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...