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Keep seafood local ......................................... PAGE 3 Taft High School Sports 2023. . .................. PAGE 12

January 24, 2023

Serving Lincoln City Since 1927

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LCPD seeing a rise in vehicle break-ins

Many of the thefts are “crimes of opportunity”

JEREMY C. RUARK Country Media, Inc. Vehicle break-ins are not new in Lincoln City, but over the past few weeks, Lincoln City Police have received an increase in the number of reported car and truck break-ins. In the following conversation, Lincoln City Police Department (LCPD) Lt. Jeffrey Winn provides The News Guard with insight into this crime. The News Guard: Do investigators believe the Jan. 2 vehicle break-ins. Prowl, and kayak theft are linked? Jeffrey Winn: Although we do not have any concrete evidence that they are all related, we cannot say for certain at this time that they are related, however because of the higher than usual amount of incidents, and because there were vehicle in close proximity to each other, we believe it is likely that they are related. Especially the ones that occurred on the same street and/or in the same general area. The News Guard: We understand that there is surveillance video of the incident at NW 1st Court.

We understand that the video shows the suspect casing and then breaking into the vehicle, grabbing contents and immediately fleeing in a vehicle. Are investigators ready to provide a suspect and vehicle description? Winn: At this time, I do not have the information on this. My guess, and this is only a guess, there most likely isn’t enough detailed description in any video that would be able to assist with positive identification of the suspect or a suspect vehicle. The News Guard: Can you give us a count of the number of vehicle break-ins and the number of attempted vehicle break-ins over the past year? Winn: Our records management system does not break things down to separate and distinguish between Theft from a vehicle and just a Theft case. In other words, the crimes are classified as a Theft I, Theft II, Theft III depending on the dollar amount of the item(s) stolen. In addition, some most “attempted” vehicle break-in and some thefts calls are documented only in computer-aided dispatch (CAD) incidents and not as full case reports.

The News Guard: What specific areas of the city are your officers being called to for the reports of the vehicle break-ins? Winn: As you can see by the Jan. 2nd reports the thefts occurred in several different locations from the south end of the city up to the north end. There generally are no “specific” areas where vehicles can be broken into, however anyplace where a vehicle is parked in close proximity with a lot of other vehicles, such as hotel/motel parking lots, the mall or store parking lots and/or rest stops or parks, especially if those are in a secluded area can become prime targets. Also, vehicle parked in driveways and along the roadways in neighborhoods can be targets of opportunity for the wouldbe thief. The News Guard: Overall, who are the suspects? Winn: A lot of vehicle “break-ins” are crimes of opportunity. Many of the “break-ins” are not actually break-ins as in the window is smashed out but the entry is made through an unlocked door. The suspects vary, but generally they are persons who have a drug addiction

JEREMY C. RUARK / COUNTRY MEDIA

Lincoln City Police urge residents and visitors not to leave valuables in plain view in their vehicles. problem, and they are trying to steal things they can sell for money so they can support their habit. There are also some suspects who are just “professional” thieves and that is just what they do. How they make their money. The News Guard: How do the suspects conduct this crime. Casing the neighborhood, watching residents, businesses and people coming and going? Smash and grab? Winn: Some suspects case the area and watch who is coming and going and when they come and go. This is also true for some home

and business burglaries. That is why it is important for our citizens to watch their neighborhood and to call LCPD when they see someone or something suspicious going on so we can check it out. I think the general public would be very surprised to know that there are a lot of people out walking around in neighborhoods and such late at night or early in the morning hours. Of course, not all of them are out doing anything nefarious, but there are a few that are. As I said above, thefts from vehicles are many times a crime of opportunity and suspect just walks along

checking vehicle doors to see if they are unlocked or looking into the backs of pick-ups for unsecure tools or items. When they find ones that are unlocked the enter the vehicle and see if there is anything left in the vehicle to steal. The “smash and grabs” usually happen when an item of value, such as a purse, wallet, lap top computer or tablet, backpack, or suitcase, or tools can be seen in the vehicle through the window. The News Guard: What are the suspects taking in the See THEFT, Page 9

Dead whales wash ashore near Astoria JEREMY C. RUARK Country Media, Inc.

COURTESY FROM THE SEASIDE AQUARIUM

This baby Gray whale, about 12-feet in length, washed ashore near Astoria Wednesday, Jan. 18.

Two large whales have washed ashore along the North Oregon Coast near Astoria. A 40-foor sperm whale was discovered on the beach near the shipwreck Peter Iredale Saturday, Jan. 14. Biologists said that whale died after being stuck by a ship at sea, according to the Associated Press. The Seaside Aquarium reported that the whale had been dead for a while before washing ashore and that there were a few large gashes on the whale. Crews from the Seaside Aquarium and state parks removed the whale’s lower

jaw. The jaw was removed so that the teeth remained intact for scientific purposes, the Aquarium post said. The whale is believed to be a juvenile male. Male sperm whales can reach nearly 60 feet and weigh well over 40 tons. They have been known to live up to 60 years, with males maturing around the age of 50 at a length of approximately 52 feet. They feed on deep water species, such as squid, sharks, skates, and fish, according to the Seaside Aquarium. While their population is recovering, sperm whales are still considered endangered. A second whale washed ashore Jan. 18 approximate-

ly 100 yards north of the sperm whale that washed up on shore Jan. 14. The Seaside Aquarium reports the whale is a baby Gray whale about 12-feet in length. “Like the sperm whale, it had been dead for a while before washing in,” the Aquarium said in a Facebook post. “There are no indications that this whale was struck by a ship or died from human interaction. Most likely, this is a case of failure to thrive.” A necropsy was to be conducted, according to the Aquarium. Gray whales are currently migrating south to their birthing and breeding grounds near Baja.

Wave energy testing facility reaches construction milestone

MICHELLE KLAMPE News Guard Guest Article

The last major pieces of the contract to build the wave energy test facility PacWave South have been executed, paving the way for the completion of the Oregon State University-led facility off the coast of Newport. PacWave South will be the first utility-scale, grid-connected wave energy test site in the United States. The facility will offer wave energy developers the opportunity to try different technologies for harnessing the power of ocean waves and transmitting that energy to the local electrical grid. PacWave project leaders have authorized the

procurement of more than 80 kilometers of cable that will deliver wave-generated energy to a shoreside facility where it can be fed to the local electrical grid. They also just finalized the contract for construction of the shoreside facility, said Burke Hales, PacWave’s chief scientist and a professor in the OSU College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences. “These are the last two major pieces of the project,” Hales said. “The cable manufacturing and installation is the most technically challenging aspect. Authorization of the manufacturing is a huge milestone for PacWave and is critical to its success.” The ocean test site will be located on a sandy-bottomed

stretch of the Pacific Ocean away from popular commercial and recreational fishing reefs about seven miles off the coast of Newport. The site will have four different test “berths,” which combined can accommodate up to 20 wave energy devices at any one time. Power and data cables buried below the seafloor will connect the ocean test site to the shoreside facility in Seal Rock, south of Newport. Louisiana-based industrial electrical services contractor R.T. Casey is overseeing the procurement, construction and installation of the cable for PacWave. The cables will be manufactured in Norway by the Paris-based firm Nexans, which

also has facilities in the U.S. “This good news adds up to a significant step forward for OSU’s world-renowned research into the marine energy that will play such a key role in the energy mix of the future,” U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden said. “I’m proud to have teamed up with OSU to support the purchase of subsea cables and begin construction. And I’ll keep battling to ensure OSU continues to secure the resources it’s earned to continue generating jobs and conducting groundbreaking research right here in Oregon.” The cable manufacturing process is expected to begin soon and will take about

COURTESY FROM OSU

PacWave project leaders have authorized the procurement of more than 80 kilometers of cable that will deliver wave-generated energy to a shoreside facility where it can be fed to See WAVE, Page 6 the local electrical grid.

TheNewsGuard.com

WEATHER

INDEX Police Blotter ............ 2 Opinion ...................... 6

Classifieds.............. 7-8 Sports ...................... 12

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