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My Sweet Petite

College Day

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$1 | VOL. 86 | NO. 43 | 2 SECTIONS YOUR WEEKLY COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER SINCE 1927

DAILY NEWS ONLINE

Volleyball team looks to future

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OCTOBER 30, 2013 | WEDNESDAY LINCOLN CITY, OREGON

www.TheNewsGuard.com

reality check

thenewsguard.com

JEREMY C. RUARK jruark@countrymedia.net

When it comes to a reality check for the Oregon Coast economy, there is positive information to report, but also challenges ahead. “We are finally starting to see a little improvement,” said Mark McMullen, a state economist with the Oregon Office of Economic Analysis. According to McMullen, the first two to three years following the recession in 2008, the Oregon economic recovery was concentrated in the state’s major metropolitan areas such as Portland, Salem and Eugene. “Now that recovery is spreading out to the rural areas and to the Oregon Coast, in particular, to areas that were the epicenter of the housing downturn,” said McMullen, “We are finally starting to see some construction activity and a lot of building activity.” McMullen said there will be some role in the recovery along the Coast for regional resources such as timber, fishing, and exporting industries.

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“But as we move forward we will see the Coast branch out into more service industries that have been under represented, such as computers, business services, legal services, and accounting. Services that had been confined to bigger cities,” said McMullen. “Now, we will see additional ties to those services along the Coast.” But McMullen said the slow economic recovery comes with two main challenges. “The first challenge is the aging work force,” he said. “If the Coast is unable to keep young workers, cities will be unable to attract firms going forward, and things will worsen from there.” The second challenge is the Coast infrastructure. “Access is everything,”

See ECONOMY, Page 8

FORECAST

Arraignment pending in plaque case

Wednesday Cloudy High 56 / Low 49 Thursday Chance of a shower High 57 / Low 44

JIM FOSSUM sports@thenewsguard.com

Friday Party sunny High 58 / Low 47

A request by all parties has been made to schedule Steven Sam Gilmore to appear Nov. 12 in Lincoln County Circuit Court to face second-degree charges of theft and criminal mischief for a memorial plaque allegedly stolen and damaged from the Taft High 7-12 football field grandstands. The alleged theft of the plaque, which commemorated those responsible for constructing a synthetic turf surface at Voris Field, caused a division of community members over the internal handling of the case last spring by former Taft High 7-12 Principal Scott Reed, who has since taken on an administrative position within the school district. District Superintendent Tom Ri-

Saturday Very windy, rain High 54 / Low 45 Sunday Rain High 52 / Low 42 Monday Rain High 54 / Low 43 Tuesday Rain High 56 / Low 37 See Sheridan Jones’ weather details Page B3

nearson has denied that the principal’s internal handling of the alleged theft resulted in his removal after five years as Taft principal. Reed was cleared of allegations of improprieties made by the group following an investigation by an attorney hired by the Lincoln County School District. He found that allegations of misuse of funds and failure to divulge negative information during the interview process were unsubstantiated or unwarranted. The concerned citizens group also urged prosecution of the alleged thief of the plaque, while Reed insisted on keeping to his word with the alleged perpetrator and handling the affair internally. In filing for arraignment, the District Attorney’s office said “The See PLAQUE, Page A5

Light turnout for Nov. 5 Special Election V

oters in Lincoln County are being asked in the Nov. 5 Special Election to decide if the current system to elect Lincoln County Board of Commissioners should be changed from partisan to nonpartisan. In Newport, voters will decide the fate of a new pool. In a small area of Rose Lodge, voters will decide if a new special road district should be formed, and in Waldport voters are being asked to elect a City Councilor to fill a vacant position. “We mailed out 27, 953 ballots on Oct. 18,” said Dana Jenkins, Lincoln County Elections Clerk. Jenkins said if you are a registered voter and did not receive your mail-in ballot, call the elections office at 541265-4131.

Open 8a-7p Mon-Fri, 8a-6p Sat

See BALLOTS, Page A5

This ballot drop off location at Lincoln City City Hall is one of several in Lincoln County to receive ballots for the Nov. 5 mail-in election. JEREMY C. RUARK/THE NEWS GUARD

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measure,” said Jenkins. There is also interest in the ballot measure concerning the election of Lincoln County Commissioners. “The Commissioners referred the issue to the ballot so that voters could decide if they wanted to make that change,” said Jenkins. Under the current partisan election system, Democrats and Republican candidates running for the County Board of Commission face their party

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As of Oct. 28, County Elections had received approximately 11 percent of the ballots back. Jenkins said Special Election turnout can be slow until the last day or even last several hours before the 8 p.m. deadline on Election Day. “Most people do wait until the last few days to turn in their ballot and that is usually a combination of making up their minds and putting it off until they have to do it,” said Jenkins Jenkins anticipates between 30 to 35 percent voter turnout in the election. The County Elections office has received inquiries from some voters wondering if they should be voting on the Newport pool issue. “We’ve had to explain to several people that only those voters living within the Newport city limits are voting on the pool

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JEREMY C. RUARK jruark@countrymedia.net


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