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SERVING CURRY COUNTY SINCE 1946 www.currypilot.com

FRIDAY, MAY 13, 2022

Brookings, Oregon

Most voters have yet to vote in primary election By DAVID RUPKALVIS The Pilot

With one week to go until election day, the vast majority of voters in Curry County have yet to cast ballots. According to information released from the Curry County Elections Department, as of May 9, 13.41% of eligible voters have cast ballots.

In total, 2,563 voters have returned their mail ballots and 2,517 ballots have been accepted. In Curry County, there are 19,107 eligible voters. Voters in Curry County are helping choose Republican and Democrat candidates for governor as well as District 4 congressional candidates. But locally the big draw is a three-per-

son race for county commissioners with candidates looking to replace Chris Paasch, who is stepping aside after his term ends at the end of the year. Brookings City Councilor Brad Alcorn, former Commissioner George Rhodes and homeless advocate Beth Barker-Hidalgo are running for the seat. If no candidate receives 50% of the votes cast, the top two will advance to the

general election in November. Voters will also decide whether to renew the five-year local option tax levy for the Sixes Rural Fire District and whether to approve a tax levy for fire equipment in Gold Beach. All mail-in ballots must be dropped off at a ballot box or mailed by May 17 to be counted in the primary election. Final results won't be available on election day.

Hoyle brings her campaign to South Coast

Brookings-Harbor boys advance to state in golf By JOHN GUNTHER For The Pilot

BANDON — Lucas Vanderlip shot the competitive round of his life for Brookings-Harbor’s boys golf team on Tuesday, but all he wanted to talk about was his teammates. Vanderlip finished second at the district golf tournament at Bandon Crossings, losing a sudden-death playoff against Bandon’s Peyton Simonds. Meanwhile, Brookings-Harbor’s team placed third behind champion St. Mary’s and Bandon, and in the process earned a trip to next week’s state tournament at Quail Valley Golf Course in Banks. “It’s about the team,” Vanderlip said. “We made it to state. Nobody expected us to. It’s going to be a fun ride home (tonight).” Brookings-Harbor’s scores for the two days were 387 and 334, a 53-shot improvement. “They played phenomenal (today),” Brookings-Harbor coach Max Whitley said. “It was fun to see.” It came after the Bruins played poorly in the opening round Monday. “They worked hard,” Whitley said. “They deserve it.” While Vanderlip shot even par 144 for the two days, Josh Serna shot a 78 on Monday and an 83 on Tuesday to place sixth overall. The other three members of the Bruins all improved on Tuesday, especially Fabian Villa and Fletcher McLennan. “Fabian was on fire,” Whitley

said of Villa, who shot an 82 after never having shot 100 before (he shot 111 on Monday). McLennan, meanwhile, shot an even 100, his lifetime best, after a 142 on Monday. Waylon Fletcher improved from 123 to 112. Throughout the day, Vanderlip was involved in a great dual with Bandon’s Simonds. Vanderlip shot the lowest round of the tournament Tuesday, a 3-under 69, including a birdie on the final hole to tie Simonds, who started the day one shot ahead, and force the playoff. “I couldn’t have asked for a better finish, with the clutch birdie on 18,” he said. A playoff wasn’t likely after he took a nine on the fourth hole Monday. But he matched Simonds big shot for big shot during Tuesday’s round. Many of the other players and coaches were watching Vanderlip’s birdie (he just missed an eagle chip) on the 18th hole to force the playoff and then they followed along in the playoff. Both Vanderlip and Simonds made difficult par putts on the first extra hole. The momentum switched to Simonds on the second hole when Vanderlip’s drive ran through the fairway and into rough under a tree. All Vanderlip could do from there was punch out while Simonds hit his approach shot to 10 feet. When Vanderlip couldn’t get up and down from well short of the green, Simonds won with a routine two-putt par. Losing the playoff didn’t take away from the great round,

Vanderlip said. “I’m really happy,” he said, adding that he was looking ahead to next week. “I’m excited for state,” Vanderlip said. “There are going to be some great players there.” Brookings-Harbor’s girls never got a chance to qualify as a team because three of the players were unavailable for their district tournament, also at Bandon Crossings. Two of those players wound up sick on the eve of the event. Ivy Tuttle had rounds of 109 and 128 for the Bruins and Acacia Pringle shot a 131 on Monday and a 117 on Tuesday. St. Mary’s edged Marist Catholic for the team title and Marshfield took the third berth for the girls state tournament.

By DAVID RUPKALVIS The Pilot

Val Hoyle was certain she found her calling while serving as Oregon’s labor secretary. In that role, she works with businesses and labor unions to find

Val Hoyle

Brookings-Harbor’s Lucas Vanderlip hits his tee shot on the 18th hole to lead the Bruins to the state tournament.

The Brookings-Harbor boys golf team poses with its third place medals after earning a trip to the state tournament.

Starnes makes final push as campaign closes By DAVID RUPKALVIS The Pilot

For the second time in three months, Patrick Starnes brought his campaign for governor to the South Coast, this time stopping to meet voters in Brookings.

Less than a week before the Democratic candidate for governor is chosen, Patrick Starnes is confident he is heading in the right direction. And although voters have already begun casting ballots, Starnes said there is still work to be done before a winner is announced. "Less than 15% have voted in the Democrat primary," Starnes said after visiting Curry County on Tuesday. "They just not jumping on hard with the two establishment candidates." Starnes said a recent poll shows 55% of Democrats are undecided heading into the final days of the race. He expects a tight result, so he is visiting every portion of the state during the final days. Most of the Democratic candidates have spent their time in the major metropolitan cities, but Starnes made his second visit to the South Coast this week. "As a rural Democrat who grew up in a rural city, I have a better chance to beat Betsy Johnson and whoever the Republicans put up," Starnes said. "I don't

have the baggage of being there 15 years." At his visit at the Democrat Party headquarters in Brookings, Starnes said an enthusiastic group of Democrats turned out and asked hard questions. "They were asking about campaign finance reform, healthcare, transportation issues for the people in rural areas," he said. "They were asking about getting healthcare workers. They have a real deficit of healthcare housing. One woman said she had to all the way to Grants Pass. Real kitchen issues is what I've been concentrating on." For years, those issues have included campaign finance reform, something Starnes has been working on for quite a while. Starnes said his message of getting big money out of politics is resonating with voters. "People are ready to clean it up," he said. "It's embarrassing we're in the bottom five. I think we're getting a lot of tread from that. We're not taking and PAC money and we won't in the general election." Starnes said he has heard from conservatives and liberals on the issue, and they all agree Please see STARNES Page A2

answers that benefit both sides. And she loves it. She had no plan to run for a higher office until she learned Congressman Peter DeFazio was retiring. Then she had to answer a question - stay in a job she loves or run for Congress to protect the work DeFazio has been doing. “That was a question I had to ask myself and my husband,” she said while visiting the South Coast last week. “I love my job, D.C. is a mess and it’s a 24-hour round trip.” When trying to decide what to do, Hoyle said she talked to her cousin, who put it all on the line. “He said, ‘you just told me you thought democracy was under attack. How can you sit on the sideline,’” Hoyle remembered. That’s when she decided to make the run. And after receiving endorsements from DeFazio and both Oregon senators, Hoyle seems like the favorite to win the Democratic nomination for the 4th Congressional seat. If she does, Hoyle will face Republican Alek Skarlatos in the general election in November, with the winner replacing DeFazio. “I believe we benefit from having Peter DeFazio,” Hoyle said. “He’s a fighter and stands up for working people. I think I do much of the same.” Hoyle is quick to point out she is the only candidate in the race that has won a race higher than school board. Before winning the statewide labor commissioner’s seat, she served in the Legislature, where she was the majority leader of the Democrat caucus. Serving in the Legislature at a time where the House was split almost evenly helped Hoyle learn to work with both parties to get things done. “I was an effective enough legislator that when I ran for labor commissioner, I had support from both business and labor,” Hoyle said. “I won both Coos and Curry counties.” Please see VAL HOYLE Page A2

INDEX

Latest news can be found online at www.currypilot.com Call us: 541-813-1717 Fax: 541-813-1931

Crossword................................................ A5 Obituaries.......................................... A8 Classifieds.......................................... A9 Crossword Answers............................ A11

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