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FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2022
Brookings, Oregon
Howard facing theft charges; remains on paid leave By BREEANA LAUGHLIN The Pilot
Brookings City Manager Janell Howard remains on paid administrative leave following a City Council executive session held on Monday. The meeting was held one week after Howard was processed and released through the Curry County Jail, Curry County
Sheriff John Ward confirmed. Howard appeared in court Monday Aug. 1 on a third-degree theft charge that reportedly originated from a citation with the Brookings Police Department and Fred Meyer loss team. Brookings Police originally took the call because it occurred within the city limits, but deferred the case to the district
attorney to avoid any potential conflict of interest. “After the initial call, everything has been handled by the business and the district attorney,” said Brookings Police Chief Kelby McCrae. At the time Howard was placed on leave, Mayor Hedenskog said city officials were on order not to comment on
the circumstances related to her leave. Retired Brookings City Manager Gary Milliman is currently serving as City Manager pro-tem. The duties of Brookings City Manager include directing the overall budgeting and finance functions of the city as well as overseeing official city records and elections.
When Howard was hired by the City of Brookings in July, 2018, her starting wage was for the position of city manager was $125,000 annually. The employee contract with the city also states that after 6 months of positive performance, her wage would increase by five percent. In Oregon a third degree theft Please see HOWARD Page A4
Contributed Photo
Harbor Rural Fire Protection District group photo taken at their July 4th Fundraiser
Harbor Fire District making key strides By BREEANA LAUGHLIN The Pilot
In the past few years since Steve McClintock became chief at the Harbor Rural Fire Protection District, he has worked to upgrade equipment, applied for and a received wildland fire grant
funding and increased staffing capacity. “We are more proficient at our job and more proficient at taking care of homeowners, businesses and visitors in Harbor,” said McClintock. The fire district got $35,000 in grant funding through the Ore-
gon State Fire Marshall’s office to staff a wildland fire engine in the event of a forest fire. Two wildland-qualified firefighters staff the wildland engine every day from July to October. “They are available in the event that a wildfire ignites and
Wyden touts elements of Inflation Reduction Act
they can get on it faster and stop it, or keep it small and keep it spreading to houses,” the chief said. When there is not a wildfire, the wildland staff cleans around fire hydrants, performs inspections and assists with other fire calls, McClintock said.
The district has also been offering wildland certifications to their firefighters, so if they choose to, they can become deployable and get paid to respond to forest fires around the state and country.
Please see HARBOR FIRE Page A4
By DAVID RUPKALVIS The Pilot
Days after the U.S. Senate passed the Inflation Reduction Act, approving hundreds of billions in spending on major Democrat priorities, Sen. Ron Wyden took a victory lap during a call with Oregon media. Wyden, who authored several of the key elements, in the package that passed the Senate when Vice Pres. Kamala Harris broke a 50-50 tie, said he was proud of the money to combat climate change, lower drug prices and take on tax cheats. "I'm proud the legislation is going to pack a 1-2 punch on climate change," Wyden said. "The bill includes my Clean Energy for America legislation and the money for wildfire impact across the state. What the Clean Energy for America bill does is it takes the tax code and throws it in the trash can. It says the more you reduce carbon, the bigger savings you get. The law I wrote is the biggest investment in climate change ever. I've been working on it for a decade, and I'm proud of it." Wyden said the bill provides $20 billion for farmers who use environmentally-friendly technology, $5 billion to help combat wildfires and $4 billion for drought mitigation. The legislation also takes a big step toward lowering drug prices, although it did not go as far as Wyden had hoped. The biggest change is Medicare will now be able to negotiate directly with drug makers on pricing. "Seniors have felt the restriction that big pharma has been able to protect in the Medicare law, the provision that keeps Medicare from negotiating is a curse," Wyden said. "The curse is being lifted now. Obviously big pharma is going to fight this every step of the way. Big pharma is going to fight this in courts and state legislatures. "The reason pig pharma is going to fight this is it's going to be a seismic shift in way drug prices are set. They will no longer be able to charge what they want." Wyden said in Oregon, 20,000 seniors now pay $2,000 a year or more for pharmaceuticals. Under the new legislation, there will be monthly cap on what anyone using Medicare has to pay."
Contributed photos
Curry County Search and Rescue Team bring mother, daughter back to safety
Photo by David Rupkalvis/The Pilot
U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, seen here from a visit to Coos Bay in April, said the Inflation Reduction Act that passed the Senate last week One big change is Medicare patients using insulin will have a monthly cap of $35 for the life-saving drug. Wyden said perhaps his biggest disappointment was Republican senators blocked an effort to extend the $35 cap to all Americans who use insulin.
Please see INFLATION Page A4
Curry County Search and Rescue team brings mother, daughter back to safety By BREEANA LAUGHLIN The Pilot
A shortcut to the beach turned into a search and rescue situation for a 14-year-old Minnesota resident and her mother – who had attempted to reach her – on their coastal hike north of Brookings last week.
Claire Berndt told rescuers she and her brother thought they could climb down from the trail to the beach below, but she started sliding and caught herself on some brush – which turned out to be poison oak – after sliding about 50 feet. According to a press release Please see RESCUE Page A11
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