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SERVING CURRY COUNTY SINCE 1946

www.currypilot.com WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2026

Brookings, Oregon

Ready for Pomp and Circumstance.... Primary

2026: Election Results for Curry County Staff Report

Brooking-Harbor Class of 2026. Photo provided

Brookings-Harbor to celebrate Class of 2026 include: Mia Eames, Morgan Ferris, Patrick Hatch, Julius Johnson, Alex Justman, Johanna Larson, Lexie Newman, Sahara Sankoh, and Sierra Stout. Honors Diploma recipients complete rigorous coursework, including advanced math, science, and college-level dual credit courses. Additionally, salutatorian De Vera and Andrea Ramirez-Cortes have earned the Oregon Seal of Biliteracy. This is the official state verification of a student’s

For the Pilot

Brookings-Harbor High School will celebrate the achievement of 97 new graduates at the annual ceremony from 2 to 4 pm. Saturday, May 30, at Lundeen Field in Brookings’ Azalea Park. The Class of 2026 Valedictorians are Robert Krebs and Oceana Powers-Schmitz. Elyza De Vera has been named Salutatorian. Additional students earning Honors Diplomas this year

ability to speak, read, and write in their home language, or any additional language other than English. Commencement will include recognition for Gary Suter, Teacher of the Year, and Sandy Garrison, Staff Member of the Year, as voted by the graduating class. Mr. Suter is a Career Technical Education teacher at the high school, teaching classes such as welding, woodworking, and robotics. Garrison is the high

school’s front office secretary. This year’s keynote speakers will be Kristi Fulton, a longtime counselor who is retiring this June after nearly 33 years with the school district, and Ashley Pruitt, BHHS Registrar. For additional event information, including parking and seating maps, and a list of the Class of 2026 candidates, visit bhhs.brookings.k12.or.us/apps/ pages/graduation2026.

Tolowa Dee-ni' Nation releases 25,000 juvenile Chinook into Smith River

As of the morning after election day on May 19, 2026, voter turnout for the Midterm Primary was up compared to previous years at 43.5% in Curry County. That is 8,406 of the 19,338 eli-gible voters. This is nearly a 4% increase on the 2022 midterms, representing almost 900 more votes than before. It puts Curry County well above the state average of 32.2%, showing great amounts of civic engagement! Here are the preliminary results as of reporting on May 20. These numbers are still to be cer-tified and subject to change. Local Races & Measures The race for county commissioner was won by incumbent Lynn Coker by a hair and will lead to a runoff in November against challenger Jeremy Dumire. At the time of writing, the gap be-tween Coker and Dumire is ~2%, or just 164 votes. Port Orford’s measure for funding the Port Orford Police Department (POPD) was success-ful, while the Brookings-Harbor School District (BHSD) bond measure for improving school facilities was not. The BHSD will lose a matching state grant of $6.1 million with the measure not passing. Curry County Commissioner, Position 1 Lynn Coker (Incumbent) 41.81% Jeremy Dumire 39.59% Jeffery Schoonover 18.12% Write-In 0.49%

The Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation’s Fisheries Division and staff at Rowdy Creek Fish Hatchery released approximately 25,000 juvenile Chinook Salmon into the lower Smith River on Friday, May 15. The release was the culmination of an annual fish enhancement program that started with the seining and spawning of adult Chinook in late fall. The hatchery aims to release a total of 60,000 Chinook salmon this spring to support subsistence harvest for tribal members and maintain local recreational fishing opportunities for the public. The process began last October when staff from the Nation’s Natural Resource and Public Works and Facilities departments, with help from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, collected adult Chinook Salmon from the mainstem Smith River using a beach seine. The salmon were transported in a holding tank by trailer to the hatchery. At the hatchery, eggs were collected from females and fertilized using milt (sperm) from males. The eggs were incubated until they hatched. In February, Fisheries Division and hatchery staff began transferring Chinook salmon fry (young salmon whose yolk sac is almost fully

Measure 8-119 City of Port Orford, Sustainable Funding for POPD Yes 58.6% No – 41.41% Measure 8-118 – BHSD Bonds for Facility Improvement Yes 42.2% No 57.8%

Tribal Resource Specialist Erika Partee, right, is joined by hatchery employee Steve McCown and Frank Ault from the Public Works and Facilities Division. Not pictured: Fisheries Division Manager Jennifer Jacobs.

See More Chinook on page 3

Local Results for State and Federal Contests Curry County’s selections for state and federal races all saw victory as of writing, including a surprise nomination for Senator for David Brock Smith, who has served previously as the State Senator for Curry County’s District 1. Smith received strong support from Curry and Coos County, helping him over the line. He will face Senator Jeff Merkley in November. Running unopposed for their chance to represent District 1 as State Representative, in-cumbent Court Boice (R) will face Bret Cecil (D) in the general election. While familiar matchups will occur on the federal level as well, where Val Hoyle (D) will once again be chal-lenged by Monique DeSpain (R) for the District 4 Congressional seat. The gas tax was shot down by a large margin, both in Curry County and statewide. Tina Ko-tek will face Christine Drazan for the gubernatorial race in November. Here is how Curry County voted in these wider races. For See More Results on page 3

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