Gov. Ted Kulongoski plans to swear in a new Oregon International Port of Coos Bay commission on Friday, beginning a new chapter for the board with five new members to lead the state port.

Kulongoski will hold the ceremony at 1:15 p.m. at Coos Bay City Hall. The event is planned to follow the Senate's expected confirmation of the five new commissioners, scheduled to occur late today.

"It is an honor and it shows the South Coast he's interested in the South Coast and he's interested in the port," said interim port General Manager Mike Gaul, adding that the governor's appearance shows his commitment to the economic development of the Bay Area.

"The new commissioners will be able to talk to him about our needs," Gaul said. "Having his help will be very beneficial to the South Coast."

Kulongoski's appointments to the Board of Commissioners include Brady Scott, chief executive officer of the Coquille Economic Development Corporation; Jerry Hampel, owner of North Bend Oyster Co.; Dan Smith, president and chief executive officer of Bay Area Hospital; Caddy McKeown, southern regional director of ASPIRE and current chairwoman of the Coos Bay School Board; and Dave Kronsteiner, president of Coos Bay-based West Coast Contractors.

Sen. Ken Messerle, R-Coos Bay, said he expects the appointees' confirmation to pass smoothly through the Senate. Messerle said the five nominees will skip the usual process of going through the Senate Rules Committee and their confirmation will be considered directly by the full Senate.

"That's usually a pretty good indication," Messerle said. "I don't anticipate any problems at all."

Messerle said he has discussed each of the nominees with his caucus and that he voiced his support for the governor's appointments.

"I was asked what I felt about them and I said they're really very solid; good managers and people," Messerle said. "I thought the governor did a really good job."

If appointed, the new commissioners will take over the port from a sometimes troubled board that became increasingly divided, particularly over a proposal to use public funds to build a modern marine terminal that could be used to deliver container cargo. The proposal was issued as an effort to reverse the continuing decline of ship calls to Coos Bay but it also was identified as a risky venture in a port-funded study produced the past year.

In December, Kulongoski asked two commissioners to resign after deciding he would not reappoint commissioners Jon Barton and Ingvar Doessing. Commissioner Cheryl Scott resigned a day before Kulongoski announced his decision.

The governor's staff said at the time that there were no specific criticisms of the port but that the agency needed a fresh board of commissioners to take on the challenges faced by the Bay Area. Barton said following the announcement that he felt the governor had no choice but to start the port off with a blank slate, largely because of the division forged internally between the port commission and externally between some of the local maritime community.

In addition to the ceremony, Kulongoski also will visit North Bend High School's new technology center from 11 a.m. to noon.

North Bend School District Superintendent Jim Howard said he was excited about the visit and saw it as an affirmation that the school's newest addition already is producing success.

"We're honored to have the governor visit our technology building," he said. "He's going to be really impressed."

While school levies have become notoriously difficult to pass on the South Coast, North Bend voters in 2001 approved a $12 million bond levy. In part, the funds were used to build the school's technology center, which is open to middle school and high school students from around the region, including Coos Bay and Reedsport. The school has about 140 students.

Howard said the center's goal is to prepare students to enter the high-tech workforce immediately after graduation, if they choose. The first students will graduate from the school this spring although the bulk of those enrolled are in middle school.

Jodi Sherwood, communications assistant for the governor, said Kulongoski had planned to visit Curry County today but that portion of the trip was canceled due to the Senate confirmation hearings and several other commitments scheduled in Salem the same day. A visit to Bandon on Friday also was canceled.

"We know it's been a long time since anyone's been to Curry County," Sherwood said. "We hope to reschedule that real soon."