2015 The Year
in Review
News and events that made headlines in Curry County
Page 2 – Year In Review – 2015
January: Popular restaurant, post office close January
Two Crescent City women are arrested on multiple theft charges for shoplifting at Fred Meyer after leading police on a car chase from Brookings to Crescent City on New Year’s Day. ~~~ The Brookings City Council announces in a workshop its four goals for the year: •have an effective, responsive, ethical city government that is fiscally sustainable; •have a safe community; •influence economic development and improve quality of life; •maintain effective intergovernmental relations. ~~~ The city of Brooking starts planning for a new crosswalk at Lucky Lane and Chetco Avenue where, almost five months earlier, an elderly woman was struck and killed while crossing the highway. ~~~ Curry County commissioners study the idea of implementing a Transient Lodging Tax (TLT) and how the revenue — an estimated $150,000 — will be spent. Voters ultimately reject the tax in November. ~~~ It was all hugs and tears — and colossal hamburgers topped with
roasted onions — at Fely’s Cafe at the Port of Brookings Harbor as customers say goodbye to owner Fely Johnson, who was closing the restaurant after more than a decade in business. She reopened the restaurant at a new location in June. ~~~ Sheriff John Ward’s Citizen Advisory Committee starts meeting every week to meet the deadline to get yet another tax levy on the May ballot to fund law enforcement in Curry County. ~~~ The repercussions of a magnitude 9.0 earthquake along Oregon’s coast are more dire than originally anticipated, Brookings City Manager Gary Milliman learns at a Southwest Area Commission on Transportation meeting. According to a report made by Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) officials, residents on the coast could be isolated for as long as two to three years — not months. ~~~ Despite emotional pleas from Harbor residents, the Harbor Post Office closes at the end of January, with all operations moving to the Brookings Post Office. All customers are assigned new P.O boxes at
Pilot photo
Fely Johnson of Fely’s Cafe receives a hug from a customer before her popular eatery closes for good at the Port of Brookings Harbor. It reopened at a new location in June.
the Brookings office, and they keep their mailing addresses. ~~~ The Port of Brookings Harbor assumes responsibility for two events — a summer farmers market and the annual crab festival — in an effort to make them bigger and better. ~~~
Oregon legislators file more than a dozen marijuana-related bills, giving early insight into how they’ll tinker with a new law that will legalize recreational marijuana in July. ~~~ Halfway into its two-year project, the county-appointed Home Rule Charter Committee decides to
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2015 – Year In Review – Page 3
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disband after unanimously recommending that Curry County remain under a general law form of government. At the same time, the committee votes 3-2 to recommend the Curry County commissioners consider creating a county administrator position to address daily departmental issues and free them up to concentrate on issues that affect the county on a larger scale, such as the impending fiscal crisis. ~~~ The Brookings City Council discusses ways to explain to voters how a 4-cent gasoline tax will help the city keep up with its anticipated road maintenance and repair. Voters approve the measure in May. ~~~ A couple watch in horror as a fishing boat capsizes near the beach at Paradise Point, dumping its three passengers into the water. Two of the passengers survive. ~~~ With a cloudless, sunny sky and the promise of fresh food and live music, the Port of Brookings Harbor’s crab festival is highly attended and hugely successful, organizers say, drawing several thousand to the port. ~~~ The Brookings City Council agrees to support the state’s transportation agency recommendation to paint crosswalk stripes and build an island in the center of
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Page 4 – Year In Review – 2015
February: Agencies explore annexation option
Photo by Grant Fraley
A Medford teen catches his limit of surf perch while fishing from the south jetty at Sporthaven Beach at the Port of Brookings Harbor.
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ing the closure of the post office in Harbor. National music artists Hot But-
tered Rum, T Sisters and the Dead Winter Carpenters are among the seven bands featured at Brookings’ newest event: the Wild Rivers Music Festival at Brookings’ Azalea Park. ~~~ City officials use the help of AmeriCorps volunteer Austin Dunn in their search for the source of the fecal coliform that resulted in warnings to Mill and Harris beachgoers last summer. Dunn bushwhacks his way through underbrush and skirts private property to collect storm water samples throughout the city. ~~~ More than 100 people take a step back into time with the celebration of the 100th birthday of the Central Building between Center and Wharf streets on Highway 101. ~~~ The Port of Brookings Harbor’s Board of Commissioners decides not to pursue a study that examines the possible effects of annexation of the port to the city of Brookings. Meanwhile, the city continues to pursue its own study and has invited the port to participate.
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~~~ The Brookings Post Office experiences a spike in business follow-
Brookings city work crews scramble to clear plugged culverts and storm water drains, but otherwise Curry County escapes the brunt of a storm that causes major flooding and downed trees Grants Pass and Medford. ~~~ Gold Beach residents and officials are seeing firsthand the impacts of the county’s financial problems in that a jail with a reduced number of beds results in an increased number of released prisoners on the streets. ~~~ There’s a lot of foot stomping and hand clapping in the Chetco Grange Community Center during the 50th anniversary celebration of the Oregon Old Time Fiddlers’ Association. More than two dozen musicians gather to perform in large groups, small ensembles and solo for the concert that attracts a full house. ~~~ Brookings-Harbor Chamber of Commerce President Arlis Steele negotiates with Travel Oregon to assume management of the Crissey Field Visitor Center on a more permanent basis since the state agency announced it would close the facilities in the winter.
2015 – Year In Review – Page 5
March/April: Men recognized for saving lives March
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general obligation bonds voters approved in 2013 so they can proceed with groundbreaking on the new hospital in Gold Beach. ~~~ The Brookings City Council unanimously approves a disc golf course at Azalea Park. It will be the area’s fourth such course. The other three are at McVay State Park south of Harbor and two at Salmon Run golf course. ~~~ The Pacific Fisheries Management Coalition announces that the Wild Rivers Coast will have a 130-day salmon fishing season — good news for anglers and business owners alike. ~~~ Two positions on the Port of Brookings Harbor port commission are up for grabs in the May election. Incumbent Jim Relaford faces off against Roger Thompson for Position 2. Skip Watwood is challenging incumbent Roy Davis for Position 3. ~~~ Curry County residents gather to hear from law enforcement officials about the impending legalization of recreational marijuana. The officers answered questions about how the legalization of the drug would affect citizens.
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nephew is treated for hypothermia after the boat they were in capsized near the mouth of the Rogue River in Gold Beach. ~~~ Curry County Sheriff ’s Deputy Terry Brown’s efforts to save a Brookings teen from drowning in the ocean last year garner another recognition: the Carnegie Medal. The award, issued to 20 recipients annually by the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission, is given throughout the U.S. and Canada to individuals who risk their lives to an extraordinary degree while saving or attempting to save another life. ~~~ The city of Brookings decides to reexamine its sign code — for the 14th time since 1971 — after newbusiness owners express frustration about the rules regarding flags, banners and other advertising tools allowed and not allowed in town. ~~~ The Brookings-Harbor School Board hires Sean D. Gallagher to be the district’s superintendent beginning July 1. ~~~ Curry Health District officials hope to take out a $2 million line of credit against the $10 million in
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Brookings resident Douglas Landers is called a hero for saving two of his grandchildren from their burning home before dying in the flames. Three people — Douglas, 54, his wife, Kelly, 52, and their 4-year-old granddaughter Arianna — were killed in a Brookings fire that destroyed the Landers’ manufactured home on Dodge Avenue. ~~~ A 29-year-old Crescent City man faces charges of attempted aggravated murder after he hit Brookings Police Officer Zane Van Zelf with his car, breaking his leg. ~~~ Curry County Commissioners David Brock Smith and Susan Brown vote to have the county pay fellow Commissioner Tom Huxley’s monthly insurance premiums — $110 a month — after hearing from employees how his refusal to accept health benefits is affecting theirs. Huxley abstains from the vote. ~~~ Brookings is about six months away from having its own Emergency Department (ED) at Curry Health Network’s clinic on Fifth Street after the state grants a temporary rule toward establishing
Page 6 – Year In Review – 2015
May: Curry County residents brace for drought ■■Health district asks south county to annex; voters reject levy funding sheriff ’s dept. but approve city gas tax The Port of Brookings Harbor takes strides to ensure the safety of people and property after many visitors voice concern about the lack of consistent law enforcement and security. One of the port’s major steps to address crime is to hire a private security company, Knight Security, to patrol the area. Initially used to keep an eye on the port during the evenings, the company expands its services to daytime patrol as well. ~~~ The Brookings City Council approves a resolution agreeing to accept Curry Health District’s invitation to join its district and supports putting the annexation question to county voters in November. ~~~ Local veterans propose turning the abandoned green building, formerly known as the “grey ghost,” located at the Port of Brookings Harbor, into a veterans’ service center. ~~~ The installation of a new crosswalk near the intersection of Lucky Lane and Highway 101 in Brookings is slated to begin after Memorial Day, almost nine months after a woman was struck and killed by a vehicle there. ~~~ The warmest winter on record in the United States combined with almost no snow pack in Western states will likely result in a summer of early and large fires, low rivers and the continuation of what is now being called a “mega-drought,” officials in various fields agree. Curry County officials say it’s too early to predict how the
drought will impact the region, but they keep an eye on local river levels and water supplies.
Pilot photo
Brookings Veteran Larry Smith, who has fought in three wars, gives a thumbs up to people applauding him during Monday’s Memorial Day Ceremony at the Port of Brookings Harbor. He died a short time later.
Pilot photo
As drought conditions continue throughout Oregon and California, the volume of water in the Chetco River drops to near-record low levels in May and June.
~~~ The Curry Health District asks voters in the southern end of the county to join the district — and with that membership, get a new 25,000-square-foot emergency department that could include a much-needed dialysis center, infusion therapy for cancer patients, a stationary MRI, surgery, outpatient observation beds and additional health-provider offices. The cost is expected to be between $8 million and $10 million. Meanwhile, the district breaks ground on the site of the new Curry General Hospital in Gold Beach. ~~~ The Central Curry School District begins the search for an interim superintendent following the resignation of superintendent Dennis Johnson, effective at the end of the school year. ~~~ Measure 8-81, asking voters to fund the sheriff ’s office for the next three years, is defeated by more than 1,000 votes in the May 19 election Tuesday. Election returns showed it was defeated 3,916 to 2,926, or 57.2 to 42.7 percent. Voter turnout totaled 6,842 out of 13,043. ~~~ People will pay 4 more cents per gallon of fuel — but drive on wellmaintained streets — after Brookings voters approve Measure 8-80. The measure won, 1,009 to 582, or 63.7 to 36.6 percent. Voter count totalled 1,591. ~~~ As Brookings’ 76th annual Azalea Festival unfolds, people find plenty of opportunities to meet this year’s festival grand marshal: Betty Jean Waite.
2015 – Year In Review – Page 7
July: Quake reports spurs local discussions Pilot photo
Debbie Rodriguez hands one of six crates containing rescue dogs to Curry County Animal Shelter executive director Mark Curran.The dogs came from California.
June: Fire season begins As drought conditions worsen across much of the Western United States, the flow of the Chetco River dips to 72 cubic feet per second, about half of its normal rate for this time of year. Still, it’s enough to meet the demands of Brookings and Harbor residents and no water restrictions are required. ~~~ To the delight of many a burger fan, Fely’s Cafe reopens in Harbor after closing at the Port of Brookings Harbor. ~~~ A reduction in space at the Curry County Jail and the subsequent booking and release of more prisoners, including those with mental illnesses, keeps authorities busier on the streets. Officials also are concerned that inmates with mental illness are not getting the help they need. ~~~ Additional burning restrictions are imposed as the wildfire danger increases throughout Oregon. ~~~ Julie Schmelzer, Curry County’s economic development director, proposes a project to install new lighting along the 84-year-old Isaac Patterson span in Gold Beach, greeting visitors to town after a long drive down the
lonely, dark coastal highway. ~~~ The fire season officially begins, accompanied by a series of lightning storms that ignite fires in the wilderness east of Brookings. Firefighters quickly contain the blazes. ~~~ The graduation ceremony for the Brookings-Harbor High School class spotlights 93 graduating students. Thirty-nine seniors graduate from Gold Beach High School. ~~~ The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) begins construction of a crosswalk on Chetco Avenue near Lucky Lane — the result of citizens’ demands to make the area safer after a Brookings woman was killed there. ~~~ Curry County experiences a growing pain it hasn’t experienced in quite some time: New jobs drawing people to the area — and nowhere to house them. And the rental shortage showed no sign of easing by the end of 2015. ~~~ About 140 employees of Freeman Marine Equipment chip in $10,000 to install lights to illuminate the Isaac Patterson Bridge in Gold Beach.
Recreational marijuana is legal in Oregon as of July 1, but users won’t be able to purchase it from retailers until Oct. 1, under a bill approved by a state legislative committee. The measure allows early sales through existing medical marijuana dispensaries, of which there are at least three in Curry County. ~~~ Residents of Cedar Valley say their concerns are invalidated and ignored after state officials settle a case between the Curry County citizens and pesticide pilot Steve Owen, who illegally sprayed the people, then lied to state authorities about it during an investigation. ~~~ Marlyn Schafer, a Wedderburn resident and former Curry County commissioner, is sentenced to 20 days under house arrest, two years of probation and fined $4,000 after a jury found her guilty of stealing thousands of dollars from the Gold Beach Senior Center, where she was the treasurer for six years. ~~~ Thousands of locals and visitors flock to the Southern Oregon Kite Festival, which celebrates its 23rd anniversary. ~~~ The Brookings City Council considers placing a measure on the May ballot asking voters to implement a 3 percent tax on the sale of recreational marijuana. ~~~ Curry Health Network officials eagerly await news that the Oregon Health Authority is expected to make permanent the rule allowing Curry General Hospital to split its
Pilot photo
Kites fill the sky during the annual Southern Oregon Kite Festival.
license so its clinic in Brookings can have an emergency room. ~~~ The Gold Beach Police Department swears in its newest officer, Cheyene Alexander, filling the department’s last remaining position after being short-staffed for about a year. ~~~ A recent swarm of quakes and quake-related news articles — particularly one in the most recent edition of the New Yorker magazine — has coastal residents and officials talking about “The Really Big One” should the Cascadia Fault beneath us slip. A magnitude 9.0 quake on the Cascadia Fault could produce the worst natural disaster in the history of America, experts predict.
Page 8 – Year In Review – 2015
August: Salt infiltrates Harbor’s water supply For the second year in a row, Harbor’s drinking water supply is infiltrated by salt water because of the high ocean tides and the low level of the Chetco River. ~~~ Festival season in Curry County hits its stride with the Cape Blanco Country Music Festival, the Pirates of the Pacific Festival, Wild Rivers Music Festival and Art in Stout Park, to name a few. ~~~ Wildland firefighters and support teams trickle in to Curry County, preparing to attack a 777-acre fire just east of Collier
Butte peak in the Kalmiopsis Wilderness, 17 miles southeast of Gold Beach. ~~~ Long-time Brookings resident Dick Keusink, a journalist for 69 years and former owner of the Curry Coastal Pilot, dies at the age of 93. ~~~ Chinese acrobats, carnival rides, pirates and parrots, motorsports, interactive drumming and a comedic hypnotist are among the headliners for this year’s Curry County Fair.
Pilot photo
Firefighters burn vegetation to halt the progress of the Collier Butte fire in the wilderness in central Curry County.
September: Criminals keep authorities busy
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on a car chase from Brookings to a Smith River beach, where he eluded capture. ~~~ The fish weren’t exactly biting, but that didn’t stop hundreds of anglers from competing in the annual Slam’n Salmon Ocean Derby, which lured thousands of people to the
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over, Curry County Sheriff John Ward announces he will run for reelection next year. ~~~ A Brookings man and two women linked to numerous car break-ins and thefts up and down the coast this summer are arrested. The man was also wanted for stealing a vehicle the week before and leading police
A Crescent City man suspected of punching the manager at the Brookings Bi-Mart and fleeing with stolen goods got as far as Chetco Avenue before he is tasered and arrested in the middle of the street by a Brookings Police officer. ~~~ After a grueling year of financial uncertainties and staff turn-
2015 – Year In Review – Page 9
SEPTEMBER Continued from Page 8
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Azalea Middle School students receive new instruments courtesy of a grant obtained by Stagelights Musical Arts Community.
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November ballot. ~~~ Brookings Mayor Ron Hedenskog announces he will run for one of two Curry County Commissioner seats in the May 2016, election, but he’s going to do so at the foundation level and without spending much money.
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~~~ Passionate Curry County residents debate the merits and drawbacks of a proposal to annex the southern end of the county into the Curry Health District. Measures 8-83 and 8-84, both dealing with the potential annexation, are on the
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first time the virus was detected in Curry County was in 2007, when a dead crow found near Port Orford tested positive. ~~~ The inaugural Baconfest at Salmon Run Golf Course draws about 1,500 people, all there for live music, vendors and, of course, everything
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Individuals, conservation groups and elected officials all voice their support for a ban on a proposed nickel strip mine on the Wild Rivers Coast, including six waterways in Curry and Del Norte counties. The movement to ban mining follows a proposal by a foreign mining company, Red Flat Mining Co., to build several test drill sites in Curry County. ~~~ The quick actions of Brookings Police Officer Jaired Freeman save the life of a woman trying to commit suicide by jumping from the Chetco River bridge. The incident was captured on the officer’s body camera and shared via the Curry Coastal Pilot’s Facebook page. ~~~ After five months without a commercial carrier, Curry and Del Norte County residents are once again walking into the Del Norte Regional Airport twice a day to check their bags and hop on a short one-hour and 20-minute flight north. PenAir’s first flight out of Crescent City took off without a hitch, carrying mostly media personnel and company executives safely to the city of Portland. ~~~ West Nile virus is detected a second time in Curry County — this time in a horse in Brookings. The
Page 10 – Year In Review – 2015
October: High sales for marijuana dispensaries Curry County medical marijuana dispensaries enjoy brisk business after recreational cannabis becomes legal in Oregon on Oct. 1. ~~~ Brookings authorities tighten security around school campuses Thursday and Friday as a precaution in the wake of the mass shooting at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg. Residents gather for a candlelight vigil at the Port of Brookings Harbor. ~~~ Harbor Water offers free, potable water to its customers as it continues to battle salinity levels that have been yo-yo-ing from “okay� to “ick� since mid-summer.
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homecoming game. ~~~ Fire officials proclaim fire season over in Curry County, which fared better than other areas in Oregon and Northern California
Pilot photo
Drew Farmer and Jess Fitzhugh are crowned homecoming queen and king during halftime at Brookings-Harbor High School’s home game.
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~~~ Curry County will make Oregon Coast history when it unveils a 60-mile bike path that begins at Battle Rock Park in Port Orford, then heads east along the Elk River. Turning around at Butler Bar Campground, the path heads back to Highway 101 and then to Cape Blanco State Park, before ending at the Port Orford Heads State Park. ~~~ Brookings-Harbor High School students Drew Farmer and Jess Fitzhugh are crowned homecoming queen and king during the
ning strike Aug. 2 and burned more than 16,000 acres in the Biscuit Fire area before it was extinguished thanks to a rainstorm in September. ~~~ Chetco Community Center board members dip into their endowment fund for the first time ever — and lay off Executive Director Janice Scanlon and an unnamed dishwasher — to prevent the facility from reducing services to more than 650 people. ~~~ A cost-benefit expert says having an Emergency Department (ED) in Brookings will be a venture that, over time, could be worth about $277 million for the Brookings-Harbor community — and save between 250 and 500 lives over 50 years. ~~~ The body of a Brookings man, Roy Fritts, missing for more than a week is found along the Winchuck River. The cause of death was likely hypothermia and a possible fall from a steep area. ~~~ Curry County Attorney Jerry Herbage, the longest-serving county counsel in the state and longesttenured employee in the county, announces his retirement.
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2015 – Year In Review – Page 11
November: Crab delayed, whale washes ashore November
Voters in the south half of Curry County overwhelmingly reject Measure 8-84, killing a proposed annexation of that area into the Curry Health District. Voters both in the existing district and those living outside the district had to approve separate ballot measures (8-83 and 8-84) for the annexation to proceed. ~~~ A large, dead blue whale measuring approximately 80 feet and weighing nearly 20 tons washes ashore near Ophir, about 7 miles north of Gold Beach. Many people visit the site for a close look at the leviathan. ~~~ In light of the statewide legalization of recreational marijuana, the Gold Beach City Council considers a marijuana tax and adopting it as early as January. ~~~ The traditional Dec. 1 commercial
Pilot photo
The curious investigate the carcass of a blue whale that washes ashore near Ophir.
crab season is delayed for the entire Oregon Coast due to above average
levels of domoic acid, a toxin that can be fatal, found in Dungeness
crab off certain parts of the coast. The ban closure continues through December. ~~~ As the holidays draw closer, a group of volunteers called “A Coastal Christmas in BrookingsHarbor” spearheads an effort to decorate Brookings parks, storefronts, and parts of Highway 101 ~~~ Curry County’s planning department nixes a proposal to implement business licenses in unincorporated areas, agreeing with citizens’ complaints that details were too vague and it wouldn’t go over well with business owners. ~~~ Longtime Brookings resident and Academy Award-winning Hollywood director Elmo Williams dies at home at the age of 102. Many attend a public memorial in December for Williams who, with wife, Lorraine, was involved in many community endeavors.
December: Series of storms pummels coast Cash flow problems at Curry Health Network means the health district will not open its promised Emergency Department in Brookings in the immediate future. At the same time, Chief Financial Officer Ken Landau agrees to step down, and 18 to 20 people will be laid off, among other cost-reduction measures. ~~~ Back-to-back storms bring rain, hail, high winds, lightning and up to 18 inches of rain(Dec 1-Dec. 19) One storm produces a freak gust of wind, possibly a microburst, that damages several businesses and property in downtown Brookings. ~~~ Oregon State Police are conducting a forensic autopsy to determine the identity of a man whose body
washed ashore at Brookings’ Mill Beach. ~~~ Facing a major financial meltdown, Curry Health Network CEO Ginny Razo says the warning signs were there, and she should have seen them from the beginning. At the same time, the network announces it is closing the “hold room” at Curry General Hospital, where mentally ill patients are observed, as a cost-cutting measure. ~~~ A safe place for abused children — Wally’s House — opens in Gold Beach. The new facility offers services such as forensic interviewing, victim advocacy, medical services, case review and case tracking.
Pilot photo
A tree is one of several damaged in the Brookings area during a major winter storm.
Page 12 – Year In Review – 2015
2015 The Year in Photos
Curry County Search and Rescue volunteer George Edwards recovers a truck found submerged in Cedar Creek in December.
The world’s best windsurfers compete at the annual Pistol River Wave Bash in June.
Dogs find plenty of room to play at a new dog park constructed at Brookings’ Stout Park this summer.
Brookings resident and legendary film director Elmo Williams dies in November at age 102.
Authorities find a suspected car thief hiding in heavy brush near Mill Beach in Brookings and escort him to a waiting patrol car in late June.