Skip to main content

TNG711

Page 1

Amazing discovery. . ........................................ PAGE 9 K9 Sniff Project. . ............................................. PAGE 3

July 11, 2023

Lincoln City’s Largest and Most Trusted News Source Since 1927

$5M tapped for drinking water Conservation groups are celebrating a big win in the Oregon legislature – a new $5 million fund that will help communities protect their source drinking water. Communities on the Oregon Coast are particularly interested in acquiring the forested lands that supply their drinking water, according to a release from Sustainable Northwest. “Protecting the streams, creeks and rivers that supply a community’s drinking water is an incredibly effective way to ensure high quality and reliable quantities of clean drinking water to communities and water suppliers,” the release state. The new fund will be administered by the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, and will allow Oregon to access hundreds of millions in federal matching funds. “This program is well poised to allow communities to decide how the forests providing their drinking water are managed and cared for,” Sustainable Northwest Forest Program Manager Daniel Wear said. “Land ownership is an effective way to connect communities to the water they rely on for daily life.” “This new fund opens up hundreds of millions in federal matching funds for Oregon communities to protect watersheds and secure safe and clean drinking water,” Coalition of Oregon Land Trusts Executive Director Kelley Beamer said. “Thank you to our legislative champions, Reps. Helm and Owens, for prioritizing this new grant program and working to expand access to clean, reliable, and affordable drinking water across the state.” The funding will provide $4 million for communities to acquire land or purchase conservation easements on properties, while also establishing a $1 million fund for projects to apply for loan repayment on projects that would have previously qualified for this funding. The following communities and water districts are just a few of the many poised to benefit from the new fund: • Lincoln City Water District received a Drinking Water Source Protection grant from the Oregon Department of Health (OHA) and plans to move forward with identification of strategic land acquisition opportunities in the near future. • Neahkahnie Water District will be buying property containing multiple wells providing the community’s drinking water supply. This community would benefit from loan reimbursement from this acquisition project. See WATER, Page 10

There’s no place like

HOME Habitat for Humanity preforming miracles in Lincoln County RYAN HOOVER Country Media, Inc.

do disaster recovery as well.” Latest miracle

t would be no exaggeration to say that the work Lucinda Taylor does with Habitat for Humanity of Lincoln County (HFHLC) makes her a miracle worker. Taylor works as the Executive Director of HFHLC, and her miracles come in the form of helping people in need build and own their first homes, repair them homes, and recover from natural disasters, among other things. “Our primary mission is the partner with couples and build homes that we then sell to them through an affordable mortgage,” Taylor said. “We do other things along the way. We do a home repair program for first-time homeowners. We’re just about to launch individual development accounts, so savings opportunities where folks can get matching funds. We

Her latest miracle will grant two family’s new homes in Lincoln City, which they will help build themselves and then purchase from HFHLC. These two homes will be the 17th and 18th homes HFHLC has built in Lincoln County since 1995. One unique aspect about these latest builds is that they will permanently stay as affordable homes for low-income households making 80% or less of the area’s median income. Prior to these two homes, if the homeowner decided to sell their home, it could be sold on the open market. But, Taylor added, most families opt to keep the homes they helped build. “We moved to make [these two homes] permanent affordability, where Habitat for Humanity maintains ownership of the land, and

I

then the homebuyer will purchase the home itself,” Taylor said. “It comes with a deed restriction where it can only be sold to low-income households at 80% AMI or less for as long as that home is standing.” Taylor said HFHLC uses an extensive homeowner selection process to find the right families for their homes – a process that involves families meeting income requirements, being reviewed by HFHLC’s board of directors, and having their current living conditions assessed in a home visit. But, more than anything, Taylor said applicants are chosen based on having the greatest needs. “They look at things like, what’s the current living condition? Is the family overcrowded? Are there draft windows? Are there leaks roofs? Do they have running water? They’re looking at

Our primary mission is the partner with couples and build homes that we then sell to them through an affordable mortgage. Lucinda Taylor, Habitat for Humanity Lincoln County the condition of the home,” Taylor said. “The folks who have the greatest need are put at the top, which the committee will recommend to the Board of Director’s without any personal identifying information.” Sweat equity Another aspect that makes HFHLC’s home-construction program unique is their “sweat equity” requirement. The organization asks families to help build their homes, providing them with an opportunity most homeowners never get. For a single-parent family, they ask for 350 hours of service, with 100 hours able to be completed by family and friends. For a double-parent family, they ask

for 500 hours of service, with 200 hours able to be completed by family and friends. “We have a requirement that each family help build their home,” Taylor said. “So, there’s a sweat equity requirement. One of the reasons we actually want them to build the homes is because they learn the skills, they learn how that home came together. They learn what their boundaries are, but they also learn that they can do it. They can be proud of a home that they helped build.” Every family member isn’t always able to help with construction, so Taylor and her team use their creative powers to come up with other ways these people can

See HOME, Page 10

The Ambriz Sánchez family stands inside their new home while it was under construction. The new Habitat for Humanity home’s exterior is beginning to take shape. Courtesy photos from Lucina Taylor / Habitat for Humanity Read the reaction from the family who has received the latest Habitat for Humanity home on Page 12.

Poop and Prey

What researchers re finding about gray whales SEAN NEALON News Guard Guest Article

Oregon State University researchers estimate that gray whales feeding off the Oregon Coast consume up to 21 million microparticles per day, a finding informed in part by poop from the whales. Microparticle pollution includes microplastics and other human-sourced materials, including fibers from clothing. The finding, just published in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science, is important because these particles are increasing exponentially and predicted to continue doing so in the coming decades, according to researchers Leigh Torres and Susanne Brander. Microparticle pollution is a threat to the health of gray whales, in addition to obstacles related to increased boat traffic and loss of prey.

Courtesy from ODSU The study focused on a subgroup of about 230 gray whales known as the Pacific Coast Feeding Group. They spend winters in Baja California, Mexico and migrate north to forage in coastal habitats from northern California to southern British Columbia from June through November. “These are quite scary numbers,” said Leigh Torres, an associate professor at Oregon State and an author of the paper. “I think they should raise concern for people who care about the marine environment or about their own environment and exposure to microplastics.

“Little by little we are all getting exposed to more and more microplastics. That’s inescapable at this point across all ecosystems, including right off our coast here in Oregon.” Susanne Brander, an associate professor and ecotoxicologist at Oregon State

and co-author of the study, said the findings reinforce the need to curb the release of microparticles because of the adverse impacts they have on organisms and ecosystems. “This issue is gaining momentum globally and some states, such as California, have taken important steps,”

Classifieds.................. 7 Comics ...................... 11

VOL. 96 NO. 26

Brander said. “But more action needs to be taken, including here in Oregon, because this problem is not going away anytime soon.” The study focused on a subgroup of about 230 gray whales known as the Pacific Coast Feeding Group. They spend winters in Baja California, Mexico and migrate north to forage in coastal habitats from northern California to southern British Columbia from June through November. Since 2015, Torres, who leads the Geospatial Ecology of Marine Megafauna Laboratory in the OSU Marine Mammal Institute, and her team, including doctoral student Lisa Hildebrand, have used drones and other tools to study the health and behavior of this subgroup of gray whales off the Oregon Coast. See WHALES, Page 10

TheNewsGuard.com

WEATHER

INDEX Police Blotter ............ 3 Opinion ...................... 5

STAFF REPORT Country Media, Inc.

$1.50

TUE.

WED.

THU.

FRI.

SAT.

SUN.

MON.

61º/51º

60º/51º

62º/51º

63º/51º

63º/52º

63º/53º

63º/53º


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
TNG711 by C.M.I. - Issuu