SERVING CURRY COUNTY SINCE 1946
Christmas Coloring Book
In This Issue! www.currypilot.com
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2020
Brookings, Oregon
Commissioner Boice censured Fellow commission members Paasch and Gold take disciplinary action Nov. 18 LINDA PINKHAM The Pilot
Commissioner Court Boice was censured at the Nov. 18 Curry County Board of Commissioner’s meeting by Chairman Christopher Paasch and outgoing Commissioner Sue Gold. A censure is the strongest disciplinary action showing disapproval by a board short of filing a lawsuit. Boice has been accused of misconduct by his fellow com-
Curry has highest weekly case total
missioners several times over the past three years, in 2018-19 and July 2020, although all previous lawsuits and ethics complaints have found the allegations unwarranted and were dismissed. A State Circuit Court judge strongly stated about the 2018-19 cases, “These cases are punitive, defamatory and very unnecessary.” The most recent controversy erupted during discussion of an agenda item titled and described as “Discuss Camp Host Roles and Responsibilities in County Parks: The county has two campgrounds and is looking at opening more campgrounds. There has been much controversy lately about camp hosts and their con-
Court Boice tracts and responsibilities. The discussion will focus on what is expected of camp hosts and who is responsible for oversight of the campgrounds and camp host contracts.” The subject was apparently prompted by an incident over the previous weekend at Boice Cope
County Park because of an issue with the water. Parks Coordinator Anthony DeRock complained to commissioners that he had not been promptly informed of the problem, and that Commissioner Boice had contracted for services without his knowledge. DeRock said he learned of the problem at about 9:45 a.m. Monday morning. Although DeRock learned of the problem Monday morning, he said he didn’t make it out to Boice Cope Park until the end of the day Tuesday. DeRock said he wanted to know why the camp host hadn’t contacted him first. In an interview, Camp Host Sheila Meakins said she discovered water several inches deep in
the pump house Sunday morning and determined it was not due to recent storms after she and her husband Walt borrowed a sump pump. The flooding was caused by a leak somewhere under the building. Meakins phoned Court Boice, who had been the parks liaison when she was hired in July. However, Boice had recently been replaced with Gold during the Sept. 9 commissioner’s meeting at the request of outgoing Director of Operations Schmelzer after a request by DeRock. “I’m available, and that’s who the camp hosts contacted,” Boice said. More Boice, Page A2
LINDA PINKHAM The Pilot
New COVID-19 cases over the previous seven days climbed to 32, bringing Curry County’s total to 120 cases, with 45 of those considered active as of Nov. 24. The seven days cover Nov. 18-24. The bulk of the new cases this week are from South Curry County with a few more from Central Curry County, according to a series of press releases from Curry County Public Health Administrator Sherriè R. Ward. The number of cases reported have been accelerating over the week starting with five cases reported on Nov. 18, six cases Nov. 19, four cases Nov. 20, one case Nov. 22, seven cases Nov. 23 and eight cases Nov. 24. The number of new cases in Curry County has reached a level that may affect the ability to continue in-person classroom learning. Across Oregon, total cases stand at 63,333 with 847 deaths as of Nov. 24. The 21 deaths reported on Nov. 24 set a grim record as the largest number of COVID deaths reported in a single day.
Del Norte Del Norte County is also experiencing a spike in cases, showing an increase of 54 cases since from Nov. 17 to Nov. 25. Del Norte Public Health Officer Warren Rehwaldt, M.D. wrote a letter on Nov. 24 to the community advising them to prepare for moving to California’s most restrictive Purple Tier, which will have a major impact on businesses. “Gatherings in homes or among friends are the main source, by far, of the recent cases, many of which have been linked to parties, but it is certainly not the only type of story,” Rehwaldt said in the letter. “Friends just sharing space, thinking they are safe, have created quite a few cases recently. The other main source has been workplaces, especially those where lots of employees are working in a shared space.”
INDEX Crosswords........................................ A6 Crossword Answers............................ B3 Classifieds.......................................... B1
Thankful givers deliver on meal for the holiday More than 40 volunteers turned out on Monday, Nov. 23, to hand out Thanksgiving food baskets to an anticipated 300 to 400 families at the Church of the Nazarene, located at 1600 Chetco Ave. The food baskets contained a turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, bread and other holiday fare. Youthful volunteers brought baskets and turkeys to the vehicles, and others were still putting together food boxes inside. The drive-through distribution was held in the church’s parking lot. Volunteers directed traffic through the parking lot during the orderly event. The Brookings Harbor Community Helpers & Brookings Harbor Food Bank worked together with local churches and organizations to gather donations and put together the baskets.
Pilot photos by Linda Pinkham
Event Center plans to bring Christmas Cheer Beach and Curry County. The Event Center usually hosts Thanksgiving and Christmas community dinners, but needed to be canceled this year. First on the list is a Christmas parade, socially distanced, of course. They’ve already obtained city approval and are working on getting a final approval from ODOT. Tentatively, the date is set for Saturday, Dec. 12. Coleman is also working on getting a large outdoor Christmas
LINDA PINKHAM The Pilot
Holiday cheer is on its way to Curry County despite the challenges the season is bringing. Kaitlyn Coleman, Event Center on the Beach manager, and the Curry County Fair Board aren’t cooking up any holiday meals this year, but they are mulling over some ideas to bring about an old-fashioned community Christmas to the city of Gold
FORECAST FRIDAY
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SATURDAY
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RISE SET
Friday 7:22 AM 4:47 PM
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Saturday Sunday Monday 7:23 AM 7:24 AM 7:25 AM 4:47 PM 4:46 PM 4:46 PM
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Starting at
nity-oriented tree, Coleman said. Vice Chair Robert Carillo agreed, “Anything we can do that gives somebody a little something different to think about and gives them some physical activity and some hope and a smile when they come by to see it.” The delight of having something positive and fun to work on was contagious from the energized board members who
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tree, properly tethered for large weather events, for the community to help decorate and enjoy. The board approved purchasing or otherwise obtaining additional lights for the larger tree. “I think this year, one thing that would be really cool is because it’s been such a hard year for so many people, would be to let people come on their own to put their decoration, something like a remembrance or hope thing and make it into a really commu-
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