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County moves forward with public safety levy BY BREEANA LAUGHLIN The World
A group of public officials voted to push forward a proposed public safety levy for the November ballot that would increase the Coos County jail holding capacity to between 100 and 150 beds. The current holding capacity is 48 beds, according to Coos County Sheriff Craig Zanni. Zanni, who is a member of the committee and a proponent of the public safety levy, said increasing the jail capacity would allow local criminal justice systems to operate more cohesively and ultimately hold criminal perpetrators responsible for their crimes. The public safety committee is being chaired by Coos Bay City Manager Roger Craddock. Members include Sheriff Zanni, Coos County Commissioner John Sweet, as well as community corrections officers, the district attorney and other local officials.
The committee voted unanimously on July 6, advising county commissioners to put together a proposal for the levy. The county commissioners now have until Aug. 19 to prepare a ballot title for the November general election. The public safety levy being proposed is 45 cents per $1000 of assessed value property tax which, if passed, would be enacted in January 2023. For a home worth $200,000, the levy would equate to an extra $90 in property taxes per year. If the levy is passed, public safety committee members reported that some costs would be offset by two current levies that are slated to expire in upcoming years. This includes a .25 per $1,000 natural gas pipeline tax levy that would expire simultaneously as the new levy would be enacted, according to Sweet. Then in 2025, the emergency Please see LEVY, Page A2
Photo by David Rupkalvis/The World
The Coos County Jail has been limiting the number of inmates it can hold due to staffing and budget issues. The county is proposing a public safety tax levy to provide additional funding which will help keep more people behind bars when they commit crimes.
Board votes to fire founder, director of Operation Rebuild Hope BY DAVID RUPKALVIS The World
The board of directors of Operation Rebuild Hope voted to terminate the employment of Patrick Wright as the executive director of the nonprofit organization that helps homeless veterans find housing. The board met June 24 and released the minutes from the meeting last week. The meeting came days after the board voted to put Wright on a 60-day leave following his arrest in Coos Bay. After the vote to put Wright on leave, Wright and his supporters responded by taking over the Operation Rebuild Hope facilities and refusing to allow board
members to enter. The board met June 24 with Bruce Bertrand, Patty Bertrand, Elizabeth Wright, Raebecca Kilcoyne, and Dean Bolton attending virtually. Board President Ryan Cook was unable to attend, but voted by proxy after seeing the agenda. The board started by voting to remove Wright from the board of directors and immediately followed up by terminating Wright’s employment from the organization. In other votes, the board removed Angela Archer as a board member, authorized the agency to hire an attorney and an agency to do an audit of finances and Please see HOPE, Page A4
Monkeypox slowly moving through Oregon BY DAVID RUPKALVIS The World
Contributed photo
Coos County Sheriff Craig Zanni poses with Alek Skarlatos after endorsing the Republican in the the race for the Fourth Congressional District.
Sheriffs throw support behind Alek Skarlatos BY DAVID RUPKALVIS The World
Three local sheriff’s are throwing their support behind Republican Alek Skarlatos in the congressional race to replace Peter DeFazio. Sheriff Craig Zanni in Coos County, Sheriff John Ward in Curry County and Sheriff John Hanlin in Douglas County threw their support behind Skarlatos in the race against Democrat Val Hoyle. Ward said Skarlatos is the right person to help combat the increase in crime seen across the region. “Across the country, crime is rising, it’s moving into our suburbs and rural communities, and I’m proud to stand with Alek Skarlatos, who has always stood with law enforcement,” said Ward. “With Alek Skarlatos, law enforcement will have an ally in Congress who will ensure we have the resources necessary to protect our communities.”
Skarlatos is a former National Guard soldier, and he said he will stand with law enforcement if elected. “I am honored to have the support of Curry County Sheriff John Ward,” said Skarlatos. “If elected, I will support the brave police officers who are keeping our rural communities safe, and I will always stand up to the Democrats in Washington who support this crazy idea to defund the police.” While Skarlatos received the support of the three sheriffs, Hoyle also received support this week as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced she was endorsing Hoyle in the 4th Congressional District. Hoyle has also been endorsed by DeFazio and U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley. Hoyle and Skarlatos are vying to the replace DeFazio, who is retiring after decades of service as representative of the Fourth District. Voters will choose the next congressional representative in November.
As Monkeypox continues to slowly move through the United States, including cases in Oregon, the Oregon Health Authority is using a three-pronged approach to reach out to those at greatest risk. Dr. Tim Menza, senior health adviser for the hMPXV response at the OHA Public Health Division, said there has been one confirmed case in Oregon, with five presumptive cases. Three of those presumptive cases were announced Wednesday, coming from Multnomah, Washington and Lane counties. Menza said the outbreak worldwide has seen 7,243 cases in 52 countries. In the U.S., there has been 605 cases in 34 states. While hPMXV can be passed to anyone, the current outbreak is having a greater impact on the LGBTQ community. “Typically, HMPXV has an incubation of six to 13 days, but can be s long as 21 days,” Menza said. “It starts with fever, headache, swollen lymph nodes and exhaustion. The rash may appear at the same time or five days later. The rash can be painful or itchy and moves through predictable stages. The illness lasts two to four weeks.” The virus has a fatality rate of 1 to 3 percent. That’s the typical virus. But in the current outbreak, things are different, Menza said. “In the current outbreak, the presentation is a little atypical,” he said. “The
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“In the current outbreak, the presentation is a little atypical. The initial flu-like symptoms can occur but its sometimes very mild or not present. The location, appearance and duration of rash are also atypical in that the rash is presenting more diffusely. The rash can be subtle and may move through typical stages more quickly.” Dr. Tim Menza Senior health advisor, OHA
initial flu-like symptoms can occur but its sometimes very mild or not present. The location, appearance and duration of rash are also atypical in that the rash is presenting more diffusely. The rash can be subtle and may move through typical stages more quickly.” Because the symptoms are generally milder, it creates a little more risk because people may ignore the symptoms and not seek care. Many that do, go to outpatient clinics. Menza said doctors also may not recognize the symptoms because they vary from the norm. Monkeypox is also frequently confused with other sexually-transmitted diseases such
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Please see MONKEYPOX, Page A2
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