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MAINLY CLEAR 65 • 51 | WEDNESDAY, JULY 1, 2020 | theworldlink.com
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NB to continue police coverage JILLIAN WARD The World
NORTH BEND — In a last-minute decision, the City of North Bend announced that citizens will continue to have 24hour police coverage. In a press release sent out Tuesday evening, the city explained that county law enforcement agencies and the Coquille Indian Tribe were consulted on how to provide police coverage from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. “As a result of those consultations, and a contract for Public Safety services between the city and the Coquille Indian Tribe, the city has determined that it will be able to continue to provide coverage from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. on a daily basis to the citizens of North Bend,” the
release said. The release did not say how that coverage will be paid for or provided. The release pointed to Ballot Measure 6-177, approved by voters in the May election, which reduced the Public Safety Fee from $30 to $15 and cut the Public Safety budget by $785,000 as why there was going to be significantly less police coverage. Last month, the council approved the 2020-2021 budget which was expected to cut five officers and dissolve two officer positions from the NBPD, leaving 12 officers on staff. It was written into the ballot measure and discussed during City Council meetings that the reduction would lead to no police coverage from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. starting June 30.
“The ballot measure combined with a currently pending lawsuit against the City of North Bend over the Public Safety Fee resulted in the city considering a limitation of police services at the beginning of the new fiscal year …,” the release said. In a letter from City Manager Terence O’Connor last week to Coos County Sheriff Craig Zanni, he stated that “regrettably” the city was writing to inform the Sheriff’s Office that “effective 11 p.m. on June 30, 2020, there will be no law enforcement available in the City of North Bend between the hours of 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. and that any 911 calls for police service will place the burden of response on the CCSO as the underlining law enforcement jurisdiction in the county. “… As in the early days of
the west, you and your deputies are once again the only line of defense between the community and lawlessness.” O’Connor and Police Chief Robert Kappelman have not returned repeated attempts from The World for comment regarding the ongoing issue.
Tracking information Earlier Tuesday afternoon, in an email from the City of Coos Bay, City Manager Rodger Craddock informed the mayor and councilors that law enforcement administrators from Coos Bay, Oregon State Police, the Coos County Sheriff’s Office and the Coquille Tribal Police met with “North Bend’s police management team.” “At the meeting we were advised that the city of North Bend
Sixes River Recreation Site
has decided to retain at least three of their officers who were going to be laid off so that will be able to provide their citizens 24-7 service, at least temporarily,” Craddock wrote. North Bend Councilman Timm Slater told The World that the agreement reached with the Coquille Indian Tribe would be to “cover the officers that will do the night shift so the Tribal areas and citizens of North Bend will be taken care of.” “I know (the Tribe) is involved in the financing of that,” he said. “…There’s no deviation of change from what (the city) has been used to. I think that’s something important for us to do — we owe our citizens much more than we’ve seen recently Please see Police, Page A2
Dept. of Revenue reminds of deadlines The World SALEM — The Oregon Department of Revenue is reminding taxpayers that July 15 is the deadline for filing a tax return and paying tax due. Oregon extended the deadline when the IRS extended the deadline to file and pay federal taxes due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For personal income taxpayers: The Oregon return filing due
date for tax year 2019 is July 15, 2020. The Oregon tax payment deadline for payments due with the 2019 tax year is July 15, 2020. The tax year 2019 six-month extension to file until Oct. 15, 2020, if requested, extends only to the filing (not payment) deadline.
Amy Moss Strong, The World
The Sixes River Recreation Site, located 11 miles up Sixes River Road off U.S. Highway 101, 25 miles south of Bandon and five miles north of Port Orford, is a popular camping and day-use area. Managed by the Bureau of Land Management, both the Sixes River Recreation Site and Edson Creek, located four miles up Sixes River Road, offer campsites with picnic tables, fire rings and toliets, as well as day-use and picnic areas near the river. Camping, picnicking and hiking are popular activities this summer as many group activities, such as festivals, outdoor concert and fairs have been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A bit of history: In 1856, the disovery of gold on the Sixes River caused a flurry of gold mining and settlement on the southern Oregon Coast. The long-gone town of Summersville, established as a gold mining town from the mid-1850s to the 1940s, is where the Sixes River Recreation Site is now located.
Fauci: US ‘going in wrong direction’ (AP) - The U.S. is “going in the wrong direction” with the coronavirus surging badly enough that Dr. Anthony Fauci told senators Tuesday some regions are putting the entire country at risk — just as schools and colleges are wrestling with how to safely reopen. With about 40,000 new cases being reported a day, Fauci, the government’s top infectious disease expert, said he “would not be surprised if we go up to 100,000 a day if this does not turn around.” “I am very concerned,” he told a hearing of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee. Infections are rising rapidly mostly in parts of the West and South, and Fauci and other public health experts said Americans everywhere will have to start following key recommendations if they want to get back to more normal activities like going to school. “We’ve got to get the message out that we are all in this together,” by wearing masks in public and keeping out of crowds, said Fauci, infectious disease chief at the National Institutes of Health. Connect the dots, he told senators: When and how school
buildings can reopen will vary depending on how widely the coronavirus is spreading locally. “I feel very strongly we need to do whatever we can to get the children back to school,” he said. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention plans more guidelines for local school systems, Director Robert Redfield said. But in recommendations for colleges released Tuesday, the agency said it won’t recommend entry testing for all returning students, faculty and staff. It’s not clear if that kind of broadstroke testing would reduce spread of the coronavirus, CDC concluded. Instead, it urged colleges to focus on containing outbreaks and exposures as students return. Lawmakers also pressed for what Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, the committee’s top Democrat, called a national vaccine plan — to be sure the race for the COVID-19 vaccine ends with shots that really are safe, truly protect and are available to all Americans who want, one. “We can’t take for granted this process will be free of political influence,” Murray said. She cited how President Donald
Trump promoted a malaria drug as a COVID-19 treatment that ultimately was found to be risky and ineffective. The Food and Drug Administration released guidelines Tuesday saying any vaccine that wins approval will have to be at 50% more effective than a dummy shot in the final, required testing. That’s less effective than many of today’s vaccines but independent experts say that would be a good start against the virus. FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn said vaccine makers also must test their shots in diverse populations, including minorities, the elderly, pregnant women and those with chronic health problems. “We will not cut corners in our decision-making,” Hahn told senators. About 15 vaccine candidates are in various stages of human testing worldwide but the largest studies -- including 30,000 people each -- needed to prove if a shot really protects are set to begin in July. First up is expected to be a vaccine created by the NIH and Moderna Inc., followed closely by an Oxford University candidate. At the same time, the Trump
administration’s “Operation Warp Speed” aims to stockpile hundreds of millions of doses by year’s end, so they could rapidly start vaccinations if and when one is proven to work. Redfield said the CDC already is planning how to prioritize who is first in line for the scarce first doses and how they’ll be distributed. But a vaccine is at the very least many months away. For now, the committee’s leading Republican stressed wearing a mask -- and said Trump, who notoriously shuns them, needs to start because politics is getting in the way of protecting the American people. “The stakes are too high for the political debate about pro-Trump, anti-Trump masks to continue,” said Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, who chaired Tuesday’s hearing. Alexander said he had to self-quarantine after a staff member tested positive for the virus but that he personally was protected because his staffer was wearing a mask. “The president has plenty of admirers. They would follow his lead,” Alexander said. “The stakes are too high” to continue that fight.
Those with questions about their personal income tax can contact questions.dor@oregon. gov. For corporate income/excise taxpayers: The Oregon return filing due
date for tax year 2019 is July 15, 2020. The Oregon tax payment deadline for payments for the 2019 return, normally May 15, 2020, is now July 15, 2020. Fiscal year returns and related payments due after July 15, 2020 are not extended at this time.
Interest and penalties:
Because of the extension of the
due dates for filing returns and making payments, any interest and penalties with respect to Oregon tax filings and payments begin accruing on July 16, 2020. No automatic extension is provided for the payment or deposit of any other type of Oregon tax or for the filing of Oregon information returns.
Kicker reminder If your 2018 return is amended or adjusted after you file your 2019 return, we will automatically adjust your kicker amount. Department of Revenue offices All Revenue offices remain closed to drop-in visitors. If you need to speak to one of our representatives in person, you must make an appointment. Go to www.oregon.gov/dor and click on Contact Us to schedule an appointment. Electronic filing continues to be the easiest and fastest way for taxpayers to file and pay any taxes due. You can also make payments on Revenue Online. You can find resources, such as forms and publications, information regarding filing as an Please see Deadlines, Page A2