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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2025 |

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Coos Bay Fire Department gets live ﬁre training during ‘Burn to Learn’ BY NATE SCHWARTZ Editor

Every few years the Coos Bay Fire Department (CBFD) is able to get permission for a ‘Burn to Learn’ exercise, where their firefighters get the opportunity for the most realistic training possible. In this instance, a house located at 296 North Empire Boulevard was the subject of a controlled burn on February 12th. “We have 5 new firefighters that are in this apprentice program, so we put them through an 8-week academy of all of our in-house training. So now this is the end of their academy, so we actually get to put them through some live fire training in a house,” said Battalion Chief Kevin Cunningham. The controlled burn was closely monitored for safety, with attention paid to wind conditions and the drifting of smoke, to keep the

surrounding community (and the firefighters themselves) as safe as possible. This invaluable training opportunity is often the closest a new firefighter will get to experiencing a real house fire before seeing their first genuine emergencies. “It’s under a controlled environment, so they can actually see the fire roll and how it acts in an actual housefire,” said Cunningham. “We get one every few years, not super often.” Houses for these types of exercises are not in abundant supply. Often, a homeowner with a property they want demolished will get permits to do so from the city. The city will then come forward with the opportunity for their local See BURN TO LEARN Continued on Page 9

North Bend School Board rejects URA’s Workforce Housing Project owning and operating an apartment building, and others were uncomfortable singing off on a project over which they had no input or oversight past the initial vote. All lamented having to be the deciding vote on something well outside their normal purview. “All 7 of us have put a lot of time into this and it is above our paygrade,” said School Board member Michelle Roberts. “This is a lot of pressure for the North Bend School Board… We are asked to put our stamp of approval on something that, once we do, figuratively we are handcuffed, and have no control once we do that.” A contentious public comment section preceded the vote, with vocal support both for and against the project causing a packed North Bend council chamber. North Bend’s City Finance Director, Jeff Bridgens gave a brief presentation on the benefits of the project: the school district would stand to gain students, by a 6-1 vote on a resolution to professionals, first responders, years to come,” stated North Bend workers housing would get a increase the URA’s maximum and local workers who struggle Mayor Jessica Engelke following huge boost, and taxpayers would indebtedness for the project. every day to find housing in the the vote. see a marginal reduction in The School Board became the very community they serve. It After a significant amount of taxes through the sunsetting of deciding vote after the Port of was a loss for taxpayers, who will back and forth between the two the North Bend Urban Renewal Coos Bay had already voted yes continue paying into a system bodies, the School Board cited Levy. Worker’s housing has been on the resolution. that could have delivered relief. a number of reasons for voting “This was not just a loss for And it was a loss for our local down the resolution. Many of See SCHOOL BOARD the City of North Bend—it was a economy, which will feel the them disagreed philosophically Continued on Page 3 with the idea of city government loss for the educators, healthcare ripple effects of this decision for

BY NATE SCHWARTZ Editor

At a fateful meeting of the North Bend School Board on February 6th, the North Bend Urban Renewal Agency’s (URA) project for turning the old county annex building into workforce housing was rejected

Dog park volunteers request closure (North Bend, OR) — Volunteers who provided maintenance and upkeep of the temporary dog park inside the airport district boundary, have asked the Coos County Airport District to close the area. Group leaders say a loss of volunteer assistance with park upkeep and an uptick of people dumping household garbage in and around the park made the closure necessary. Airport staff had reached out to other potential organizations about assisting in keeping the park open, however, they were unable to locate any such organization. The property was temporarily provided for the dog park unless a need arose to utilize the property for airport or district purposes. That happened with the former dog park that was located below the current area when work began to expand the apron and for the future

construction of a cargo facility. Bids are currently being sought for the construction of that facility which could include a cargo handling facility, an apron, and a possible hangar. Airport staff and the commissioners appreciate all the hard work and dedication dog park volunteers have given through the years and

Due to printing issues beyond our control, Sports this week will be featured online at

apologize for any inconvenience the closure causes. Airport maintenance crews will continue to monitor the area located at Colorado Avenue and West Airport Way in North Bend. CCAD policy prohibits the habitation and disposal of refuse/ waste materials on airport property. For more information, contact the airport administration office at (541) 756-8531 or visit the district’s website at www. flyoth.com.

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