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FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2022
Brookings, Oregon
Speaker announces plan to help rural communities By DAVID RUPKALVIS The Pilot
A proposal to invest $100 million in rural Oregon is moving through the Oregon Legislature, and Speaker Dan Rayfield said he expects the package to be approved. During a press conference Monday, Rayfield said announce-
ments about several big packages were expected this week, as the Legislature rushes to get bills approved in the short session. "We will start to release a few of our packages that will hit some of those issues we've been talking about," Rayfield said. Among the packages to be announced included a climate investment package, the $100
million investment into infrastructure and economic development in rural Oregon, housing, efforts to support teachers and schools as well as a package to address community violence. Rayfield said the package for rural Oregon will benefit communities represented mostly by Republicans, and the Republicans in the Legislature led the
effort to write the bill. "We allowed Republicans to lead the charge because they know their communities best," Rayfield said. "That was an exciting, fun thing." Rayfield said as speaker and leader of the Democratic Caucus he often has disagreements with his Republican colleagues, but he said looking out for all the state
is the right thing for the Legislature to do. "It's value driven from the get go," he said. "It's about looking at the entire state. Rural Oregon was an area we looked at. The focus was let's get people who live in these communities, know what's on the ground an let them More Speaker, Page A2
Hunter honored for service to veterans, Curry County By DAVID RUPKALVIS The Pilot
Connie Hunter from Brookings was recently honored with the 2021 Fellowship Associates of Vietnam Veterans' Association National Award due to decades of service to Curry County and to veterans. During the Curry County Commissioners regular meeting last week, Hunter was given the award from Jennifer Ellis, Oregon Region 8 director - Associates of Vietnam Veterans of America; John Birch, Region 8 AVVA deputy director; and Ruth Feliciano, vice president Chapter 0805 in Roseburg. According to a release from Birch, Hunter was honored for years of service to the community. "Connie Hunter is a local citizen who puts many hours into making Curry County and Brooking a better place to live," Birch wrote. "In your communities that have so many wonderful volunteers, her many years of advocacy and support for our veterans and their families finds no one better. Hunter’s work however does not stop with our vets. There are many other acts of service that she stays consistently devoted to. "During the 2017 and 2018 Chetco Bar and Klondike fires, Mrs. Hunter stepped up and through that period and since continually looks for and finds more resources for our county. She is too always working on housing and food security to More Hunter, Page A2
Photo by David Rupkalvis/The Pilot
Sudden Oak Death, which can be seen by the browning leaves and ultimately the death of tanoak trees, is an issue the federal government can help with, Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden say.
Contributed photo
Connie Hunter from Brookings received the 2021 Fellowship Associates of Vietnam Veterans' Association National Award due to her years of volunteer service in Curry County.
Sen. Merkley reaches out to Coos and Curry counties By DAVID RUPKALVIS The Pilot
The COVID-19 pandemic has stopped a lot of public meetings, but Senator Jeff Merkley has continued to meet with communities in Oregon. On Saturday, Merkley held community town halls for Coos and Curry counties, sharing about things happening in Washington, D.C. and answering questions from residents in both counties. In his Coos County town hall, Merkley opened by shining the light on Bay Area Hospital, praising the Coos Bay hospital for its work down during the pandemic. "It has been a really challenging two years for everyone, but I know how stressful it's been for our healthcare providers," Merkley said. 'I really hope we're nearing the end of the tunnel on COVID. A year ago I thought we were, and I really hope we are now." Merkley said he and Senator Ron Wyden worked hard to reauthorize PILT, which will return
File photo
Sen. Jeff Merkley listens to an audience member during a town hall before the COVID-19 pandemic began. federal dollars to local communities. He also praised the American Rescue Plan, which distributed millions of dollars to local governments in both counties. "The idea was maximum flexibility to take on issues that were most pressing," Merkley said. Merkley also praised the bipartisan infrastructure bill, part of which will be spent on repairs to the Coos Bay North Jetty,
infrastructure in North Bend and healthcare in Bandon. Merkley said he and Wyden are also working to get the federal government to increase its investment to help deal with the Sudden Oak Death issues in Curry County. Sudden Oak Death has been a concern in Curry County since 2001, but a More Merkley, Page A2
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Merkley, Wyden sound the alarm, urge more funding to address Sudden Oak Death
The Pilot Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden recently sent a letter to the Bureau of Land Management strongly urging the agency to put funds from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to go towards the mitigation and treatment of Sudden Oak Death, a disease that poses severe economic and environmental threats to counties in Southern Oregon. “Sudden Oak Death poses a significant threat to a multitude of ecosystems and plant species and has already killed millions of tanoaks in southern Oregon and northern California,” the senators wrote. “The disease has been in Curry County since 2001, but a new site was recently identified outside of the quarantine area. The taste of Oregon has increased its investment in SOD treatments, but more funding is needed to treat the area currently infected. Without treatment, SOD would have serious economic impacts, including job losses, declines timber harvest and other significant economic and cultural impacts.”
Merkley has been a long-time leader in fighting the spread of Sudden Oak Death, and ensuring Oregon continues receive the federal funding and resources needed to combat this disease. He convened a task force in 2017 to develop a collaboration-based action plan to contain Sudden Oak Death and last year secured funding for key Oregon research programs on Sudden Oak Death and to support ongoing efforts to treat Sudden Oak Death. Sudden Oak Death, caused by the non-native pathogen Phytopthora ramorum (P. ramorum), is a devastating disease that has killed hundreds of thousands of tanoak trees in Curry County. It was first detected there in 2001; about one-third of the county has since been affected. In Oregon, it occurs only in the forests of southwest Curry County, where a containment program is in place to slow the spread. Continued treatment may constrain SOD south of the Rogue River to 2028 and within Curry County in 2038. If further measures aren’t taken, it could spread north into Coos County and west into Josephine County in coming years.
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