C M C M Y K Y K NASCAR CEREMONIES BEGIN Tony Stewart wins at Monster Mile, B1 Photos from Coquille, Myrtle Point, A2 Serving Oregon’s South Coast Since 1878 MONDAY,JUNE 3, 2013 theworldlink.com I 75¢ Police still searching for driver from rollover THE WORLD COOS BAY — Police have identified the driver believed to have walked away from the scene of a rollover crash and fire Thursday night. As of this morning, Oregon State Police say they still are searching for 32-year-old Keith Lewis Smith of Allegany. Smith’s 2003 Chevrolet Blaz- er was traveling northbound on state Highway 241 along the Coos River when it crashed into a tree, rolled over and caught fire. Photos by Alysha Beck, The World Keith Smith Smith, who is known to be Sawdusters sing on the Sawdust Theatre float during Coquille’s Gay ’90s parade Saturday. injured, left the scene under his own power before emergency personnel arrived. Smith previously has been arrested in Coos County for third-degree escape and resisting arrest in 2005 and attempt to elude a police offi- Return to the Gay ’90s cer in 2002. Anyone with information regarding Smith’s location is asked to call the OSP Southern Com- mand Center dispatch at 800-442-2068. Recent rash of copper thefts in Coos County I Pacific Power has been hit seven times since March BY GEORGE ARTSITAS Kelley KinKade stands by her 1940 Chevrolet truck with her father Ron Tavenner dur- Jean Boone with the Coquille Valley Puddle Stompers dances The World ing the Gay ’90s festivities in Coquille on Saturday. in Coquille’s Gay ’90s parade Saturday. COOS BAY — Criminals are stealing copper in Coos County, and it’s worth a lot more than just pennies. In just over three weeks, Coos County has had four copper thefts, including two last week, that Cost questions have left property owners out thousands of dol- lars. Pacific Power alone has had seven copper follow discovery thefts in Coos County since March. “It obviously disrupts our routine,” said Tom Gauntt, spokesman for Pacific Power. “It’s some- of modified wheat thing we take seriously.” The biggest issue for Pacific Power is identify- ing the loss quickly. PORTLAND (AP) — The dis- Monsanto ultimately with- Thieves are able to covery of genetically modified drew its application to have the It obviously cut out a section of wheat in an Eastern Oregon modified variety approved “ the copper wire — The Associated Press field has touched off a debate on after it became clear export disrupts our usually at night when Army Pfc.Bradley Manning,seen here on May 21,is escorted into a the economics and safety of markets didn’t want it. routine. a worksite is empty — courthouse in Fort Meade, Md., before a pretrial military hearing. altering crop genetics. The company said it closed ” so the area remains Critics of genetic modifica- the testing program in a “rig- functional. The cop- Tom Gauntt tion point to a study that esti- orous, well-documented and per absence goes Pacific Power spokesman WikiLeaks trial starts mates the wheat industry audited” process that should unnoticed until stands to lose $94 to $272 mil- have left no modified plants or maintenance discov- 3 years after arrest lion annually if genetically- seed remaining. ers it’s gone. modified wheat is introduced. To ensure the plants didn’t Pacific Power has successfully put out rewards The USDA announced the emerge after the testing, mod- in other counties around Oregon in the past to BY DAVID DISHNEAU discovery of the Monsanto- ified seeds were burned, buried find culprits. Gauntt says they aren’t at that point The Associated Press owned strain on Wednesday. It six feet underground or yet, but added it’s possible in the future. led to Japan postponing a shipped back to Monsanto, FORT MEADE, Md. — More than three years ago, Copper thefts have been an issue for Sgt. Pat 25,000-ton order from a Port- said Bob Zemetra, a crop sci- Downing of the Coos County Sheriff’s Office Army Pfc. Bradley Manning was arrested in Iraq and land grain shipper. entist who worked on the since the late ’80s. charged in the biggest leak of classified information in Unapproved genetically Monsanto fields in Idaho. “We’ve had major copper thefts for a long U.S. history. modified rice found in a 2006 Wide “no-plant” areas were time,” Downing said. “It’s not something really Since then, he admitted to sending troves of material U.S. harvest led to plunging maintained around test sites to new to us.” to the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks and pleaded guilty rice prices and payments from prevent pollen movement from The Coos County Sheriff’s Office can’t be as to charges that would send him to prison for up to 20 the offending company to the modified wheat to other proactive as Downing would like for property years. The U.S. military and the Obama administration American farmers, the Ore- crops. Testing sites were crimes because they simply don’t have the man- weren’t satisfied, though, and pursued a charge of aiding gonian reported. checked two years after the tri- power. the enemy, which carries a potential life sentence. Monsanto tested als for the presence of “volun- Downing has three theories why the cooper The trial on that most serious charge and 20 other glyphosate-resistant wheat in teer” wheat plants that might thefts are occurring more frequently in recent offenses begins today for the 25-year-old former intelli- 16 states, including Oregon, have popped up. weeks: gence analyst from Oklahoma. It’s the most high-profile from 1998 to 2005. The last Center for Food Safety Oregon trial was in 2001, SEE COPPER | A8 SEE WIKILEAKS | A8 according to the USDA, and SEE WHEAT | A8 Fish on Deadly trend Police reports . A2 Comics . A6 T A S E E Huge crowds turn out for the Free Fishing Drug deaths were down in Oregon during E A D What’s Up. A3 R T I 2012, but the number of deaths blamed on Weekend events held at Eel Lake inside C Puzzles . A6 A A E S Cloudy South Coast. A3 T heroin use continued to rise. Y Tugman State Park in Lakeside. R N S A 63/51 I O Opinion. A4 Sports . B1 B Page A3 Page A5 F Weather | A8 WE CAN DELIVER YOUR Need to sell your vehicle? MESSAGE OVER 71,000 TIMES! Call Valerie Today! 541-267-6278 C M C M Y K Y K C M C M Y K A2 •The World • Monday, June 3,2013 Y K Graduation 2013 Coquille graduate Sye Yates gets a hug from Principal Sharon Nelson on As a Coquille High School graduate gets their diploma Sunday after- Sunday during commencement ceremonies. Yates is graduating from The Class of 2013 at Coquille High School enters the school’s gym, noon, cameras came out from family and friends. Lots of photos and the school and it is the last official act of Nelson,who’s finishing her last down the middle aisle lined with family and friends at the start of their videos were made during the ceremony. year as principal of the school. graduation ceremony Sunday afternoon. Goodbyes and fresh beginnings Myrtle Point High School’s Class of 2013 celebrates at the graduation cere- mony on Saturday. See more graduation photos online at theworldlink.com Jessica Ross spoke to the Coquille graduates Sunday afternoon as Natasha Corbit sings a solo during a performance of Eric Clapton’s the student of distinction from nearby Winterlake High School. “Change the World” by the Myrtle Point High School Choir during the graduation ceremony Saturday. YYUM!UM! A few of the hats worn by the Coquille graduates Sunday afternoon had All eyes are on the Coquille High School graduates Sunday after- ALL YOU CAN EAT messages to family or friends. noon as they enter the gym for the last time as students. BRISKET! Coquille photos by Lou Sennick, The World AFTER 5PM Myrtle Point photos by Alysha Beck, The World THIS WEDNESDAY ONLY ALL ORANGE TAG & BARBS 50% OFF JUNE 3RD - 8TH Thrift Store 306 S. 2nd St., Coos Bay 541-808-0644 541.269.9704 Myrtle Point graduates hold on to their mortarboards during a windy graduation ceremony outside Saturday. All donations & money spent in our store — stays local. 1001 N. Bayshore Dr., Coos Bay, OR C M C M Y K Y K C M C M Y K Monday, June 3,2013 • The World • A3 Y K South Coast City Editor Ryan Haas• 541-269-1222, ext. 239 theworldlink.com/news/local Families flock to free fishing TUESDAY SWOCC Chamber Orchestra BY GEORGE ARTSITAS brought his family, including Concert 7 p.m., Hales Cen- The World 10 year-old daughter Macy. ter for the Performing The day started as a simple Arts, 1988 Newmark Ave., LAKESIDE — Teach a kid family outing, but by the Coos Bay. Several solo to fish and he’ll fish for a life- afternoon his daughter said instrumental performanc- time. she was coming back next es. 541-396-5674 That was the mantra at year. Coos County’s Free Fishing “It was great,” said Fla- WEDNESDAY Weekend event at Tugman herty.“We just wanted to get Coos Bay Farmers Market 9 State Park on Saturday, out for the day and we heard a.m. to 3 p.m., Downtown where hordes of fishing-fan there was something fun Coos Bay on Central Avenue.