Coquille
City of Coos Bay considering a ban on wind energy within city limits?!?!
Apparently, without any public discussion, the City of Coos Bay plans to vote on a resolution banning the use of wind power conversion systems within city limits tonight.
The analysis and resolution are hereCoos Bay Wind Resolution. The analysis is not what you would call very analytical and is comprised primarily of general guidelines from ODOE’s website. Other communities were contacted to ask how they handle wind energy to mixed effect leading the author of the analysis to suggest taking a wait and see approach to urban turbines.
The last point is so very typical of Coos County as a whole. Why be an innovator or take the lead in anything when it is so much easier to be a follower and wait and see what other cities do? Nowhere in the analysis is there mention of having spoken to anyone in the industry for qualified answers to the questions raised about citing wind in commercial, industrial or residential areas.
So while the city has taken a neutral position on siting an LNG terminal and building a 36″ gas pipeline why, all of a sudden do they have a fire burning to ban wind? Any ideas, anyone?
Recently, I read the SCDC submission to the AIA Sustainable Design Assessment Team (SDAT) committee which seeks to…
provide a road map for communities seeking to improve their sustainability—as defined by a community’s ability to meet the needs of today without reducing the ability of future generations to meet their needs [emphasis mine]
The submission gives a pretty clear picture of who SCDC blames for the County’s economic woes these last thirty years.
From its founding, Coos County grew and prospered through its natural resources and the timber, agriculture, milling, shipping and commercial fishing industries. But the 1970’s saw the beginnings of these industries’ ebb. The environmental movement, the spotted owl controversy, government regulations and technological advances in production [emphasis mine] saw a gradual but unstoppable decline in timber harvest, lumber mills, shipping and commercial fishing. The area slumped into major economic hard times. Today, Oregon is second in the nation in unemployment, due in large part to this region, with an unemployment rate of 15%.
The ‘technological advances in production’ must mean ‘cheaper labor in China’. As to the environmentalists and the regulators, unfortunately they weren’t here to stop Weyerhauser from choosing profits over stewardship of the local resources. Nor were they here to stop Weyerhauser from leaving when it became more profitable to move on.
For a reference I read two of the other submissions, Bridgport, CT and Allentown, PA and it was noticeable the authors didn’t seek to place blame or, more accurately, pass the buck. Truly, it is a feather in the cap of SCDC to have submitted an application and I am pleased they did so and more pleased the area was chosen. Kudos!
There are some seeming omissions from the application, however, that make these closing statements in the introduction letter below not quite accurate.
Our clearly-defined objective, identified as the key issue in each of the three aforementioned meetings, is that our citizens will be able to look forward to — and believe in – a sustainable future, through a vision created together.
Namely, while the Port and its future railroad, Jordan Cove and its LNG and ORC and its strip mining, The Mill Casino and its gambling are listed as bright possibilities for the future of Coos Bay there is no mention of any real sustainable industries. (The opposition to the LNG is given passing mention and attributed to retirees that don’t like change). There appears to be no input from any environmentalists or proponents of sustainable industry in the application at all.
Also receiving glowing mention are SCDC members Bandon Dunes and The World with nary a word about The Sentinel or The Bandon Western World (unless you count it as The World).
In Joseph Tainter’s, ‘The Collapse of Complex Societies’, it is pointed out again and again from the collapse of the Romans, the Mayans to the Chacoans that resource depletion is not the cause of collapse in complex systems. Rather it is the leaders of these societies inability to adapt to resource depletion and changing conditions that brings about economic and societal failure.
Coos County is a glowing empirical example of the truth of Tainter’s conclusions. Nothing could punctuate the reason for 15% unemployment and empty storefronts more than the City of Coos Bay’s inability to adapt to a changing environmental and economic landscape than this proposed resolution to ban wind energy until another city models for them what to do!
Coos County has no leadership. The county and its cities are governed by followship and the economic depression that has prevailed these last 30 years will continue unless as Thomas Homer-Dixon hypothesizes in ‘The Upside of Down: Catastrophe, Creativity and the Renewal of Civilization” the local electorate are finally catalyzed to do something about it and stop repeating the same tired old schemes and try something new
The World does a nice write up on the V-LIM wind turbine
Just in case you didn’t see it you can read it here
Mary Geddry, CEO of Coquille-based Rogue River Winds, said the ultra-efficient, low-profile, sturdy wind turbine with a built-in generator called the V-LIM, is generating interest.
She’s gearing up production. But don’t expect any local manufacturing jobs to spin out of it — at least not anytime soon.
“There just isn’t the infrastructure in Coos County at this time,” she said.
After attempts to get the V-LIM off the ground locally failed, Geddry relocated the project to Portland where a prototype was in the works, before she again relocated it to Cottage Grove where it was completed and may be manufactured.
She said some manufacturers in Alaska and the East Coast have expressed interest in producing it, as well.
Federal agencies including the DoD are under heavy pressure to meet 25% of their energy needs from renewable sources.
Driven by new government requirements that call for each military branch to purchase or generate at least 25 percent of the energy they use from renewable sources by 2025, the project is funded by a $4 million federal investment under the 2010 Defense Appropriations bill…
One factor causing concern with wind energy is the belief that traditional wind turbines interfere with radar, hence the interest in a low profile system like the V-LIM.
Does the local tea party have an air corp?
Hard to say but the ultralights are patrolling our waterways and bike routes. We should all feel safer knowing the Iron Cross is on the lookout.
Transparency vs Opacity, will be issue in forthcoming commissioners’ race
Despite narrowly surviving a recall effort for what even The World referred to as the undeniably “stealthy” manner in which twenty two county road workers were laid off, Commissioner Kevin Stufflebean is still curtailing public access.
…Commissioner Kevin Stufflebean outlined his new vision for board meetings. First step was to rearrange the courtroom, secluding employees to one side of the room…Next, he addressed how employees interact with audience members and the board. From now on, all public questions will be directed to the board. Commissioners can either answer them or give the person at the podium permission to take the floor… Stufflebean reminded the 20 or so department heads in attendance they do not have to respond to inquiries by the media and can filter responses through the commissioners’ office.
Stufflebean has been the center of controversy relating to public transparency and public access for some time and a strong case has been made the county, with the apparent approval of County Counsel, Jaqui Haggerty, misuses the executive session. Prior to the meeting Bob Main refused to attend an executive session claiming he didn’t feel comfortable keeping the details from the public. Whitty had no qualms about holding the executive session.
Further, Stufflebean wants to further complicate public access, thereby impairing the public’s ability to participate in its own governance by taking over the video taping of BOC meetings raising many eyebrows
The following was sent to the Editor. It refers to an article printed on January 27th.
It is the same sentiment that I share along with other volunteers at Coos Community Media Center.I was apalled to note Commissioner Stufflebean’s comment reported in Wednesday’s World, quoting a cost
to the county of $30-50,000 to record county meetings and place them on the web. Channel 14
currently records these meetings at a rate far lower than that. Channel 14’s subscription rates are
determined by hours of service rendered to the subscriber. Should the Commission continue to hold two
public meetings a month, that subscription cost would be around $7000 per year. For that sum, Channel 14
records 24 meetings, posts them on the web (where they remain for at least two months),
provides one week of “air” time (at least 12 repeats) on Charter Cable Channel 14 in the Bay Area and environs and on Comspan Channel 73 in Bandon, Coquille, Myrtle Point, and Reedsport, and provides a
DVD archive copy if requested. Additional meetings are charged at $90/ hour.
When the website went active in September of 2009, all the agencies who subscribe to Channel 14
were invited to place a link to it on their site. No government agency (or anybody else) has ever paid
a dime to have their meetings or programs posted to the web by Channel 14.
The care and maintenance of that website costs around $3000 per year.
During the county’s negotiations for the year’s contract with Channel 14, Mr. Stufflebean suggested
that the meeting content was the property of the county and that the commissioners should have
ownership of the sole DVD copy of each meeting. This smacks of censorship and all
citizens need to be wary of such attempts. Public meetings are public domain and can
be recorded by anyone and distributed at will.Gordon Young
Channel 14
So to recap, Stufflebean still wants to control the message and apparently doesn’t trust his own department heads to answer questions about their own departments. (We can all understand why he wouldn’t want Colby talking) Aren’t the commissioners busy enough without vetting questions and answers about ongoing county business? Does he really feel they are incompetent or is he hoping to disguise his intentions and actions from the public as it appears he did with the road department layoffs?
Again, where is Whitty in all of this? Does she share Stufflebean’s apparent contempt for the department heads skills? Does she share his apparent contempt for the public’s right to know? It sure seems like it.
After ten years, message to killer of Leah Freeman, “The law is coming and hell’s coming with her”
Great news for the family of murdered teenager, Leah Freeman, was released during a press conference at the Coquille City Hall today. After a fifteen month effort on the part of new Coquille Police Chief Mark Dannels, a joint agency task force comprised of CPD, Coos County Sheriff, Coos Bay PD and Oregon State Police is reopening the unsolved murder case. The family has been asking for outside assistance into the cold case even before it was cold but the previous chief, Mike Reaves, stood in the way.
The timing of the press conference was indicated to coincide with a new series of witness and possible suspect interviews to begin within and around the community. Since taking over as chief, Mark Dannels has indicated a personal determination to bring some closure for the family and solve the crime and once again, I will take this opportunity to say what a difference a real cop makes to a community. Congratulations, Cory, I hope the bittersweet resolution of this crime brings you peace.
Though tempted I am going resist the urge just now to poke at the city manager and the council for retaining the previous chief and save it for a separate post. Better to bask in the glory of knowing that the killer’s ten year holiday is finally coming to an end…
Possible break in Leah Freeman case
Press conference to be held at Coquille City Council chambers 2:30PM today!
Oregon Jobs and Economic Growth Forum
Last Thursday, I participated in a forum in Salem put on by the US Department of Agriculture related to economic growth in rural America.
The USDA is leading an effort nationwide to listen to Rural America’s thoughts and ideas about what is needed to create jobs and stimulate economic development in rural communities across the country. These forums follow the lead of President Obama’s December 3, 2009, national roundtable discussion. So, plan to attend and share your thoughts and ideas about job creation and economic growth.
In Oregon, the following Community Forums have been scheduled:
> ALBANY, January 21, 9AM-Noon; Linn County Fair & Expo Center, Conference Center Rooms 1 & 2
> REDMOND, January 28, 1-4PM; Central Oregon Community College, Hitchcock Auditorium
Coos County Commissioner Nikki Whitty was there along with Sandy Messerle director of the South Coast Development Council (does anyone know what, if anything, SCDC has successfully developed?).
The forum consisted of two panels, the second putting some focus on energy, hence the reason I was invited. ODOE was represented on the second panel by Bob Repine, Assistant Director, Energy Incentives who began by talking about the opportunities for jobs in Oregon relating to the wind industry. Repine noted that many parts break on big wind turbines and while, “…Oregon will never compete with Europe”, Oregon can manufacture the replacement parts and create jobs.
Oregon could manufacture the generators. The Shepherd’s Flat wind farm awarded a $1.4B contract to GE to ‘assemble’ the turbines with China being the primary manufacturer of components. Shepherd’s Flat like all big wind farms is heavily subsidized with US taxpayer money, so why are we providing jobs for China?
State Senator Chris Edwards, representing part of Lane County, also on the panel, proudly advised that Oregon can trade with China producing fine wood products and other sundries. Now that China has all the jobs, it is no wonder they can afford to import our turned bowls our trinkets.
Naturally, I saw red and leaped up to give my opinion about what the government can do to help with jobs creation, such as insisting taxpayer funded projects be manufactured in the US. Oregon has the manufacturing infrastructure and the technology in place all it appears to lack is the political will.
Neither Messerle or Whitty contributed anything to the forum conversation but when I spoke to Whitty she told me she thought everything “was so interesting”.
New Year’s catch up #1 Van Elsberg running for County Commish
NORTH BEND, OR, DECEMBER 28, 2009: After much thought and the support of my family and friends, I have decided to seek the office of Coos County Commissioner. I do not take this decision lightly, as there will be many challenges ahead for Coos County and its citizens.
Larry Van Elsberg has opted to run for Position 2 against the very popular and some consider, unbeatable Nikki Whitty. Van Elsberg made quite a name for himself when he headed the recall effort that narrowly failed to unseat Commissioner Kevin Stufflebean but whether that fame will garner him votes will depend upon his platform, not the least of which is public safety and transparency.
Whitty did herself a lot of harm in my view by aligning so tightly with Stufflebean and participating in the public obfuscation of details leading up to the sudden layoff of twenty two county road workers on New Year’s Eve 2008. Hopefully, the bizarre manipulation of the road department budgets wherein the media released worksheets used to justify the layoffs showed the road dept operating in the red for eight of the last ten years (not possible by the way and Whitty should have known that) compared to the budget worksession versions handed out to the public in March showing ample funding for the road department and a balanced budget for the past ten years will be explained. Whitty has distanced herself from Stufflebean even to the point of moving her chair away from him during public hearings, but I don’t think she can totally cleanse herself in the eyes of the public.
The campaign will be an opportunity to bring out details of Whitty’s and outed commissioner, John Griffith’s handling of the NW Natural pipeline issue, of which Van Elsberg, then County Road Master was intimately aware of and might illuminate the legislation, hold onto your hat Roblan, that relieves NWN from paying its fair share of taxes to the county.
With luck the local media will start covering these issues with a level a detail they ignored at the time. We will certainly do our best, as time permits, to bring these facts to light here as the campaign progresses.
Jayme Sue Austin memorial draws a crowd
As a testament to the impact this murder had on the friends and family of Jayme Austin and the community the Lone Pine Fire Hall in Fairview was packed to the gills and the doors opened to allow participation from outside.
It was a moving and emotional service and afterward, as befitting the rural farm area and Jayme’s upbringing riding horses and carousing in the neighborhood, the stories were earthy and funny. My sons traveled up from California and I rushed over from an event I was participating in in Cottage Grove and I learned a lot about Jayme’s feisty spirit and how much her family will miss her.
To her family I hope they will hold themselves for better times. To Jayme, peace be upon you.
Jayme Sue Austin strangled to death
What we all feared, especially with the broken necklace, is that Jayme was strangled. Dominick Dunne, who wrote a book about the murder of his daughter, Dominique, noted the prosecution highlighted for the jury the intense effort required by one human to strangle another. Horath would have had to maintain the pressure on Jayme’s neck for six full minutes. During the trial for Dunne’s killer, the prosecution set a timer and told the courtroom to be silent for six full minutes… the illustration successfully ended the defense argument the murder was an accident, or sudden crime of passion.
My heart aches for the family, the unimaginable pain of losing a loved one to another member of the family in such a vicious manner will tear them to pieces for a long time to come.
Jayme was a frequent visitor here, when my son, Chris, lived in Coquille. She last visited in September when my kids were up for my birthday. We all just feel so awful and Chris cannot believe he worked with her alleged killer, it has given him a very uncomfortable feeling.
May have been bad blood between victim and alleged killer
According to my son, who was both friends with Jayme Austin and worked with her alleged killer, Pat Horath, at Farr’s in Coos Bay, Jayme and Pat didn’t like each other. Horath also volunteered with the local fire department and my son described him as someone who liked to dress and act the part of the macho firefighter. My son didn’t care for him either but didn’t have any trouble with him. Jayme apparently did not like him at all.
Jayme Austin found brother-in-law arrested
No details available yet, but Jayme has been found, dead, and her brother-in-law has been arrested.
Coquille woman goes missing under suspicious circumstance
Jayme Austin, a young Coquille woman and friend of my sons’ disappeared yesterday.
She asked to go to her mother’s place to take a shower before going to work in Coos Bay. At noon, Gisholt got a call from Austin’s employer, who said Austin never showed up for work. Gisholt went home and found her daughter’s car parked outside her residence, 59376 Fairview Road, but Austin was not there, nor at her home down the road.
Unconfirmed reports indicate there were signs of a struggle and that Jayme may have had a stalker. She was also reportedly ending an abusive relationship with an individual who is believed to be at sea on a commercial fishing boat and not likely responsible for her disappearance. Other reports state that divers are searching a pond in the vicinity of her mother’s home.
Please keep up the good thoughts for her safe return.
Stufflebean threatens lawsuit against The World
Wednesday was a very blustery day in Coos County with Commissioner Kevin Stufflebean threatening to sue reporter Meghan Walsh and The World for ‘lack of credibility’. During a Board of Commissioners meeting Phil Thompson, active in the recall effort to oust Stufflebean last May said an article pointing out the glaring discrepancy between fact and Kevin’s pubic statements regarding his bankruptcy helped affirm the reasons behind the recall. Namely, the commissioner may bend facts and distort truth.
The commissioner advised his television audience and those present he was filing suit against the paper and Meghan Walsh personally for unspecified errors in their reporting. In my humble opinion this was more knee jerk, face saving posturing and I imagine it is very unlikely any lawyer would risk their license to file such a suit. Then an obvious plant stood up and said how wonderful it was that Nikki Whitty and former commissioner, John Griffith and Kevin Stufflebean had the courage to layoff personnel. I wonder if the family of Dean Caudle who died when the reduced road crew didn’t barricade a flooded road last spring feel the same way.
My hope is that Meghan Walsh and The World will investigate how the spreadsheets reflecting the budget figures used to justify the layoff of the road crew showed only $3.5M in January and over $5M during budget work sessions two months later. Were those figures cooked to deliberately deceive the public? That is a very fair question and if the answer is yes a severe ethics violation.
Thank you for this M. I've been asking on The World and The Forum for the Editorial Board at The ...
http://www.larryvanelsberg2010.com/index.html 
Thanks, Den, this is very useful 