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Wednesday, March 20, 2024
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Lincoln County, Oregon
Wyden town hall draws demonstrators JEREMY C. RUARK Lincoln County Leader
Oregon U.S. Senator Ron Wyden will go back to Washington, D.C., remembering comments and questions from his latest Lincoln City town hall. The senator spent a few hours Saturday afternoon, March 16, listening and answering questions from those attending the event at the Lincoln City Cultural Center.
OUTSIDE THE TOWN HALL
Before the noon time town hall, members of the Lincoln City-based Hilltop Patriots conducted a demonstration along the Highway 101 sidewalk in front of the Lincoln City Cultural Center. The demonstrators held signs and chanted their concerns, which include timber-cutting policies, city housing issues, control of the U.S. border, and proposed offshore wind energy projects. The group’s spokesperson, Marie McFarland, said they oppose the wind energy projects. “They will affect our fisheries,” she said. “Those windmills are all going to produce power that all goes to California, with the exception of 3 percent,” she said. “Also, those windmills have to be
Members of the Hilltop Patriots held American flags and protest signs outside the U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden town hall held in Lincoln City on Saturday. (Photo by Jeremy C. Ruark) Sen. Ron Wyden spoke to constituents at a town hall on Saturday, March 16, held at the Lincoln City Cultural Center. (Photo by Jeremy C. Ruark)
Prior to his Lincoln City town hall, Sen. Ron Wyden, toured the Hatfield Marine Science Center, NOAA Fisheries, and NOAA Marine Operations in Newport. (Courtesy photo)
See WYDEN, page A7
Gearing up for paid parking on Newport Bayfront STEVE CARD Lincoln County Leader
Beginning in May, motorists who park on the Newport Bayfront will be charged a fee, the first pay-to-park program established by a city in Lincoln County. The paid parking program will affect the entire Bayfront, although there will be some differences in certain regions. Newport Director of Community Development Derrick Tokos said for metered parking, “It’s going to be $1 an hour. There’s some areas where it’s meter only. There’s other areas where it’s meter unless you have a See PARKING, page A8
STEVE CARD Lincoln County Leader
The new pay-to-park program on the Newport Bayfront will go into effect in May. This parking enforcement vehicle is equipped with a camera array that will scan license plates, alerting an officer if a parking fee has not been paid. (Photo by Steve Card)
Recruiting and retaining employees is challenge for some businesses JEREMY C. RUARK Lincoln County Leader
The impact of Oregon’s tight labor market can be seen in Lincoln, Tillamook, Columbia and Clatsop counties, which have an average of 4,700 job openings on any given day, according to Oregon Employment Department
Siletz man charged with killing his mother
Regional Economist Shaun Barrick. Right after the COVID pandemic, the challenge, according to Barrick, was many businesses hiring at the same time. “While there were many unemployed
A Siletz man has been charged with seconddegree murder in connection with the death of his mother. At around 9:30 p.m. March 11, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office responded to the 400 block of East Logsden Road after receiving a report of a deceased woman at that location. When deputies arrived in the area, they located 79-year-old Judy D. Poe lying near a motor vehicle. She had died of apparent blunt force trauma to the head,
according to information released by the sheriff’s office. Deputies who responded to the scene encountered a man later identified as Robert Bruce Poe, 56, who was detained at the scene. The Lincoln County Major Crime Team was activated to investigate the death, as were members from the Oregon State Police Crime Lab. Robert Poe was subsequently interviewed and arrested on charges of murder in the second degree and unlawful use of a weapon. He was See SILETZ, page A7
Business strategies have shifted since the COVID pandemic in an effort to gain and retain employees. (Courtesy photo)
workers, there was so much competition for those workers,” he said. “What we’ve seen over the last two years is the number of vacant positions has gone down. The See SHORTAGE, page A9
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