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SERVING CURRY COUNTY SINCE 1946

City council recall could force special election Ron Hedenskog

Ed Schreiber

By the Numbers As of Sept. 18 Number of Fires: 16,155 Acres Burned: 177,812 ODF Lands Number of Fires: 881 Acres Burned: 16,155 Current Large Fires Smith River Complex Location: Grants Pass Cause: Lightning Acres Burned: 93,559 Containment: 76% Source: inciweb.nwcg.gov South Fork Complex Location: Shasta-Trinity National Forest Cause: Lightning Acres Burned: 3,929 Containment: 90%

Michelle Morosky

Mayor proposes same-day election to ensure quorum ELLIOT SCHWARZ Country Media, Inc. If the current recall campaign of Mayor Ron Hedenskog, City Councilors Ed Schreiber and Michelle Morosky is successful in removing all three from office, and to ensure an ongoing quorum of the Brookings City Council, Hedenskog is proposing a plan that would avoid the potential problems and delays of by-mail elections. The city council has five seats, the mayor occupying one of those. The Brookings Charter requires a special election within 60 days in the case that there is no quorum, which would prevent the council from taking any action that requires a resolution and vote, or expenditures by the city more than $25,000. The 60-day period would require candidates for office to be selected, ballots would need to be prepared and mailed out, filled out, returned to county election officials, and then certified — a near impossible task say some involved in the process. Hedenskog has proposed and is currently seeking counsel to structure a same-day election that would be in accordance with all existing regulations governing local and special elections. If the proposal is compatible with existing statutes and adopted, voting would take place on a date within the mandated time frame and ballots would be available at the polling place where ballots would be cast. The petitions which are currently being certified for valid signatures contend these officials have not adequately represented the interests and

concerns of their constituents, sparking widespread discussions within the community. The process of recall is a powerful tool that allows residents to hold elected officials accountable between regular elections. The contention of the petitioners, according to the release, is Brookings Mayor Ron Hedenskog, Councilors Ed Schrieber and Michelle Morosky “voted to reinstate Janell Howard to her job as city manager after she was arrested on July 4, 2022, for theft. That initial charge was reduced by the district attorney to a Class A Violation to which she pleaded no contest. Given that the charge was not either a misdemeanor or felony, according to Hedenskog, “The [existing] contract expressly said that severance for cause includes a conviction of a felony or misdemeanor… Without a court decision that included a conviction of a misdemeanor we had to make wise choices or face possible litigation for breach of contract.” Following six months of debate the three councilors subject to these petitions voted to maintain Howard as city manager under a new contract. “That corrected several issues in the existing contract that left the city with limited options. The new contract removed the phrase ‘conviction of’ and put the conduct of the city manager under the city employee’s handbook. We reduced the manager’s severance allocation from 10 months to five, capped her vacation and sick leave, and included an automatic two-year termination with renewable See VOTE, Page 12

INDEX

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2023

Anvil Location: Eight miles east of Port Orford Cause: Undetermined Acres Burned: 9,023 Containment: 0% Chilcoot Location: 20 miles east of Glide Cause: Lightning Acres Burned: 1,769 Containment: 60% Camp Creek Location: 10 miles northeast of Sandy Cause: Lightning Acres burned: 2,055 Containment: 51% Flat Location: Two miles southeast of Agness Cause: Under Investigation Acres Burned: 34,242 Containment: 75% Tyee Ridge Complex Location:10 miles west of Sutherlin Cause: Lightning Acres Burned: 7,939 Containment: 90%

Source: Oregon Department of Forestry

Brookings, Oregon

Those

know in the

Elected officials offering daily fire updates ELLIOT SCHWARZ | Country Media, Inc.

The summer wildfire season in Curry County and nearby Del Norte County, Calif. has triggered evacuations, road closures, and rapid responses from firefighters, other first responders and the American Red Cross. The Anvil Fire near Port has charred more than 9,000 acres and containment has been slow due to continued hot, dry weather, according to the U.S. Forest Service. The Smith River Complex fires have consumed more than 86,000 acres, and are at 20% containment. During these events public awareness became imperative given the numerous threats to life and property, the disruption of daily life from road closures such as U.S. Highway 199, the primary corridor between the Curry County coast and the Rogue Valley, and the danger to health from smoke and ash that spread across vast ranges. Team effort State Rep. Court Boice and State Sen. David Brock Smith, both representing District One, teamed

up to provide daily public briefings in the form of emails to constituents, including audio summaries of ongoing fire activity. These daily reports are also posted on Boice’s state website. The reports are designed to be comprehensive compilations of information from the fire agencies which include the United States Forest Service (USFS), Coos Forest Protective Association (CFPA), Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF), Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and Northwest Incident Management Team. Each Boice-Brock account includes the acreage involved, extent of containment, start date, point of origin, and cause of the blazes, number of personnel and resources on site, along with maps and weather forecasts for fire zones. There is detail of activity as well as behavior of the fire, efforts to contain, and a concise summary, both text and audio, at the top of each day. See MESSAGE, Page 12

Nealy $2.5M earmarked for homeless housing in Curry and Coos County STAFF REPORT Country Media, Inc.

Gov. Tina Kotek has announced funding allocations to counties within Oregon’s Balance of State Continuum of Care as part of her homelessness state of emergency, as well as the specific outcomes attached to these emergency dollars. The funding comes from House Bill 5019, approved by the Oregon Legislature and signed by Governor Kotek in response to her homelessness state of emergency. The bill, among other allocations, included $26.1 million to rehouse people experiencing homelessness and expand shelter capacity in the 26 rural counties that make up the Balance of State Continuum of Care. This funding aims to reduce the number of people

experiencing unsheltered homelessness by adding at least 100 new shelter beds and rehousing at least 450 households by June 30, 2025. “Homelessness is a crisis in both urban and rural

make a measurable impact in addressing this crisis in rural Oregon. And we can’t stop here – I will keep pushing for concrete solutions that will support community needs going forward.”

“

www.currypilot.com

Homelessness is a crisis in both urban and rural communities throughout Oregon. Gov. Tina Kotek

communities throughout Oregon,” Kotek said. “In many conversations during my 36-county listening tour, Oregonians have repeatedly emphasized the need for more shelter capacity and rehousing services in their communities. This funding, tied to specific outcomes, will

The following funding amounts are based on many factors, including the appropriation made available by the Legislature, detailed plans that local communities submitted, and a distribution formula developed by the Oregon Housing and Community Services

Department: Curry County: $594,000 to rehouse at least 14 households Coos County: $1.9 million to add at least 8 shelter beds and rehouse at least 32 households Baker, Grant, Union and Wallowa counties: $1.2 million to rehouse at least 33 households Benton County: $2.4 million to add at least 50 shelter beds and rehouse at least 31 households Clatsop County: $3.8 million to add at least 80 shelter beds and rehouse at least 33 households Columbia County: $867,453 to rehouse at least 20 households Douglas County: $1.4 million to rehouse at least 34 households

See HOUSING, Page 12

Phone Number: 541-813-1717 • Address: 519 Chetco Ave, Ste 7, Brookings, 97415 • Email: Circulation@CountryMedia.net

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