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Lincoln County, Oregon
Local firefighter honored with award JEREMY C. RUARK Lincoln County Leader
Central Coast Fire & Rescue volunteer Charlie Lesiecki has been honored with the Oregon State Fire Marshal’s Golden Sparky Award. The award recognizes a fire service member or fire agency for outstanding achievement in fire prevention or public safety education for the people of Oregon. In nominating the 9-year volunteer firefighter for the award, Central Coast Fire & Rescue Chief Jamie Mason said Lesiecki has provided selfless contribution to the safety and disaster prevention of the community. Lesiecki independently operated the District’s smoke alarm inspection and installation program in partnership with the American red Cross, and over the past year he installed 24 sectors within the Central Coast and yachts fire protection district boundaries, according to Mason, who added that working in partnership with Oregon State See AWARD, page A7
Central Coast Fire & Rescue Chief Jamie mason presents the Golden Sparky Award to volunteer firefighter Charlie Lesiecki, as Oregon State fire marshal Mariana Ruiz-Temple applauds. (Courtesy photo)
‘Consequences to essential transportation services are imminent’ Kotek, ODOT announce budget impact JEREMY C. RUARK Lincoln County Leader
The Oregon Department of Transportation responds to clear state roads following storms and landslides, such as this slide near Otis in Lincoln County in December 2022. ODOT’s budget reductions could impact such efforts. (Courtesy photo from ODOT)
SPECIAL REPORT
Highway speeds up, driver behavior concerning JEREMY C. RUARK Lincoln County Leader
You may have noticed that traffic speeds in Oregon have increased significantly. Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office Patrol Lieutenant Karl Vetner said his agency is hearing from the public about the increasing traffic speeds and driver behavior. “I believe the number of complaints is consistent,” he said. “We generally have a high volume
of driving complaints on the public highway in Lincoln County with Hwy 101 and Hwy 20 being the largest. Highway 18 is likely neck-and-neck with 20. Highway 34 is low volume as it’s a more remote highway with significantly less traffic. Vetner said the LCSO is concerned about aggressive drivers. “Aggressive driving
remains a serious and preventable threat to public safety on our roads,” he said. “Behaviors such as speeding, tailgating, frequent lane changes, “road rage”, and disregarding traffic signals not only endanger the aggressive driver, but also every other road user. Statistics consistently show that aggressive driving See DRIVER, page A6
Hundreds of Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) workers have been laid off and the agency administers say services statewide will likely be scaled back.
The agency initiated 483 of an estimated 600 to 700 total layoffs Monday, July 7. A second wave of layoffs, pending any unpredictable winter weather, is currently planned for early 2026 absent legislative action to preserve Oregon’s transportation services. Both waves would constitute the largest layoff in the history of Oregon state government, according to a release from Gov. Tina Kotek’s office. Following the
adjournment of the 2025 legislative session which concluded without passage of sufficient resources to fund ODOT’s budget, the Governor directed the state’s Chief Operating Officer, DAS Director Betsy Imholt, and the Chief Financial Officer, Kate Nass, to conduct a detailed review of ODOT’s reduction plan with ODOT Director Kris Strickler. See ODOT, page A7
Toledo Chamber Director to retire JEREMY C. RUARK Lincoln County Leader
Kathy Crane has announced her retirement as the Toledo Chamber of Commerce executive director after serving eight years. She’ll leave office at the end of the year. Crane took on the position after she and her husband moved from California to Toledo. She had retired from executive positions in California and said she just wanted something to do rather than stay home.
Toledo Chamber of Commerce Director Kathy Crane will retire at the end of this year. (Courtesy photo) She applied for and was hired as the Toledo Chamber executive
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director. Crane said the chamber position has been challenging. “It is really a big job,” she said. “When I took over the chamber, it was hardly in existence. The most challenging thing was putting on the events and brining people into Toledo. That’s been one of our goals. Bringing people in to shop at our stores and eat at our restaurants. The Waterfront Market and the Classic Car Expo See TOLEDO, page A7
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