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Oregon Bay Area Beautification works on Marshfield Pioneer Cemetery

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Serving Oregon’s South Coast Since 1878 TUESDAY, MAY 9, 2023 | theworldlink.com |

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Community rallies around Coos Bay teen after emergency neck injury By BREE LAUGHLIN The World

A Coos Bay high school student and his family were forced to suddenly uproot their lives due to a medical emergency last weekend. The community rallied around Tiernan McCoy, a 16-year-old Marshfield High School student, and his family, while he was being treated in the Intensive Care Unit in Portland, Oregon. The young community member underwent series of emergency surgeries after he suffered a neck injury during a wrestling tournament over the weekend of April 22. With a long road ahead, friends, co-workers and fellow community members,

have started a Go Fund Me to support the family through the medical process. The family will likely have to transfer back and forth for several months between Coos Bay and Portland. Both of Tiernan’s parents work in the publicservice sector in Coos County, and have limited funds for travel and other expenses. Financial contributions are sought to help lessen the burden of medical premiums and for the family to be able to stay close to Tiernan while he remains in Portland for treatment and rehabilitation for his injuries. “He needs his mom by

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Meet the Volunteers clean up Highway 101 Candidates: Coos Bay School Board Candidates

Dozens of volunteers came out last weekend to help clean up Highway 101 in anticipation of the upcoming tourist season. The Bay Area Chamber of Commerce, The Mill Casino and other organizations helped organize the cleanup to make the entrance to Coos Bay and North Bend look better before the tourist season begins. Five teams - Walmart, US Coast Guard, Bay Area Hospital, City of Coos Bay and Oregon Bay Area Beautification – contributed to the effort, with Oregon Bay Area Beautification winning the trophy for picking up the most trash.

By RYAN HOOVER Country Media, Inc.

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Churches invited to join suicide prevention training By DAVID RUPKALVIS For The World

The fight to stop suicide in Coos County is turning to a natural place – the faith community. On May 12, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention is bringing a suicide prevention training to North Bend, with the goal of getting as many pastors, elders and church members to participate as possible. Pastor Eric Lindsey with First Presbyterian Church, which is hosting the training, said getting churches involved in the fight to stop suicide is a natural mix. “We have a unique connection to the community

right now with our food cupboard, where we see a lot of families that are in poverty,” Lindsey said. “From that, we have a lot of connections to the community. Starting with food, people open up to us with other needs.” Lindsey said as he started talking to many who use the food cupboard, he heard over and over from people talking about ending their life. While churches are natural places for people to turn for counseling, dealing with suicidal people was something new. So, Lindsey said he started looking for community partners. Lindsey found one with Lance Nelson and the AFSP.

Nelson leads the local chapter, which hosts a Suicide Prevention Walk every year. Nelson said after meeting with Lindsey, he agreed to use some of the money raised from the walk to bring Soul Shop to Coos County. Soul Shop, the leading provider of faith-based suicide prevention workshops in the United States, is hosting only two trainings in Oregon, one in Portland and the second at First Presbyterian Church in North Bend. Lindsey said he is eager for the training because he is seeing the need on a regular basis. “We’re starting to hear things like I don’t know

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if I can do this anymore,” Lindsey said. “We’ve seen it coming from the position of poverty. We found ourselves in the position and decided we can’t do it alone. It’s imperative for us to partner with folks to be able to care for these special needs.” Nelson said while it may seem many in church communities are insulated against suicide, the reality is far difference. “The statistic out there is probably 50% of people sitting in a church on a Sunday morning has a direct tie to suicide,” Nelson said. Lindsey said having training like that offered by Soul Shop

On May 16, Coos County will hold a special district election for several open positions in local districts. A number of the open positions are for school board seats in six different school districts, including Coos Bay School District, North Bend School District, Bandon School District, Coquille School District, Myrtle Point School District, and Powers School District. Coos Bay School District has three school board positions with terms that expire in June 2023. Four people have filed to run for the three open seats, which all have four-year terms. Kimberly Brick, who currently holds position three on the school board, is running for another term unopposed. Kevin Dubisar, who currently hold position four on the school board, is running for another term unopposed. Addie Hutchinson is running for position seven, which is currently held by Dustin Clarke. Jim Kingsley is also running for position seven. Clarke chose not to seek re-election. On April 18, The League of Women Voters of Coos County held a public forum for the candidates to talk about their priorities and answer questions. All quotes included below were taken from that public forum. Here are your candidates for the Coos Bay School District board positions. Kimberly Brick Kimberly Brick is a proud Marshfield graduate who has dedicated much of her life to early childhood education. After graduating with multiple degrees in Human Services and Social and Behavioral Sciences from SWOCC and

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