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Wednesday, March 27, 2024
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Lincoln County, Oregon
Active shooter training Police warn of organized retail thefts scheduled at local schools JEREMY C. RUARK Lincoln County Leader
Lincoln City Police, Newport Police, Toledo Police, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, and Oregon State Police, will conduct active shooter response training exercises at Taft High School and Newport Middle School. The specialized training this week is designed to better prepare officers to respond to an active shooter event should one occur locally.
MINDSET SITUATION
“The purpose of this drill is to get the officers up to
speed on movement, the team atmosphere and getting the ideology that it could possibly happen here one day so we are fully prepared,” a Lincoln City Police Department (LCPD) training instructor said during a previous session at Taft High School. “This drill is a mindset situation. We put these officers through a stressful situation so that they are used to the sound of gunfire and that they become used to such a stressful situation and know how to best react in such a threat and that the children at our schools are safe.” See TRAINING, page A9
JEREMY C. RUARK Lincoln County Leader
The Lincoln City Police Department is urging local businesses to be watchful for organized retail theft suspects. “These types of thefts are happening all over the state and are a growing concern to all retail business,” LCPD Lt. Jeffrey Winn said. The Lincoln County Leader first reported earlier this month of such a crime and the arrest of two suspects. In that case, a witness alerted police to suspicious activity at the Lincoln City Outlets where several
The Lincoln City Police Department is alerting business operators and employees to be aware of organized retail theft suspects targeting the area. (Photo by Jeremy C. Ruark)
See THEFTS, page A8
Career Tech Expo
Survey says Newport lacks visual appeal
A recent online survey conducted by the Discover Newport Committee had a response from 260 people, with 61 percent of those expressing dissatisfation with the visual appeal of Newport. (Photo by Steve Card) A Career Tech Expo was held at the Newport campus of Oregon Coast Community College on Friday. OCCC, in partnership with the Lincoln County School District, showcased the many and varied Career and Technical Education (CTE) opportunities in Lincoln County. There were student demonstrations, presentations about various local CTE programs, edible samples from school culinary programs, and more. (Photos by Steve Card)
STEVE CARD Lincoln County Leader
Newport residents were asked recently for their input on beautification ideas and goals for the city. During the months of February and March, the Discover Newport Committee conducted an online beautification survey, and results were discussed during the March 18 meeting of the Newport City Council. The purpose of the survey, in part, was to determine how best to spend money for city beautification. “At the time the council approved the budget for Destination Newport, there was a request for using $100,000 for beautification projects,” City Manager Spencer Nebel said.
“Council OK’d that in concept but asked for a specific plan.” The survey was designed to help determine how best to use that money. Erik Glover, assistant city manager/city recorder, gave council members a brief snapshot of the survey results. “To quickly summarize, we had a very robust response, we had 260 responses received,” Glover said. Of those, “61 percent of respondents were dissatisfied with the visual appeal of Newport; 81.9 percent wanted to focus on the Deco District, and 40.4 percent wanted to focus on the Bayfront.” The Discover Newport Committee held a special meeting on March 14, “and two See SURVEY, page A9
Kotek promises to dog spending for drug addiction programs BEN BOTKIN Oregon Capital Chronicle
Gov. Tina Kotek faces a steep challenge now that the legislative session is done: making sure hundreds of millions allocated for homelessness and drug addiction is used as intended. Oregon lawmakers made the fentanyl addiction and overdose crisis — and homelessness — priorities for the short session. They put $211 million toward drug addiction treatment, programs and new residential
facilities. Lawmakers also allocated $376 million for homeless shelters, housing, infrastructure and rent assistance. Kotek said her administration will focus on making sure the money goes where it needs to go, with an eye toward equity and fairness across the state. “The work is not done,” Kotek told reporters March 15. “It never is, but I’m pleased
with the solid start to the work before us.” Kotek has plenty to watch. House Bill 4002, which she said she would sign, allows counties to set up treatment programs to shepherd drug users toward recovery and avoid misdemeanor charges for drug possession. Twenty-three of Oregon’s See PROGRAMS, page A9
Gov. Tina Kotek said her administration will closely track the rollout of new programs and spending to address drug addiction and homelessness. (Photo by Ben Botkin/ Oregon Capital Chronicle)
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