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Direct flights to Portland could be coming soon By JULIE AKINS For The World

Not since 2017, when Pen Air cancelled its daily flights from the Southwest Regional Airport to Portland have Bay Area residents been able to fly to Oregon’s biggest city and come home in a single day. But talks with Alaska Airlines may yield a positive change, according to

Theresa Cook, executive director of the airport. “We had talks with Alaska in Seattle on October 5,” Cook confirmed. “We used to have flights so people could go to OHSU, Oregon Health and Sciences University Medical Center and professionals could come and go to Coos Bay from Portland in a day.” If the airline consents to establish the flights they would leave

at 7 in the morning daily and return at 8 that same night. The plane would stay at the airport overnight for the next morning’s run. Alaska has not confirmed a definitive plan, however. “We have conversations with airports all the time regarding potential service. Coos Bay/ North Bend is an airport of interest, but any discussions have been exploratory at this time. We

have no plans to start service at this time,” according to Alaska’s media office when asked to confirm a possible new direct flight. Direct flights to major cities are not unheard of at the regional airport. United has flights to San Francisco and Denver. And Alaska used to have direct daily flights to Portland back in 2009. Timm Slater, executive director of the Bay Area Chamber of

Commerce, supports the option of daily flights to Portland for business professionals. “It’d be extremely helpful. When we had Horizon there were three or four flights per day. It made it a great vehicle for doing business," Slater said. "You could go to Portland and do your business and fly back in Please see Airport, Page A3

Port enters into agreement to buy former GP mill site By DAVID RUPKALVIS The World

Photo by David Rupkalvis/The World

FEMA employees prepare to vaccinate some of the hundreds of Coos County residents who visited a mobile drive-through clinic at Pony Village Mall.

Hundreds line up for FEMA vaccine clinic By DAVID RUPKALVIS The World

A COVID-19 vaccination clinic planned this week got an unexpected boost after federal and state governments approved booster vaccines for Moderna and Johnson & Johnson.

The result was a long line of cars at the drive-through clinic hosted by FEMA, the Oregon Health Authority and Coos Health & Wellness. Kevin McVeigh with OHA said the long line of people is exactly what he hoped to see. "We opened at 11, and it's

been nonstop," he said. "We do testing, too, but that hasn't been too many." Instead, hundreds of people waited patiently, most to get a booster shot of the Moderna vaccine. When vaccines first become available in January and February, Moderna was the

only vaccine available in Coos County. As a result, many of those eligible for booster shots were Moderna users, which led to a run on the booster shot that was approved Friday. On Monday, the first day of Please see Vaccine, Page A2

Ready to serve North Bend

Contributed photos

Gary McCullough takes the oath of office from Mayor Jessica Engelke to become the interim police chief in North Bend. McCullough, who served as police chief in Coos Bay for 12 years, agreed to come out of retirement to serve North Bend while the search for a permanent chief takes place.

Photo gallery: Dean Creek worth the stop Photo gallery: Pachyderms pulverize pumpkins AT THEWORLDLINK.COM   Serving Oregon’s South Coast since 1878  •  A Country Media Newspaper  •  Copyright 2021

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The Port of Coos Bay could soon own the former Georgia Pacific mill site, with the goal of turning it into a shipping facility in the near future. Just days after the board of directors for the port voted unanimously to allow CEO John Burns to negotiate the purchase of the former mill site, the port announced it had reached an agreement with current owner CDC, Inc., to buy the land. The goal is to build a shipping facility in Coos Bay where ships will unload goods at the location, which will then be shipped throughout Oregon and the Northwest by train and truck. The purchase agreement includes a 60-day period for both sides to conduct due diligence, with the goal of closing the sale by the end of the year. If the sale closes at that time, the port hopes to have the facility operating at least partially in 2023. Burns said the move was intended as a means of creating strong jobs in the community, which has lost similar jobs due to the closure of the mill in 2019 and the recently-announced closure of the Shutter Creek Correctional Institute. “With this facility back in service, it is anticipated that it will bring with it the addition of well-paying family wage jobs to the area including longshore labor, yard workers and cargo handlers, as well as additional rail line crews,” said Burns. While presenting the idea of buying the property to the board, Burns said the port frequently receives calls from companies interested in offloading in the region. With no terminal in the Coos Bay region, the port has been forced to send the companies elsewhere. Margaret Barber, director of external affairs and business development for the port, said there is a great need for additional shipping facilities, and the port hopes to fill that need. "We've just been inundated, especially in the last couple of years, with what's happening in the shipping market," she said. "The challenge the port Please see Agreement Page A3

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