Continue to Stand in the Gap: Coos County

Coos Bay, Oregon
And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his works with rejoicing. They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters; These see the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep. Psalm 107: 22-24

Coos County is deep on the southern edge of the Oregon coast. Not that there isn’t anything new to say about Coos, but a portion of an earlier post is repeated for some of this one. The rest can be read here. Additional information is here and here.

Coquille is the county seat and there is a three-person County Commission to oversee the various county duties. The three County Commissioners are Bob Main, John Sweet, and Rod Taylor. Sheriff Gabriel Fabrizio is the new sheriff elected in 2022. The Assessor is Steven Jansen with Julie A. Brecke the County Clerk and Paul Frasier the District Attorney.

In 1853 the Oregon Territorial government sectioned off the western parts of Umpqua and Jackson counties to create Coos. Empire City, now part of the town of Coos Bay, was the first county seat, but later the citizens voted to move it to Coquille (named after the local Native American tribe, pronounced Ko-quell), population currently around 4,000. 

 Like the counties surrounding it, Coos County is heavily forested. Agriculture, commercial fishing, and timber products are the main economic activities in Coos County. During the gold rush of the 1850’s a man named Charles McFarlin came west seeking gold and then decided to raise cranberries instead, from a variety he developed in Massachusetts. He began in Tillamook County, then moved to Coos County, and thrived there. Now the county leads the state in cranberry production and is said to produce the best-colored (deepest red) cranberries in North America. 

Coos County, Oregon
Not being very familiar with Coos County, a couple of things surprised me. One is that the principal city in the county, Coos Bay (known as Marshfield until 1944), is the largest city along Oregon’s coast with a population of 16,000. The second surprise is that Coos Bay is the largest port in Oregon except for the Port of Portland. There have been plans afoot for several years to dredge the port and create what would truly be a major international seaport. This, in conjunction with plans to bring a natural gas pipeline (the Jordan Cove project) across southern Oregon to a terminal at Coos Bay (where it would be shipped internationally), creates a lot of controversy as well as potential economic growth in the area. These two projects have been delayed due to a variety of permits, and environmental and financial problems. The oil pipeline project was suspended in 2021, but plans are moving ahead to develop the port.

 A couple of days ago, news outlets reported that a top White House Aide visited the site for the planned Port of Coos Bay’s Pacific Coast Intermodal Port. Senator Ron Wyden and Representative Val Hoyle escorted Infrastructure Coordinator Mitch Landrieu on the tour. Plans to build the 2.3 billion shipping terminal are moving forward with improvements planned for the airport and the Coos Bay Rail Line. They believe this new terminal and improved rail line will reduce shipping costs across the country and relieve the maxed-out pressure on shipping capacity on the West Coast. Of course, the new terminal is seen as providing much-needed jobs in southern Oregon, including jobs in the building of workforce housing. It appears grants and tax legislation are falling in place to make the new terminal a reality.

Pray for these changes in Coos County economic status and all potential changes the new terminal would bring.

Coos County also shares recent concerns over school safety along with the rest of the state with emails containing bomb threats being sent (from outside the U.S.) to multiple school districts.

PS: For those interested, the Oregon Strategic Prayer Call meets Friday by Zoom at 12:00 pm to pray for Oregon. This week includes prayer for Coos County. We begin logging on at 11:30 am.

Zoom Link:  www.zoom.us/j/5419997777?pwd=999777   

Zoom Cloud Meetings app on Smartphone (download from your app store): Meeting ID: 5419997777 and password: 999777 


 


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