LATEST NEWS 

By STEVE WICK Oct 21, 2026 The opponents of Measure 36-241 have repeatedly said that we must remove the Yamhelas Trail right-of- way from the Transportation System Plan, because the real intended use is as an expensive boondoggle; Light Rail, which could cost the citizens of Yamhill County millions of dollars. Yup, that was a plan many years ago, but it is no longer physically feasible, or economically viable. Why? First, there is no way light rail (Tri-Met/ Metro) could com

October 17, 20265:18 PM ET Heard on All Things Considered By Joel Rose and Rolando Arrieta Organizers hope to connect more than 150 existing rail-trails, greenways and other paths spanning more than 3,700 miles across America. NPR's Joel Rose checks on their progress in western Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio. https://www.npr.org/2026/10/17/nx-s1-5973071/biking-along-the-great-american-rail-trail

By Philip Forve Oct 15 Too often this debate is framed as farmers versus trail advocates. In my mind, that's "living with the tyranny of or." We do not have to live that way here in Yamhill County. We are a county with many industries and each one is important in a balanced economy. Oregon has shown that we are better off with balanced solutions that address the needs of all stakeholders and look long-term. For example, our historic decision to make our beaches a public spa

November 23, 2025 Who will be using the Yamhelas Westsider Trail, the YWT? For over 13 years of planning there have been public meetings, summer festival information booths and even a professional survey to gage how the community is thinking regarding the YWT. A frequent concern is who we will be using the trail. That topic is almost always brought up by someone who is in a degree of opposition to the trail. The assumption seems to be that we will be invaded by people from

Mar 20, 2026 By SCOTT UNGER The Yamhill Board of Commissioners officially removed the Yamhelas Westsider trail from future county plans on Thursday, March 19. Two-thirds of the board advised the community to move on from the controversial planned 15-mile pedestrian trail. “The county tried for many years to get this project done. The Land Use Board of Appeals said it’s not passing muster and it just kept costing us more and more money and more and more people filling these ro

By Scott Unger • Of the News-Register • February 27, 2026 The Yamhill County Board of Commissioners held the first reading of an ordinance that will officially remove the Yamhelas Westsider trail from county planning documents at its meeting Thursday. The board voted in January to eliminate the long-planned 15.25-mile trail from the county’s Transportation System Plan. The ordinance and findings will make the decision official when the second reading and a vote is held at a M

The Yamhill County Board of Commissioners voted 2-1 Thursday to remove the Yamhelas Westsider Trail project from future plans. In opposition, Commissioner Bubba King argued 80% of people who submitted testimony wanted to keep the long-planned 15.25-mile trail in the county Transportation System Plan and motioned to send the matter to a public vote.