Tillamook County Pioneer Museum hosts 17th annual Festival of Trees N
For the Herald
ext month, the Tillamook County Pioneer Museum will host its largest annual event. The 17th annual Festival of Trees gala will be held at the museum from 5:30-8 p.m. Dec. 10. Hors d’oeuvres and beverages will be served and live music will set the holiday mood before the silent auction begins. Tickets are $35 in advance, and all community members are invited to attend. This event will celebrate the holiday season, raise money for the pioneer museum’s programs and spotlight Tillamook County’s exceptional community partnerships. The Festival of Trees will feature decorated trees, wreaths and centerpieces donated by local businesses, organizations and community members. Additionally, a wide array of gift baskets, gift cards, and other exciting items will be on display at the museum for one week starting Dec. 3 for people to bid. The silent auction will conclude the night of the gala with the winners being announced at the party. All proceeds raised from the auction will benefit the pioneer museum and will help fund some much-needed building maintenance and the 2022 temporary exhibit, which will be announced soon. “This year’s event is particularly special,” said Jaykob Wood, executive director of the museum. “We were not able to host Festival of Trees in 2020, due to COVID-19, which understandably, was quite disappointing for people who attend every year. We hope that this year’s event will make up for the one we lost and that lots of folks will join us for a warm evening.” Tickets for the Festival of Trees are now available at the pioneer museum’s front desk or over the phone at 503-842-4553. Tickets are $35 in advance or $40 at the door. “This is my first Festival of Trees,” said
COVID-19 update: Case counts, testing, vaccine information T
Bill Landau of Tillamook takes a close look at a Christmas Tree filled with birds which appear to be keeping an eye on him during the annual Festival of Trees fundraiser at the Pioneer Museum in this Headlight Herald file photo. Wood. “I can’t claim to know what to expect, but based on what I’ve been told, tickets sell out quickly. If you’re interested in attending, I’d get them while you can. I think it will be really memorable.” About the Tillamook County Pioneer Museum Founded in 1935 by Tillamook Oregon pioneers, the Tillamook County Pioneer Museum offers 19 display areas that focus on the history of the North Oregon Coast. The mu-
seum’s mission is to preserve and interpret the Cultural Heritage of the North Oregon Coast and to foster appreciation and respect of the North Oregon Coast’s environment. The current collection includes 55,000 items and 20,000 photographs ranging from prehistoric specimens to modern day. The Tillamook County Pioneer Museum is open to the public Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The public can use the research library by appointment only.
Artists complete mural at Fairview Grange Youth Art Center announces workshops
F
For the Herald
airview Grange in Tillamook- just down from the Tillamook County Fairgrounds on 3rd street – this last summer and into the fall volunteers, students, staff, Grange board members and family completed the first part of new projects and renovations being done with the help of the Oregon Coast Children’s Theatre & Center for the Arts, which will make their new administration office at the Grange in the old Box Office. The over 100-year-old building just received coats of new paint and repairs to doors, windows and the front area of the building over the summer and into the fall. Other repairs will continue this winter and into spring of 2022. Tillamook Rotary is donating a new handicapped ramp for the building and many other projects and events are planned for this historic building with a long history for the region. “A Gathering at the Grange,” a new mural, was finished in September. The mural was designed by Eric Sappington of Oceanside and paid for by the foundation supporters of the Children’s Theatre & Art Center. Student artists, staff and volunteers did work on the mural. Special thanks goes to student artists Simone Ferguson and
Abigail Gingerich, along with. Reo Russell who worked as Sappington’s assistant, along with other staff and volunteers. Workshops The Children’s Theatre & Youth Art Center hosted its first workshops which is their “15th Holiday Free Family Arts Workshops”- the first was on Saturday, Nov. 20, at the Grange. The second will be on Dec. 11. and runs forom 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Families will be spread out at their own table. Patrons will be asked to wear masks and other sanitation procedures will also be in place. For families and children that don’t want to do in-person instruction, “Holiday Art Kits” will also be available for pick up. The workshops are free with limited spaces; please contact ahead of the event if you want to pick up some of the free kits. Patrons will have a choice to build greeting cards, mobiles and other holiday decorations and get to pick items from a smorgasbord of art supplies. This is a great family holiday event. Allow for 45 minutes to one hour for most projects or items can be taken home to finish. Fairview Grange is located at the end of 3rd street at 5520 East 3rd St. Tillamook.
New documentary explores cold-case murder from 1987 Hilary Dorsey Staff Writer
A
nchor Pictures will soon be releasing “Old-Growth Murder,” a cold-case murder investigation documentary from the Oregon coast. Director Tom Olsen Jr. has been researching the project over the past decade and producing it since 2015. Olsen is planning for a free public screening in Tillamook County this coming winter, with online distribution in the coming months.
On Thanksgiving Day, 1987, residents of Neskowin discovered the body of Alain Malessard, a French citizen, in the Neskowin Creek Campground. The U.S. Forest Service campground had been closed for the season. Malessard, who was bicycling across North America, had been murdered at the campsite. An investigation occurred and suspects
n See MURDER, Page A4
Hilary Dorsey Staff Writer
illamook County Health Department reported 43 COVID-19 cases over the last week, from Nov. 7 through Nov. 13. “Our 14-day case count was 105,” Emergency Preparedness Coordinator Ed Colson detailed during a community update Tuesday, Nov. 16. “That’s from the end of October, the 31st, through Nov. 13.” The total cases this month from Nov. 1 through Nov. 14 are 124. There have been a total of 2,124 cases since March 2020. “Our COVID-19 related deaths stand still at 42,” Colson said. “That is 35 confirmed not vaccinated, one not having a vaccine record in the Alert database, and six were fully vaccinated.” Colson said there is one confirmed outbreak in the county and 12 pending investigation. Oregon Health Authority confirmed an outbreak as of Wednesday, Nov. 17, at Tillamook County Creamery Association with 22 cases. COVID-19 testing is available at the health center’s acute care clinic from 1-5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Make an appointment by calling 503-842-3900. Rinehart Clinic and Adventist Health also have testing available. “For those fully vaccinated in the county, for the total population for Tillamook County who are considered vaccinated is 60.92 percent,” Colson said. “We’re almost to 61 percent, as of Nov. 14.” Booster vaccines are available in Tillamook County, Colson added. Pfizer and Moderna are recommended six months after completing the two-dose series. Those eligible for Moderna and Pfizer boosters include individuals 65 years and older, people living in a long-term care facility, people 50-64 with underlying medical conditions, and people ages 18-64 with underlying medical conditions or who are at a higher risk of exposure due to where they live or work, such as grocery store employees and health care workers. The Johnson & Johnson boosters are recommended for those two months after receiving their single shot for people 18 and older. “Individuals eligible for a booster can receive the same or different COVID-19 vaccine as a booster dose depending on advice from a health care provider, individual preference, availability or convenience,” Colson said. The pediatric Pfizer vaccine is authorized for ages 5-11 in Oregon and available in Tillamook County. It is provided at the walk-in clinic, local pharmacies and through health care providers. “For the rest of the month of November, the health department will be at the fairgrounds at the 4-H dorms to have a walk-in clinic for vaccines,” Colson said. “The flu vaccine, the pneumonia vaccine and all three COVID-19 vaccines are available.” Vaccines are available from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays and from 1-5 p.m. Wednesdays. Adventist Health Tillamook, Rinehart Clinic and local pharmacies also have vaccines available. Send comments to: headlightreporter@countrymedia.net