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Deputies ID teen who died 50 years ago By DAVID RUPKALVIS The World

A 15-year-old who went missing was identified recently thanks to the dogged work of Coos County Sheriff’s Office investigators. In 1971, the body of a teen was located near Snedden Creek in Coos Bay. Due to the limited technology available at the time and the condition of the body, no cause of death was determined by the medical examiner. At the time, the sheriff’s office did a thorough review by canvassing the neighborhood, asking for public help and attempting to create a timeline of events in the area. But the work failed to identify the deceased juvenile, and his body was buried in a local cemetery. Like all unknown deaths, the

case of the unidentified child remained open and sheriff’s investigators would go back and look at it occasionally. In 2017, Captain Daniel Looney decided to take another look at the case. That year, Looney and the medical examiner’s office exhumed the body in order to obtain a DNA sample. Using a grant from the Oregon State Medical Examiner’s Office, the DNA was registered through the NAMUS database and analyzed by Parabon Nanolabs. In May of this year, Parabon Nanolabs provided a DNA profile of the teen. At the time, the DNA profile did not provide an identity, but Detective Jason Patterson said it provided significant information such as ancestry, eye color, skin color, hair color, a composite profile and idea of what the teen may

have looked like. That profile was then used to search through reports of missing persons as well as cold cases. It was also uploaded to ancestry sites. In July, Parabon released a further report in which it was able to identify the family and a man from Idaho who matched the ancestry and genealogy of the teen’s profile. But before closing the case, sheriff’s investigators needed to confirm the identity of the dead teenager. Investigators identified the dead teen as Winston Hurley Maxey III by verifying DNA with that of a biological sister. Detectives learned Maxey was 15 when he left his home in Boise, Idaho in 1971. Maxey told family members there were jobs in Oregon, and he planned to hitchhike to the coast. He

told his sister he was specifically going to Coos Bay when he left his home. Family members reported they never heard from Maxey again and were not sure he arrived in Oregon. His body was located in July 1971, but it took 50 years to verify his identity. During the investigation, detectives learned Maxey fathered a daughter he never knew about. The child was given up for adoption, but when she turned 18, she began looking for her parents. She was able to find her mother and learned Maxey was her father. Maxey’s daughter created a Facebook page titled, “Where in the world is Winston Maxey” and filed a missing person’s report. When Maxey’s identity was verified, investigators were able to get a death certificate and return the remains to his family.

Winston Hurley Maxey III

Commissioners look at transient tax in Charleston By DAVID RUPKALVIS The World

The World file photo

Concrete blocks the entrance to the Georgia Pacific mill after it was closed in 2019.

Port looking to buy mill site for shipping terminal

By DAVID RUPKALVIS The World

The Port of Coos Bay could soon be home to a multi-model shipping facility. The Port of Coos Bay Board of Commissioners voted unanimously Friday to give CEO John Burns authority to negotiate the purchase of the former Georgia Pacific mill site near downtown Coos Bay. If the purchase goes through, the port is looking to build a site to offload shipping containers. Burns told commissioners one of the most common requests

he hears is from companies that want to have a place to offload products in this region. “The port is regularly approached by companies eager to move commodities through a terminal in Coos Bay,” Burns said. “Because the port does not currently own or operate a terminal, many of these inquiries are referred to other terminals, put on standby or turned away from the Port of Coos Bay.” Burns said if a shipping terminal was available, it would be a big benefit to the local and state economy.

“Acquiring property to develop a multi-model facility will create an economic boost for not only Southwest Oregon but the state of Oregon,” Burns said. “Each ship call has a value to the local economy of approximately $750,000 to $1 million, and a terminal has the ability to create at least 100 family-wage jobs.” Burns said the port has been discussing the site of the old Georgia Pacific mill for many months and hopes to move forward with a purchase. “In 2018, the Georgia Pacific site ended operations, resulting

in the loss of over 125-family wage jobs,” he said. The location was purchased by Coos Bay LLC, and the port has been discussing the site with the company for six months. The old mill site is 162 acres, of which 100 to 115 acres could be used for a multi-model facility. It has buildings on site and docks in place. After Burns explained the idea, the board voted without comment to allow Burns to negotiate the purchase of the location with the idea of building a shipping terminal near downtown Coos Bay.

to reinstate a 1,000-foot limit between marijuana businesses, greatly limiting where a new dispensary can go. Mayor Joe Benetti said he wanted the space limit because he didn’t want to the city to be overrun with dispensaries. “This has been going on for a while, and I’m not really sure of opening things up to a lot of marijuana facilities,” Benetti said. “I think we have a fair amount in currently, and I think there’s still some areas available. In my opinion, I think we should keep the 1,000-foot distance for marijuana businesses.” Benetti said he was particularly concerned with the

downtown corridor becoming a location full of dispensaries. The new ordinance will not have an impact on existing dispensaries, almost all that would fall short of the 1,000-foot requirement. “I agree. We need to keep the 1,000-foot distance,” Councilor Lucinda DiNovo said. While all the council eventually voted in favor of the 1,000-foot limit, several voiced concerns about making rules that impact marijuana-related businesses more than others. “It’s a tough thought for me because we are locking something in,” Councilor Stephanie Kilmer said. “I try

to be on the side of letting the market decide.” Councilor Drew Farmer said he was comfortable with no marijuana businesses near schools but not limiting them elsewhere. But the majority of the council said allowing one kind of business to take over in any location, but especially downtown, would change the business diversity they would all like. “I think it’s important to limit the number and the location, however I fell I’m stuck on us regulating them in a way we don’t regulate others,” Councilor Sara Stephens said. But DiNovo spoke for the

Coos County commissioners took the first step toward imposing a 9.5% on transient housing in Charleston. Commissioners met Tuesday and heard the first reading of a pair of ordinances that would send a question to voters about whether to introduce the new tax. The second reading is scheduled November 2, and voters would get to weigh in at the May 2022 election. The tax would be added to bills for short-term rentals such as hotels, motels and even housing rentals such as Airbnb as long as the rentals are shorter than 30 days. According to the ordinance being considered by commissioners, the idea of a tax on short-term rentals was brought up to benefit tourism in the Charleston area. Charleston is unique in that it falls outside any incorporated cities and therefore does not have a convention and visitors bureau or other tourism agency designed to market it directly. If approved by voters, at least 70 % of all taxes collected will be used to promote tourism in the Charleston area. The remaining funds would be used for code enforcement, Please see TAXES, Page A3

Council lifts moratorium on marijuana businesses Maintains 1,000-foot requirement between dispensaries By DAVID RUPKALVIS The World

The Coos Bay City Council voted unanimously to lift a moratorium on new marijuana dispensaries in the city, but stopped short of easing the restrictions about where businesses can be located. The council considered a new marijuana ordinance after it was approved by the Planning Commission. The commission recommendation allowed marijuana dispensaries in commercial and industrial districts with no requirement of space between the dispensaries. But the city council chose

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majority when she said, “Do we really want a lot of pot stores as people re coming into the community? I don’t think that’s what we want.” In the end, the council approved the ordinance submitted by the Planning Commission with just a single sentence added that limited marijuana businesses from being within 1,000 feet of each other. The council then voted to lift the moratorium on new businesses effective November 19. The unanimous vote kept the moratorium in four districts - Medical Park, Waterfront Heritage, Hollering Place and Urban Public districts.

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