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Headlight Herald WEDNESDAY, JULY 9, 2014
VOL. 125, NO. 28 • $1.00
TILLAMOOK, OREGON • WWW.TILLAMOOKHEADLIGHTHERALD.COM
$5.3M dory lawsuit goes to trial By Chelsea Yarnell cyarnell@countrymedia On July 6, 2008, Cole Ortega (then 14-years old) of Bend, Ore. was out surfing near Cape Kiwanda in Pacific City. In a sequence of unfortunate events, an incoming dory boat operated by Darrell D. Martin of Beaver hit Ortega. The boat’s propeller severed Ortega’s left arm between the elbow and the shoulder. Once taken by Life Flight to Legacy Emmanuel Hospital in Portland, surgeons were able to re-attach the arm.
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Oregon State Police identified the body of a suicide victim, found on Friday, July 4 near Oswald West State Park, as Brian Allan Bitton of Portland.
Body of suicide victim identified Oregon State Police (OSP), with the assistance of the Tillamook County Medical Examiner, are continuing the investigation into the death of a 44-year old adult male who apparently took his own life Friday night on a trail overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The deceased male’s name is released in this update. According to Sergeant Greg See VICTIM Page A2
INDEX Classified Ads.......................B5-8 Crossword Puzzle.................... B2 Fenceposts...........................B3-4 Letters......................................A4 Obituaries................................A6 Opinions..................................A4 Sports.....................................A14
LONGEST-RUNNING BUSINESS IN TILLAMOOK COUNTY SINCE 1888
Now, almost exactly six years after the incident, a $5.3 million personalinjury lawsuit, which was filed on
Ortega’s behalf in 2010, is set to go to trial. Beginning July 15 in the Tillamook Circuit Court, a twelve-person jury and Judge Mari Garric Trevino will hear Ortega’s case against defendants Martin and the State of Oregon. The complaint filed with the Tillamook Circuit Court states the grounds for the lawsuit as: “The State of Oregon was negligent in failing to provide adequate warnings of the danger of collisions between dory boats and other persons at or near Cape Kiwanda,” and that Martin was negligent in one or more of the fol-
lowing particulars: in failing to keep proper lookout, in operating his dory boat at a great rate of speed than was reasonable under the circumstances, in operating his dory boat unsafely, in failing to maintain proper control of his dory boat, in operating his dory boat without a boater’s safety card and in operating his dory boat with an empty air horn can. The sought lawsuit covers $5,000,000 in damages for non-economic losses, $300,000 for economic losses (such as past medical bills) and See LAWSUIT Page A2
Local returned Peace Corps volunteers share their stories By Chelsea Yarnell cyarnell@countrymedia.net
New principal at Tillamook High B y M i c h a e l Wa t e r l o o mwaterloo@countrymedia.net After serving as the interim principal for four months last school year, Tillamook High School went forward and hired Greg English as its new principal. Superintendent Randy Schild is excited about adding English to the high school, but not under the circumSee PRINCIPAL Page A3
On July 2, several local returned Peace Corps volunteers gathered at the Tillamook Library at an open house to share about their experiences and talk about the various countries they served in. “One of the goals of Peace Corps is to bring the host country’s culture back and share it with the United States,” Anna Travers said. “After we get back from the Peace Corps we are supposed to do different things to achieve that goal. So this definitely falls into that category.” Travers joined the Peace Corps in 2009 after graduating from Willamette University. “I was interested in doing something adventurous,” Travers told the Headlight Herald. “I didn’t really have a plan for after college of what I wanted to do. So, I thought it would be a good time to go do something like this.” Travers was assigned to work as an Agroforestry extension agent in Senegal, Africa.
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Tillamook officials James and Emily Fanjoy stand with their Guatemalan host family outside of their mud house, dressed in traditional Mayan dress concerned See STORIES Page A2 of the village. for marijuana Jacobsen Salt Co. opens space in Portland legalization Courtesy Photo
By Chelsea Yar nell cyarnell@countrymedia.net
By Blayne Sheaffer bsheaffer@countrymedia.net
On July 1, Netart’s own Jacobsen Salt Company hosted a soft opening for their new warehouse and tasting room in Portland. “We moved shipping and warehousing of our products from here to Portland primarily because it gets products to customers faster and cheaper,” Ben Jacobsen, owner and founder of Jacobsen Salt Company, told the Headlight Herald. In just a few short years, this small sea salt company has creat-
On June 26, marijuana advocates New Approach Oregon submitted enough signatures to put legalized recreational marijuana on the Oregon ballot in November. Should it become legal to possess recreational marijuana, Tillamook County officials are leery as to what that may mean for the county. “I’m actually quite concerned,” Senator Betsy Johnson said. “I’m concerned that as we rush toward this that we haven’t thought through the unintended consequences.” After the reported trouble that Washington and Colorado are having with dispensaries and how to manage them, County Commissioner Tim Josi and Tillamook Mayor Suzanne Weber join Johnson with hopes that Oregon will learn from these other states’ struggle. “The biggest concern is determining how to regulate outlets,” Josi said. “If Oregon votes to legalize marijuana for recreational use, and I assume we will sooner or later, we should look to these two states for guidance.” Weber addressed Oregon’s failure with Cover Oregon, and how it should be an education to the state in terms of enacting a fail-safe system where marijuana is concerned. “We would hope that Oregon would be better prepared because of what it has learned through its experiences with the health care debacle,” Weber said.
See JACOBSEN Page A2
Courtesy Photo
Netart’s Jacobsen Salt Co. held a soft opening on July 1 for their new warehouse and tasting room in Portland.
Air Museum remains open, operating By Blayne Sheaffer bsheaffer@countrymedia.net Tillamook Air Museum Curator Christian Gurling wanted to address a rumor. Yes, several planes have left the museum to return to their original owner, but no, the museum is not closing because of this. “Some of our airplanes have left, but we still have quite a few airplanes here,” Gurling said. “At the moment we have 14 airplanes.” In fact, the Air Museum has been quite busy. “For instance, on the weekends, we’ve been getting over 300 people a day,” Gurling said. “So business is good.” In addition to the planes, there’s a theater that explains the history of Hangar B and how it was built during World War II, as well as
an exhibit hall with artifacts from World Wars I and II, and even the Persian Gulf War. “It’s full of items that—for those of us who weren’t a part of that generation—we can see those items and reflect on the courage and the patriotism of those young men and women,” Gurling said. Because there are so many items to display and only so much room to do so in the hangar, Gurling tries to rotate artifacts in the Exhibit Hall and move planes around the show room. He feels this will entice people to come back multiple times. “I want people to say, ‘Wow, that was well worth it,’” Gurling said. “A lot of museums you go into and it’s like, ‘Well, I’ve seen that before,’ and you say, ‘That was exactly the same, nothing’s See AIR Page A2
Photos by Blayne Sheaffer
While several planes have been moved from the Tillamook Air Museum to their original owner, it remains open with much to see and do for the whole family.
See OFFICIALS Page A2