Friday, June 16, 2023
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North Bend community pool renovations complete Mayor announces free swimming for month of June BY BREE LAUGHLIN The World
Photos by Bree Laughlin (except for the pool itself)
Pool staff and volunteers, along with local city government officials and employees, celebrated the long-awaited reopening of the North Bend Municipal Pool with a ribbon cutting on Thursday, June 1.
The highly anticipated reopening of the North Bend Municipal Pool has come to fruition. The two-year long renovation of the community pool became a labor of love for many community members and volunteers involved in the project.
Pool staff and volunteers, along with local city government officials and employees celebrated the longawaited reopening with a ribbon cutting on Thursday, June 1. North Bend Mayor Jessica Engelke kicked off the event with a speech to recognize those who contributed to the project, as well as a surprise announcement. “We have so many
NB Pool continued on page 18
Salmon smolt released into Coquille waterways
BY BREE LAUGHLIN The World
Thousands of young salmon have been released into the waterways of the Coquille River thanks to the help of a group of students at Coquille Junior/Senior High School. On May 24, the high school students, along with staff from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and volunteers with the Coquille STEP nonprofit, prepared 4,871 salmon smolt for release into Coquille’s Cunningham Creek.
They worked together to fin clip the smolt. The salmon were then rested for a few days before being released into the creek and river system in an effort to increase the local salmon population. “The Cunningham Creek salmon were released the Friday after fin clipping, and are well on their way,” said Coquillle STEP volunteer Pam Lewis. “This return of salmon to our rivers runs on a 4 year cycle,” Lewis reported. “Once the salmon mature in the ocean, the survivors will
return to home waters where fishing and spawning can occur,” she said. The Cunningham Creek Fish Hatchery is located on the Coquille Junior/Senior High School campus. It was recently updated and is now operating as part of a new hands-on agriculture program for students, thanks to a partnership between several agencies and the help of many volunteers. Students who are part of Coquille Junior/Senior High Salmon continued on page 3
Southwestern Community College celebrates students who completed their GED BY BREE LAUGHLIN The World
The 32 students wearing a cap and gown on Friday, June 2 represented a diverse variety of backgrounds and circumstances. They may have missed wearing a cap and gown for a high school graduation, but they did not give up on themselves and they did not give up on furthering their education. “Hard work and dedication have brought them all here today, so let’s join them in celebrating their accomplishments,” said Curtis Buell,
the welcome speaker for the Southwestern Community College GED graduation celebration. Some of these adult students have full time jobs, are raising children, taking care of elderly family members and recovering from a global pandemic. Southwestern Community College has seen a rise in the number of students obtaining their GED. A total of 56 GED graduates have come through SWOCC this year. “This decision to return to school is often the hardest GED continued on page 3
Longstanding Coquille tattoo shop owned by female artist BY BREE LAUGHLIN The World
A local entrepreneur and the unofficial “tattoo lady” of Coquille said her business, Inspired Ink, is still going strong after 15 years. Lisa Johnson said she has seen other tattoo artists come and go, and after 15-years she’s operating the longest standing tattoo shop in the area – making her the “OG” of Coos County – in spite of being a woman in a male-dominated industry. Johnson has been coined the “tattoo lady” by locals because she is one of the few female tattoo artists around. “Anywhere I go, people point me out, ‘Are you the tattoo
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lady?’ I’m like, ‘Yes, I guess so.’ The public gave me that name,” Johnson said. Johnson is a working mother of two and Coquille High School graduate. Her career as a tattoo artist began in 2008. It was a busy time. She got married in 2007 to her husband David Johnson, and became pregnant with her first child while she was training to become a tattoo artist. “It was a balancing act being in school and being a mom – and making time for drawing,” Johnson said. “I thought, ‘How can I continue this and still have time to be a mom?” Johnson admitted it was a little
difficult at the beginning. “But I decided I needed to schedule around my kids and my family,” she said. Johnson did what not many tattoo artists do. She scheduled her work hours from nine to five or until school or daycare got out, and she rarely worked on the weekends. Flash forward to 2023, her schedule is still the same. Her daughter Kaytlin is now 15 and her son Hyatt is 13. “My kids are two years apart and they are very busy, so I’m going to track and volleyball and wrestling Tattoo Artist continued on page 18
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