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Students to move during renovation ZACK DEMARS The World
COOS BAY — After the dust has settled from COVID-19 online learning, the Coos Bay School District has more changes in store for Madison Elementary School students. Starting next fall, those students will move to the old Blossom Gulch Elementary building while crews make renovations to Madison, school district officials decided this month. “It’s kind of a shell game when you’re moving things around until things are completed,” said Superintendent Bryan Trendell. The renovations at Madison will be funded by the district’s
Contributed by Coos Bay School District
A rendering of the planned renovations at Coos Bay’s Madison Elementary School. $59.9 million BEST Bond, passed by voters in 2017. Construction will include the removal of asbestos, new ventilation and heating, a new roof and accessibility improvements, according to bond planning documents. Plans also call for several additions to the 1953 building,
including new classrooms, a new entry and administrative space and a stand-alone library. The school’s library is currently housed in former classrooms, according to Trendell. “I’m just excited that it’s going to get a major renovation,” Trendell said. “It’s one of our oldest schools and in need of a
major renovation.” Plans for the construction were originally on a multi-year timeline, with much of the work taking place during the summers to avoid conflicting with school schedules. But that plan would’ve required having students in the building at the same time that construction was taking
place, meaning some students may have had to take classes in portable classrooms and within earshot of the construction noise. Instead, the school board approved a plan to move the school’s students to Blossom Gulch for a year, which will allow construction crews to work on the renovations throughout the year. That’ll save the district time and money on the project, and the stress of having students in the building, Trendell said. “Not having kids in a construction zone trying to learn, teachers trying to teach, is a huge part of it,” he said. Blossom Gulch has been used as something of a holding space ever since its students moved to
Please see Madison, Page A10
NB election results final By David Rupkalvis The World
David Rupkalvis, The World
Shanan Folck greets a customer at Darrell’s Devil Food on Thursday. Like all restaurants, Darrell’s Devil Food was forced to close for indoor dining.
Restaurants back to lockdown By David Rupkalvis The World
With Oregon returning to a statewide lockdown, many local restaurateurs have been forced to close their doors to the public. At Darrell’s Devils Food in Coos Bay, Darrell Folck said he was open for business but admitted he was a little concerned. “It’s scary,” he said. “When the government makes mandates like that, it causes people to panic because they don’t want to be outside. Just being open is a little risky.” Folck and his wife Shanan run their business as a team. When the shutdowns occurred earlier this year, Folck said he was forced to lay off his employees, making the business a two-per-
son operation. While that was not easy, Folck admitted some good came out of it. “For us, it was good,” he said. “We learned how to streamline and how to be more efficient. We also gained some more customers.” Not all local restaurants are following the orders. At Kaffe 101, they are vowing to stay open despite the governor’s orders. In a post on Facebook, the business wrote: “After further discussion with our board and close friends and businesses in Coos Bay. We want to inform you that we will remain OPEN for dine in. We have sectioned out 25 chairs with tables with a 6ft distance between them. We have NO tracing of
COVID back to our Kaffé. Kaffé 101 is a staple in our community. We provide FREE lunches and FREE WiFi and a SAFE environment for children who are in virtual learning and customers who depend on internet for work. This is critical for locals who have no internet, customers who live out in Allegany or Coos River where their internet is extremely slow. “We provide a save haven for elderly members of our society that do not have any family. We are their family. Without their daily trip into Kaffé 101, they would fall into a depression which would lead to further mental illness and possibly suicide. We provide a SAFE and accommodating place of worship for anyone and groups alike. We have a sanitation and cleaning
protocol in place. “We are not saying we don’t believe the virus is real. We know it is. Which is why we have these precautions in place already. Our community depends on local businesses and the support we provide. My family and I have worked hard this past year to keep our business open, without any help from the government. We should be able to decide how to operate and run our business. “What has kept us going is the local community and the smiles we get on a daily basis and the fact that our business provides a sense of security and stability for our community. Enough is enough it’s time to take a stand.” While some things were good Please see Lockdown, Page A10
Millions stick to travel plans despite warnings (AP) - More than 1 million Americans a day packed airports and planes over the weekend even as coronavirus deaths surged across the U.S. and public health experts begged people to stay home and avoid big Thanksgiving gatherings. And the crowds are only expected to grow. Next Sunday is likely to be the busiest day of the holiday period. To be sure, the number of people flying for Thanksgiving is down by more than half from last year because of the rapidly worsening outbreak. However, the 3 million who went through U.S. airport checkpoints from Friday
through Sunday marked the biggest crowds since mid-March, when the COVID-19 crisis took hold in the United States. Many travelers are unwilling to miss out on seeing family and are convinced they can do it safely. Also, many colleges have ended their in-person classes, propelling students to return home. Laurie Pearcy, director of administration for a Minneapolis law firm, is flying to New Orleans to attend her daughter’s bridal shower and have a small Thanksgiving dinner with her son. “I don’t want to unknowingly
make anyone sick. But I also don’t want to miss this special event for my only daughter,” she said. Stephen Browning, a retired executive from Tucson, Arizona, will be flying to Seattle for Thanksgiving with his sister. The celebration usually has up to 30 people; this year only 10 are coming, and everyone was asked to get a coronavirus test. He doesn’t plan on removing his mask to eat or drink on the flight. “This is my first flight since December 2019, so yes, I have concerns,” he said. “But I think most airlines are acting responsibly now and enforcing masks on
all flights.” Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urged Americans not to travel or spend the holiday with people outside their household. New cases of the virus in the U.S. have rocketed to all-time highs, averaging more than 170,000 per day, and deaths have soared to over 1,500 a day, the highest level since the spring. The virus is blamed for more than a quarter-million deaths in the U.S. and over 12 million confirmed infections. “There is so much community transmission all over the United
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The election results are now official and North Bend will have a new mayor this week. Coos County Clerk Debbie Heller certified the election results Friday, officially making Jessica Engelke the first woman elected as mayor of North Bend. The official results show Engelke received 2,572 votes, or 52.58 percent of those cast, while James Rose received 2,293 votes or 46.87 percent. On election night, Engelke told The World she was thrilled to be chosen by the voters. “I am thrilled to be part of history and these landmark moments as the first female mayor of North Bend,” she said. “I am honored to be elected as North Bend’s mayor. Although we have some challenges ahead, we have just as much opportunity. I truly feel we are on the tipping point of something amazing. I am thrilled to serve the community where I grew up and now am raising my children.” Engelke’s move to mayor will be just one of many changes on the council. Three new council members were also elected, and the council will have to choose a
Please see Election, Page A10
NB Council to consider Jordan Cove extension NORTH BEND — An unclear provision of the North Bend City Code and its implications for the Jordan Cove liquefied natural gas pipeline will be the focus of a public hearing Tuesday. The city council’s first meeting with the new councilors and mayor elected earlier this month will consider a procedural hitch in the pipeline’s development: Does a one-year deadline to begin working on a project apply to certain types of city land use permits? If it does apply, the project will need an extension — the work hasn’t begun yet as crews wait for state and federal permits, as well as a Land Use Board of Appeals action, to be resolved, project representatives wrote in a request to the city. Councilors will meet to consider the extension of the floodplain development and estuarine land use permits for the project. Because the North Bend Please see Extension, Page A10
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