traditional two- or four-year college degree may not be the preferred option.
The point was underscored earlier this year, when more than 10,000 people saw, liked, or shared a social media post celebrating a new welding program funded by a grant secured by the Port of Toledo, the Lincoln County School District, Northwest Oregon Works, and Oregon Coast Community College. The Port of Toledo was the lead applicant in the $261,285 Maritime Administration Small Shipyard Grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation, which was awarded in June.
“Almost one in four Lincoln County residents wound up seeing or interacting with that Facebook post,” said Emily Fasnacht, OCCC’s Development Director. “The message was clear: Lincoln County is interested in welding instruction.”
Thanks to the grant, the Port of Toledo has invested $87,096 in remodeling an existing space into a 12-bay welding training lab within the Toledo Shipyard’s Industrial Park. The grant will provide the funding to outfit that space with equipment. Work is currently underway on this project, and lab space will be available in 2020 for Newport High School, Siletz, and Eddyville students through the OCCC program. At the same time as the program gets rolling in Toledo, the College will begin teaching welding classes at Taft High School, thanks to funding support from the District.
More recently, as work has progressed and the welding program inches closer to a planned February 2020 launch, more good news arrived. A North Lincoln County resident, Annette Mulee, reached out to OCCC President Dr. Birgitte Ryslinge. The two began a series of meetings discussing Mulee’s interest in supporting North Lincoln County students in pursuing careers in the trades. The focus soon fell on the OCCC welding program.
“I was looking to fund a general scholarship,” Mulee said. “I was fortunate to have received a scholarship and a fellowship for my undergraduate and graduate study, and I wanted to give back. President Ryslinge told me about the possibility of funding a certificate program. Those programs do not qualify for financial aid, yet they would seem to lead to real jobs with decent pay relatively soon, especially the welding program. That seemed to be the way to make the most difference for the money. Not only would the students get good jobs, the local economy would benefit.”
The Annette M. Mulee Scholarship will ultimately fund a cohort of 10 welding certificate students working out of the Taft 7-12 building. All told, the scholarship will total $25,000 for the academic year, covering tuition, books, and fees in the welding program for each of the students for all three terms. The program will be open to high-school students as well as adult learners. Interested students may find additional information and application instructions on the College Foundation’s website, oregoncoastcc.org/foundation. The Foundation’s annual scholarship application encompasses a number of different scholarships with one simple application; look for the 2020 application form to go live by late January.
Why donate to OCCC?
Annette Mulee attended Westchester Community College in New York back in the mid-1970s after being out of high school for several years. At that point she did not know anything about college or whether she was “college material.” Thanks to an advisor who encouraged her to look at Ivy League schools for a transfer, she went on to graduate from Cornell University, later earned an MBA at Columbia University, and then moved to Portland and obtained a Juris Doctorate. She has been an attorney for the last 35 years, earning many commendations in her field.
“Community colleges are an amazing gateway,” Mulee said. “They allow a person to discover, at a reasonable cost, whether college is for them and provide a pathway to a four-year degree or even graduate school. But wait, there’s more! In addition, community colleges also provide a path for those who want a good job now – with certificate programs like the welding program at OCCC.”
The Annette M. Mulee Scholarship will ensure that 10 North Lincoln County students can earn, over three academic terms of work, a certificate that may help lead directly to a long-term career in a field critical to our coastal economy. Annette is eager to see residents of other parts of the county step forward to ensure the program serves students elsewhere, too.
“A little bit can go a long way to help a student at a community college,” she said. “One doesn’t have to be as rich as Bill Gates to make a difference. I can’t think of a better return on one’s investment than helping someone discover how to lead a productive and happy life. That’s why I encourage others to support community colleges, too.”
High school students interested in the new welding program should speak with their counselors. Adult learners may declare their interest in the program using an online form here: http://bit.ly/occcsparks.
To learn more about contributing to Oregon Coast Community College, contact the College’s Development Director, Emily Fasnacht, at [email protected] or 541-867-8525. Find information about how to apply for this and other scholarships, visit oregoncoastcc.org/foundation.
City Manager Ron Chandler gives details on a real estate deal aimed at providing transitional housing at Monday’s City Council meeting
Monday’s City Council meeting saw Lincoln City postponing a transitional housing deal, voting to vacate a portion of NW 44th Place for Chinook Winds’ Sky Bridge and passing a resolution making it a Class C misdemeanor to store vehicles in the right of way for more than 24 hours.
The deal involves Lincoln City purchasing two lots, 3454 NE Highway 101 & 2201 NE 34th Street, for $400,000 — budgeted nearly a year ago — for Helping Hands Re Entry, who will be the owner. A $350,000 rehabilitation loan will be given to the outreach center to bring both buildings up to code and will be paid back over 20 years at $1,500 per month. Both the purchase of the property and the loan are secured with promissory notes and trust deeds. If Helping Hands does not use the property for transitional housing, the building will revert back to the City.
Councilors Rick Mark and Riley Hoagland felt citizens didn’t have ample notice about the proposed real estate transaction, despite a public hearing notice published in The News Guard newspaper Dec. 3.
City Councilors Diana Hinton, left, Rick Mark and Riley Hoagland
“It’s not that easy to read this type on the public notice,” Mark said. “I think there might be a lot of people who are not as informed as they would like to be.”
Immediately following the councilor’s comments, City Manager Ron Chandler went into the details of the deal: Video @ 23:30
Chandler was thorough in his summation, giving background and including how the city council directed staff to budget money and look into homeless solutions nearly a year ago.
The council voted unanimously to close the public hearing, close the record and postpone the deal until Jan. 13.
Storing motor vehicles on streets
Resolution 2019-33, aimed at prohibiting vehicles stored in the right of way, passed 4-2 with councilors Mitch Parsons and Mark voting “nay.”
“What problem are we trying to solve here?” Councilor Mark said.
Lincoln City Police Chief Jerry Palmer testified before council that his officers were dealing with a vicious cycle. When police tag vehicles that have sat for over 72 hours, the owner of the vehicle has 72 hours to respond and can move it “10 feet,” restarting the process for about a week.
“Not once in the time that I’ve been here have we ever gone down and towed somebody’s vehicle that’s parked here on vacation or associated with a residence that I’m aware of,” Palmer said.
If a vehicle stored in the right of way is ticketed under the new city ordinance, it will be a Class C misdemeanor with an accompanying $500 maximum fine. By comparison, Oregon State law allows 72 hours for abandoned vehicles and is a Class B misdemeanor with a $1,000 fine.
City Attorney Richard Appicello
City Attorney Richard Appicello pointed out the city manager is delegated authority for traffic and can make changes which could include allowing more time for parked vehicles in certain areas and reminded the council that police were good at determining if a vehicle is blight, abandoned, unregistered, uninsured or legitimate.
“It feels like a solution in search of a problem here,” Mark said. “Storage is defined as 72 hours, so we’re changing that to a more onerous burden, but I don’t even understand why it should be illegal if my son comes down for a week and parks his car and we do all the driving. Why am I now turning that car into an illegal violation?”
“I would just argue that it’s not a violation yet,” Mayor Dick Anderson replied. “It gets tagged. And unless I’m wong, tagging is not the violation. The tagging is the response either from a complaint from a neighbor, who has seen it here for a week, and is suspicious.”
“We’re trying to solve the problem of abandoned vehicles and discarded property being continually left in our right of ways with no real method of addressing that,” Palmer said.
In other council news, a unanimous vote approved a vacation for a portion of NW 44th Place at Chinook Winds Casino to facilitate an Americans with Disabilities Act compliant skybridge.
The Lincoln City City Council has been working on a $750,000 deal with Helping Hands Re Entry for the last 10 months to bring transitional housing to Lincoln City.
Under the deal, the City will purchase two buildings — located on NE 34th Street — for the use of transitional housing for $400,000 and give a rehabilitation loan of $350,000 to nonprofit Helping Hands in an effort to aid Lincoln City’s homeless population.
The Lincoln City Planning Commission unanimously approved a conditional use permit applied for by the City on Dec. 3.
The public is invited to comment on the purchase and sale during the 6 p.m. regular city council meeting Dec. 9.
Why do you invest? For many people, here’s the answer: “I invest because I want to enjoy a comfortable retirement.” And that’s certainly a great reason, because all of us should regularly put money away for when we’re retired. But you can also benefit by investing in your family and your community.
Let’s start with your family members, particularly the younger ones. How can you invest in their future? One of the best ways is to help send them to college. A college degree is still a pretty good investment: The average lifetime earnings of a college graduate are nearly $1 million higher than those of someone with a high school degree, according to a study by the U.S. Census Bureau.
To help your children or grandchildren pay for any college, university, vocational school or other postsecondary education, you may want to open a 529 savings plan. With this account, withdrawals are federally tax free, as long as the money is used for qualified higher education expenses, including those from trade and vocational schools. (However, if you withdraw some of the earnings on your account, and you don’t use the money for qualified expenses, it will be taxable and can also incur a 10% federal tax penalty.) Plus, you retain control of the funds until it’s time for them to be used for school, so if your original beneficiary chooses not to pursue some type of higher education, you can name a different eligible beneficiary.
Another way to invest in your family is to help your adult children avoid feeling obligated to provide financial assistance to you. For example, if you ever required some type of long-term care, such as an extended stay in a nursing home, could you afford it? The average cost for a private room in a nursing home is more than $100,000 per year, according to a study by Genworth, an insurance company. And Medicare typically pays very few of these expenses. So, to avoid burdening your adult children – while also preserving your own financial independence – you may want to consider some type of long-term care insurance. A financial advisor can help you determine what coverage may be appropriate.
Moving beyond your family, you may want to invest in the social fabric of your community by contributing to local charitable, civic, educational or cultural groups. Of course, now that we’re in the holiday season, it’s the perfect time for such gifts. Furthermore, your gift will be more appreciated than in years past because one of the chief incentives for charitable giving – a tax deduction – was lost for many people due to tax law changes, which raised the standard deduction so significantly that far fewer people chose to itemize deductions. However, you might still be able to gain some tax benefits from your charitable gifts. To name one possibility, you could donate financial assets, such as stocks that have risen in value, freeing you of potential capital gains taxes. In any case, contact your tax advisor if you’re considering sizable charitable gifts.
Saving for your retirement will always be important. But don’t forget about investing in your family and your community – because these investments can provide satisfying returns.
This article was written by Edward Jones for use by local Edward Jones Financial Advisor Wendy Wilson.
Edward Jones, its employees and financial advisors cannot provide tax or legal advice. You should consult your attorney or qualified tax advisor regarding your situation.
Military veterans have unique physical, psychological, emotional and spiritual needs that can impact their end-of-life care. Recognizing these special needs, Samaritan Evergreen Hospice has joined a nationwide partnership called We Honor Veterans to foster best care practices for veterans.
Recently, the coastal office of Samaritan Evergreen Hospice achieved level one status with the program. The coastal hospice team, based in Newport, provides hospice care to patients throughout Lincoln County and into Tillamook County.
“As hospice professionals, we strive to provide the best care to every patient. We also recognize that military veterans may have different life experiences and health risks as a result of their service,” said Theresa Karlik, manager of Samaritan’s coastal hospice services. “By becoming familiar with military culture and learning about their challenges, we can provide appropriate and compassionate hospice care to every veteran.”
To obtain level one status, Lincoln County’s hospice staff and volunteers received a minimum of three veteran-centric trainings; developed a process to identify patients with military experience; reviewed a Military History Checklist and Guide; identified the designated hospice and palliative care contact person at the closest Veterans Administration medical center and/or community-based outpatient clinic; among other requirements.
Samaritan Evergreen Hospice, based in Albany and serving Benton, Linn, Marion and Polk counties, has already achieved level four status demonstrating its commitment to increasing access and quality of care for veterans.
We Honor Veterans is a program of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The program is designed to empower hospice professionals to meet the unique needs of dying veterans. It teaches respectful inquiry, compassionate listening and grateful acknowledgement.
Lincoln City youth pastor Mitchell Conte pleaded guilty to six counts of sex-related charges Tuesday and received 60 months incarceration with no good time or alternative program eligibility.
Lincoln County Deputy District Attorney Christine Herrman recommended the 60-month sentence as part of a plea deal reached with Conte and his lawyer, Thomas J. Elliott. Circuit Court Judge Sheryl Bachart signed the deal and Conte will be transported to an Oregon Department of Corrections prison this week.
Mitch Conte
Conte, 36, pleaded guilty to second-degree sexual abuse, third-degree sodomy and contributing to the sexual delinquency of a minor. He must register as a sex offender within 10 days of release to report any changes to residence, school or employment for life.
Planning commission officials voted 4-3 Tuesday to approve a conditional use permit to allow a Lincoln City warming shelter to operate for three months when temperatures drop to 40 degrees or winds exceed 50 mph.
The narrow vote allows Communities Helping Addicts Negotiate Change Effectively (C.H.A.N.C.E.), a support recovery service, to open its doors to anyone seeking shelter at its 4488 NE Devils Lake Blvd. location during Dec. 1 to Feb. 28.
The permit will be issued with additional conditions to be “hammered out” after the public hearing at the end of Tuesday’s regular meeting.
Commission members voting “nay” gave reasons for their positions, with some saying “it was not the appropriate location,” and other reasons, such as a mitigation plan was not good enough and police resources would be overtaxed.
