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TUESDAY, MARCH 10, 2026

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County Commissioner Taylor admits to courting ICE as the board comments on detention facility rumors By NATE SCHWARTZ Editor After the recent rumors of a potential Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility came to the fore in recent weeks, the three members of the Coos County Board of Commissioners clariﬁed their positions during their public session on March 3, 2026. The rumors ﬁrst gained traction when Commissioner Drew Farmer addressed what he’d been hearing during a Facebook livestream, as covered in last week’s World. The expectation was that there would be a large turnout for the 9:30 a.m. meeting. While there were a large handful of folks who showed up to give impassioned public comment, you could hardly call it packed room. Still, the commissioners themselves felt it pertinent to address their positions on potential ICE presence in the area. After regular business was conducted, they spoke on the subject. “Unfortunately, the whole topic is shrouded and clouded with misinformation and emotionalism that I don’t think is appropriate in a republic based on the rule of law,” said Commissioner Rod Taylor, who went on to tow the MAGA line about terrorists and criminals pouring across the border. He was more than in support of the idea. “This county is in dire need of any kind of economic activity that we can generate. I personally believe that the construction, development, and operation of such a facility in Coos County is actually something that sits well with the majority of voters, despite the propensity of comments that we receive,” continued Taylor. “About two or three weeks ago, I actually sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) asking them to look at Coos County as a possible loca-

tion for building such a facility, and I hope that they do.” The revelation that Taylor had personally reached out to the administration offering Coos County as a destination for ICE seemed to come as a surprise to his fellow commissioners. Commissioner Farmer made comment next, addressing why he felt an inclination to start digging, citing the Newport facility failing and the North Bend Coast Guard base receiving less funding as reason for concern. “I don’t consider it economic development. There shouldn’t be a situation in which any kind of institutionalization is an economic beneﬁt. And yet, there somehow was, given the situation in Lakeside based on what the state has done with the management of former Shutters Creek,” said Farmer. “There was in this a possible solution for Lakeside’s problem, and a solution for the ﬁnancial aspect, ensuring we have deputies on the road and jail beds for people when we arrest them,” continued Farmer referencing the three potential sites discussed. “That was not necessarily morally grounded in the other concerns I had, which brought me to an understanding of how people get to the positions they get to out of a desperate attempt.” Farmer stated his hope was to shame the state over their mismanagement of Shutters Creek and their attempt to reduce compensation to Lakeside for their wastewater facilities. The city had built their facility over-capacity with the correctional institution in mind before it was shuttered in 2022 then converted for research of Elliot Forest, with a much lower need for the city’s services. A lowering of those payments puts Lakeside in a precarious position. Commissioner John Sweet was clear in stating that he

does not support a facility, and that communications with City leadership throughout the county have indicated they would not support one either. “I have always been supportive of law enforcement,” said David Jennings, a former juvenile detention ofﬁcer, during public comment. “From my years of working in juvenile detention, I know that the ICE facilities are a disgrace and they certainly could not pass inspection… They clearly are a group who is poorly trained and I ﬁnd it frightening that a group of law enforcement people could go into the community, wearing masks, and use violence to try to intimidate people.” “I am from Minneapolis, my family is in Minneapolis in the neighborhood where Renne Good was murdered,” said Abby Knipp from North Bend, another public commenter. “The city is utter chaos… They have taken friends from my life, detained them unlawfully for 48 hours, abused them, then left them to walk home in negative degree weather. It is unspeakable, it is disgusting. And there have been really severe impacts on the economy, in Minneapolis and beyond.” Commissioner Taylor defend-

ed his decision to court an ICE facility during questions following the meeting, stating that he doesn’t have concerns about the way ICE conducts itself. “My motivation was to engender what I would perceive as the ﬁscal beneﬁt to the county by having a federal facility like that positioned here,” Taylor told the World. “I have concerns about public perception based on the way the biased news media presents situations to manufacture a gaslit public perception.” He gave the killing of Renne Good as an example of said gaslighting, placing blame on Good for interfering with a law enforcement operation. Taylor did not seem aware that ICE themselves has reported 35 deaths in their custody at similar facilities in 2025 and 2026 alone. “Well, that may be. Are you aware that we have 5 deaths in our jail in the last, whatever, ten years?” said Taylor. “I’m talking about numbers. Theres a certain percentage of people who die from whatever… I know that nobody died in our jail as a result of malfeasance on the part of any of our staff, so I have to assume that there may be a similar situation in these cases.” So far, the City of Coos Bay is the only local government

to make an official statement regarding a potential facility. The statement cites infrastructural strain and potential impacts on crucial tourism dollars as their main reasons for not supporting such a facility. “For these reasons, the City of Coos Bay finds that a federal detention facility is incompatible with local infrastructure capacity, economic development priorities, tourism, and community-defined strategic goals. As such, and as the largest city on the Oregon Coast, the City of Coos Bay opposes construction or operation of any federal detention facility within the City, or within the immediate proximity to the city, including within the whole of Coos County,” reads the official statement.

The Coos Bay Public Library Volunteers Needed for 2nd Cleanup Project Wants to Hear From You! Saturday for John Topits Park

BY JENNY BROWNFIELD AND EMILY CHURCH

Ring ring! Who’s there? It’s Coos Bay Library, calling to ask you to take part in our 2026 Community Survey! You can ﬁnd it on www.coosbaylibrary.org or in-person at Coos Bay Library, and by answering just 15 simple questions you can help us stay in tune with how we can best serve you and your family. But why, you may ask, should I spend my valuable time on your survey? We’re glad you asked! As costs rise and revenue stagnates, it’s more important than ever that we allocate our resources intentionally to get the best bang for our (and, by extension, your) buck. Data gathered from this survey will directly impact our decisions on programs, materials, and other services such as internet access and digital media. For the low, low cost of just 5 minutes of your time, you can help us make the following year the best it can be for our community. Whether you’re a regular to our diverse selection of free materials and programs or you visit us virtually to grab ebooks and audiobooks on the go, we want to know how to make the library work better for you. Visit www.coosbaylibrary.org or drop by the library to make your voice heard today!

Come spend a couple of hours with the Oregon Bay Area Beautiﬁcation (OBAB) group and the Coos Bay Parks Department to help beautify John Topits Park in Coos Bay. The 2nd Saturday cleanup will be on Saturday, March 14, 2026.. Volunteers will meet at the main entrance at 355 Hull Street, Coos Bay. The clean up effort is from 1pm-3pm, with sign-ins starting at 12:45pm. Clean up focus will be tree planting, invasive plant removal,litter removal. Please dress appropriately for working outdoors. Bring, work gloves, cutting tools for ivy removal, trash grabbers, water, and sunscreen. Trash bags plus disposal will be taken care of and some tools and equipment can be borrowed. This is a kids and family friendly event. Youth under 18 need to have a release form signed by parent/guardian. Kids 14 and under will need adult supervision. Contact OBAB for details. Join OBAB for Community Cleanups every 2nd Saturday starting from January-October 2026. Visit www.4obab.org to see the full schedule and updates. Look for OBAB on Facebook and Instagram! Email volunteer@4obab.org for more info. Oregon Bay Area Beautiﬁcation (OBAB) is a registered and approved 501 (c) (3) organization.

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