W120922 by C.M.I.

Serving Oregon’s South Coast Since 1878 | FRIDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2022 | theworldlink.com | $2

Taylor ofﬁcially wins commissioner's seat

Editor’s Note: An earlier report claiming Rod Taylor had won the election did not include the final vote count. Although the county clerk’s office released a report called the “final” count, there was additional time given for voters who had their ballots rejected to “cure” their ballots. This report is based on the certified final official totals report from the clerk’s office.

Fabrizio, Brecke to also take office in January BY DAVID RUPKALVIS For The World

It is now official. In just a matter of weeks, Rod Taylor will be seated as the Position 3 commissioner for Coos County. In the certified final results released by the Coos County clerk’s office, Taylor edged Melissa Cribbins by 150 votes to win the seat. Taylor received 14,616 votes, or 50.17%, while Cribbins received 14,446 votes, or 49.59%.

Cribbins, who has served 10 years at the Position 3 commission, will end her term December 31, and Taylor will take the seat during the new year. In a Facebook post, Cribbins acknowledged the results and shared some accomplishments she was proud of during her time in office. “I was first elected to the Coos County Commission in 2012 and took office in January of 2013,” Cribbins wrote. “It has been my honor to represent all of the citizens of Coos County for the last ten years. As I look back on my time in office, there have been some accomplishments that I am especially

proud of::" 1. Increased county general fund revenues and decreased debt, 2. Closed the North Bend Annex and consolidated County operations in Coquille, saving taxpayers at least $50,000 per year, 3. Built 36 miles of mountain biking trails in the County forest using only competitive grant funding, and secured funds to improve the motorized trails, 4. Built a new public health and mental health building at no additional costs to taxpayers, 5. With the cities of Coos Bay and North Bend, secured $1,000,000 to address the homeless

crisis in our area, 6. Testiﬁed in front of a congressional committee in Washington D.C. about the effects of environmental regulations on rural communities, 7. Took Coos County off the bankruptcy watch list and stabilized the county budget, 8. Testiﬁed on bills that would negatively impact Coos County in Salem, both as a County Commissioner and as the President of the Association of Oregon Counties, 9. Secured state and federal funding to work on the housing crisis and worked with the Association of Oregon Counties for legislation that

will help struggling Oregon families with the difficulty in finding affordable, safe housing, and 10. Served on many boards, committees, and task forces, both locally, statewide, and nationally, to try to ensure that the voice of our Coos County citizens was heard in the places where decisions are made. When Taylor takes office, he will be one of three newly elected officials assuming the top spot in county government. Julie Brecke, who received more than 50% of the vote in a three-person primary in May, will be seated Please see TAYLOR, Page A12

Ice skating rink attracts big crowds to North Bend BY DAVID RUPKALVIS For The World

As North Bend celebrated Christmas with a variety of events last weekend, a large tent downtown drew the most intrigue. For hours, people waited in line inside the tent to try something most of them never have – ice skating. Well, sort of. North Bend ofﬁcially opened its synthetic ice skating rink, allowing up to 70 people at a time on the ice – or a synthetic

plastic that closely mirrored ice without the freezing cold. Not surprisingly, most of those who joined in seemed to have little or no experience on ice skates, which led many falling and climbing back up and falling again. But there were no cries due to the falls, mostly just the sound of laughter as people made their way around the rink. As the rink ﬁlled up, North Bend City Administrator David Milliron looked on, watching over the new operation in the city that will run through Valentine’s Day. The opening Saturday was announced only on social media, as the city chose to invite the community to get their staff trained up on operating

Photos by David Rupkalvis/For The World

Laughter and smiles were the norm Saturday as people waited in long lines to try out North Bend’s new ice skating rink. After a successful soft opening, the rink will be open Wednesday through Saturday until Valentine’s Day.

an ice rink. “The reason for the soft opening like this is to figure out the logistics,” Milliron said. “We’ve been trying to figure out the kids’ sixes.” While opening the rink is fairly easy, there are some steps the city staff had to run through before opening for real this week. That included sharpening skates, cleaning the rink, running the “Zamboni.” Since there had never been an ice rink in town before, no one had experience in those things. “It’s all the small maintenance, which is why this is a soft opening,” Milliron said. With the soft opening behind them and a little experience on their side, the ice rink will open from 4 to 8 p.m. Wednesdays through Friday and noon to 4 p.m. Saturdays. There is no fee to enter, but ice rental is $5 an hour. Anyone with their own skates, can skate for free. The ice rink was purchased by the city council using transient occupancy taxes, money paid when people visit local hotels and motels. By law, the tax can only be used to pay for items designed to increase tourism in the area. With tourism in the region already popular in the warmer months, North Bend was looking for something that would bring in guests over the winter. Milliron said the city council was also determined to find something that would Please see ICE RINK, Page A2

Circles in the Sand fundraiser ongoing

BY BREEANA LAUGHLIN The World

As Bandon beach-goers embark into a spiraling labyrinth they see the words, “Leave behind what is not needed,” etched into the sand. These words set the tone for the meditative walk through the meandering labyrinth. “It can give someone an intention to think about as they are walking,” said Bethe Patrick, a sand artist and labyrinth facilitator with Circles in the Sand. The intention of Circles in the Sand is to share love, joy and kindness by creating walkable art in the form of "dreamﬁeld" labyrinths on the beach. When completed, the labyrinths are one continuous path with no dead ends or wrong turns. Denny Dyke has been drawing circles in the sand in the Bandon area since 2010. It started mainly as a meditation, he said, and “to see if I could draw some of the patterns.” In the early days, Dyke would go to Bandon beaches by himself or with a friend to create his labyrinths. His patterns would attract nearby beachgoers, some of whom, he said, regarded his work as “alien crop circles.” Throughout the years, Dyke’s beach artistry has attracted larger and larger audiences. He turned Circles in The Sand into a business in 2015 and now collaborates with a team of artists who work deftly to create a ﬂowing maze of circles and meandering patterns throughout the Please see CIRCLES, Page A2

Courtesy Photo

Circles in the Sand labyrinths are free and open to the public (and dogs). All are welcome to join in at their home beach at Face Rock Wayside in Bandon, Oregon.

FIND US ONLINE: TheWorldLink.com

Obituaries

Opinion

Western World

Calendar

A10

Classifieds

A11

Police Blotter

A16

EMAIL US: WorldCirculation@CountryMedia.net CALL US: (541) 266-6047 Serving Oregon’s South Coast since 1878 •

A Country Media Newspaper

•

facebook.com/theworldnewspaper

twitter.com/TheWorldLink

instagram.com/theworldlink