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FRIDAY, MAY 27, 2022
Brookings, Oregon
Runoff set in Position 1 commissioner's race By DAVID RUPKALVIS The Pilot
With the final votes counted for the May 17 primary election, there will officially be a runoff election for Position 1 county commissioner. Beth Barker-Hidalgo, who has led the race since the first votes were counted, saw her lead increase slightly with the late ballots. Through results released May 24, Barker-Hidalgo leads in the three-person race with 2,778 votes, or 40.59%. Brookings City
Councilman Brad Alcorn is second with 2,502 votes, or 36.56%, and former Commissioner George Rhodes is third with 1,542 votes, or 22.53%. Based on the unofficial tally, Barker-Hidalgo and Alcorn will face off for the seat in the November general election. The winner will replace Chris Paasch on the board after Paasch chose not to run for another term in office. The only race that seemed undecided on Election Night was a tax measure in Gold Beach to
purchase fire equipment for the city. The measure was failing after the early votes were counted and appears to have gone down to defeat with 342 people voting against it and 325 voting in favor. 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. A measure to extend the
tax levy for the Sixes Rural Fire Protection District passed overwhelmingly with 111 voters voting to approve the measure and only 17 voting against it. 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.
CORRECTION In the Friday, May 20, edition of The Pilot a story about the governor’s race included a misspelling of Democrat winner Tina Kotek’s last name several times. The Pilot has identified the reason for the mistake, and we are working diligently to ensure it does not happen again. We apologize to Tina Kotek, our readers, the voters and anyone who may have been offended by the error. A corrected version of the story about the governor’s primary is being rerun in its entirety on Page A2 in this edition.
Crockett named Pioneer Citizen for Azalea Festival Oregon wildfire season to be challenging The Pilot
The Chetco Valley Historical Society has selected Joyce Crockett as the Pioneer Citizen for the 2022 Azalea Festival. The title of Pioneer Citizen has been put on hold for the last several years due to COVID and the need to keep potential pioneer citizens safe. Crockett's family came to Oregon in the late 1940s, initially settling in Ashland and then relocating to Brookings/Smith River in the early '50s. She came here with her little brother David Baldwin and their parents. Crockett graduated from Brookings Harbor High School in 1954 where she was salutatorian of her class. When asked what brought the family to Oregon, she stated her father, a union man, was motivated by higher wages out west and was somewhat shunned for his activities in supporting higher wages for black workers. Her father was a millwright and later drove logging truck. Her mother, Myrtle Banell, managed B & E Shoes and Clothing for many years. She recalls that Mattie's Pancake House was located next door to B & E. The B & E Department store was located where Goodwill is currently doing business in Brookings. She met her future husband, Davy, in the Glen’s Bakery location where the current First Rise Bakery is located at 630 Fleet Street. It was a favorite place for high school students to get a treat
over the lunch hour. Joyce and Davy Crockett were married July 28, 1956. The union produced five children: Elizabeth; Donnie; Linda; Becky, who is a Curry County planning director; and Margaret. That has resulted in nine grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. After running a dairy for many years, the family continues to ranch in the Smith River Valley, running a purebred cow/calf Angus beef operation; currently with 300 cows. When asked what was the major difference between Alabama and Oregon, Joyce replied “how much longer the days are here in Oregon.” She loves ranching and said one of her ‘things' is to collect vials of dirt from around the world. Around the world? Yes, Joyce Crockett likes to travel the world over.... recently returning from Europe in 2019, on a singing tour, performing in Italy, Germany, Poland and the Vatican in Rome. On Saturday, May 28, folks can get a glimpse of Joyce in the upcoming Azalea Festival Parade at 10 a.m. She will then be honored at the park program at 1 p.m. in Azalea Park. The Chetco Valley Historical Society will host a Pioneer Citizen Reception at 4 p.m. to get acquainted with Joyce, at the Chetco Valley Museum, located at 15461 Museum Road, off highway 101 South, near the historical Monterey Cypress Tree. Refreshments will be served.
By HILARY DORSEY Country Media
Contributed photo
Joyce Crockett has called the Brookings area home for most of her life after he family moved to the area in the '50s. She was recently named the Pioneer Citizen for the Azalea Festival.
With primaries over, Johnson ramps up independent campaign By DAVID RUPKALVIS The Pilot
While Tina Kotek and Christine Drazan were fighting for the political lives during the recent primary elections, another former state lawmaker was waiting her turn. With the primaries now over and the two major parties haven chosen candidates, Betsy Johnson hopes it is now her turn to shine. Johnson, who served for decades as a moderate Democrat in the state House and Senate, is running for governor as an inde-
pendent. Johnson said her run is serious, and one she only decided to do after both parties moved to the extreme. "I think my candidacy meets the moment right now," Johnson said. "People are angry and frustrated. There really are two choices. The far left, which would be Kate Brown 2.0, or the far right, where Christine’s views on abortion are out of touch with most Oregonians. I think it's a unique moment in time to select an independent leader." Johnson was born and grew up
Contributed photo
After spending decades in the state House and state Senate, Betsy Johnson is running for governor as an independent because she believes the two major parties have become too extreme in their political views.
in Bend. After college, she started a helicopter company that she ran for 20 years. In 2000, she ventured into politics for the first time. "The seat in the House was open in 2000," she said. "I just finished serving on a board that didn't allow you to run for office, so it was perfect timing." Johnson won the race for the House and eventually won three terms before she was unanimously chosen to fill an open seat in the Senate. She served in that role until last year, when she resigned to focus on her run for governor. She said in the current field, she stands out. "I'm pro-choice, pro jobs and very supportive of responsible law enforcement," she said. "I think I could be characterized as a maverick, independent lawmaker who is willing to buck my own party to get the job done. The last few years, the D's have moved more to the left and the R's more to the right." She said in Oregon, there is no longer one state, with most lawmakers paying no attention to the rural areas. "We have an urban/rural divide," she said. "I know because I have represented rural Oregon for many years. I think most Oregonians are feeling disrespected, not heard and totally misunderstood. At least the governor
knows there's Oregon south of Eugene and east of Bend." Johnson said she has paid close attention to the South Coast through the years and is the right choice to help the region recover from poor state leadership in recent years. She even managed a state airport at Cape Blanco and has spent a lot of time in Curry County. Johnson has served with Kotek and Drazan for years in the legislature, but she said her decision to run was not personal against either woman. "I think an independent governor drawing the best ideas from both parties is what our campaign is selling," she said. "I want the best ideas." And if she's elected, Johnson said she will be in Curry County and will make sure the community knows the state is behind it. "If I'm governor, you can damn sure count on me to come down and talk about opportunities," she said. "There's enough assets on the South Coast, and we need to develop it." While Johnson believes she can win, she does not expect anything to be easy. "It is a challenge," she said. "I will not have the machine or the money the established parties have. I'm not relying on the Please see JOHNSON Page A2
Oregon officials foresee another challenging wildfire season this year. Due to drought conditions, a large portion of the state could be affected by wildfires. During a briefing Monday, May 16, Gov. Kate Brown said we are fighting fires of a new age and it is a different wildfire environment. Fires of the past have taught us that being prepared can be the difference between life and death. The time to prepare is now. “Oregon has one of the best wildfire response systems in the country,” Brown said. “We continue to lead the nation in this space, improving even further as we roll out requirements from Senate Bill 762, which passed in the 2021 Legislative session.” Brown said the state is asking all Oregonians to do their part to prevent and prepare for wildfires. State Forester Cal Mukumoto said the majority of the wildfires that are responded to are caused by people. Chief Mike Shaw, of the Oregon Department of Forestry, said the cool, wet April and beginning of May has been a respite from what was seen in March. Oregon is in a significant drought pattern with exceptional drought covering the bulk of the east slope of the Cascades and extreme drought expanding across vast portions of eastern Oregon and into southwest Oregon. How long the weather stays in cooler, wet conditions will indicate when wildfire season will begin. “In 2021, which was a very challenging season, the coverage of exceptional drought was significantly less than what you see for this year,” Shaw said. “This will likely translate to a very challenging fire season as the fires that begin in these areas will be very difficult to suppress over very significant portions of Oregon as we move into the fire season.” Travis Medema, chief deputy state fire marshal, said all conditions point to an active wildfire season. In June, additional activity will begin to pick up in Oregon with anticipated wildfires in July and August. The exceptional drought in parts of Oregon indicates a significant wildfire season. In July and August, competition for helicopters and crew could be problematic across the western United States. Tom Roick, air quality monitoring manager at Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, said DEQ maintains a network of air quality monitoring stations across the state. They plan to propose more locations next month. Decisions whether to issue an air quality advisory are made by DEQ. Visit wildfire.oregon.gov for more information and to sign up for emergency alerts.
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