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Sale ensures viability of health clinic
Umpqua Post
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Weekly news from the Heart of the Dunes AN EDITION OF
Wednesday, August 14, 2013 | Serving the Reedsport area since 1996 | theworldlink.com/reedsport | $1.00
“We have between 250 and 300 cars that show up every year.” — Kool Coastal Nights co-chair Phyllis Dever
BY STEVE LINDSLEY The Umpqua Post
It’s hoped the recent sale of Dunes Family Health Care by the Lower Umpqua Hospital district will be a positive step for Reedsport and the health care community. Dr. Janet Patin, has worked at Dunes Family for 15 years. She says the purchase will allow the clinic to remain open. “Because of the insurance mix of the community,” she said, “You really can’t make it just on clinic income. So we moonlighted in the emergency room and that subsidized the primary care practice.” Things changed when the clinic ran into staffing problems. “Then we had some change in staffing and needed some help covering the emergency room hours, ” Patin said. “We asked the hospital for help.” The hospital entered into an agreement with Texas-based EmCare for emergency room services. “That solved some of our problems of having to deal with insurance for weekend doctors and staffing,” Patin said. “Although we had been in charge of the staffing and there was never an uncovered shift.” That change potentially could have put Dunes Family out of business, because hospital administrator Sandra Reese canceled the Photo by Sarah Haase, The Umpqua Post emergency room contract with A line of vehicles on display at the 2012 Kool Coastal Nights car show. Organizers speculate that around 1,000 visitors made their way to the show last Dunes Family doctors. year. This year’s event will begin on Aug. 23. She said the purchase by the hospital will help keep the clinic operating. “There really wasn’t any other way for support to come to the clinic,” she said. “They can’t just give money to a private group. “Now, with the merger, the responsibility for primary care will lie with the hospital. They get the
SEE CLINIC, PAGE A6
Police chief recruitment update
Hot cars start revving up the events at Kool Coastal Nights BY STEVE LINDSLEY The Umpqua Post
The event starts Friday, Aug. 23 and features art, a barbecue, live music and a sock hop on Saturday
tions for cars. “We have modified and stock,” Turner said. “We consider anything stock, unless it has three changes to it, and then it becomes modified.” Prizes are given for a number of categories. “We have Best in Show,” Turner said, “and then we have the Best Mustang, the Best 1955 to ’57, we have the Best Truck, the Best Car and then we have Ladies’ Choice.” There is no money for winning those categories, but there is the prestige. “I think they just like to show their cars off,” Turner laughed. “They do get trophies,” Dever offered.
Two weeks after a successful DuneFest, Winchester Bay will host the 21st annual Kool Coastal Nights car show. Familiar volunteers Phyllis Dever and Debby The car show is a locally run event. Turner are co-chairs of the event, which will “This is presented by the Winchester Bay feature 250-300 cars parked along Beach BY STEVE LINDSLEY Merchants’ Association,” Dever said, “and Boulevard. The Umpqua Post sponsored by the Reedsport/Winchester Bay The reason for another event so soon after Chamber of Commerce. The Reedsport City Council gave DuneFest is pretty straight forward. The event begins Friday, Aug. 23, with regis“We just go for the best weather of the sumpermission for city manager tration 3-6 p.m. The registration fee for the car mer,” Dever said. Jonathan Wright to recruit for a new And, she pointed out, Art by the Bay follows show, Harbor Cruise and poker walk is $30. chief to replace Mark Fandrey, who “Cars start lining up on Friday,” Dever said. a week later, on Aug. 31 and Sept. 1, Labor Day died of a heart attack in early July. Cars must be 1978 or older, street legal and weekend. “The chief left a giant hole in our licensed and insured. There are two classificacommunity,” Wright told the council at its Aug. 5 meeting. “He also left a giant hole in our department. Given that the recruitment process takes a great deal of time, that we have talked to schools about putting another school safety officer into BY STEVE LINDSLEY tial value of $25,000.” the potential revamp. The two the schools, and we have a number The Umpqua Post The other project would be a drawings were created in 2009. of projects that are kind of in limbo new building next to city shops The additional parking would until we get a chief, I would request The city of Reedsport hopes to require the city to acquire property that would store vehicles. that you allow staff to open the get two grants from the Oregon He told the council the Marine owned by Knife River Corporation. recruitment.” State Marine Board to expand the Board is supportive of the project. The phase-one grant, which The recruitment will be open parking at the city’s boat launch on would allow the city to buy the “They’ve even agreed to receive for 60 days. A public evaluation River waterfront. the Umpqua this application out of normal property and demolish the buildprocess will follow. “The majority of the waterfront grant cycle, in anticipation that ing, requires a 25 percent match A new chief isn’t expected to be area, downtown, was funded that could be a combination of in- this will be, hopefully, approved,” on board until the end of the year. through Marine Board grants,” city kind and cash funds. That in-kind he said. “It’s actually a part of the “Sixty days,” Mayor Keith Marine Board’s facilities plan for Tymchuk said, “I think that’s pret- manager Jonathan Wright told the work could come in the form of council at its Aug. 5 meeting. 2011 through 2017.” dismantling the building and salty standard as far as this type of “Looking into the opportunity to Wright said they also anticipatvaging as much material as possiposition. I think of what we’ve possibly expand our boat launch ed an expendiure of approximately ble for future reconstruction. done before, with police chief parking area, they came up with $10,000 in matching funds that “We have another project we positions and city manager posicould from boat launch fees. could re-allocate those materials tions. As far as I’m concerned, now two conceptual designs.” The city was contacted in 2007 to,” Wright said. “This would be “Is that a building that’ll be taken down,” councilor Kathi SEE POLICE CHIEF, PAGE A6 by a representative of OSMB about considered in kind, with a poten-
SEE KOOL COASTAL, PAGE A6
Reedsport seeks grants to expand parking Wall-Meyer asked Wright, “that one great big ugly yellow building?” “It’s the smaller ugly one,” Wright told the council. Wright also said there would have to be some foundationremoval work on the building. Wright said the second grant would be needed to finish the project, which would involve resurfacing the property for cars and boats to park. The council gave its approval to pursue the grant.
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