Standing in the Gap for Oregon

Umpqua River, Douglas County, OR Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.  Psalm 51:10 We now move south into the South West Region of Oregon, comprised of Douglas, Coos, Curry, Josephine, and Jackson Counties. This region includes the extreme southern coastline bordered on the south by California. Josephine and Jackson Counties lead us, ultimately, into the Outback of Lake, Harney, and Malheur Counties. But that will come later. This week we are looking at Douglas County, just south of Lane and stretching from the Umpqua National Forest in the east to Winchester Bay and Reedsport on the coast. Like Lane, it is a large county, one of the ten largest in the state. Roseburg is the county seat. Douglas County is governed by a three-member Board of Commissioners who are elected to four-year terms and paid a salary. Currently, they are Tom Kress (chair), Chris Boice, and Tim Freeman. The District Attorney is elected to a four-y...

Umpqua River, Douglas County, OR He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. Psalm 23:2 We are moving south from Lane County into the southern coast region of Oregon, or really the Southwest Region. This is a five-county region in the southwest corner of the state, with three counties bordering the Pacific Ocean: Douglas, Coos, and Curry. The largest, and next in line after Lane, is Douglas County. Douglas, like Lane, stretches from a little strip along the coast where Reedsport and Winchester Bay are located, to the Umpqua National Forest on the eastern edge of the county. Highway I-5 cuts down through the middle, running through Roseburg, the county seat, about half-way down. The county was named for Stephen A. Douglas, a politician who supported Oregon statehood. This is a heavily timbered county with 1.8 million acres of commercial timberland. About 1/3 of the working population has jobs in the forest products industry. Other industries are...

Umpqua River God  brings death and  God  brings life, brings down to the grave and raises up.  God  brings  poverty  and  God  brings wealth; he lowers, he also lifts up. He puts poor people on their feet again; he rekindles burned-out lives with fresh hope, Restoring dignity and respect to their lives— a place in the sun! I Samuel 2: 6-9 MSG Douglas county was first established in 1852. By 1915 various boundary changes with neighboring counties resulted in the present configuration, which basically encompasses the Umpqua watershed in south-western Oregon. Roseburg is the county seat.     Interstate 5, the highway running north and south along the west coast from Canada to Mexico, bisects Douglas County. Roseburg is situated along I-5 and originally was platted in the early 1850’s at the intersection of the Umpqua River and Deer Creek. From the beginning of the mining and settlement period, Roseburg has been a hub. Aaron Rose, for w...