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WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2024

Brookings, Oregon

Brookings City Council Makes Multiple Committee Appointments years. His term will run until April of 2027. The next resignation was At the Brookings City from Councilman Malberg, who Council meeting on February resigned from his position on the 12th, the council made a full Planning Commission. He also slate of appointments to the submitted his letter of resignation Planning Commission, Parks back in December, shortly after and Recreation Commission, and being appointed to the City Budget Committee. Council. First on the docket was the Malmberg’s seat is being resignation of Ray “Skip” Hunter, ﬁ lled by Nicholas Chapman, who sat in the ﬁrst position Vice Principal of Kalmiopsis on the Planning Commission. Elementary school and member Hunter cited health issues as of the Elks Lodge. In his the reason for stepping down application for city council, when he submitted his letter Chapman stated what he hopes to of recommendation back in bring to local government in his December, 2023. term which lasts until April, 2024. Hunter will be replaced by “I hope to bring fresh Blake Peters, a plumber and ideas to the City Council and Brookings resident of over 34

BY NATE SCHWARTZ Country Media Inc.

collaborate with other members to do the work that makes this an excellent place to live and raise my children… I have two master’s degrees in education and education administration” wrote Chapman. Following was the resignation of Councilwoman Phoebe Pereda from the Budget Committee. Pereda also submitted a letter of resignation following her appointment to the City Council. She will be replaced by Curtiss Lunsford, a retiree who has lived in the City of Brookings since 1990. Lunsford’s past community involvement includes volunteering for the Rotary Club, Marine Corps League, Elks Lodge, and with the City of

Brookings itself. His term will run until February 2025. The City Council also reappointed multiple committee members who’s terms had recently expired. This includes Steve Kerr, retired Brookings resident of over 65 years. Kerr has already served one 2-year term on the Parks and Recreation Commission and will continue until 2026. Jamie Armstrong is another reappointed member to the Parks and Rec Commission. Having lived in Brookings for almost 40 years, Armstrong has four years of experience on the Parks Commission, and will continue through 2026. The ﬁnal appointee was

Julie VanHoose, who will be rejoining the Budget Committee. The Director of the Chetco Community Public Library District, VanHoose has already served one term on the Budget Committee and on the BrookingsHarbor School District Budget Committee. These appointments bring experience and a lot of time within the Brookings community to the table. Brookings will be hopeful for successful terms for all committee, commission, and council members. For more city news please visit CurryPilot.com or pick up a physical edition of the Curry Coastal Pilot today!

Fin whale washes ashore at Sunset Beach BY JEREMY C. RUARK Country Media, Inc.

Courtesy photo from the Seaside Aquarium

This Fin whale was discovered washed ashore at Sunset Beach.

The Seaside Aquarium has released details about the Feb. 12 stranding of a large Fin whale at Sunset Beach along the North Oregon Coast. “As the whale was washing ashore, the surf was pushing it around making some people believe that the whale was still alive at the time of stranding,” Seaside Aquarium states in a Facebook post. “Unfortunately, before authorized responders had a chance to examine the whale, someone removed the entangling gear. While it may have seemed like a good idea at the time, this compromised the stranding and entanglement investigation. “ A necropsy was performed at the site of the stranding Please see WHALE, Page 11

BOEM finalizes wind energy areas in Oregon following extensive engagement and feedback from the state, Tribes, local residents, ocean users, Development of wind energy federal government partners, and other members of the public. The projects off the southern final WEAs are based on reducing Oregon Coast is one step potential conflicts of ocean users, particularly on commercial fishing. closer to reality. But during public meetings in 2023 in Brookings and Coos The Bureau of Ocean Energy Bay, locals voiced opposition and Management (BOEM) announced concern about the projects. Tuesday, Feb. 12, two proposed One of his biggest concerns is projects, one offshore at Coos Bay, how the construction and placement and the other off shore at Brookings, of turbines would impact the have been finalized. ecosystem and fishing grounds in The BOEM said the projects the areas. support the Biden-Harris Charleston commercial fisherman administration’s goals for deploying Nick Edwards said the Oregon Coast 30 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind energy capacity by 2030 and 15 GW offers a great place to fish because of its abundance of species. He’s of floating offshore wind energy worried that could be lost to floating capacity by 2035. The WEAs were developed offshore wind.

BY JEREMY C. RUARK Country Media, Inc.

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“We don’t want the demise of our ecosystem to be the unintended consequences of offshore wind,” he said. County commissioners from Coos, Curry and Douglas counties passed proclamations opposing the ﬂoating offshore wind turbines. John Sweet, one of three Coos County commissioners, said although he helped pass a county proclamation opposing the potential for ﬂoating offshore wind, he is still undecided. “I grew up right on the coast,” he said. “I worked in the ocean transportation business for almost 40 years. So I’m aware of the ocean conditions here and that gave rise to some concern that this might not work.” The two WEAs total

Please see ENERGY, Page 10

Tribe disappointed with wind energy decision The Confederated and waited until the Tribes of the Coos, eleventh hour to send Lower Umpqua, the Tribe an email and Siuslaw Indians about its decision. This (“Tribe”) are extremely illustrates well the disappointed in failure of BOEM to today’s decision by meet its obligations to the Bureau of Ocean consult with the Tribe Energy Management and to meaningfully (“BOEM”) to finalize consider its concerns. the Wind Energy We would have at Areas for offshore least expected a phone wind development call from BOEM. We in Oregon. Today’s appreciate the Governor decision authorizes and her staff in reaching approximately 195,012 out to us. ” “BOEM’s acres for wind energy press release states development, in that it has ‘engaged’ areas that are within with the Tribe, but the Tribe’s ancestral that engagement has territory, contain amounted to listening viewsheds of significant to the Tribe’s concerns cultural and historic and ignoring them and significance to the providing promises that Tribe, and are important they may be dealt with areas for Tribal fishing. at some later stage of “Despite a federal the process,” said Chair obligation to consult Kneaper. “BOEM has on a government-tofailed to recognize that government, the Tribe wind development has learned yesterday of impacted the Tribe and BOEM’s impending has failed to assure decision from officials that wind energy with the Oregon development will do Governor’s office,” said good and not harm the Tribal Council Chair Tribe, its members, Brad Kneaper. “BOEM and the greater coastal had the courtesy to community. The communicate its Tribe will not stand decision to the State by while a project is well ahead of its Please see TRIBE, Page 10 public release

Phone Number: 541-813-1717 • Address: 519 Chetco Avenue, Unit 7, Brookings, OR 97415 • Email: Circulation@CountryMedia.net 3

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