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Inside
Headlight Herald
Tuesday, June 9, 2026 | Vol. 138, Issue 23
$2.00
www.TillamookHeadlightHerald.com
Adventist opens new operating rooms County
financial update
Will Chappell
O
Headlight Editor
n May 8, Adventist Health Tillamook began surgeries in four new operating rooms constructed as part of an ongoing, $18-million overhaul of the hospital’s surgery department. Work crews from Skanska USA Building have now begun work on converting the department’s old operating rooms into a space for pre- and post-operative patient care, including the remediation of a foundation issue that precipitated the project in part. Construction of the new operating rooms began in March 2025, and careful phasing of the project allowed surgeries to continue uninterrupted throughout the building process. The new 4,500-square-foot addition to the hospital sits at the building’s rear and, in addition to the four operating rooms, added a new sterile processing department and office space for staff. Hospital staff had an opportunity to tour the new facility in late April, before the surgery team gathered in the space on May 7, for a blessing led by Senior Chaplain Tracy Welch. Now, construction work has shifted to the area that previously housed the hospital’s operating rooms. A major impetus for the upgrade and remodel project was a leaky pipe in the area that over time caused major cracking and sinking of the floor. Workers will cut away affected areas to find problem area, elevate the foundation,
Will Chappell Headlight Editor
W
Photo by John Hay
The surgery team gathered for a blessing of the new operating rooms on May 7, before conducting the first surgeries in the new space on May 8.
address underlying issues, add additional support and backfill before placing a new, level floor. The leaking pipe that caused the subsidence and all other piping in the area will also be replaced.
Photo by Will Chappell
Work in progress to convert the old operating rooms into pre- and post-op bays.
Once that process, which is expected to take four to six weeks and began last week, is complete, work will begin on finishing the area that will house a utility and nutrition room, nurs-
ing station and open bays for pre- and post-operative patients. Work is expected to be complete in October, with patients to be welcomed starting in December.
Photo by Will Chappell
The section of the floor that has major subsidence caused by leaky pipes.
Garibaldi manager departs Will Chappell Headlight Editor
F
ollowing months of tension with city councilors, Garibaldi City Manager Jake Boone reached a separation agreement with the council that saw him leave the city May 31. Boone, who arrived at the city in August 2024, drew citizen and council concern when he reduced employee work weeks from 40 to 32 hours last fall, and councilors became increasingly concerned this spring about a lack of responsiveness from Boone and issues noticing public meetings. That made council receptive when Boone proposed a negotiated separation, with Interim Mayor Linda Bade saying they had decided it was necessary to get the city back on track. “We weren’t going where we wanted to go,” Bade said, “it didn’t feel like we were really listening to the citizens the way the three of us who remained (on council) wanted to listen to the citizens.” Before arriving in Garibaldi, Boone See garibaldi, Page A8
Staff from local firefighting entities, Coast Guard Station Tillamook Bay, Tillamook County Sheriff’s Office and the YMCA’s swim program help fit Liberty Elementary first graders with life jackets.
TELC leads lifejacket donation Will Chappell
A
Headlight Editor
s part of an ongoing effort to increase water safety across the county, the Tillamook Early Learning Center and a group of community volunteers outfitted all firstgrade students at Liberty Elementary School with lifejackets on May 29. This marks the third year that Tillamook Early Learning Center (TELC) has held a similar event, providing
more than 400 lifejackets total to kids across the county, as part of an initiative referred to as “Diving into Water Fun and Safety.” In past years, the lifejacket giveaway event had been hosted at the Port of Garibaldi’s event tent, but this year, volunteers traveled to Liberty Elementary School and Nehalem Elementary School to give lifejackets to students who had completed swim lessons with the Tillamook YMCA or North County Recreation District.
77 students at Nehalem Elementary School received lifejackets, as did 104 at Liberty Elementary. Bill Pitino, Greg’s Marine Service and Englund Marine sponsored the giveaway and members of Nehalem Bay Fire & Rescue, NetartsOceanside Fire District, the Garibaldi Fire Department, Tillamook County Sheriff’s Office and Coast Guard Station Tillamook Bay assisted in fitting students with properly sized flotation devices.
ith the end of the fiscal year less than a month away, Tillamook County Financial Director Debra Jacob updated county commissioners on the county’s financial status at their June 3 meeting. Commissioners also approved an extension of the lease for the Tillamook County Community Health Center’s (TCCHC) main clinic at 801 Pacific Avenue, including an option to purchase the building for $1.2 million from the Robert Riggert Family Foundation should the county secure funding to do so in the next year. Jacob began her presentation by saying that through 11 months, the county budget’s overall status was good, with two major revenue sources outperforming projections. Timber revenue from the Tillamook State Forest has come in $1.5 million over the budgeted $3.9 million, while interest payments are $149,000 ahead of forecasts. In total, the county’s revenues are $1.3 million ahead of where they were last year at the same time. Last month, the county budget committee decided to direct $500,000 of the timber surplus into the county’s revenue stabilization fund and the rest towards the county’s beginning fund balance, which Jacob said is set to begin the new fiscal year at $12.5 million. On the expenditures side of the ledger, Jacob said that the county has spent 78% of budgeted expenditures at $22.5 million. The biggest savings have come courtesy of unfilled staff positions, with a 10.9% vacancy rate on the county’s 120 fulltime employees leaving $15 million spent against $19 million budgeted. Jacob concluded by saying that after accounting for the transfer of timber funds to the revenue stabilization fund, the county’s was on track to finish the fiscal year with a $327,000 surplus, having spent just over $24.2 million and brought in $24.5 million. The agreement to potentially purchase the TCHC’s main clinic building and an adjoining undeveloped parcel came as part of a lease renewal with the properties’ owner, Robert Riggert Family Foundation. The agreement established rents through October 2033, while also providing the county the opportunity to purchase the properties for $1.2 million should it be able to secure a Business Oregon loan to support the acquisition.
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