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SERVING CURRY COUNTY SINCE 1946 www.currypilot.com

FRIDAY, MAY 20, 2022

Brookings, Oregon

Barker-Hidalgo pulls surprise in primary By DAVID RUPKALVIS The Pilot

For much of the last month, it appeared only two candidates were running for Position 1 county commissioner in Curry County. But when the election results came out Tuesday night, that third candidate led the way as Beth Barker-Hidalgo took the lead in the three-person race. Barker-Hidalgo, the executive director of the Curry County Homeless Coalition, received 2,708 votes in the race, giving her 40.20% of the ballots cast. Brookings City Councilman Brad Alcorn was second with 2,481 votes, or 36.83%. Former Commissioner George Rhodes came in third with 1,525 votes, or 22.64%. The results indicate Bark-

Hoyle, Skarlatos advance to Precinct 4 primary

POSITION 1 COMMISSIONER • Beth Barker-Hidalgo 2,708 (40.20%) • Brad Alcorn - 2,481 (36.83%) • George Rhodes - 1,525 (22.64%) er-Hidalgo and Alcorn will likely face off in the general election in November. The two are running to replace Commissioner Chris Paasch, who is stepping down when his term ends at the end of the year. While Barker-Hidalgo has a strong record of service in Curry County, she was overlooked in the rhetoric of the race and Alcorn and Rhodes squabbled publicly. The rhetoric was much Please see PRIMARY Page A2

Photo by Shawn Hedgecorth/The Pilot

After a sometimes heated primary election for Position 1 commissioner in Curry County, Beth Barker-Hidalgo and Brad Alcorn have moved on to the general election in November.

Azalea court honored One fire

levy passes, one trails By DAVID RUPKALVIS

By DAVID RUPKALVIS

The Pilot

The Pilot

There were no surprises during Tuesday’s primary in the race to replace Congressman Peter DeFazio. While only one Republican was in the race, current Oregon Labor Commissioner Val Hoyle easily won an eight-person race on the Democrat side. After being endorsed by DeFazio and Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, Hoyle received 40,921 votes, or 65.04%, to win the Democratic nomination. Hoyle moved on to face Republican Alek Skarlatos, who received 36,462 votes in the GOP primary, in the general election. Other than Hoyle, Doyle Canning was the only other candidate to receive more than 10% of the vote after receiving 9.174 votes, or 14.58%. In Curry County, voters mirrored the district-wide results. Curry County voters picked Hoyle, with 65.33% voting for the labor commissioner. Canning was the second choice, with 14.26% voting for him. DCCC Chair Sean Patrick Maloney praised Hoyle after the victory. “Congratulations to Val Hoyle on her victory in Oregon’s Fourth Congressional District tonight,” Maloney said. “As Oregon’s Labor Commissioner, Val has been a champion for hardworking Oregonians – fighting to ensure workers are paid the wages and benefits they are owed. I have no doubt that she will continue to build on that work in Congress, and we look forward to partnering with Val this cycle to keep this seat blue.” Skarlatos said he was ready for the challenge of the general election. “As a political outsider, I am thankful to be selected as the Republican nominee for Oregon’s 4th Congressional District. It’s clear Washington is broken, Joe Biden’s liberal policies are not working, and we need solutions to reduce inflation, lower gas prices, and lower the cost of healthcare while improving access for rural Oregon,” said Skarlatos. “Oregon’s 4th Congressional District is the poorest district in the state. It’s clear the status quo is not working, and Please see CONGRESS Page A2

The Sixes Rural Fire Protection District successfully renewed its tax levy, but the city of Gold Beach is falling short in an effort to raise taxes for fire equipment during the primary election Tuesday. The Sixes Rural Fire Protection District asked voted to renew the five-year levy that was ending this year, and voters overwhelmingly agreed. Of the 128 voters who cast ballots on the levy, 111 voted in favor the tax levy, giving the district 87.37% in favor.

Brookings Emblem Club #265 recently honored the new Azalea queen and princesses by feeding them lunch and presenting each member of the court with quilts. Those honored were Queen Lindsey Stump, right, Princess Hailey Naiman, Princess Faith Burton, Princess Hannah Cox and Princess Abigail Gisler. Club President Margo Hanscam presented the young ladies with quilts. The queen and princesses will represent Curry County during the Azalea Festival next weekend and throughout the next year.

SIXES RURAL FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT TAX LEVY • Yes - 111 - 86.72% • No - 17 - 13.28% GOLD BEACH CAPITAL PROJECT FIRE EQUIPMENT LEVY • No - 342 - 51.27% • Yes - 325 - 48.73%

Contributed photos

Gasoline prices top $5 a gallon JEREMY C. RUARK Country Media

The price you pay for gasoline in most cities in Oregon has now jumped to over $5 a gallon. Pump prices began rising significantly following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The prices took another sharp jump, over 30 cents a gallon in some cities this past weekend surging to over $5 a gallon for unleaded. According to the American Automobile Association’s (AAA) price survey, the national and Oregon averages skyrocketed to new record highs after the price of oil jumped above $110 per barrel over the past week. Pump prices are setting new record highs again this week with the Oregon average climbing above $5 a gallon for the first time ever.

Metro Creative Connection

The price for unleaded regular in Oregon has climbed over $5 a gallon for the first time ever. The major driver is the high cost of crude oil which is above $110 per barrel. For the week, the national average for regular jumps

15 cents to $4.52 a gallon. The Oregon average soars 21 cents to $5.06. Please see GAS Page A5

The tax levy was necessary to continue the Sixes Fire District. With the levy expiring at the end of the year, the district asked voters to continue to impose a tax rate of $1.375 per $1,000 of assessed valuation. If the vote had failed, the district said it could not continue offering fire and other emergency services. In Gold Beach, the city asked voters to allow the city to borrow $60,000 per year for seven years for fire equipment. The levy would have raised property taxes by 25 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation with the goal of purchasing a new fire engine. In a race that got closer as Tuesday night progressed, voters might have turned down to the tax levy with 342 voters, or 51.27% voting against it. The county clerk’s office reported 325 voters, or 48.73%, voted in favor of the tax levy. In the first results that were released, the levy was behind by more than 6%, but the vote tightened as more results were released. Final results will not be known for a week as state law allows ballots mailed by election day to be counted up to seven days after the election.

INDEX

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