MIDWEEK EDITION
Tuesday February 11, 2020
Inside ‘Almost Maine’ Pelican Players comedy pg. 2
www.currypilot.com
SERVING CURRY COUNTY SINCE 1946
Brookings, Oregon
Head Start officially opens
Country Media adds to staff in Brookings Kenfield is new publisher, Williams is new editor
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(Top) Oregon Coast Community Action Director Mike Lehman thanks everyone for their support during the remodel of South Coast Head Start in Brookings on Friday. (Bottom) Curry County Commissioners Court Boice and Sue Gold cut the ribbon on Friday at South Coast Head Start’s grand opening in Brookings. Photos by Brian Williams
Ribbon-cutting held Friday at Brookings facility
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Brian Williams Pilot Editor
outh Coast Head Start showed off its newly remodeled facility in Brookings on Friday afternoon. Nearly 50 people attended the ribbon-cutting in front of the red schoolhouse at 420 Redwood Spur. Oregon Coast Community Action (ORCCA), a private nonprofit organization, operates South Coast Head Start (SCHS). ORCCA Director Mike Lehman thanked everyone for supporting the project over the years. “What this does is creates a great opportunity for kids in this community,” said Lehman, who recently announced he is retiring as director at month’s end. “At the same time what it does is it means we will be here.” South Coast Head Start is a comprehensive early childhood program that serves children and pregnant women of income-eligible families throughout the Southern Oregon Coast. The program is funded by both state and federal grants. All services are provided at no cost to the families. The building used to be a public library and former site of Southwest Oregon Community College. Head Start moved into the Brookings facility in 2012. The remodeling includes an additional Early Head Start classroom, allowing Head Start to expand and provide a school experience for
children from birth to age 3, and an additional Head Start classroom for ages 3-5. “Our staff and parents are so excited to have a permanent home in Brookings,” Child and Family Services Director Wendi Baird said. “This facility, which has been designed specifically for early childhood classrooms not only provides a safe place to provide quality services but also opportunities to grow and expand. We are so grateful to all our partners who supported this project.” South Coast Head Start is serving eight to 10 children in the homebased program and provides services to 38 families. Since November 2018, the programs have been operated from a temporary site at 525 5th St. in Brookings. Head Start initially received a $1.6-million Community Development Block Grant for the project. More Facility on Page A5
Staff Report
wo key management positions have been added to the Curry Coastal Pilot and the Del Norte Triplicate. Ben Kenfield, most recently general manager of the thrice-weekly Herald Journal in Logan, Utah, has been named to the newly created position of publisher of The Pilot in Brookings and The Triplicate Ben Kenfield in Crescent City, both owned by Country Media Inc. While at the Herald Journal, Kenfield also oversaw the non-daily newspapers in Tremonton, Utah, and Preston and Montpelier, Idaho. Previously, Brian Williams he spent some four years as director of revenue at the daily Klamath Falls Herald and News, and nearly five years in advertising management roles at the daily Roseburg News-Review. Meantime, Brian Williams has been named to the newly created position of editor of both The Pilot and The Triplicate. For the past 20 years, Williams served in a variety of writing, editing and management positions at daily and non-daily newspapers primarily in California. He had been editor and general manager of weekly newspapers in Paso Robles and Atascadero since June 2018. Before that, Williams held news management positions in Porterville, Watsonville and Marysville, Calif., among other locations. “These are two media veterans with extensive knowledge of southern Oregon and California,” said Country Media President Steve Hungerford. “We, and our readers and advertisers, are going to benefit greatly from their sales and reporting experience at newspapers both big and small.”
New faces at Event Center They’re planning a good old-fashioned fair Linda Pinkham Staff Writer
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New Event Center Manager Kaitlyn Coleman is energized by a ‘whirlwind of crazy’ to bring back a ‘reminiscent’ fair. Photo by Linda Pinkham.
Index
Classifieds.................A7-8 Crosswords...............A4 Calendar....................A6 Comics......................A4
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5-day forecast, tides and complete weather: Page A6
The fair IS happening!” So say Kaitlyn Coleman and Michelle Wills, the two new smiling faces in the office at the Event Center on the Beach. Coleman is the Event Center manager and Wills is the office manager. Both have been on the job just two weeks, but have been quite busy getting things done while developing clear ideas about their long-term goals. They already have the carnival and the Bulls and Barrels (mini-rodeo) contracts in place. They are still working on getting all of the entertainers lined up, but have some of them booked. “Our 4-H is doing great. All of the superintendents for displays, like fiber art, creative arts and floral are amazing superstars,” Coleman said. “They’ve got it all under control, and everything is going as planned. It’s going good. We’re in a whirlwind of crazy, but it’s happening.” The dates for this year’s fair are Tuesday, July 28 through Saturday, Aug. 1. The theme will be “Surfers, Sand and Everything Land.” “I was born and raised here, and I grew up doing 4-H and being involved with the fairgrounds for a really long time,” Coleman said. Her family was also involved with 4-H and the fair as volunteers, and her grandmother was one of the ‘court More Fair on Page A5
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Michelle Wills is the new office manager at the Event Center (and likes to fish). Photo courtesy of Michelle Wills.
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