C M C M Y K Y K LOCAL OLYMPIAN OCEAN DRONE TESTING Rich Fellers grew up in Coos Bay, B1 Navy tests self-driven model, A8 Serving Oregon’s South Coast Since 1878 TUESDAY,AUGUST 7,2012 theworldlink.com I 75¢ Man convicted of beating girls with belt, hangers BY TYLER RICHARDSON Another 9-year-old girl, holding counts of first-degree criminal The World a teddy bear as she testified, said mistreatment and four misde- Bowman “was not a very nice guy.” meanor counts of reckless endan- A Coos County man was con- She said he would poke her and gering. victed on three felonies late Friday, her sisters with a “diabetes poker,” Besides being convicted on three just days after three young girls and cover their mouths and noses of the felony counts, Bowman was took the stand to testify he had hit with his hands so they couldn’t convicted on one of the misde- them with belts and hangers. breathe. meanors and a lesser included One of the girls, a dark haired The World is withholding the count of fourth-degree assault. 10-year-old, alleged Scot Bow- victim’s name because they are The youngest of the three girls, a man, 40, locked her and her sister juveniles. 7-year-old who also took the stand By Benjamin Brayfield, The World in a garage for three days with an with a stuffed animal, said Bow- Scott Bowman, right, learns of his conviction on three felony counts of criminal mis- “old candy bar, water bottles and Bowman ‘bad’ treatment, one misdemeanor count of reckless endangerment and one lesser includ- no bathroom.” Bowman was facing 10 felony SEE CONVICTED | A10 ed count of assault in the fourth-degree. What’s going on ‘under’NB? Is there really a secret tunnel system? What is the city finding? BY JESSIE HIGGINS middle of the street. The World The whorehouse’s supposed secret entrance is not the only tun- NORTH BEND — Imagine nel rumored to crisscross down- downtown North Bend around town North Bend. Some say tun- 1910: Wooden planks lined Sher- nels ran all along U.S. Highway 101, man Avenue, horses and horseless and up Virginia Avenue from the carriages shared the streets and bay. Rumors say bootleggers upstairs from the saloon that is moved hooch, smuggled in by ship, now Rogers Zoo was a brothel. from the bay to the downtown Legend has it, a tunnel ran from stores during Prohibition. Chinese the saloon’s basement beneath immigrants may have used the Sherman and connected with the tunnels as opium dens. Humbolt Building. That way, men With the summer’s downtown could enter the whorehouse dis- construction — the sidewalk cretely. repaving project and sewer “And you know aliens came replacement — many residents down last week and have wondered took 32 people,”said aloud: Roger Scott, the What have they Photos by Benjamin Brayfield, The World building’s current “There hasn’t found? Fresh Paul Ginsburg explores a partitioned room in the basement of his business, Paul’z Trainz, on Virginia Avenue in North Bend. The owner, laughing. been a rumors are circu- room has a steel hatch that opens onto Sherman Avenue. It was used to move inventory into the basement of the building. “That is about as lating that the true a story as that.” circumstance crews have dis- Scott puts more covered the secret stock in the rumor where we’ve lifted tunnel system. that the old brothel and the Humbolt up the sidewalk Big basements building — an old and everybody They have not, hotel — were con- said Derek Wind- nected by switch- gasps and there’s ham, the city’s boards with a little engineering coor- light bulb repre- a big hole there.” dinator. senting each girl’s Derek Windham “We haven’t availability. City engineering coordinator found anything A worn switch- incredibly unusu- board remains in the al,” Windham building’s upstairs, lodged in the said. But even without discovering long, narrow hallways connecting a secret tunnel system, construc- 11 small rooms. But a tunnel seems tion workers have found evidence more than far-fetched, he said. of North Bend’s history. Scott stood in the building’s Many of North Bend’s down- basement, a mostly raw, open area. town buildings were constructed No ancient tunnel is in sight. between 1900 and 1930. Their “This is it,”he said, throwing up basements are elaborate and mas- his hands. sive. Some extend far beneath the sidewalks and house relics of the Rumrunners’ routes past. Still, the ultimate proof will The building that houses Fat come when the construction crew Cat’s Antiques and Paul’z Trainz makes it to the 2000 block of Sher- man to replace a sewer line in the SEE TUNNELS | A10 Roger Scott shows off the basement to Rogers Zoo, which used to be a tunnel to move coal under Sherman Avenue in North Bend. Vandals strike Charleston seafood company BY GAIL ELBER Loss means layoffs, lower prices for fishermen “Starvin’ Marvin’s,” a name that’s The World stuck with Warman since he owned a chain of pizza restaurants by that CHARLESTON — Vandals Seafoods, each contributed anoth- company won’t cover the $35,000 Without facilities for freezing name. struck OPAC Seafoods here some- er $1,000. worth of damage because the tuna, OPAC can get by on its busi- Anyone with information about time during the night of Aug. 2-3, Warman said Monday that he freezers were outside his building. ness in live eels and crab, but War- the incident can call the Coos destroying the fish processor’s and his employees had worked When the damage was discov- man’s not the only one taking a County Sheriff’s Office at 541- freezers. until midnight Aug. 2. When they ered, neighboring processor Hall- financial hit. 396-3121 ext. 373; visit Now, other fishing-related busi- came in the next morning, they mark Fisheries housed OPAC’s www.co.coos.or.us/Depart- nesses are helping OPAC’s owner, found that someone had broken frozen product for the day until it Hours, prices ments/SheriffsOffice.aspx and Marvin Warman, strike back, into the business’ yard and could be loaded onto a truck, but “Everyone’s going to get a lot funding a $3,000 reward for infor- smashed control panels and con- Warman said no other processors less hours without the tuna,”War- follow the “Report a Crime” link; mation leading to the arrest and densers on six freezers and one have freezer space to spare at this man said of his more than 15 email [email protected]; or call conviction of the vandals. blast freezer, which rapidly freezes time of year. employees. Warman at 541-404-1689. Infor- Warman originally offered a tuna for shipping. “We can still do our live product, “And it’s affecting fishermen mants may remain anonymous. $1,000 reward, and the Western but they took us right out of tuna because we are usually the highest Reporter Gail Elber can be Fishboat Owners Association and Uninsured till we can figure out what to do,”he price.” reached at 541-269-1222, ext. 234, Mike Babcock, owner of Oregon Warman said his insurance said. OPAC is known to fishermen as or at [email protected]. Police reports . A2 Comics . A7 T S S Diane Kane, Hauser E Mitchell Adams, North Bend A H D What’s Up. A3 Sports . B1 Vernon Beebe, Allegany I Larry Hayes, Coos Bay C T E A S South Coast. A3 Classifieds . C4 Paula Walkenshaw, Waldport Mostly cloudy E | Obituaries A5 R N Frank Webb, Coos Bay 67/55 I D Opinion. A4 Puzzles. C5 O F Weather | A10 C M C M Y K Y K C M C M Y K A2 •The World • Tuesday, August 7,2012 Y K South Coast Managing Editor James Casey • 541-269-1222, ext. 239 theworldlink.com/news/local Fly flags at half Coquille Tribe added $125M to economy in 2010 Meetings staff this week TODAY Flags are to be flown at NORTH BEND – Nearly Tribal government and the county and the state — and economic output, including half staff until sunset Fri- 1,300 local jobs and over casino directly created 622 some of those businesses $21.2 million in labor Oregon Department of Fish and day in honor of the vic- $125 million in economic jobs during the study year. hire more workers as a income in Coos County that Wildlife — 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., tims of Sunday’s shoot- output in 2010 can be Their operations accounted result.” The report notes supported an additional 670 Douglas County Library, 1409 ings at a Sikh temple in directly or indirectly traced for over $68 million in that Tribal government local jobs. It also generated N.E. Diamond Lake Blvd.; special Oak Creek, Wis. meeting to consider fish conser- to business and governmen- direct spending output, conducts similar spending, 39.6 million in economic vation plans for coastal rivers. President Obama tal activity of the Coquille including over $33.5 million as well as capital investment output in the rest of Oregon issued the proclamation Indian Tribe, according to in labor income for their projects such as construc- that supported 262 jobs Coos County Board of Commis- Monday. an independent study. employees. tion work. Additional sec- with $15.8 million in labor sioners, Weed Advisory Board — The 2010 study, con- This direct spending has ondary economic impact income. 3 p.m., large conference room, ducted by the Eugene-based secondary impacts in the comes from employees who Compared to the total Owen Building, 201 N.