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Shots fired Police investigate drive-thru shooting Page 3

SERVING CURRY COUNTY SINCE 1946

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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2023

Brookings, Oregon

Bomb threats close several Oregon schools

Districts, including “ B r o o k i n g s - H a r b o r campus buildings and be connected. become aware of any B r o o k i n g s - School Brookings-Harbor, Coos School District leadership did not find anything “It was determined potential threat received and Bandon, Dec. 11, made the decision to suspicious. there is no credible threat in person, electronically, Harbor school Bay, promted police and school dismiss early Tuesday, Dec. Many other school at this time, and we will posted to social media, or responses. 11, due to a threatening districts across Oregon resume regular classes anywhere else, please notify receives threats districts’ B r o o k i n g s - H a r b o r message received by one of received a similar and activities tomorrow. a school administrator or School District Superintendent Helena Chirinian posted the following on the district’s Facebook site.

JEREMY C. RUARK Country Media, Inc. Bomb threats reportedly made at several Oregon

our staff members. Following our emergency dismissal process, the Brookings Police Department searched all

communication to the one we received, and it is reported that the FBI is investigating numerous threats that are believed to

Teachers and counselors will be ready to support students who are struggling to feel safe tomorrow. “If you or your student

trusted adult right away. “As always, thank you for your partnership See THREAT, Page 11

Watching whales Annual event returns

JEREMY C. RUARK Country Media, Inc.

regon State Parks will once again host Winter Whale Watch Week at 15 sites along the Oregon Coast Wednesday, Dec. 27 to Sunday, Dec. 31. Every year thousands of gray whales migrate south through Oregon’s waters at the end of December, and state parks invites visitors to the coast to see their journey. In a previous interview with Country Media, OPRD spokesman Chris Havel said people are fascinated by the whales for good reason. “People are clever and good at inventing and building ways to survive and thrive, and wildlife, like whales, do the same thing through sheer awesome power,” he said. “There’s still some See WHALES, Page 12

Fentanyl emergency declaration part of fixing Portland JULIA SHUMWAY Oregon Capital Chronicle Pilot Guest Article

range from the immediate – picking up trash – to the long-term: building 20,000 homes in downtown Portland by 2035. They’re an attempt to address downtown Portland’s myriad issues, including homelessness and public drug use, that have created difficult conditions for businesses and residents and caused the city’s national image to plummet. “Sometimes turning on the TV, looking at billboards around the city or checking out new stories is like reading an obituary of Portland written by people who never truly knew it at its best,” Kotek said. “The truth is, Portland was never Portlandia.”

Gov. Tina Kotek and members of her Portland Central City Task Force say the city needs more police officers on the ground, tax breaks for businesses and a ban on public drug use. Kotek and members of the task force, which has met privately since August, presented their recommendations at Monday’s annual Oregon Leadership Summit, an annual gathering of business leaders and public officials at the Moda Center. Recommendations to revitalize the state’s struggling largest city

INDEX

Fast Fact Chief among the recommendations is a proposal that the state, the county, and the city each declare a 90-day fentanyl emergency and establish a command center, led by the state, to triage the crisis. As Portland goes, the state goes While the efforts are focused on one city, Kotek said Portland’s success or failure matters across the state. She has visited 35 of 36 Oregon counties on her year-long listening tour, and in every part of the state she heard that Portland is Oregon’s economic engine, she said. “As Portland goes, the state goes. And I think

leaders from around the state understand that,” said Dutch Bros CEO Joth Ricci, who hosted the event. The task force includes Kotek, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler and Multnomah County chair Jessica Vega Pederson, along with more than three dozen other elected officials and business and nonprofit leaders. It has met three times behind closed doors. Some of its recommendations,

including banning public drug use, will require legislative approval. Others will require lawmakers to open the state’s coffers: The Oregon Department of Transportation will ask for up to $20 million to clean up trash and graffiti on state property during the next year and a half. And they’ll require cooperation from the state, Multnomah County and the city of Portland, something that’s been difficult in the past. “We all want the same thing,” Wheeler said. “We want this city and this state to recover and the only way we can do it successfully is through collaboration. We have

to work together because nobody individually holds the key to success.” Vega Pederson described the recommendations as “very provisional,” noting that many task force members only saw the full list a few days ago. The county, city and others will consider which recommendations to implement and how to do so, she said. Statewide emergency

fentanyl

Chief among the recommendations is a proposal that the state, the county and the city each See DRUGS, Page 11

Phone Number: 541-813-1717 • Address: 519 Chetco Ave, Ste 7, Brookings, 97415 • Email: Circulation@CountryMedia.net

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