W042622 by C.M.I.

Serving Oregon’s South Coast Since 1878

Doubleheader sweep Marshfield takes pair, A9

CLOUDY 55 • 44 | TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2022 | theworldlink.com |

15-year-old dies in Bandon shooting Victim’s half brother arrested for murder By DAVID RUPKALVIS The World

A 15-year-old boy was killed during a shooting Wednesday morning in Bandon and his half brother is behind bars on a murder charge. According to District Attorney R. Paul Frasier, Finnian Lewis was killed during a shooting at an apartment complex in the 1500 block of Harvard Street in Bandon. Frasier said a 9-1-1 call came in at 10:49 a.m. reporting the shooting at the apartment

complex. When police and medical personnel reached the home, they found Lewis dead due to the gunshot wound. Frasier said police arrested Torin Syrus Mowery, 23, on a charge of murder in the second degree. Mowery was arraigned Thursday and bond was set at $2 million. The case has been set over until April 28, but Frasier said he expects to take the case to the grand jury before that date. After the shooting, the Coos County Major Crime Team was activated and officers from

the Oregon State Police, both from North Bend and Roseburg, Coos County Sheriff’s Office, Coos Bay Police Department, North Bend Police Department, Coquille Police Department, the Coos County Medical Examiner’s Office and the district attorney’s Office responded to assist in the investigation. Bandon police will be the lead agency on this case. Anyone who may have information about this case is encouraged to contact the Bandon Police Department.

Torres named state’s Education Services Professional of the Year

Photos by David Rupkalvis/The World

Melinda Torres, right, fights back tears as she comes up to receive the Education Services Professional of the Year award from Colt Gill, director of the Oregon Department of Education.

By DAVID RUPKALVIS The World

For years, Melinda Torres has been laser focused on helping homeless children in the Coos Bay School District. As the manager of the district’s ARK project, Torres is responsible for creating a drop-in center, where students and others in the community can take showers, get needed supplies and stock up on food for the weekend.

That work was honored Wednesday, when the Department of Education and the Oregon Lottery named Torres the 2022 Education Services Professional of the year for the state. The award, and the $5,000 prize that comes with it, was first given in 2021. Colt Gill, the director of the Oregon Department of Education, traveled to Coos Bay on Wednesday to personally give Torres the award and to say thank you for the work she and others do for children in Coos Bay. “Through the pandemic, I have been

surprised by the flexibility, creativity of the school staff,” Gill said. “Outside of the box thinking has become the norm in Oregon.” Gill said a lot of teachers, and non-teachers like Torres, worked extra hours and went overboard to benefit students. “The schools and families really noticed what our schools have done to bring our kids back,” he said. “I truly believe it takes a team to educate our kids. It really takes everybody to make this happen every day.” Please see TORRES, Page A10

Partnership could at long last lead to Dillian’s Place

Photo by David Rupkalvis/The World

Justin and Christina Gray donate the proceeds from years of fundraising for Dillian’s Place to Andrea Trenner, CEO of the Waterfall Community Health Center. Pictured are, from left, Justin Gray, Trenner, Christina Gray, Lewann Rice, president of the Foster Parents Association of Coos and Curry Counties, an Greg Dalton, program director for CASA.

By DAVID RUPKALVIS The World

A longtime dream of opening a park designed for disabled children moved a lot closer to reality when Christina and Justin Gray chose to partner with Waterfall

Clinic to move forward with the playground. The Gray’s have been working for years to raise money for a playground they wanted to call Dillian’s Place to honor their adopted son who died in July 2017. The Grays got to know Dillian

when he was placed with them in foster care at only 4 months old. At the time, he was suffering from a severe brain injury, the result of being abused by his biological father. His father was later convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 120 months in

prison. Due to changes in state law, that conviction was vacated, and the biological father is in the Coos County Jail waiting for a second trial. When Dillian came into the Gray’s lives, they were veteran

Nearly half of new COVID cases are breakthrough cases, state reports By ZOE GOTTLIEB Country Media

With Oregon’s concern over COVID-19 receding and the widespread vaccination push losing steam, surprising data has emerged on vaccine efficacy. Vaccine breakthrough cases made up nearly half of Oregon’s COVID-19 cases in the latest report from the Oregon Health Authority (OHA). OHA’s April 7 COVID-19 Breakthrough Report shows that between March 27 and April 2, of the 2,035 COVID-19 cases reported by the OHA 960 were vaccine breakthrough cases (47.2%). The figure could be even higher than the data shows, as the data includes positive tests reported to public health and not positive at-home tests. The latest report from the agency on vaccination breakthrough deaths reveals a similar trend. In the month of March, 46.4% of reported COVID-19 deaths occurred in fully vaccinated people. Vaccine breakthrough cases are defined as instances in which an individual tests positive for COVID-19 at least 14 days following the completion of any primary COVID-19 vaccine series, according to the OHA. According to the April 7 report, there have been 1,374 recorded breakthrough COVID-19 cases in Columbia County. Mixed messaging On April 7, The Chronicle reached out to OHA Lead Communications Officer Jonathan Modie for comment on the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals decision overturning an injunction on the federal mask mandate. While Modie told Country Media he couldn’t speak specifically to the court decision, he reaffirmed the importance of getting vaccinated: “vaccines are safe and effective, and vaccination remains the most effective tool to reduce the spread of COVID-19,” he said. In a separate email, OHA Public Affairs Specialist Rudy Owens could not speak as highly of vaccine efficacy, telling The Chronicle that vaccines don’t prevent spread “nearly as effectively” as the risk of hospitalization and death. “As the proportion of the vaccinated population increases, we will see an increasing proportion of cases, hospitalization and deaths which are vaccinated even if vaccine effectiveness remains the same,” he added. According to the OHA’s own COVID-19 Vaccination Metrics, the number of people in Oregon completing their COVID-19 vaccination series increased only modestly from December 2021 to April. The data would suggest that an increase in people receiving their primary vaccination series is insufficient to explain the monthby-month rise in COVID-19 breakthrough infections. Changes to COVID-19 data reporting On March 30, the OHA announced it would reduce COVID-19 breakthrough infections reporting from weekly to monthly publications. Country Media asked Owens why the OHA would release fewer reports when breakthrough infections are at an all-time high.

Please see DILLIAN’S, Page A10 CLASSIFIEDS A3 CALENDAR A11 OPINION A5

facebook.com/theworldnewspaper

Please see COVID, Page A10

COMICS A7 SPORTS A9

twitter.com/TheWorldLink

instagram.com/theworldlink