Stolen property recovered after search warrant is served.
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Rutherford officially named Coos Bay city manager By DAVID RUPKALVIS For The World
Nichole Rutherford has begun her tenure as city manager in Coos Bay about a year earlier than expected. The Coos Bay City Council voted unanimously to amend Rutherford’ s contract, naming her city manager effective June 30. The change came after long-time City Manager Rodger Craddock announced recently he was going to be
retiring early after accepting a job as executive director of the Coos County Airport District. After accepting the job, Craddock told the council he was planning to leave Coos Bay in August. After serving as assistant city manager for the last two years, the council was expected to appoint Rutherford to take over at that time. But when the council met last week, Craddock suggested the move be
made sooner. “A little over two years ago, I shared with the council I intended to retire in mid2024,” Craddock said. “At the same time, I shared we had a candidate to take my place.” Craddock said Rutherford has spent the last two years training while also serving an active role in the city’s management team. He said while he initially intended to serve through early August, he has realized he needs to
split his time between the city and the airport district. He said with his focus split, it would be appropriate to promote Rutherford early. “First of all, I think it should be done,” Mayor Joe Benetti said. “Second, I’m glad you had a succession plan you’ve been working on. I give you kudos for that. Nichole, I’m glad to see you’re on board and willing to step up into the role. I think it’s the right thing to do.” “I’m very confident
Nichole is going to do an excellent job in this role,” Councilor Lucinda DiNovo said. “Rodger, you are going to be sorely missed, but I’m glad you’re just a phone call away.” After briefly discussing the issue, the council voted to amend Rutherford’s contract, moving her to the position of city manager. Rutherford and Craddock will share the city manager’s responsibilities until Craddock officially retires this month.
Sudden Oak Death hitting South Coast forests By BREE LAUGHLIN The World
A silent killer is taking its toll on Oregon forests. The South Coast was again hit by the spread of Sudden Oak Death in 2023. So far, more than 40 tanoak trees near Humbug State Park area have tested positive for the fungal-like pathogen that causes Sudden Oak Death. The invasive disease has already killed hundreds of thousands of tanoaks in Oregon, and many more are suspected to be infected. The pathogen Phytophthora ramorum
causes Sudden Oak Death, and is present in a number of Oregon nurseries. Curry County is the only region of the state where the pathogen is found in natural settings. According to the Oregon Department of Agriculture, it is believed that the pathogen was introduced into the area through infected nursery plants. Areas of Curry County are under a partial quarantine and growers of host plant material are subject to quarantine restrictions. Forest agencies have been keeping a close eye on trees found in and around infected areas. Gabriela Ritokova is a forest pathologist with the Oregon Department of Forestry who has been
monitoring areas in Oregon that have been infected with Sudden Oak Death. “It kills highly susceptible trees in the Oak family, most notably tanoaks, but also California black oak and canyon live oak, by causing cankers on the main stem that girdle the trunks of the trees,” Ritokova stated.
This ‘sudden’ death appears to happen very quickly, although the tree may actually have been infected for several months. So far the Sudden Oak Death pathogen has killed more than 1 million oak and tanoak trees in 15 coastal Please see OAKS Page A3
Photos courtesy of Oregon Department of Forestry
On the ground and aerial photos show evidence of Sudden Oak Death in Curry County forests.
Fire crews get OK to use heavy equipment in Kalmiopsis Wilderness to fight Flat Fire By ZACH URNESS Guest Article
The U.S. Forest Service granted permission Sunday for fire crews to use heavy equipment in the Kalmiopsis Wilderness to fight the 20,000-acre Flat Fire. Any motorized equipment normally is banned in federal wilderness areas and even fighting fires on landscapes protected by the 1964 Wilderness Act has been a source of debate. Trail crews are barred from even using chainsaws to clear brush and logs from hiking paths. But as the Flat Fire grew rapidly in an area notorious for breeding fires that turn into megafires, local politicians, including Rep. Court Boice, R-District 1, which covers Curry, Douglas and Coos counties, advocated for opening roads into the wilderness areas to fight the fire. “Declare a wise and legitimate emergency — override
congressional laws stopping (equipment) in wilderness areas,” former Curry County Commissioner Boice said in a letter to Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek and Oregon’s Congressional delegation. “This misguided approach is brutally dangerous to our communities.” In a news release labeled “carefully considered decision,” the Forest Service said it approved using heavy equipment on an old mining road for a dozer line that starts at Game Lake and heads east, traversing the Kalmiopsis Wilderness at its northern boundary. It noted that it used the road previously while fighting the 2018 Klondike Fire. The Forest Service said in the release that the road has minimal to moderate serpentine scrub and rocky soils and there “will be less impacts by utilizing an existing roadbed versus creating
By DAVID RUPKALVIS For The World
The Coos Bay City Council voted unanimously to amend the city code to make it easier for special events to receive permits to operate. The council voted to change the city’s noice ordinance to remove the requirement that all noise permits be approved by city council, instead allowing city staff to do the work. The change came after a recent incident where a man was using a voice amplifier to share his religious views at the city’s farmer’s market. After the man was asked to stop and finally removed by police, city staff said based on the code he should have asked for a noise permit before he spoke out. City Manager Nichole Rutherford said that incident caused the city staff to look at the noise ordinance, when they realized the requirement to come before council could lead to some issues with timing. “We had a recent incident that identified that we should review that ordinance, specific to how special events might be permitted,” Rutherford said. “Currently it requires that they come to council. That creates a little challenge with timing.” Rutherford said after reviewing the issue, city staff was asking the council to repeal the entire noise section and replace it with a new one. The only significant change is giving staff the responsibility of issuing permits. If staff denies a permit request, it can still be appealed to the council. “We do the preliminary work anyway, so it goes along with the work we’re already doing,” Rutherford said. City Manager Rodger Craddock told the council noise restrictions in the Please see NOISE Page A3
Please see FIRE CREW Page A2
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Council amends Coos Bay noise ordinance
Photo courtesy of Jennifer Northup / Lucas Lodge, The Statesman Journal
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