OHA pauses Johnson & Johnson vaccine Out of ‘abundance of caution,’ state pulls vaccine temporarily By ZACK DEMARS The Pilot
Oregon health officials announced Tuesday plans to pause administration of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine upon the recommendation of federal officials.
The move comes out of an “abundance of caution” after a very small number of individuals receiving the vaccine reported a type of severe blood clot after receiving a dose of the vaccine. “Out of an abundance of caution, we followed the recommendation
and asked all vaccine providers in Oregon to pause administering the Johnson & Johnson vaccine,” said Dr. Paul Cieslak, a senior health advisor with the Oregon Health Authority Tuesday. Cieslak said the pause could last just a few days as federal health
officials review data about the vaccine’s effects and are set to meet Wednesday. One key question, Cieslak said, will be if the vaccine itself even caused the reaction, since the reporting system only determines correlations between vaccines and
symptoms, but doesn’t determine if the vaccines affirmatively caused the symptoms. “This system, this Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, does not tell us whether the side effect More Vaccine, Page A9
Brookings native looking for care Pieper
resigns as Brookings mayor
Pastor’s calls for help have been mostly ignored
From staff reports
KNOX KERANEN The Pilot
A local pastor is calling for action to help an elderly woman who has been residing in a tent on the front lawn of St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church for more than three weeks. Father Bernie Lindley said Jennifer Reed-Nelson was first brought to the church by law enforcement after she was turned away by a local hotel. Soon after, she lost the ability to walk. Now, church volunteers help her use the restroom at least once per day, provide her with food and water and do her laundry. Reed-Nelson is essentially a Brookings native. She moved with her family in 1972 and graduated from Brookings-Harbor High School in 1975. She worked summers at a local plywood business to put herself through college, and then got married and had kids here. Photo by Knox Keranen/The Pilot According to Lindley, she has a Pastor Bernie Lindley of St. Timothy’s Episcopal has been unable to find help for Jennifer Reed-Nelson after diagnosed mental illness, but that’s weeks of trying. not the reason she hasn’t been able to get out of her tent in days. Lindley. with the Oregon Department of information. “She’s not laying here because of Despite attempts to get Human Services or Curry CommuLindley said members of ODHS a mental health reason...she’s laying Reed-Nelson long-term care — nity Health, partially due to privacy have told him they cannot help here because she can’t walk and made by both Lindley and the Pilot rights, which prevent agencies from she can’t get up on her own,” said — little progress has been made disclosing an individual’s health More Care, Page A10
Riddle recalls day she almost lost her husband By KNOX KERANEN The Pilot
A local woman is praising law enforcement and search and rescue volunteers for their work in finding her 74-year-old husband after he went missing earlier this month. The Curry County Sheriff’s office received a call from Stephanie Riddle of Gold Beach at 11:25 a.m. April 3. She said her husband, Charles Riddle, had been missing for nearly two hours, and he has a medical condition that puts him at greater risk for an accident. Stephanie Riddle said her driveway was full of law enforcement vehicles and search and rescue teams just minutes after the call. Responders began combing the multi-acre property and the surrounding heavily-wooded area, with the help of drones and K-9 units. To Riddle, it all felt like a bad dream, and as the search wore on, she started to dread the possible outcomes. “He may have fallen off a cliff and really injured himself and couldn’t respond,” she said. “You hear stories of all these folks who’ve suffered and suffered through these long search and rescues, and many, many times they do not have a good outcome.” Riddle asked Sheriff John Ward what would happen if they couldn’t find Charles that day. Ward replied they would have to start searching again in the morning, but they both knew the chances of finding him alive would be greatly reduced.
“This is nasty terrain... we sort of looked at each other without saying what we all feared,” said Riddle. Eventually, the search moved off the property, and a command post was set up at Geisel Monument State Park, however, responders frequently checked in on Riddle. Then at 5:20 p.m., nearly eight hours after Charles had gone missing, Stephanie saw a sheriff’s office vehicle speeding up her driveway. She knew something had happened. “I saw Sheriff John Ward running toward the front door, so I ran toward him and I thought, ‘oh, something has happened,’” said Riddle. “He and I met upstairs and he told me the good news.” The good news was her husband, Charles, had been found in a patch of thick bramble about a quarter mile from the house. He was showing signs of hypothermia and had some scratches, but was otherwise uninjured. Since the rescue, Riddle said she has a deeper appreciation for law enforcement and search and rescue volunteers. “These guys, they’re like Rambos. They’re so dedicated, this is what they live for. It’s amazing how dedicated they are. I really did not think there would be such an outpouring of support,” said Riddle. Charles Riddle has made a full physical recovery and is safe at home. Additionally, Stephanie Riddle said he now wears an Apple Watch, so they can track him through GPS.
Jake Pieper resigned from his position as mayor of the City of Brookings on Tuesday after nearly 13 years of service to the city. Pieper was appointed June 9, 2008, to the Brookings City Council at the age of 25, the youngest city councilor in Brookings history. After his initial appointment, he was elected to his council position in 2010 and re-elected in 2014. He was appointed council president in 2012 and reappointed in 2013 and 2014. He was elected as mayor in 2016 and re-elected in 2018 and 2020. Pieper also served on the Border Coast Regional Airport Authority, Curry County Recycling Board, the Household Hazardous Waste Management Steering Committee, and Urban Renewal Advisory Commission. For more on this story, visit www.currypilot.com.
Growing a garden correctly By KNOX KERANEN The Pilot
Contributed photo
Search and rescue team members carry Charles Riddle after he was located when he became lost April 3. His wife credits the sheriff’s office and rescue team with saving her husband.
Growing your own vegetable garden might seem like a daunting task, but with these tips and tricks from Oregon State University Extension Service, your homegrown carrots and tomatoes will be the talk of the neighbrohood. The first thing every prospective vegetable gardener must do is choose a site for their garden. An ideal garden site should have the following qualities: ● Level, or only slightly sloped ground. ● It should receive six hours of direct sun per day. ● It should be well-drained. ● It should be distanced from trees or shrubs, which would compete for your vegetable’s water. ● For ease of maintenance, a water source should be nearby. Next, the vegetable gardener should prepare the soil. ● Start by assessing the soil tilth. Tilth is the condition of the soil before it is seeded. A good soil tilth means it is easy to dig into, it accepts water readily and it drains well. ● To maintain or improve soil tilth, add fresh or composted organic matter each year. ● Consider growing vegetables in raised beds to keep foot traffic out of the beds. Additionally, raised More Garden, Page A3