CCP 122019

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WEEKEND EDITION

Inside

Student Spotlight special section

2019

Friday December 20 2019

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in are striv ts who studen rry County on the Cu ng light eve more in di ed Sh to achi

www.currypilot.com

Brookings, Oregon

SERVING CURRY COUNTY SINCE 1946

Oregon jobless rate is lowest since 1976

Training for the holidays

Jeremy C. Ruark Pilot Editor

O

regon’s unemployment rate dropped to 3.9% in November - the lowest on comparable records dating back to 1976 - according to Oregon Employment Department economist David Cooke. October’s unemployment rate was 4.0% percent, as revised from the originally reported figure of 4.1%. Curry County’s November jobless rate will be reported early next week. Employment department economist Sarah Cunningham told The Pilot earlier this month that Coos and Curry counties both experienced modest job growth in 2019. “With unemployment rates still hovering near their historic lows in

both Coos and Curry counties, and modest job growth in 2019, I predict the trend will continue into 2020,” Cunningham said. “Overall, economic growth along the south coast has slowed down, but it remains positive. The tight labor market poses a challenge for employers looking to hire, but it provides opportunity to those looking for work.” So, while the jobless rate’s drop is good news, it also means that employers are finding it harder to add to their labor force. “The tight labor market, and perhaps the unusually mild and dry weather in November, seem to have influenced seasonal trends in the major industries,” economist Cooke said in a press release. “Industries that normally shed a lot of workers during the autumn months didn’t cut back as

much as normal.” Industries cutting back less than normal in November, and therefore posting seasonally adjusted job gains, included construction (+2,200 jobs), manufacturing (+1,900), and professional and business services (+1,400). “On the flip side, the tight labor market may have inhibited certain industries from hiring as many workers as normal in November,” Cooke said. “Government and retail trade both normally add a substantial number of jobs in November, but each industry hired a few hundred jobs fewer than normal for that month.” According to the most-recent Oregon economic and revenue forecast issued by the Oregon Office of More Jobless on Page A5

Medical issue results in car crash P

olice said a driver experiencing a sudden medical issue led to a car crashing over an embankment and knocking out a fuel pump at the Brookings Fred Meyer gasoline station. According to police reports, Kyle Wallace of Gold Beach was driving southbound on U.S. Highway 101 in Brookings at 3 a.m. Tuesday when the 21-yearold’s white, 2006 Buick LaCrosse left the roadway, drove across the sidewalk and went down an embankment into the Fred Meyer store parking lot, before running into a fuel pump. Investigators said Wallace was taken to the Brookings Emergency De-

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ust in time for the holiday season, members of the Stout Mountain Railway Club have assembled a variety of model trains on display at the Brookings-Harbor Shopping Center, 97900 Shopping Center Ave. The display features several local scenes - including a handmade replica of the Curry Coastal Pilot’s newspaper office. Catch the free train display from 1-5 p.m. daily through Dec. 24. Photos by Jeremy C. Ruark.

Investigators said this Buick, and the Brookings Fred Meyer store gas pump it hit, both suffered extensive damage. Photo courtesy Brookings Police Department. partment for treatment. No other injuries were reported.

A Brookings Fire and Rescue crew helped store employees rope off the area,

and ensured there was no leaked fuel, before the car was towed away.

Curry County sheriff’s deputies arrested Anthony Morse (left), Rocky Rockwell (center) and Michael Marshall. Photos courtesy Curry County Sheriff’s Office.

The saga begins with a stolen auto T

Staff Report

hree Jackson County men are facing criminal charges following a high-speed chase Dec. 14 that began in Gold Beach and ended north of Brookings. According to a press release from the Curry County Sheriff’s Office, the sheriff’s dispatcher received a 911 call at 7 a.m. last Saturday from Gold Beach resident Carey Hargesheimer, who said someone had just stolen his green 1996 Honda from the Gold Beach Motel 6 and driven off southbound from the Rogue River Bridge. As dispatch radioed the Gold Beach Police Department, a Curry County Sheriff’s Office marine deputy saw a car fitting that description heading south on Ellensburg Avenue, along with a red Honda. The deputy attempted to stop the stolen vehicle near the Curry

Index

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County Fairgrounds but it, along with the red Honda, sped up south out of town. The red car turned off as the deputy began pursuit of the stolen vehicle. In an effort to stop the fleeing car, Brookings Police Department officers set up stop sticks and drove north to intercept. A Gold Beach Police Department corporal caught up to the pursuit near Thomas Creek Bridge and assumed the lead. As the chase proceeded along U.S. Highway 101 near Whaleshead viewpoint, the pursing officers reported that the stolen vehicle had begun emitting heavy smoke and looked to be nearly disabled. According to the law enforcement press release, the driver of the stolen vehicle then turned back north and ran off the road near Eggers Road, where he jumped from the moving car into a steep, heav-

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ily wooded and brushy area on the west side of Highway 101. Additional deputies, the sheriff’s department K9 unit, Brookings police officers and the Oregon State Police arrived to set up a perimeter around the area. The sheriff’s search and rescue team, which had been training in Gold Beach with heat-seeking drone equipment, also responded. Once the perimeter was established, the drone was deployed. Although it picked up a heat source, the signal was lost shortly thereafter because of weather conditions and tall trees. The steep, brushy terrain hindered the low officers’ search as well, and it was temporarily called off. However, a search and rescue member spotted the suspect, who ran back into the brush. Deputies, the K-9 team and other officers resumed their search, but approaching darkness and inclement

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weather intervened. Then, at 4:45 a.m. Sunday, the Curry County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call from Jot’s Resort in Gold Beach about a man who had broken into the pool and spa area. A sheriff’s sergeant responded and took a suspect into custody. He initially identified himself as Scott Marshall, and was arrested for trespass and criminal mischief and taken to the Curry County Jail. After being fingerprinted, the man was identified as Michael Marshall, who had a warrant for his arrest out of Jackson County. Gold Beach officers subsequently checked video surveillance footage from the Motel 6 and identified Marshall as the suspect who had stolen the green Honda the prior morning. As for the red Honda, it had been found abandoned on Highway 101 near milepost 324, north of Gold Beach.

Deputies were told it had been reported stolen to the Central Point Police Department, although it had not been entered as stolen at the time of the Curry County pursuit. Investigators said the license plates on the red Honda had been removed prior to law enforcement’s efforts to recover the stolen vehicle. Curry County Sheriff John Ward said Gold Beach police officers and county deputies tracked the driver of the red Honda to near Jot’s Resort and identified him as Rocky Rockwell, 25, of Medford. Rockwell was arrested and taken to the Curry County Jail. The saga continued when the sheriff’s dispatch received another 911 call at 2 p.m. Monday from Jot’s Resort reporting a suspicious person walking around the More Arrests on Page A4

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