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Exhibit to open at Manley Art Center ........... A10

SERVING CURRY COUNTY SINCE 1946 www.currypilot.com

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2022

Brookings, Oregon

Alcorn holds early lead in commissioners race THE PILOT Brookings City Councilman Brad Alcorn appears to be heading to a surprisingly easy victory in the race for Curry County commissioner. Alcorn is facing Beth Barker-Hidalgo in the race to replace outgoing Commissioner Chris Paasch for the seat on the three-person board of commissioners. The initial vote count at 8 p.m. on Tuesday Nov. 8 showed Alcorn leading the race with 6,269 votes ahead of Barker-Hidalgo who had 3,651 votes. That gave Alcorn about 63 percent of the ballots counted and Barker-Hidalgo held the remaining 37 percent of votes. The general election is the

second time Alcorn and Barker-Hidalgo faced off this year as the two also competed in a three-person primary in May. In that vote, Barker-Hidalgo won easily, but Alcorn kept it close enough to force the runoff that was held Tuesday. In the race, Alcorn touted his law enforcement experience as well as his experience serving on the Brookings City Council. Barker-Hidalgo said her experience in the nonproﬁt sector would help the county gain grant funding. She also said she would be a moderate voice on the board of commissioners, which has been plagued with heated debates over the last few years. Despite the race being unaf-

ﬁliated, the two candidates also discussed their party afﬁliations, with Alcorn a Republican and Barker-Hidalgo a Democrat. In Curry County there are 19,157 eligible voters, and 10,499 (54.8%) of ballots had been received, as of Nov. 8, according to the Oregon Secretary of State. Barnes headed to victory in race for treasurer David Barnes was the only candidate with his name on the ballot in the race for Curry County treasurer, but Douglas Baker made a late write-in attempt to take the seat. After early voting, Barnes has received 92.62% of the vote, with just over 7% for write-in candidates.

Brad Alcorn

Beth Barker-Hidalgo

Hedenskog headed to victory in mayor's race Council THE PILOT In Brookings, many residents were keeping their eye on the mayoral race. Early results showed Mayor incumbent Ron Hedenskog leading the three-person contest with 48 percent of the votes. Candice Michel came in second to Hedenskog with 27 percent of the votes – holding a small lead over Anthony Bond, who received 24 percent of the initial votes counted. Hedenskog appears headed to victory after he was appointed to the mayor’s seat in 2021. During the campaign, Hedenskog touted his experience on the city council and as mayor, which it appears most voters favored. Brookings city council position 4 appeared to be the closest race with Michelle Morosky holding a 54 percent edge over Teresa Lawson’s 46 percent votes in the ﬁrst count of ballots released. In Brookings Council position 3,

Ron Hedenskog Andy Martin held a 62 percent edge over Diana Cooper’s 38 percent. Brookings fuel tax headed to victory Despite the high fuel prices in Southern Oregon, voters in Brookings have voted to reinstate the city’s fuel tax. Through early voting, 60.22% of voters voted to continue the fuel tax

Michelle Morosky

Andy Martin

while just under 40% voted against it. The vote will also raise the city tax from 4 cents per gallon to 5 cents per gallon. Voters countywide and in Brookings also voted to ban the sale psilocybin in their communities with both votes passing handily. The initial count represented 57.65 percent of active registered voters with 11,045 ballots counted

of 19,158. Ballots postmarked on or before Nov. 8 will continue to be counted by the County Clerk Elections Divisions. Ballots deposited in an ofﬁcial drop box must be received by 8 pm on Election Day to be counted. All statements regarding the election are unofﬁcial at this time.

Hundreds of mushrooms displayed at Festival THE PILOT Mushroom enthusiasts from near and far gathered at Brookings Salmon Run Golf Course and Event Center over the weekend to view and learn about more than 200 varieties of local, wild mushrooms. Festival goers had the opportunity to look at and learn about many different kinds of mushrooms from experts in an elaborate display inside the event center on Nov. 5 and 6. The Wild Rivers Mushroom Festival was back after a two-year hiatus at the new larger venue. In addition to the mushrooms on display, vendors were on hand selling

fungi-related products, including dehydrated mushrooms, mushroom-themed art and jewelry, field guides, and mushroom prints, posters and clothing. In addition to the free festival offerings, mushroom festival participants had the opportunity to pay a small fee to go on mushroom identification hikes. A variety of mushroom experts - both regional and national - also presented workshops over the course of the two-day festival. Topics included identifying, harvesting, cooking with, eating, and preserving wild mushrooms. The Wild River Mushroom Festival is held annually during the first full weekend of November.

Photos by Breeana Laughlin/The Pilot

Chris Arends, above, traveled to the Wild Rivers Mushroom Festival from Grants Pass last weekend to learn how to correctly identify different species of edible mushrooms. Left, the Wild Rivers Mushroom Festival, held on Nov. 5 and 6 at the Salmon Run Golf Course in Brookings, featured an extensive display of wild mushrooms as well as vendor booths, guided tours and workshops.

INDEX Obituaries

discusses franchise fees with Coos-Curry Electric BY BREEANA LAUGHLIN The Pilot

The City of Brookings is looking into changing their agreement with Coos-Curry Electric Cooperative from a “barter” system to include franchise fees. Cities have franchise agreements (usually enacted through city ordinances) with a variety of private companies that use city property or city rights-of way to conduct their business. These companies include those that provide cable television, broadband, telephone service and garbage collection. Right now, instead of charging the electric company a franchise fee, an agreement between the city and the electric company exists. Coos-Curry Electric Company pays for the costs of providing and maintaining street lights and the city agreed not to charge them a franchise fee. According to a staff report provided to the city council, Brookings is one of few cities where the franchise fee is paid by a barter agreement. This agreement expires on Dec. 31, 2022 – and the parties have reportedly been negotiating a new franchise agreement for the past several months. Brookings city staff ﬁrst started reviewing the fees charged to various companies in 2017, when a survey by the League of Oregon Cities found that cities were increasingly relying on franchise fees for revenue. At this time the City Council made an informal goal of achieving a uniform franchise fee rate for all franchise operators at a rate of 7 per cent of gross revenue. According to a staff document, right now all other Brookings utility franchise holders are paying a 7 per cent fee – with the exception of Charter and Beacon Broadband, who are paying approximately 5 per cent. City staff found that the barter agreement with Coos-Curry Electric Cooperative is equal to about a 1 per cent franchise fee. A staff report suggested the city council pass an ordinance that would incrementally raise the franchise fee with the electric cooperative each year to reach a maximum of 7 per cent in 9 years. Please see COUNCIL Page A2

Phone Number: 541-813-1717 • Address: 519 Chetco Ave, Ste 7, Brookings, 97415 • Email: Circulation@CountryMedia.net A3

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