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SERVING CURRY COUNTY SINCE 1946 www.currypilot.com

Brookings, Oregon

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2024

Women in Business:

Holiday Pop-Up Shop This is a first in a monthly series where The Pilot will be highlighting Women in Business in Curry County Organically Healed: Jennifer Smith, owner of Organically Healed and Rescue Threadz, is all smiles at this year’s holiday pop-up shop.

BY LINDA LEE

Curry Coastal Pilot

The Coos Curry Douglas (CCD) Business Development Corporation, a non-proﬁt organization that helps many types of businesses thrive, held a holiday pop-up shop at the Chetco Brewery, in Brookings, on Tuesday, December 10th highlighting local women in business. The pop-up shop took the place of the regular monthly meeting usually held by the CCD and was a huge success. With sixteen local women business owners at the event there was a variety of goods, wares and services for local shoppers to take advantage of. “For the holidays we have twenty-ﬁve percent

off in the store and gift wrapping,” said Tammy Tanner owner of Feather Your Nest and a pop-up shop vendor. “We’re the husband destination should they need some help.” Another vendor at the event was Jennifer Smith who is owner and operator of Organically Healed, a life-coaching business, and Rescue Threadz, a t-shirt company. Smith believes in paying it forward and donates a portion of her sales from Rescue Threadz to the South Coast Humane Society. “With Organically Healed, I work with people one on one to help empower them with anything they might be having challenges with in life and I also use my horses as part of my coaching, if somebody wants to do that,” said Smith. “The Rescue Threadz is a t-shirt business that is all animal themed. It’s t-shirts with a cause.” The purpose of the CCD is to provide support, offer resources and networking opportunities, among other services, to entrepreneurs in the region. This event at the brewery focused on women in business. “We’re the economic development for Coos, Curry and Douglas Counties,” said Kem Todd. “We help them close gaps and over-come obstacles.” CCD holds monthly meetings in each of the three counties to offer an environment where women can share Please see WIB, Page 10 ideas, grow and

City of Brookings to Acquire New Electric Trucks & Charging Station BY LINDA LEE

Curry Coastal Pilot

The City of Brookings will be adding two new electric trucks to its fleet in 2025 thanks to a grant from the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT). The grant comes from a Carbon Emission Program funded by the ODOT as part of a green initiative backed by the federally funded National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program and the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Started in 2022, and running until 2026, the NEVI program is intended to bring communities into the electric vehicle (EV) future by delivering fifty-two million dollars in funding throughout the state to, not only provide vehicles, but charging stations throughout specific corridors within the state. “This is a great opportunity for our city to embrace practical solutions now and in the years ahead,” said Brookings City Mayor Isaac Hodges. ODOT’s role in the NEVI program will be to manage and ensure all federal standards

are met with the distribution of funds, purchase of vehicles and to ensure all federal standards are met. According to ODOT, the department does not own, install, operate or maintain any of the NEVI charging stations, stating that pre-qualiﬁed private companies will manage and complete that work. It’s anticipated that about ﬁfty public EV fast charging stations will either be installed or upgraded throughout the state. “This grant allows Brookings to make a smart investment into its future,” said City Manager Tim Rundell. Approximately $426,000 was awarded to the city and will be used to purchase and maintain the vehicles and install the charging stations. Matching funds in the amount of approximately $48,000 was required by the city and brings the total investment to nearly

$475,000. “By adding electric trucks to our ﬂeet and building the charging infrastructure, we’re improving efﬁciency, cutting operating costs and positioning the city to meet future demands without placing a burden on taxpayers,” said Rundell.

Please see CHARGING, Page 3

The Ford Electric Lightening Truck

Former Curry County Roadmaster

Alleges Mismanagement, Settles Lawsuit Christiansen was hired in December 2017, following an 11-year term as Public Works Supervisor in Brookings, with approval from the Board of Commissioners. Within his ﬁrst week, he attended a meeting of department managers in the “Blue Room” at the Curry County Annex on Moore Street. The meeting, intended as an introduction to various department heads, took an unusual turn when it was Ward’s turn to speak. “Sitting across the table, Sheriff Ward didn’t say hello or welcome,” Christiansen recounted. “Instead, he declared, ‘I’m taking the road fund, and you can’t do nothing to stop me.’” Ward next produced a folded letter, purportedly from then-Governor Kate Brown, which he claimed authorized the use of road funds for patrol-related purposes. Unfolding the document dramatically, Ward stated, “This says the road fund’s

ELLIOT SCHWARZ

Curry Coastal Pilot

Richard Christiansen, former Roadmaster for Curry County, has reached a $500,000 settlement with the county’s insurer, CIS, following a January 2024 lawsuit alleging improper use of public funds and workplace intimidation. Christiansen’s claims, centered on managing the county’s road fund reserves, have brought attention to governance practices within Curry County. Christiansen was dismissed from his position in February 2024. The settlement underscores the deep divisions over ﬁscal priorities. Christensen and Sheriff John Ward offer conﬂicting accounts of a heated meeting that has become emblematic of the broader dispute. Tensions Over Road Fund Management

INDEX

mine.” The exchange left Christiansen unsettled but resolved to understand the complexities of the road fund. In a subsequent hallway conversation, Ward reiterated his stance, telling Christiansen, “The only reason I can’t get a sheriff levy tax measure passed is because the road fund exists.” Christiansen countered, “I told him, ‘I don’t believe that’s true. I’ve worked on tax measures successfully, and the road fund isn’t the problem.’” Ward, however, has a markedly different recollection. In an email to The Pilot, Ward rejected Christensen’s version of events, calling it “totally false.” “Rich Christensen has a much different recall of our ﬁrst conversation. I had gone out to welcome him to the Road Department, and during that time, he brought up the use of the road fund. At no time did I say that I was taking road

funds and that there was nothing he could do about it. That is totally false. I had only mentioned the [Oregon Revised Statutes] for the county being authorized by law to use Road Fund Reserves for road patrol and indirect cost to patrol. I told him I had no authority to direct the use, that it was the sole decision of the [Board of Commissioners (BOC)]. There were no statements made on my part that indicated that I was taking from the road fund reserves. I then reiterated that the BOC was the only one that could make the decisions.” Ward also accused Christensen of mismanaging the situation, suggesting that he “was spending to tie up the funds just so none of it went to the Sheriff’s Ofﬁce…and I had nothing to do with him being ﬁred.” Christiansen described the road fund as a vital resource, traditionally reserved for maintainPlease see LAWSUIT, Page 2

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

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