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TUESDAY, APRIL 28, 2026 | theworldlink.com |

Serving Oregon’s South Coast Since 1878

18 Coos County chess players qualify for Scholastic State Championship

Merkley seeks answers

on Hegseth’s role in dismantling military’s civilian harm prevention guard rails in advance of Iran War

Photos by Nancy Keller

Jeremiah Thompson: Jeremiah Thompson, a 9th grader from Coquille High, wins fourth place in the High School Silver division at the Oregon Scholastic Chess Federation State Individuals Championships.

From Nancy Keller

Eighteen qualified Scholastic Chess Players from Coos County competed in the Oregon Scholastic Chess Federation State Individuals Championships at the Seaside Convention Center on April 17 and 18. Friday evening, after the five-and-a-half-hour drive, Coos County players had fun competing in the Blitz and Bughouse Tournament. Winners of Blitz Quads were Misha von Dassow (10th grade Marshfield High), Urijah Hen-derson (12th grade Marshfield High), Jeremiah Thompson (9th grade Coquille High), Ad-disyn Harris (7th grade Coquille Middle) Maggie Weeks (4th Grade Coquille Elementary), Liam De Leon (2nd grade Coquille Elementary), Jackson

Fritz (4th grade Myrtle Crest Ele-mentary). Winners of the Bughouse Team Quads was the team Chicken Nuggets of Chess, formed by Ruth Scott and Logan Gibbs, both 4th grade student from Coquille Elementary. Half the fun of Bughouse was to come up with the silliest name for the team. Both Blitz and Bughouse were played with many players wearing Crazy Hats, a tradition started by Coquille players. Saturday was the long day for the main tournament which did not finish till 7 p.m. Jeremiah Thompson (9th grade Coquille High) won 4th place in the High School Silver division. Coos County players who managed to win at least half their games at this intense competi-tion were awarded medals:

From the Office of Senator Merkley

Abby Fanno (7th grade Coquille Middle), Anya von Dassow (6th grade Lighthouse), Braydon Wagoner (4th grade Bandon Homeschool), Logan Gibbs (4th grade Coquille ES).

Washington, D.C. — Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley—a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee—joined a group of Senators in seeking answers on U.S. Sec-retary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s role in weakening civilian harm prevention programs and the catastrophic civilian impacts of President Trump’s war in Iran. “The high human toll of this war reflects the administration’s broader disregard for the stra-tegic, legal, and moral imperative to minimize civilian harm,” wrote the Senators in a letter to Secretary Hegseth. “We call on the administration to immediately end the war in Iran and fully restore Congressionally authorized programs and staffing to mitigate civilian harm.” Since the start of President Trump’s illegal war in Iran, attacks on civilian infrastructure have led to more than 1,700 civilian deaths, along with strikes on more than 20 schools and a dozen health care facilities. “We are concerned that these were all preventable tragedies…This is a concerning pattern and raises questions about whether the administration is upholding international law and the laws of war,” they continued. The Senators called on the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to answer questions about reported attacks on two separate elementary schools in Iran that killed more than 170 peo-ple, most of them children. Prior to the war, Secretary Hegseth made deep cuts to the military’s civilian harm mitigation and response (CHMR) programs, fired personnel at DoD’s Civilian Protection Center of Ex-cellence, and slashed CHMR staff at the U.S. combatant commands “by more than 90 per-cent.” All the cuts were reportedly made over the objections of veterans organizations and top military officials, including admirals, generals, and members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. “We are also concerned that your leadership is further harming the credibility of our armed forces, exacerbating threats to civilians and U.S. servicemembers alike,” wrote the Senators.

Although no Coos County players won the coveted nomination to attend Nationals, there had been lots of learning and lots of fun. Many are raring to train and prepare for next year.

Charleston Marine Life Center welcomes new octopus, gears up for 10th birthday celebrations

By Nate Schwartz

The new Pacific Red Octopus, Squirt, rests against the glass of its enclosure.

Come for the cephalopod, stay for the careful curation and deep local focus. The Charleston Marine Life

These Orca Whale skeletons were both sourced from Coastal Oregon, where the species is known to migrate through in late-spring, early-summer.

Center (CMLC) is an unmissable resource for any residents of Coos County and beyond who have even a passing curiosity about the ocean that enables so much of the South Coast

culture. From marine biology, ecology and environmental science, to the fishing industry that sustains our coastal economy, the CMLC is perfectly placed to inform and excite.

About to celebrate their tenth birthday down on Boat Basin Road in Charleston, the CMLC is nestled among the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology (OIMB), the University of Oregon’s main marine research station. The center serves as the link to the community, offering visitors a chance to share in the research and expertise that the program has gained in over 100 years in Charleston. The first of the university’s researchers began coming out to Sunset Bay in the 1920’s, where they’d set up tents for a summer See CELEBRATIONS Continued on Page 5

See MERKLEY Continued on Page 5

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