Oregon

Jack Carrerow

Like leisure suits and the Pet Rock, riding an ATV through the streets of Winchester Bay became a thing of the past.

At Wednesday morning’s meeting of the Reedsport/Winchester Bay Chamber of Commerce, it was announced that Winchester Bay’s business and residential area would not be open to ATV traffic at next year’s DuneFest .

Forest Supervisor Jeff Walter recently announced a change in location for a proposed off-highway vehicle (OHV) trail system on the Ochoco National Forest. Until recently, an interdisciplinary team of natural resource specialists had been working on a draft proposal for a trails system in a 26,000-acre block of the McKay Creek watershed. The team was looking for opportunities to provide OHV recreation in an area that has received considerable resource damage from OHV use in the past.

Lori Tobias

PACIFIC CITY -- Police still don't know what led to the horrific crash of two sand rails at Sand Lake Recreation Area, but according to the deputy charged with patrolling the popular dunes, it was only a matter of time.

"There are a number of these overpowered vehicles," said Tillamook Sheriff's Deputy Jim Horton. "They are capable of very high speeds, and most are capable of pulling the front wheels off the ground and keeping them that way as they tear off across the flats."

Jack Carrerow

Thursday morning’s meeting of the Reedsport/Winchester Bay Chamber of Commerce became quite heated at times, as Winchester Bay residents voiced their opposition to chamber allowing all-terrain vehicles access to the Winchester Bay business district during last month’s DuneFest.

A half-dozen residents packed the conference room at the Umpqua Bank and told the chamber board directors, they were given little or no input on allowing the ATV riders access to otherwise off-limit streets of the town.

Damian Mann

From his backyard in White City, Ron Probst often watches in alarm as another off-road vehicle kicks up a quarter-mile rooster tail of roiling dust while roaring across Hoover Ponds.

Soon the cloud of dirty air wafts over the Corey Road house he built a year ago, settling over everything.