Also: Coos County Democrat eyes House seat — 2 Faith-healers sentenced in newborn death — 3 U.N. identifies Syrian nuclear complex — 5 Douglas High faces tough road test — 11
Neewollah Parade is frightful fun Umpqua, page 2
Vol. 145. No. 157
Roseburg, Oregon
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2011
www.nrtoday.com
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ELKTON’S STEVE LITSEY SOUGHT
WINSTON FIRE DEPT.
Hunter missing in Twin Lakes area
Independent financial review demanded
including food, matches and a blanket, with him while hunting. He and a friend, Lyn Lynch, left for a weeklong hunting and fishing Litsey trip Oct. 22. They were planning to head for home at about noon Saturday but decided to head out on their own for their last few hours in
Ground, air rescue crews searching today for man, 71, missing since Saturday after a solo deer hunt HEATHER MORSE The News-Review TWIN LAKES — A 71-year-old man has been missing since Saturday morning, when he and his hunting partner separated ways in the Twin Lakes area for what was supposed to be a short solo deer hunt. Steve Litsey was reported missing on Sunday morning after failing to
return to his camper parked in the Umpqua National Forest. Douglas County Search and Rescue crews were on the ground and in the air scouring the woods today 56 miles east of Roseburg. This morning, Litsey’s wife of 24 years, Suzanne Snyder, said her husband is an avid outdoorsman who always takes essential supplies,
the woods, Snyder said. Snyder said Litsey is in good health but has been taking blood thinners and other medications after suffering a series of small strokes over the summer. The strokes didn’t affect Litsey’s mental capacity, she said. “I think he must have been hurt. I think he fell or something,” Snyder said. “I think he has to be hurt as opposed to lost.” Turn to HUNTER, page 10
ROCK CREEK ROAD DAMAGE
Safety barrels lauded; residents push for repairs
Sand fills the eight bright yellow plastic barrels placed along the damaged section of Rock Creek Road at Idleyld Park.
Fire chief says hiring outsider to look at department would waste money, serve no purpose HEATHER MORSE The News-Review WINSTON — Tempers flared Monday at the Winston-Dillard Fire Board meeting when one board member, backed by several community members, demanded an independent review of the district’s finances. Fire Chief Bob Nicholls and other board members said the outside audit would waste money. The department is floundering financially because of a drop of about $500,000 in tax revenues over the last two years. The department blamed the decline on unpaid taxes and a lowering of the assessed value of Roseburg Forest Products’ property. The department’s budget for this year is about $1.9 million.To cut spending, the department in August laid off two firefighters and one paramedic, effectively ending the district’s program to transfer patients between hospitals. More layoffs may be on the horizon, Nicholls said. Amid the problems, the board has discussed several ways to save money, including bringing aboard volunteer firefighters, merging with another district and turning over ambulance service to a private company. Fire board member Vern Heyer brought up the idea of an outside Turn to WINSTON, page 10
Facebook, Oregon tax confusion may prove costly Social network giant paid $26,000 in Crook County taxes last year, but could face $390,000 bill
JOHN SOWELL/News-Review photos
A logging truck passes a section of Rock Creek Road that slid away during a storm in January. Plastic barrels filled with sand were installed Thursday to serve as a visual warning and barrier to the damaged section of the road.
Yellow barriers filled with sand placed along stretch of road damaged by landslide, and county says it’s the best it can do under current budget constraints JOHN SOWELL The News-Review
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DLEYLD PARK — Eight sand-filled plastic barrels have been placed along a damaged stretch of Rock Creek Road, but the safety measure hasn’t appeased neighbors who want the road fixed. The bright yellow barrels were placed Thursday as a barrier and warning to steer clear from an abrupt drop-off caused by a landslide in January.
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The slide reduced the road to one lane. Sawhorses and reflector poles also are being used to keep vehicles away from the edge of the road, which heads northeast off Highway 138. Douglas County officials say the barrels, markers, poles, warning stripes and signs are the best they can do because of budget constraints. Officials estimate repairing the road will cost $300,000 to $500,000. Neighbors applauded the barrels, but continued to argue that
Inside: Abby............................................7 Classifieds.................................15 Comics.......................................14 Crossword, Sudoku................18, 16
restoring the road to its full width and stabilizing the hillside should be a top priority for the county, especially since truck traffic on the road seems unusually heavy this fall. Rock Creek Road averaged 282 vehicles per day in a 2009 count conducted by the county. Road resident Julia Engler said it has been busier this past year than in recent years. More logging trucks, heavy trucks and equipment have used the road in recent months, she said.
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“I’m just praying that it will be an easy winter and there won’t be any accidents,” said Engler, one of about 100 residents who live above the slide. The president of Dillard-based Terrain Tamers, Brant Boyer, said today his company has two trucks using the road to haul wood chips. Neither of his drivers has complained about Rock Creek Road, he said. “They’re used to driving on
PRINEVILLE (AP) — The promise of lucrative tax breaks helped persuade Facebook to build a data center in one of Oregon’s most economically depressed counties. Now, the state and the company are in a dispute over how much Facebook may owe in property taxes, and the social networking giant fears it could be taxed on intangible assets like the value of its powerful brand. Facebook has said the state’s action has the potential to rewrite an economic development deal it cut with Crook County, but not even state tax officials seem to know for sure whether the company is overreacting or it’s truly facing a tax surprise. Facebook chose Prineville in central Oregon as the site of its first company-owned data center, where a collection of servers stores and transmits photos, links and status updates for many of the social networking service’s 800 million users. The facility employs 55 people and expansion Turn to FACEBOOK, page 9
Turn to ROAD, page 10
Wednesday forecast: High: 59
Low: 35
See page 9 for more details
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