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Special Section
2016
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Celebrating cranberries Page A2
Headlight Herald
Headlight Herald
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2016
VOL. 127, NO. 45 • $1.00
TILLAMOOK, OREGON • WWW.TILLAMOOKHEADLIGHTHERALD.COM
CHAMPIONS! 885 acres to Grand Ronde
County reaches timberland sale agreement with tribes By Ann Powers editor@northcoastcitizen.com
Tillamook County Commissioners are moving forward with a $5.5 million sale of 885 acres of timberland to the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde. Commissioners amended and approved the agreement in escrow, at their Nov. 2 regular meeting. The negotiations included a $250,000 reduction from the county’s original price because of easement concerns. “During the due diligence it was determined that easements from private property could not be secured from the west side,” said Rachel Hagerty, the commission’s general services administra-
n See TIMBER, Page A10
INDEX Classified Ads..................... B5-10 Crossword Puzzle.....................B2 Fenceposts........................ B1, B3 Letters................................... A4-5 Obituaries................................ A6 Opinions............................... A4-5 Sports................................ A12-16
Headlight-Herald photos/ Brad Mosher
(Top) For the first time ever, Tillamook High School has taken home a first place trophy from the state Cross Country meet. (Right) The meet, held Saturday, also featured a 2nd place individual finish from freshman Solace Burgeron (in lead), with Phoebe Brown, Whitney Averill and Kara Putman following.
FULL STORY ON A12
Neskowin subdivision makes rare request to withdraw from sewer district By Ann Powers editor@northcoastcitizen.com Neskowin Regional Sanitary Authority (NRSA) customers have until a Nov. 23 public hearing to collect about 40 signatures if they want an election on whether the Hills of Neskowin (HON) subdivision should be allowed out of the sewer district’s boundaries and
fees. In a two-to-one vote Nov. 2, Tillamook County Commissioners approved a petition from the subdivision’s Homeowners Association (HOA) to begin the process of withdrawing from NRSA. The majority vote determined it is not realistic for the special district to provide services directly benefiting HON in a timely manner.
“In my opinion this is not feasible and is not going to happen in a significant amount of time,” said Commission Chair Mark Labhart. Documents show HON was first platted in 1997, with each property approved for its own on-site septic system. The subdivision has nearly built out to full capacity with approximately 60 parcels – each with separate,
fully functional, septic systems. Homeowners said there has been no need for NRSA to install a sewer line for those properties in the nearly 20 years since HON was established. “This seems to be a little bit of an overkill for us,” explained HON resident Lloyd Van Roekel. “We already have a
n See SEWER, Page A8
Homegrown homecoming: NKN grad returns as new health center director By Ann Powers editor@norhtcoastcitizen.com One of the North Coast’s “homegrown” has returned to replant her roots as the new medical director for Tillamook County Community Health Centers (TCCHC). Manzanita native and 1985 Neah-Kah-Nie (NKN) High School graduate, Dr. Lisa Steffey (formerly Howell), moved back to the area from Redmond where she was practicing family medicine at the Mosaic Medical Clinic. She said she is happy to be serving the health needs of the community she has always called home. “I’ve worked with health centers for years and it’s a passion of mine to help improve the health of communities,” she said. “When this job became available in the community I grew up in, I was excited.” So was her husband, Chance Steffey, who was born in Tillamook, raised in Bay City and is currently a civil engineer. The two were high school sweethearts and scholar athletes, according to NKN High School Principal Heidi Buckmaster – who went to high school with the couple.
Courtesy photos
(Left) Dr. Lisa Steffey (Howell) as a NKN volleyball player. (Right) Steffey has returned home and accepted the medical director position for Tillamook County Community Health Centers. “They were both very friendly, very responsible and very respectful,” Buckmaster recalled. “Lisa was a high achiever in math and science classes and we’re super happy to have her back in town. She grew up in this area and she knows the people.” Lisa said she first decided on a career in the medical field during her high school years. “I worked at a pharmacy in Wheeler when I was 16 and my
grandmother was a nurse,” she said. “I was going to be a pharmacist, but then I switched my major to biology in college.” Lisa received her undergraduate degree from Western Oregon State College (now Western Oregon University) in Monmouth and her medical degree from the College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific in Pomona, Calif. She completed her residency in family practice at the University
of Wyoming. The osteopathic doctor began her career at Indian Health Service on the Wind River Indian Reservation in Lander, Wyo. She and Chance had two children, Erica and Christopher. The family eventually moved to central Oregon, where Chance was the CEO for La Pine Community Clinic and Lisa practiced family medicine. From there, the Steffeys relocated to Colorado while Chance earned a master’s degree and Lisa worked in urgent care and was a doctor at a prison. Lisa added she enjoys medical mission trips and recently returned from Papua New Guinea. She’s also been a health-care missionary in Tanzania, the Dominican Republic and Mexico. In her new position as TCCHC’s medical director, Lisa said she aims to be a voice for medical providers, ensure that quality health measures are in place, help plan the organization’s future and continue to see patients of all ages. “Coming back here feels really good,” she said. “You know what you’re coming to and you know what you’ve missed, when you’ve been gone.”