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Lincoln County, Oregon
Samaritan to cancel Advantage health plans Lincoln JEREMY C. RUARK Lincoln County Leader
Samaritan Health said it will discontinue offering its Advantage health care plans at the end of this year. (Courtesy photo from The Lund Report)
Samaritan Health has announced to its Medicaid customers that it will cease offering its Advantage health care plans at the end of this year. The announcement was issued over the Labor Day weekend. Following repeated requests for details about the possible discontinuation of the plans over the past several weeks by the Lincoln County Leader, prompted by Samaritan clients, Bruce Butler, CEO of Samaritan Health Plans issued the following statement Sept. 4: “Samaritan Health Plans has
not been immune to nationwide challenges in health care. As part of an integrated health system serving the mid-Willamette Valley and central Oregon coast, we are evaluating multiple options to ensure sustainability for the long term. In 2025, there are no changes for our health plan members. The federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) enables Medicare Advantage plans to begin communicating plan options for the upcoming benefit year to the public in October of each year.” CMS enables Medicare Advantage plans to begin See SAMARITAN, page A4
Newport man bikes across country WILL LOHRE Lincoln County Leader
A little more than 11 weeks after setting out on his bike from Newport in June, Thomas Knott celebrated completing the journey of a lifetime with his sister at her home in Philadelphia. The party was held to commemorate Knott’s achievement of biking from coast to coast, a final hurrah before he headed back to Germany. After so long on the road, Knott is ready for the comforts of home, a routine, and a nice German beer. “I’m pretty happy about this,” Knott said ahead of his flight home on Aug. 24. “Then my life gets more structured.” Life on the road The structure of Knott’s life over the summer was built on hours and hours on roads, trails, and bike paths. Knott started his trip at Newport, where he once lived on the Oregon Coast. Two months later, Knott was gazing over the Atlantic Ocean in See BIKES, page A6
Knott in front of the United State Capitol building in Washington D.C. (Courtesy photos from Thomas Knott)
County Leader employees to work remotely STAFF
The weekly Lincoln County Leader newspaper is moving out of the office it currently leases in Newport, allowing its employees to work remotely. The newspaper will continue to be published each Wednesday, although beginning Sept. 8, its employees will be working remotely from home offices or from other Country Media newspaper locations. Country Media is the parent company of the Lincoln County Leader. “Far fewer of our customers are coming into our local offices to do business,” said Country Media’s chief executive, Joe Warren. “Classified advertising and legal notices, obituaries and subscriptions increasingly are being placed online.” Country Media owns nine community newspapers in Oregon and one in Northern California. It’s based in Salem. “Within our group of newspapers, we’re beginning to create a small number of hub locations where we can produce multiple publications,” Warren said. “In Tillamook, for example, we oversee news reporting and ad sales not only for the Headlight Herald, but also for our newspapers in Cannon Beach and Manzanita.” Meantime, allowing certain of its employees to work remotely “will make it easier for Country Media to recruit new workers and also to share resources within the company,” said Warren. “It’s increasingly difficult to recruit new employees and independent contractors to the small towns where we’re located,” he said. “Many of them now want to work See REMOTE, page A4
LCSD expected to lose $1.47M following student population decline JEREMY C, RUARK Lincoln County Leader
As a new school year begins, Lincoln County School District (LCSD) administrators are keeping a close watch on student population. The number of children in the classrooms determines the amount of state school funding each district receives. LCSD Superintendent Majalish Tolan said an early count shows a decline in overall student population. “We anticipate a decline in enrollment of around 100
students, as per the trend reported in our demographic study,” Tolan told the Lincoln County Leader. “The decline is currently being seen at the elementary schools, with smaller kindergarten classes enrolling than senior classes graduating. As these smaller classes move up through the grades, declining enrollment will be realized at the secondary level.” The predicted enrollment decline will amount to an approximately $1.47 million loss, according to LCSD
Business Office Director Kim Cusick.
STUDENT CELL PHONE POLICY On Tuesday, Sept. 9, The LCSD Board was expected to vote on changes to the district’s student cell phone following an executive order this summer by Gov. Tina Kotek. The executive order to Oregon’s 197 school districts issued July 2, requires each district adopt a See LCSD, page A6
LCSD administrators estimate a $1.47 million loss in state school funding due to declining student enrollment. (Photo by Jeremy C. Ruark)
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