MIDWEEK EDITION
Tuesday February 18, 2020
Inside Anglers flock for herring See page 3
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SERVING CURRY COUNTY SINCE 1946
Brookings, Oregon
Agness declared Medal of Honor Community I
Curry County Commissioners — Christopher Paasch, Sue Gold and Court Boice — adopted a resolution declaring Agness a ‘Medal of Honor Community.’ Photo courtesy of Curry County
n Wednesday’s Curry County Board of Commissioners meeting the Board adopted a resolution declaring Agness a “Medal of Honor Community.” The recipient who received the Medal of Honor though wasn’t present — it was Nathan Huntley Edgerton, an officer in the Civil War. Edgerton was originally from Ohio, but after serving in the war, he came to Agness where he ran a farm and was later laid to rest at the age of 93. He won his prestigious award in 1898. Lt. Edgerton was a white infantry officer serving the United States Colored Troops. In 1864 his regiment was
Free emergency training offered W
attacked and one Union flag bearer was shot down, then a second, then a third. Edgerton, wounded, lifted the flag up and advanced his regiment until the opponent retreated. Agness is just one of 12 cities or communities to receive the recognition, thanks to the Bend Heroes Foundation, who were successful in getting the legislature to designate the 12 as Medal of Honor Cities/ Communities. The nonprofit foundation was also able to have 451 miles of Highway 20 in Oregon designated the “Oregon Medal of Honor Highway.” The foundation presented Curry County with three plaques in honor of the des-
ignation. The Board proudly accepted the recognition and announced the plaques would be displayed in Agness at the Cougar Lane Lodge. The County Road Department will also create and install road signs announcing Agness as a Medal of Honor Community. A celebration in honor of the recognition, and memory of Lt. Edgerton, will be held Memorial Day weekend. If anyone is interested in assisting in the celebration, contact Board Chair Christopher Paasch, at 541-2473213. For more information about the Bend Heroes Foundation, contact Dick Tobiason, Chair and Project Manager, at 541-390-9932.
End of an era
Linda Pinkham Staff Writer
hat will happen if you have an emergency, but no one can respond right away? Often with a major disaster, help could be hours, days or weeks away. Would you like to be better prepared? Attend a free Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training class this weekend, Feb. 21-23 to learn how to handle a variety of scenarios from forest fires to distant tsunamis, medical disasters to extreme weather events, and even more ordinary events such as an elderly person falling in a grocery store. “CERT training teaches vital skills in how to handle all types of emergencies,” said Ruth Dixon, Curry County’s central CERT coordinator. Classes meet 5-8 p.m. on Friday, and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, with a lunch break from 12-1 p.m. The class is open to adults and youth ages 12 and older. You must attend all three days to receive certification. For youth, the CERT training is the first of three components of the My Youth Preparedness Initiative (MyPI), which helps teens build life-saving skills. Over the 5- to 10-week program, MyPI participants become certified in the use of Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and automated external defibrillator (AED) usage (for heart attacks). The MyPI program also covers developing emergency kits and family communication plans, using technology such as NOAA weather radios, social and smartphone apps, HAM radio and more. MyPI Oregon is part of the National MyPI program that has won awards from FEMA. The CERT program educates members of the community about disaster preparedness for hazards that may impact their area and trains them in basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization, and disaster medical operations. You can learn how to size up a fire, use a fire extinguisher, identify hazardous materials and respond correctly. For search and rescue, you will learn how to properly search a building for survivors, methods to carry people, and survivor extrication including “cribbing” to safely remove debris to rescue survivors. More Training on Page A5
(Top) From left to right, Dee-Ann’s Tea Room owner Barbara Lillis, cook Brenda Nash, general manager Dee Johnson and waitress Cierra Medrano pose for a photo. Dee-Ann’s Tea Room is closing at the end of the month after 38 years in business. Photo by Brian Williams (Bottom) Dee-Ann’s Tea Room is a popular breakfast and lunch restaurant known for its homemade pies. Photo contributed.
Dee-Ann’s Tea Room closing Brian Williams Pilot Editor
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Have you ever used a fire extinguisher? It could save your life in an emergency. MyPI teens and CERT trainees got to practice using them in a 2018 class. Photo courtesy of Ruth Dixon.
Index
Classifieds.................A7-9 Crosswords...............A4 Calendar....................A10 Comics......................A4
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5-day forecast, tides and complete weather: Page A 10
Hi, hon, have a seat,” says Brenda Nash from the kitchen to people entering Dee-Ann’s Tea Room Cafe. Finding a seat in the popular downtown Brookings eatery can be a problem especially since announcing they are closing at month’s end after 38 years in the Abbey Mall at 434 Redwood St. Waitress Cierra Medrano, general manager Dee Johnson or owner Barbara Lillis will get you seated with a piping hot cup of coffee in short order. “We’ve just had lots of fabulous customers that have been coming in for years and years and years,” Johnson said. “Everyone is family here.” Dee-Ann’s Tea Room is closing after their rent was doubled by the building’s new owner. “It’s really sad,” Johnson said. “I want to cry every day. They are not my customers, they are my family. Each and every one of them I know personally. I take soup to their house
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when they are sick. I deliver food if they are not feeling well. It is a very emotional time.” They could have passed the rent increase on to their customers or cut corners in the kitchen. “That is not us,” said Johson. “Would you want to pay $25 for a BLT,” said Lillis, who bought the restaurant along with her late husband, John, back in 2015. The Lillises had been weekly patrons of the Tea Room since moving from Southern California to Brookings in 2012. When Ann and Morris Cates, who hailed from Texas, wanted to retire and get out of the business, the Lollises jumped at the opportunity. “This was my second retirement,” Barbara Lollis said. “I’m sad. I’m going to miss the people most of all. They are More Closing on Page A5
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