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DA, DOJ ﬁnd no evidence North Bend broke law in airport ﬁasco

BY DAVID RUPKALVIS For The World

For the second time in the last month, a request by former mayoral candidate James Rose to investigate the city has accounted for nothing. District Attorney R. Paul Frasier released a statement last week declining to investigate whether City Administrator David Milliron or members of the city council violated any laws in relation to a

dispute between the city and the Coos County Airport District. Rose asked Frasier to open an investigation after news broke that Milliron had complained when an airport employee, Josh Scarberry, called 9-1-1 to report an incident at the airport. The call turned out to be false as part of an emergency test for the airport. After Milliron complained, Scarberry was placed on paid leave until he was cleared of any wrongdoing. Roland Iparraguirre with the RI Law Group, LLC, has since ﬁled a tort claim against the city on behalf of Scarberry. In early November, Rose sent a letter to Frasier asking that the DA's ofﬁce immediately open an investigation into Milliron, Police Chief

Gary McCullough and the council. Rose said the tort claim made serious allegations that needed an independent review. Within a week, Frasier responded to Rose and declined to open an investigation for several reasons. First, Frasier said there was no indication any state laws were broken in the incident, by either Scarberry or anyone with the city. In his response, Frasier said if there were any violations, they would be federal violations, which his office does not investigate or prosecute. Second, Frasier said he has a close working relationship with McCullough and the North Bend Police Department and, even if there were state laws broken, his office would have a conflict of in-

terest and could not be involved. Third, Frasier said most of the complaints Rose and the tort reform have are not criminal but civil in nature, which his ofﬁce does not investigate. While Frasier declined to get involved, he did agree to send all the information to the Oregon Attorney General Criminal Division for review. On December 29, Michael J. Slauson, chief counsel of the Criminal Justice Division of the Oregon Department of Justice, sent a letter agreeing with Frasier's decision. The letter said there was "insufﬁcient information to support a reasonable probability that an investigation would lead to evidence to warrant criminal charges."

Therefore, the Department of Justice said it would take no action and would consider the case closed. After the district attorney and the Department of Justice declined to take action, Mayor Jessica Engelke said it was the correct decision. “These were just more false claims to try and hijack the mayoral election and discredit the economic success of North Bend," Engelke said. "This was because of James Rose’s tirade about losing the election two years ago. His false ethics claim against our Main Street manager was denied. And now his ludicrous conspiracy charges have been dismissed. We’ve been vindicated, but what an incredible waste Please see AIRPORT, Page A2

Taking the plunge to roll in a new year

BY DAVID RUPKALVIS For The World

One year ago as 2022 rolled in, I took a couple of my kids down to Sunset Beach to watch the Polar Plunge. It's been a year, but I remember thinking how crazy those people were jumping into the ocean when the air temperature was near freezing. But after talking to them, I began to understand the why. Trust me, there is no singular reason for jumping into the ocean, or any other body of cold water, in the middle of the winter. But everyone I talked to had a reason for doing it. And by the time we drove away that morning, I was interested in doing it myself. And my kids were completely stoked about the idea of jumping into the cold ocean. So, fast forward one year, as 2023 rolled in. The last few days of 2022 were beautiful in Coos County, as the sun made a rare appearance and temperatures climbed close to 60. On Saturday, New Year's Eve, might wife and I went to Sunset Beach with two of my children. With the warm air, they both ended up in the water. And seemed to handle it without much concern. So, I decided on New Year's Day, I was going into the water. I searched for the Polar Plunge and found nothing. Someone posted a note on Facebook saying it was closed due to the condition of the water, but I'm not sure. But even without an ofﬁcial polar plunge, I decided I was going in. So Sunday morning, my kiddo Blake and I got up and headed back to the beach. Of course, overnight the weather changed from

clear and warm to cloudy and cold. The car said it was 40 degrees as we pulled up to the beach. But I was still going in. No one else was on the beach, but Blake and I walked out, kicked off our shoes, counted to three and ran straight into the water. Thought No. 1, it was cold. I know the water temperature around here almost never changes, but in the cold January air it simply feels colder. So, yes, it was cold. But it was also exhilarating. I ran like a crazy man into the ocean and dove fully into the waves. It's hard to explain that moment, but I now understand why so many people in so many places do it. We stayed in the water maybe two minutes before coming out. As we dried off and got dressed, and older couple came over to talk to us. Apparently, the man had done may polar plunges in the past. Although he can no longer do it, he enjoys watching others. So on New Year's morning, he drove down to Sunset and no one was there. So when Blake and I showed up, he and his wife were excited. For a few minutes, he got to live vicariously through the craziness of a father and child. After getting dry clothes on, we climbed back in the car, turned the heater up full blast and headed home. It took a while to completely warm up, but I have no regrets. They say you can't teach on old dog new tricks, but this cautious, aging man is occasionally willing to jump out there and do something stupid. I'd recommend everyone give it a shot. Happy New Year, everyone. I hope 2023 is happy, safe and blessed for you.

Ringing in the new year on ice

A overﬂowing crowd rang in the new year by enjoying ice skating at North Bend’s new ice skating rink. Large crowds waited in line for an opportunity to spend some time on the “ice” during a special skate on New Year’s Eve.

Photos courtesy of the city of North Bend

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