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SERVING CURRY COUNTY SINCE 1946 www.currypilot.com

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2022

Unrest in commissioners quarters punch him in the face. “The culture in the annex once again has become a culture of toxic instability. This effects the public trust and the community at large,” Brookings resident Skip Hunter told the commissioners at the start of their meeting September 7. Hunter referenced tensions between Curry County Commis-

BY BREEANA LAUGHLIN The Pilot

A conversation that started during the public comment period at the Curry County commissioner’s quarters turned into a public airing of grievances with county Treasurer David Barnes accusing County Commissioner John Herzog of threatening to

sioner Court Boice and Treasurer Barnes, and claimed that Barnes had made a hostile work environment at the county. He also claimed Barnes had targeted his wife, Connie Hunter. Treasurer Barnes came up to the podium shortly thereafter, directing his conversation toward Commissioner Herzog. “There was an incident that

happened in this building a couple weeks ago where I attempted to engage Commissioner Herzog in a discussion about a decision he made and the commissioner’s response to me was that I’m lucky because he wanted to reach out with his left hand and take me by the beard and punch me with his right hand,” Barnes said.

Pulling up into the Port of Gold Beach Harbor on the morning of Friday, Sept. 9, a long line of people wait outside

run the family-owned business. A member of the friendly group goes over a few details of the tour – whether the historic mail route, express whitewater, wilderness whitewater or 2-hour Bay Cruise – before handing out

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a color-coded ticket. Those lucky enough to have a red ticket on this day are on one of two boats heading out on the Wilderness Whitewater Please see JET BOATS Page A2

Multiple brush ﬁres serve as wildﬁre reminder BY BREEANA LAUGHLIN The Pilot

The Curry County emergency management team is reminding the public that a very high wildfire risk remains in effect. Three separate brush fires broke out on Sunday, Sept. 4. While all were extinguished quickly, they serve as a reminder that wildfires do impact coastal communities, according a public service announcement released by the Curry County Emergency Management Team. Fire districts throughout Curry County responded to the brush fires at Mile Post 330, Pistol River and Arizona Beach. The fire districts, comprised of nearly all volunteers, spent their afternoon responding to the brush fires, quickly bringing the situations under control and preventing the flames from spreading to nearby communities. Nearly every fire district in the county supported or responded to these three fires, said Monica Ward, the Curry County Emergency Management coordinator. Ward said she worked with Gold Beach Fire Chief Tyson Krieger to relay the information to the public. In addition to Curry County entities, Port Orford Fire, Sixes Fire and Langlois Fire staged to send resources if needed. The Curry County Sheriff’s Office

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Pistol River Fire (2 photos) - The Pistol River Fire required support from Gold Beach, Cedar Valley, Ophir, Cape Ferrelo, Brookings and Harbor fire departments, as well as Coos Forest Protective Association. Port Orford, Sixes and Langlois Fire Departments began moving south to stage resources. and Oregon Department of Transportation also assisted the fire response with traffic control, protecting firefighters while they were at work. The Curry County fire districts, along with and Coos Forest Protective Association, have

worked closely to improve their response capabilities, Ward said. “That coordination proved successful in extinguishing the ﬁres,” she said. It is easy to become complacent as fall approaches, reported the Emergency Management

The Pilot

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Jerry’s Rogue Jets clinging to tickets. The air is buzzing with excitement. Guests checking in to Jerry’s Rogue Jets are greeted by siblings Scott and Nic McNair and Stephanie Stout. Together, they

BY DAVID RUPKALVIS

team, but residents should be ready to respond and quickly evacuate when the call comes. “We encourage everyone to have important documentation, family photos, and go bags ready to expedite evacuations if ever

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From humble origins as a Mail Route into the remote Rogue River Wilderness, Jerry’s Rogue Jets has become a must-do adventure on the Southern Oregon Coast. The Pilot

New COVID boosters target Omicron subvariants A new version of the COVID-19 vaccine that is designed to specifically target the latest variants of Omicron are now available across Oregon. That's what Dr. Dean Sidelinger, the state health officer, reported Wednesday. "The Food and Drug Administration and the CDC, followed by the Western States Scientific Safety Review Workgroup, gave emergency use authorization to new, Omicron-targeting COVID-19 boosters for the fall," Sidelinger said. "The decision means more than 2.7 million Oregonians are now eligible to receive a booster dose. The approved Moderna bivalent booster is authorized for persons 18 and older, while the Pfizer booster can be given to persons 12 and older." The bivalent booster targets the BA.5 and BA.4 subvariants, which make up almost all of the new cases in Oregon and across the nation. The updated booster will be the best way to protect ourselves and those around us from severe illness and hospitalization caused by the dominant BA.5 and BA.4 COVID-19 subvariants," Sidelinger said. "The updated booster, from either manufacturer, is safe and effective at preventing severe illness, hospitalizations and even death." While the number of doses available Wednesday was low, Sidelinger said more doses are coming, and he expects there will be enough to meet the need across the state. As of today, 69,400 shots have arrived in Oregon — at sites receiving state allocations like local public health partners, at federal sites like Tribal health clinics and at pharmacies," Sidelinger said. "OHA expects two waves of orders to be delivered this week, or 75,500 doses. We also expect a similar number, another 75,500, to be delivered to pharmacies, for a total of at least 150,000, which we believe is enough supply to meet initial demand." The new came out as the state reported cases counts and hospitalizations continued to drop. Since OHA’s last update, on Aug. 17, daily reported case counts have decreased from a rolling seven-day average of 817 cases reported Aug. 17, to 495 reported Sept. 6," Sidelinger said. "This continues to track the trends that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is reporting nationally. In Oregon, test positivity dropped from 9.2% reported the week of Aug. 21 to 8.0% reported the week of Aug 28." Hospitals are also seeing fewer patients as the case count drops. "Since our update on Aug. 17, the number of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 in Oregon continues to steadily decline, from a peak in mid-July. As of today, the umber of COVID-19-positive patients in hospitals is 269," Sidelinger said. "The latest forecast from Oregon Health & Science University’s modeling team led by Dr. Peter Graven, published Sept. 2, reported that as of the start of September, Oregon has seen a 44% drop in COVID-19-positive hospitalized patients from the peak of 464 reached on July 17. Dr. Graven’s update also reported that only 6% of occupied ICU beds are filled with COVID-19 patients." With the pandemic easing, the

Jet boats offer unique tour experience on majestic Rogue River

BY BREEANA LAUGHLIN

Brookings, Oregon

Phone Number: 541-813-1717 • Address: 15957 Highway 101 S STE 1, Brookings, OR 97415 • Email: Circulation@CountryMedia.net A6

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