Port Orford News
THE MOST WESTERLY WEEKLY IN THE CONTIGUOUS 48 STATES
Volume 53, No. 3
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Inside
Brice
Price - Fifty Cents
City council to meet twice monthly
Public Policy
workshop on
police department
is set for Jan. 27
By Matt Hall
PON staff writer
A look back at some
of the history of the
Port Orford Lifeboat
Station.
Page 4
Port Orford, Curry County, Oregon 97465
The Port Orford City Council
met for the first time Thursday
night, Jan. 15 with all new and
returning councilors; David
Smith, John Hewitt, Bill
McArdle, Tim Pogwizd,
Caroline Clancy and Scott Luhr
present.
Absent from the meeting due
to health reasons was new
Mayor John Roorbach.
Also present were city staffers
Bev Manes, Allen Wagner, Mike
Murphy and City Attorney
Shayla Kudlac-McKenzie.
Hewitt, who was voted
Council President, presided in
the absence of the mayor.
In citizen’s concerns:
◆ Wendy Thomas of Team
Jubilee informed the council
that a celebration of the 150th
birthday of the State of Oregon
would be held on Feb. 14. (For
more information see “Exhibits
wanted,” in the briefs.)
◆ Mary Colozzi pointed out
that parking at Battle Rock Park
was highly valued for tourism.
“Approximately 22,000 vehicles
came in and out last year came
through the Visitor’s Center,”
she said. “About 200,000 people
a year - we need every available
space.”
◆ Jack Pruitt echoed
Colozzi’s sentiments, adding
that parking spaces “with primo
views should be left open to the
See Council page 2
P.O. Chamber awards banquet set for Jan. 30
By Carol Berger
PON staff writer
Bioswale
PHSʼs Phillip Adde
spoke about Rain
Gardens at Rotary.
— Page 5
Basketball
The Port Orford and North
Curry Chamber of Commerce
will hold its Annual Awards
Banquet on Friday, Jan. 30 from
6-8 p.m. at the Port and
Starboard Restaurant.
Awards will be given out for
Business of the Year,
Organization of the Year,
Volunteer of the Year, Special
Achievement, and Lifetime
Achievement. The winners of
the Christmas Lighting Contest
At its Monday, Jan. 12 meet-
ing, the Chamber held its elec-
tions for 2009 board officers.
David Smith will continue as
president, Jim Billings as vice-
president, Dian Marple as
See AWARDS page 4
Life with Brice: Kevin Lent fished in cold waters
High in 1982.
Much credit goes to his Father
Glenn Lent for teaching him a great
work ethic as a youngster. Kevin and
his brother Phil got their sea legs as
children/ teenagers on their Dad’s
gill-netter near Homer, Alaska.
Kevin’s life led him virtually to
most all fishing ports in Alaska as
well as professional maritime experi-
ence with the oil companies. The
boat “Big Valley” served as a
research vessel for ARCO and he
served aboard this vessel.
The most terrifying event of his
life was a trip to shore for a critical
part to shorten sea miles and days
(for repair to a main engine) of trav-
el, so he donned a survival suit and
put towards shore in a “Boston
Whaler” launch. (This happened in
the Chuchi Sea which is one of the
Local man spends
eight seasons king
crabbing on the
famous Alaskan
fishing vessel
ʻTime Banditʼ
By Brice Wagner
PON staff writer
The Pirates play hard
but both squads lose
to Days Creek in
Saturday night
Skyline League boys
and girls hoop action.
— Page 8
will also be announced, and
Visitor Center volunteers will be
recognized.
If you haven’t already made
your reservation, please contact
Jim Billings, Chamber vice-
president, at the Visitor Center
(332-4106) as soon as possible.
The saltwater runs in Kevin Lent’s
veins.
Kevin grew up in both Alaska and
Port Orford and has literally lived a
charmed life escaping life threaten-
ing situations by some kind of built
in instinct. Here is a short excerpt of
his fishing and maritime experiences.
Kevin was born and worked on the
sea at least for a portion of his early
years. He graduated from Pacific
PON photo
by Brice
Wagner
Kevin
Lent of
Port
Orford
has
fished
off
Alaska.
See LENT page 4
Coming up
Port of Port Orford news
Port Orford Rotary Club
Port holds its second ‘Master Plan’ workshop
The Port Orford Rotary Club meets each Thursday,
at noon, at the Port Orford American Legion Hall.
Pacific High Basketball
Seniors get in for free at all PHS basketball games.
The next tip off is at 6 p.m., Friday, Jan. 23 vs. Elkton.
Blanco Bell Ringers
The Blanco Bell Ringers will meet for class at 6 p.m.,
Monday, Jan. 26 at the First Community Church.
Also inside
By Carol Berger
PON staff writer
The Port of Port Orford held the second
Port Facility Master Plan Workshop on
Thursday, Jan. 15. Led by David Cheramy
of Maritime Consulting International, the
workshop was attended by Katy Eymann,
Project Manager of Oregon Solutions
(Portland State University).
Cheramy recapped some of the informa-
tion from the first workshop, held in
November, and said that the port is finan-
cially ‘fragile’ and needs to deal with shoal-
ing, the jetty, and its present SPWF loan
before moving on to utilize the Port Master
Rays Food Place, McKayʼs Market
Plan, which assumes that these issues are
“fixed.” At the moment, there is not much
breathing room for the port, which needs
another $260,000 a year to break even.
Cheramy’s focus in preparing the Port
Master Plan has been on unused and under-
used port assets. For this workshop, he had
prepared a detailed notional layout of build-
ings and parking areas, along with estimated
costs.
The live fisheries building would have a
233 x 50 foot first floor, with a mezzanine
open to the public and public restrooms. It
would also have the fish tanks and HVAC
system. The second floor would have three
tenant labs (near water, deep ocean, and
seafood) and three tenant offices, along with
the port office, a shared conference room,
and an office for docents. Because this
building needs to be welcoming and inviting
to the public, it would have as much glass
as possible, be open and accessible (through
roller doors with air curtains in good weath-
er), and be “not slab sided … not fortress-
like.” The building would cost $2.7 million,
which includes demolition of the current
buildings, site preparation, replacing the
current drain, and upgrading the utilities.
The second building, with commercial
retail space, would be adjacent to the live
fisheries building and would be linked to it
by a bridge between the second floors of
See PORT page 4
CCEC Town Hall meeting: Port Orford, Part II
Cost-cutting measures include a switch to a four-day week
News briefs
Mardi Gras/Etouffee is coming up
No Mardi Gras celebration is complete without a mask.
What do you like: Feathers, sparkles, veils, paint, or metal?
Make a mask just your way at a Port Orford Art Council
sponsored class, at the POAC office, 1320 Oregon St.,
Saturday, January 31, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., or the following
Saturday, February, 7, 1 to 3 p.m.
No registration is required. Complex masks (i.e. head-
dress or armature types, painted dip-n-drape, or papier
mache’) should be started, at least, the first session to be fin-
ished on the second. Simple decorated half-masks may be
done in the second session alone.
Facilitators for the classes are Weld and Elma
Champneys, Rose Panozzo, and Linda Nelson. Prices for
projects range from $5 to $15, plus additional options.
Etouffee dinner / dance, to be held a week following this
last class, is a masquerade-friendly event. Here’s your
chance to do Mardi Gras in style.
Schedule change for Port Orford GED classes
Adult Basic Education and GED classes will meet on
Thursday evenings at the Port Orford Library to take advan-
tage of evening library hours. Southwestern Oregon
Community College is offering this class for those who want
to study for their High School Equivalency Preparation
(GED) or just want to increase their basic skills in writing,
communication or math.
Students will meet at the Jayel Gibson Conference Room
from 5 - 8 p.m. Students may enroll at any time during the
term. ABE/GED classes are also available in Gold Beach on
Wednesday evenings. The cost for the 11-week session is $25.
For more information or to register, those interested can
contact the Southwestern Gold Beach Center at (541) 247-
2741 or the Port Orford Center, which is open on Thursdays,
at (541) 332-3023.
See BRIEFS, page 2
By Carol Berger
PON staff writer
Editor’s note: The following is a contin-
uation of a report Coos-Curry Electric
Cooperative Town Hall held in Port
Orford on Thursday January 8. Due to the
length of that report and limited space,
here is the remainder of that report.
For a full report, readers are invited to
refer back to the Jan. 14 issue of the Port
Orford which can be accessed online at
portorfordnews.net.
Cost-cutting measures, cont’d
CCEC’s new donation policy limits any
given donation from CCEC to $300-500.
Groups must be non-profit, local, and fill
P.O. Planning Commission
Sustainable development discussed
Grace Bonnell
raises the issue at a
short meeting
By Carol Berger
PON staff writer
The Tues., Jan. 13 Planning
Commission meeting was a
short one, as the Battle Rock
Heights Subdivision’s attorney,
David Koch, requested an
extension to the February 10
meeting, and the commission
granted it, shortening the length
of the meeting considerably as a
result.
The meeting started with
elections of officers. Dave
Holman will continue as chair,
Karen Auborn will be the new
vice-chair, and Patty Clark will
remain secretary.
Grace Bonnell of the Joan of
Arc presented the commission
with a packet of information on
Sustainable Land Development
International. SLDI Executive
Director Terry Mock owns
property just south of China
Mountain and spoke with the
Port Orford Watershed Council
last May about sustainable land
development. Bonnell said that
SLDI helps small- to medium-
sized communities to develop
sustainable communities.
Stating that development is
going to happen in Port Orford,
“whether or not we want it,” she
said that it is up to the Planning
Commission to guide that devel-
opment. “Port Orford could
become a ‘poster community’
… you are on the cusp ... We
could be a small, historic, artis-
tic, fishing, sustainable
See PLANNING page 5
out a form. Individuals, and private, reli-
gious, or political organizations are not eli-
gible. Only eight-tenths of one percent of
revenue goes to donations, and the bulk of
those go to help youth in some way.
The switch from five eight-hour days a
week to four ten-hour days for employees
See CCEC page 8
Oregon’s birthday stamp
PON photos by
Carol Berger
The Port Orford
Post Office cele-
brated the
release of the
new Oregon
Statehood
stamp on
Wednesday,
Jan. 14 with bal-
loons and with
a cake made by
clerk Marie
VanAart.
Postmaster
Wade Lindsay
holds a sheet of
the stamps that
celebrate
Oregonʼs 150th
birthday.