SERVING CURRY COUNTY SINCE 1946
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FRIDAY, AUGUST 27, 2021
Brookings, Oregon
Boice steps down as chair of county board Knox Keranen The Pilot
Court Boice has stepped down as the chair of the Curry County Board of Commissioners. He will maintain his role as a fulltime commissioner. After failing to call an emergency meeting last week to address a spike in COVID-19 cases, Boice said he “can no longer justify wasting time trying to lead this current board,” during an August 18 regularly scheduled meeting. However, Boice also cited a snafu over a parking space at the County Annex Building as a reason for stepping down. The spot in question is located on the East side of the building along Colvin Street and is designated as a commissioner’s spot. During a July 21 board
meeting, Boice said he does not use his commissioner’s space and requested the board re-designate it as public parking due to limited parking around the annex building. According to Boice, Treasurer David Barnes was using the spot. “In the interest of serving the public and making it easier for them, I think this is a simple matter,” said Boice. Commissioner John Herzog was also supportive of making more parking available to the public, however, he said the space Boice mentioned was not ideal. Herzog said the hill on Colvin Street is too steep and the parking spaces on the East side of the building are narrow. Instead, he recommended they make some
More Boice, Page A2
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Commissioner Chris Paasch said he and County Treasurer David Barnes traded parking spaces to accommodate Paasch's health problems. However, Court Boice wanted to re-designate the space as public parking.
DeFazio: GOP shares blame in Afghanistan New death reported as COVID surges
By David Rupkalvis The Pilot
Congressman Peter DeFazio agreed the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan could have been handled better, but pointed most of the blame to the Republican administrations over the last two decades. During a virtual town hall last week, DeFazio discussed several issues going on in the nation's capital and across Oregon. DeFazio said he much prefers in-person town halls but due to the recent surge of COVID-19, he said in person would be too dangerous. "We've all seen on television the tragedy unfolding in Afghanistan," DeFazio said. "First of all, Oregon was heavily involved with our National Guard units multiple times. Remember, the key objective was to eliminate or at least cripple Al Queda and to get Osama bin Laden, which we did." DeFazio said the problems in Afghanistan really began when that mission changed. "It could have been better," he said. "The whole world was behind us after 9/11. We could have defied history, but Donald Rumsfeld moved us to Iraq to change the course." As fas as leaving Afghanistan More DeFazio, Page A2
Knox Keranen The Pilot
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Congressman Peter DeFazio speaks at a town hall before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. DeFazio hosted a telephonic town hall last week and answered questions from constituents.
Health care workers, K-12 school Juvenile department staff now mandated to get vaccinated JEREMY C. RUARK getting its own space Country Media
Knox Keranen The Pilot
Curry County’s juvenile department will soon relocate to the Colvin Building. Also referred to as a juvenile court, a juvenile department provides sanctions and services to youth ages 12-17 who have been referred by law enforcement for committing a crime. Currently, the county’s juvenile department is located within the county courthouse in Gold Beach, which also houses the sheriff’s office and the jail. Wendy Lang, director of the juvenile department, highlighted the need for a new space during a board of commissioners meeting last Wednesday. Lang said it's been difficult to maintain confidentiality in the small office More Juvenile, Page A9
Governor Kate Brown has announced two new vaccination measures to address Oregon’s hospital crisis, caused by the Delta variant surge. Brown said the measures will help keep Oregon students safe in the upcoming school year and minimize disruptions to in-person instruction. Oregon’s vaccination requirement for health care workers will no longer have a testing alternative. Health care workers will be required to be fully vaccinated by October 18 or six weeks after full FDA approval, whichever is later. All teachers, educators, support staff, and volunteers in K-12 schools will be required to be fully vaccinated by October 18 or six weeks after full FDA approval, whichever is later. Brown made the announcement during a Thursday, Aug. 19, media briefing. “With over 845 Oregonians hospitalized from COVID-19 and 226 Oregonians in our ICU’s (intensive care units), our hospital and ICU beds are over
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Gov. Kate Brown announced last week that all healthcare workers and school staff will be required to get the COVID vaccination. 93% full,” Brown said. “Overwhelmingly, the Oregonians who are being hospitalized or who are dying from COVID-19 are unvaccinated.” “Our hospital system is on the verge of collapse,” Oregon Health Authority Director Patrick Allen said. “Patients are spending days in emergency rooms
because critical care beds aren’t available. Patients are parked in hallways and staffing is critically short.” Allen said more than a quarter of the adult population remains unvaccinated. “This triple grip of the Delta
Endangered whales, turtles receive protection Governor announces outdoor mask mandate AT CURRYPILOT.COM
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More Mandate, Page A9
Curry County tallied its 14th death from the COVID-19 virus last Thursday — a 90-year-old woman who died at Curry General Hospital. Additionally, the county reported 61 new cases from Friday to Monday and an additional 24 cases Tuesday, according to data from the Oregon Health Authority. Ginny Williams, CEO of Curry Health Network, said the health network will most likely activate its surge plan this week. Activating the surge plan could mean reallocating nurses, postponing all surgeries, as well as consolidating areas of the hospital and other health care facilities to make room for COVID patients. “What you’re seeing in statistics reported we are definitely seeing as a reality at Curry Health Network,” said Williams. Currently, Curry General has six COVID patients admitted, which is the most since the beginning of the pandemic. Additionally, the Brookings Emergency Department saw 41 patients Monday, many of them COVID-related, according to Williams. Williams said the health network is considering setting up a temporary outpatient clinic, such as a tent outside an existing health care facility, potentially to conduct monoclonal antibody therapy. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, monoclonal antibodies are laboratory-made proteins that mimic the immune system’s ability to fight off harmful antigens such as viruses. Sotrovimab is a monoclonal antibody that is specifically directed against the spike protein of COVID-19, and is designed to block the virus’ attachment and entry into human cells. The FDA approved emergency use of monoclonal therapy for COVID-19 in May. Earlier this month, Gov. Kate Brown deployed 1,500 National Guard members to assist at 20 hospitals throughout the state. Williams said the More COVID, Page A2
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