SERVING CURRY COUNTY SINCE 1946
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FRIDAY, JUNE 25, 2021
Brookings, Oregon
State outlines plans for public health in county By Knox Keranen The Pilot
In April, the Curry County Board of Commissioners relinquished the county’s public health duties to the state in reaction to a letter from the Oregon Health Authority, which said the county was not fulfilling its public health responsibilities. Since then, the Oregon Health
Authority assumed some legally required public health responsibilities and has contracted with Josephine County to supply other services, such as Women Infant and Children (WIC) services, to Curry. As of July 1, OHA will take over the remainder of public health services in the county, including: ● Monitoring communicable diseases and controlling outbreaks,
including the COVID-19 pandemic response. ● Ensuring access to safe drinking water. ● Ensuring access to WIC services. ● Licensing and inspecting food, pool and lodging facilities. Members of the Oregon Health Authority hosted a town hall for Curry County residents Tuesday to
provide more details and answer questions about the transition. Below are some of the questions residents asked during the meeting, as well as the responses provided by OHA. By what means will public health information and notices be communicated to Curry residents? OHA: “We are communicating with residents of the community
Volunteers work to track Chinook salmon By Knox Keranen The Pilot
A fish trap that has been collecting out-migration data from Chinook salmon in the Winchuck River near Brookings for the past 30 years was nearly scrapped for the season due to low water levels. However, rain showers earlier this month revived the river, as well as this year’s iteration of the longtime project, which is operated through a partnership between Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Salmon and Trout Enhancement Program and volunteers from the South Coast Fisherman group. John Weber, STEP biologist with ODFW, has been leading the project on the Winchuck since 1992. Weber said he was glad to see the trap installed again but warned low water levels could be an annual issue. “It was looking bad,” said Weber. “This water that I’m standing in now that’s knee deep or more, it was barely ankle deep.” The screw trap spins like a concrete mixer and funnels fish into a live box at the narrow end of the drum. In doing so, it collects many juvenile Chinook salmon, called smolts, during their summer migration from the Winchuck to the ocean. The project is a capture, recapture study. After the trap is installed, volunteers work in two-person teams, five days a week, measuring, counting and marking each captured Chinook smolt by clipping a fin, at which point they are released upstream and hopefully recaptured in the trap. A statistical formula is then used to estimate a greater population.
with every opportunity. We have distributed press releases when we have updates to the transfer process. We will soon provide a press release about WIC services, which will let people know where they can access those services and contact information.” “We will be giving regular up-
More Health, Page A2
Appeals court throws out conviction for low-speed pursuit By Knox Keranen The Pilot
Photos by Knox Keranen/The Pilot
STEP Biologist John Weber directs as volunteers from the South Coast Fishermen install the pontoons for the rotary screw trap behind him. Weber has been leading the fish trap program on the Winchuck River since 1992. Below, volunteers install the pontoons. Once installed, two-person teams of volunteers will collect fish data from the trap five days a week.
In a critical review of the arresting officers and district court, the Oregon Court of Appeals has reversed a felony conviction of Jennifer Gayman — a 50-year-old disabled woman who was arrested by Brookings police officers in 2018 for eluding police on a mobility scooter. It all began in November of 2018, when two Brookings police officers stopped Gayman, who was riding her electric mobility scooter on the sidewalk. Gayman has a degenerative eye disease, as well as other disabilities. During the traffic stop, which was captured on body camera footage, officers claimed Gayman was in violation of state law for operating the scooter on the sidewalk. While they were gathering her information, one officer was apparently trying to Google the law. “You’re taking my disability act and throwing it in the garbage,” said Gayman during the stop. “This is how I get around.” After Googling, officers then wrote her a citation for driving her scooter on the sidewalk, and not wearing a helmet. More Pursuit, Page A3
More Salmon, Page A9
Can the ocean adapt to rising water temperatures? By DAVID RUPKALVIS The World
Rising temperatures, possibly from man-caused climate change, are putting ocean life at risk. Maybe. During a presentation Thursday to celebrate the 50th year of Oregon Shores, Steve Palumbi, a biologist and author, said studies have shown some ocean animals have the ability to evolve and adapt to the changes in the water. Palumbi, who also works as a professor at Stanford University, was invited to talk about the Extreme Life of the Sea, which is also the title of a book he and his son wrote. “I’ve spent a lot of time on the Oregon coast,” he said. “It’s a fabulously beautiful place.” Palumbi started off by talking about the extreme life in the ocean. For example, some rock-
fish can live to be 120 years old. And some fish can “fly.” “Fish and marine life are amazing creatures,” Palumbi said. “Flying fish are only fast out of the water, and they don’t actually fly, they glide.” Palumbi said the fish evolved to fly as a means of survival because that is their only way to escape faster hunters. “What are really the fastest fish?” Palumbi asked. “We eventually came down to the billfish. Swordfish and marlins are the fastest fish in the ocean. They can get up to 40 miles per hour. These marlins and billfish are not only swimming at 40 miles per hour, they’re eating and 40 miles per hour.” As the water temperature has risen, going up 1.5 degrees over the last 100 years, one thing that has intrigued marine biologists are animals that can survive in the hottest water. In the ocean,
that’s near the hydrothermal vents off the west coast. Palumbi said red tube worms thrive in the hot water, and one specific worm, the Pompei worm, is stunning to scientists. The worm lives at the end of the underwater smoker chimneys, with half its body inside and half outside. One end of the worm is at 176 degrees with the other end at 35 degrees. “The worm lives at iced water to hot tea in the length of its body, which is about an inch,” Palumbi said. “If we are all concerned about the oceans for the next 50 years, we need to think about the extremes.” Palumbi said as the water changes, life in it has four options. It can move, acclimate, adapt or die. Scientists are conducting studies with the idea of seeing if something can be done More Ocean, Page A8
Photo courtesy of ODFW
As ocean temperatures rise, sea life, especially close to shores, is threatened by rising water temperatures and ocean acidification. Sea stars already have low numbers due to a sickness that spread through the coast in recent years.
Coast Guard rescues six people on sinking boat Southwestern offers free GED classes AT CURRYPILOT.COM
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