MIDWEEK EDITION
Tuesday December 3 2019 www.currypilot.com
Brookings, Oregon
SERVING CURRY COUNTY SINCE 1946
Wild weather – by the numbers T
Linda Pinkham Staff Writer
he wild windstorms of the “bomb cyclone” that struck Curry and Del Norte counties on Nov. 26 were universally awe inspiring, no matter where you were from Cape Blanco
south to Crescent City. But was it the same experience for everyone? Not quite. So, which locations experienced the worst of the storm? The National Weather Service keeps track of not just wind speeds, direction
and gusts, but also the rainfall, humidity, atmospheric pressure, temperatures, visibility and more. Samples are taken every 20 minutes. During last week’s storm, Pilot and Triplicate staff members monitored sustained wind speeds and gusts from the National
Weather Service monitoring sites in Gold Beach, Brookings and Crescent City. And the weather service records weather-related statistics as well, which comes in handy for comparing weather year to year, and region to region. Locally, the weather
stations in Gold Beach and Crescent City are at their airports. Brookings has a monitoring station at its airport, but also at an agricultural monitoring station. The highest recorded wind gust during last week’s weather was at the Cape Blanco headland - 106 mph
- according to Marc Spilde of the National Weather Service in Medford. The more southerly towns of Gold Beach, Brookings and Crescent City didn’t come close to reaching Cape Blanco’s officially recorded More Weather on Page A5
Agencies respond to boat fire Jeremy C. Ruark Pilot Editor
E
A U.S. Coast Guard fire boat assists from the water to help extinguish the boat fire. Photo by Jeremy C. Ruark.
mergency crews rushed to Brookings Harbor shortly before 11 a.m. Monday to the scene of a reported boat fire. “When we arrived on scene, we could see heavy smoke showing from the boat,” said Harbor Fire District Assistant Chief Joshua Frame. “We set a 2-inch line down to start sending water to the boat as soon as possible. We had a Brookings Fire & Rescue unit directly behind us laying a 5-inch water line.” Frame said there was no one aboard the docked 85-foot Miss Pacific when fire crews arrived. The U.S. Coast Guard sent two fire boats to assist in containing the blaze, and a Coast Guard helicopter flew overhead to render any assistance needed. Firefighters from Gold Beach and Smith River assisted Harbor Fire and Brookings Fire & Rescue. The cause of the fire remained under investigation. More Fire photos on Page A2
Brookings emergency care department opens C
Jeremy C. Ruark Pilot Editor
urry Medical Center Emergency Care Department received its license from the Oregon Health Authority and began providing services Monday morning at its Brookings facility, at 500 5th St. According to the Curry Health Network, the Brookings emergency department will be staffed by physicians and registered nurses, as well as registered respiratory therapists, and supported by 24/7 imaging and laboratory services. “Lives are going to be saved,” Brookings
City Councilor Ron Hedenskog told The Pilot as he joined others during a ribbon-cutting ceremony Sunday at Curry Medical Center. Patients who utilized the Brookings walk-in care - often referred to as urgent care services - now will also have the opportunity to make same-day visits by appointment, by calling 541-412-2000. The appointments are for non-emergency care … a patient who may be slightly ill or a little hurt, and wants to be seen quickly. The appointments will be for 15 minutes and designed for a single, non-chronic condition that has lasted for fewer than seven days. Appointments are available from 8 a.m.-6
p.m., Monday through Saturday. In early October, Curry Medical Network officials said the agency had entered into a partnership with Advanced Health, a coordinating healthcare group, to open the Brookings emergency department. Curry Health Network CEO Ginny Williams said Advanced Health had offered a short-term, $1.2-million line of credit to cover operating expenses until the emergency department’s services can generate sufficient cash flow. The annual operating cost for the Brookings emergency department is projected to be $4,929,000, Williams said, to be offset by
revenue generated by the department. The Brookings facility walk-in clinic has been converted for use by the emergency care department. Williams said the Curry Medical Center emergency department anticipates that 90% of all visits will result in patients receiving care and being discharged, while about 7% will be admitted to a hospital. An estimated 3% of patients will receive stabilizing treatment and be transferred directly to a facility that provides a higher level of care, she said. For more information, call 541-412-2000.
Community feast
A true Gold Beach Thanksgiving F
Jeremy C. Ruark Pilot Editor
amilies, friends and a variety of community members gathered for a free Thanksgiving meal last Thursday at the Curry County Fair Events Center in Gold Beach. Organizer David Hoenie, with Curry Fair Friends, said the free meal included turkey and all the trimmings, and has been provided each Thanksgiving Day for the past eight years. This year, about 850 people were served, he said. Hoenie said all of the food was donated, totaling about $4,000 in value. More True on Page A2
Index
Classifieds.................B3-6 Crosswords...............A4 Calendar....................B1 Comics......................A4 Art Scene..................B3
Weather HIGH LOW
Mon 62 46
Past four days
Sun 56 48
Sat 48 37
Fri 48 37
5-day forecast, tides and complete weather: Page B1
The room at the Curry County Events Center filled during the free Thanksgiving meal. Photo by Jeremy C. Ruark.
Tides LOW HIGH LOW HIGH
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