Issuu

Serving Oregon’s South Coast Since 1878

TUESDAY, JANUARY 13, 2026 |

theworldlink.com

Bandon artist creates wildlife sculpture in Coquille

Update to Parking Lot Homicide FROM THE COOS BAY POLICE DEPT.

BY DEAN BRICKEY

COQUILLE — Brian Vorwaller of Bandon is a cut-up. Throughout December, Vorwaller used his specialized chainsaws and other shaping tools to create a 13-foot-tall wildlife sculpture from a cedar stump in a Coquille front yard. “It was a big, impressive tree,” he said. Nature shaped the cedar for the animal ﬁgures by forking it into four trunks just above the

ground. The base of the tree was about eight feet in diameter and nearly 26 feet in circumference before Vorwaller began to work his magic. He’s done about 20 of these wildlife sculptures, some of which are on display in Bandon, where he partners with the Big Wheel General Store. “I’ve got a few stump carvings, mostly around Bandon,” he said. “I probably have, oh, 10 or 12 in Bandon. I’ve got a few in Port Orford. This one in Coquille now.”

A person is in custody following a homicide that occurred in a local business parking lot. On December 28, 2025, at approximately 1:55 p.m., the North Coos 911 Center (NC911) received reports of a shooting in the parking lot of Staples, 1995 Newmark Ave., Coos Bay. Callers were able to provide dispatch a description and license plate for the suspect vehicle, which was immediately relayed to the responding Coos Bay Police Department (CBPD) officers. With that information, officers responded to the Staples shooting scene and immediately began the search for the suspect vehicle. CBPD officers arrived at the Staples parking lot around 2:00 p.m. and attempted to provide medical aid to the shooting victim, identified as 39-year-old David Orr of Coos Bay. Medical personnel also responded, but Mr. Orr was declared deceased at the scene. At 2:05 p.m., a North Bend Police Department (NBPD) officer located the suspect vehicle, parked outside a residence near 33rd St. and Vine Ave. in Coos Bay. CBPD officers arrived shortly after, detained both occupants of the vehicle, and arrested the suspected shooter. The Coos County Major Crime Team was activated to assist with the investigation, which is still ongoing. Due to this, the identity of the suspected shooter will not be released until their arraignment later this week. The suspect is currently being held at the Coos County Jail on unrelated charges. The CBPD appreciates the assistance provided by members of the Coos County Major Crime Team, including the Oregon State Police (OSP), North Bend Police Department (NBPD), South Coast Interagency Narcotics Team (SCINT), Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indian Tribal Police, Coos County District Attorney’s Office, Coos County Medical Examiner, and Coos County Parole and Probation, along with the assistance provided on scene from the Coos Bay Fire Department (CBFD) and Bay Cities Ambulance (BCA).

One of his Bandon carvings is in the parking lot of Trinity Catholic Church. He also participates in chainsaw-carving competitions and festivals. Vorwaller hasn’t named his Coquille creation yet, but he’s thinking about it. It isn’t the tallest he’s ever carved, but it’s the largest because of the four trunks. As the new year approached, the artist, who specializes in sculpting North America wildlife, put the ﬁnishing touches

on his creation at the home of Rod and Robin Summers, 342 E. Third St. They’re the third owner of the 102-year-old home and have lived there 10 years, Robin said. What began as an almost 100-foot-tall rose cedar tree growing in a corner of their front yard has been reduced — but certainly enhanced — to become a massive wildlife sculpture at See CARVER Continued on Page 16

Coos Bay City Council Hears Presentation on Eastside Housing Development BY NATE SCHWARTZ Editor

During the Coos Bay City Council meeting on January 6, representatives from AKS Engineering and Forestry gave a presentation on their next steps in surveying the feasibility of a housing development in Eastside, Coos Bay. AKS were awarded the project back in November, 2025 after multiple proposals were received by the council. Partnered with the Port of Coos Bay, who owns the 78.5-acre parcel of land just north of the Eastside boat ramp, the council commissioned the feasibility study thanks to a $100,000 grant from Business Oregon. As stated in meeting materials, the purpose of the study is to evaluate whether the projected costs, environmental constraints,

and capacity for infrastructure in Eastside lend themselves to residential development. AKS have conducted projects throughout the Paciﬁc Northwest for clients like ODOT and the Portland Water Bureau, and offer services in forestry and natural resource surveying, and civil engineering, in addition to construction support and land use planning. “We’ve been providing land development services to a really wide range of both public and private sector clients for the last 30 years,” explained AKS’s Zach Pelz, the Lead Land Use Planner on the project. “We have a complete suite of land development services in house, that really effectively enables us to provide these types of comprehensive and robust feasibility analyses

Please see SURVEY Page 15

Sawdust Theatre Open House Kick-off Party and Auditions for the 2026 Season The Sawdust Theatre is preparing for its 2026 season and has scheduled its annual Season Open House/Kick-Off Party for its summer melodrama late this

month, as well as auditions for its CAST and Olio performances. The 2026 Season Open House/ Kick-Off Party will be held at 7 p.m. on Saturday, January 31 and

FIND US ONLINE: TheWorldLink.com

is open to the public. The theatre manager, Michael Thurman, invites everyone to attend so they may tour the theatre and talk with Sawdust Theatre members/directors. The 2026 melodrama will be titled “Calamity at the Coquelle Creamery” or “Udder Confusion” was written by Cindy Robnett, Diana Amling, and Gael Berhow. It originally premiered at the theatre in 1989 and again in 2001. The play is set on a dairy farm in the lovely Coquelle Valley, where the evil villain Franklin Basher, “that terrible masher!”, works his wiles against heroine Henrietta Holstein and her hero, Ferdinand Farinsworth.

Editor’s Note: The family of the victim has launched a crowdfunding campaign to help cover funeral costs for David Orr. “David was loved by his family, and by so many here in our community and this has been an incredibly difﬁcult time to all involved. He was a loving father, a beloved son and sibling and a friend to all he met,” said the family on GoFundMe. “All proceeds will be used towards David’s funeral services and anything additional will be used to help raise his daughter and make her comfortable during this time.” Contributions can be made at: www.gofundme.com/f/ support-for-david-orrs-funeral-services

Auditions for the CAST will begin at 2 p.m. on Sunday, February 1 and at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, February 2. OLIO Auditions will begin on Tuesday, February 3 at 7 p.m. All auditions will be held at the theatre, located at 120 N. Adams St., Coquille. The play will be double cast, so each character will have two actors/actresses ready for each performance. Nancy Wilson, the play’s director, is looking for 12 over age 16 to ﬁll the roles. You can ﬁnd out more on the Sawdust website at: www.sawdusttheatre.com Or via email at: info@sawdusttheatre.com

Opinion

Sports

Classifieds

Calendar

Comics

Obituaries

EMAIL US: WorldCirculation@CountryMedia.net CALL US: (707) 460-8655

facebook.com/theworldnewspaper

twitter.com/TheWorldLink

instagram.com/theworldlink