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COUNTY’S FIRST SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER FACILITY OPENS
LITHOMOSAIC ‘COSMOGRAPHY’ DEDICATION NOV. 1
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Lincoln County, Oregon
New housing for Hatfield Marine Science Center THERESA HOGUE Leader Guest Article
After more than a year of construction, a 77-unit housing project to support students, employees, visiting scientists and others working and learning at Oregon State University’s Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport is open and housing its first tenants. Harborton Street Housing was created to address the problem of a workforce housing shortage in Newport and the surrounding community. Current vacancy rates in Lincoln County hover below 2%, and that lack of housing has been a constraint to
recruiting students and scientists to Hatfield. Sidney Noble is manager for student and campus services at Hatfield and says the new building helps fill a gap in local housing. “It addresses a critical need for housing on the central Oregon coast,” Noble said. “With a significant housing shortage and high cost of living in Lincoln County, where much of the existing housing stock is aimed at vacationers and shortterm stays, this new facility provides a much-needed alternative for students, Newportbased faculty and staff and mission partners.” The $16.5 million, 34,000-square-foot housing
project features 72 studio-style units and five two-bedroom units, and is located off Southeast 40th Street in South Newport, about three-quarters of a mile from the Hatfield campus. Unlike the Corvallis campus, Hatfield’s busiest seasons are spring and summer, when most of the field-based research activities take place. So while current occupancy is fairly low, the residence hall will likely be near capacity during those peak months. Occupancy will vary between those needing shortterm housing for brief projects, and those with ongoing work at Hatfield. See HOUSING, page A4
The $16.5 million, 34,000-square-foot housing project features is located off Southeast 40th Street in South Newport, about three-quarters of a mile from the Hatfield campus. See more photos with this story at the Lincoln County Leader website. (Courtesy photo from OSU)
Samaritan and MultiCare approve affiliation Veteran’s
Services looks to voters for funding
JEREMY C. RUARK Lincoln County Leader
The boards of directors for the Corvallis-based Samaritan Health Services and Tacomabased MultiCare Health System have approved an affiliation between the two organizations. Samaritan Health Services operates Samaritan Pacific Communities Hospital in Newport, Samaritan North Lincoln Hospital in Lincoln City, Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in Corvallis, Samaritan Albany General Hospital in Albany, and Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital in Lebanon. In a release, Samaritan Health Services said the affiliation marks a major milestone in advancing access to highquality, community-based health care across Oregon and the Pacific Northwest. See AFFILIATION, page A4
JEREMY C. RUARK Lincoln County Leader
urge Oregon residents, vacation rental managers, and visitors to remove or secure those food sources. Bears that become
Lincoln County voters are being asked to approve funding for the county’s Veterans Services Office through a fiveyear local-option levy in the Nov. 4 Special Election. A 2022 survey found that 48% of veterans don’t understand their disability benefit options, and four in 10 veterans felt they didn’t receive adequate guidance on benefits when leaving the military. And the U.S. Veterans Affairs Administration reports that only about 20% of veterans apply for and use VA services. Under present funding, the Lincoln County Veterans Services Office conducts outreach as it is able, but these outreach efforts are less cohesive than ideal, and outreach events are conducted as extra duties in addition to routine, 9-5 office activity. As other federal programs see a decrease in funding, enhanced capability to engage veterans in the community is essential to maintaining their quality and comfort of life, according to a release from the county. The Lincoln County Veterans Services Office is available to support around 5,200 military veterans. The office helps local veterans obtain federal, state, and county benefits for which they are eligible. The office provides veterans outreach services and helps veterans’ families apply for survivor benefits. The office is mostly funded by the county General Fund and would receive no General Fund dollars while this five-year local
See BEAR, page A4
See VETERANS, page A4
Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in Corvallis. (Courtesy photo)
In their on-going search for food, bears will sometimes come into yards, campsites and even rural or more urban communities looking for easy pickings – food scraps, garbage, pet food or bird feeders. (Courtesy photo from the ODFW)
A black bear tried its best to get into a Neskowin homeowner’s bear resistant trash can. The homeowner then built a small shed to enclose the trash can. The persistent bear left its prints and claw marks on the shed but did not succeed in breaking into it. This resident understands the need to be BearWise and keep black bears wild. (Courtesy photo from Alicia Harck)
The fall bear eat-a-thon is on, ODFW warns of danger Now that autumn weather has replaced hot summer days, bears have begun their annual fall eat-a-thon, known as hyperphagia, to prepare for winter. This intense feeding period begins in late summer when berries and fruits ripen and
peaks when fruits like pears and apples are available. During this time, bears spend up to 20 hours a day foraging for food, according to a release from the Oregon Department of
Fish and Wildlife (ODFW). Driven by the need to eat, bears will take advantage of free food – garbage, pet food, bird seed, livestock and poultry feed. State wildlife biologists
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