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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 19, 2024

Brookings, Oregon

Merkley holds annual town halls on the South Coast a chance to ask questions via a rafﬂe system. Senator Merkley began both Town Halls by honoring a local charitable organization. In Coos Bay, the Lions Club was chosen. In Curry County Wally’s House received the recognition. Each group was presented with an American Flag that had ﬂown over the U.S. Capitol as a thank you for their community efforts. In Gold Beach, the Senator himself was honored by the Oregon Anglers Alliance for his role in assisting the Cole Rivers Hatchery, which has done important work to revitalize the Rogue River’s salmon population.

BY NATE SCHWARTZ Curry Coastal Pilot

Senator Jeff Merkley made his annual stop for Town Halls along the South Coast this month. On Friday, June 7th, the Senator help events in North Bend and Gold Beach to hear questions from the media and public, and address local concerns. Mayor Jessica Engelke took up emcee duties in North Bend, with State Rep. Court Boice doing the honors in Gold Beach. Along with his counterpart, Senator Wyden, the Oregon senatorial team are the only in the nation to hold a Town Hall in every county in their constituent state. Around 80 people showed for each event, and attendees had

Please see TOWN HALLS, Page 10

Brookings home destroyed, captured mid-blaze Southwestern BY NATE SCHWARTZ

offers a variety of classes in Curry County this summer

Curry Coastal Pilot

A Brookings family was dealt a crushing blow after a blaze claimed their home at 14929 Ocean View in Brookings Harbor. Harbor Fire District Chief Steve McClintock was first on the scene, after the call came in at around 4:38 p.m. on Monday, May 11. A combined force of 15 firefighters and 3 engines from the Brookings and Harbor departments arrived to try and stop the damage. Unfortunately, the house was entirely lost, with the damages expected to be in excess of $500,000. The cause of the fire has yet to be determined, though an Oregon State Fire Marshall deputy was on hand to inspect the scene. The investigation

For the Pilot

Please see FIRE, Page 4

State ofﬁcials hear comments on offshore wind lease proposal northwest of Coos Bay between Reedsport and Florence. The southernmost area is directly west of Brookings. Andy Lanier, Marine Affairs Coordinator with Oregon DLCD explained that the process is still in its early stages. “We are not at the stage where a project is being proposed,” Lanier stated. “That’s still years down the road.” It was explained that the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) completed a draft assessment

BY TONY REED Country Media, Inc.

Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) ofﬁcials stopped in coastal communities last week for ﬁve public meetings, one of those held in Brookings, designed to explain a stateconducted review of a federal proposal to lease two offshore areas for the purpose of exploring wind energy development. The northernmost area is

of potential impacts that would be caused by the issuance of a lease. Such a lease would allow a developer to study whether wind energy is feasible there. “They would not be able to build anything until BOEM approves a construction operations plan,” Jeff Burright, DLDC state/federal relations coordinator, said later. “When a lessee submits a plan to BOEM for their approval, BOEM needs the state to review that before they can act, so we would get a second Federal Consistency

Review opportunity.” The environmental impact of a lease would be that it would give lessees right of way and right of use to install and maintain buoys, SONAR and monitoring equipment to help examine the viability of developing wind energy in two areas. According to the BOEM assessment, buoys would not be visible from shore, while onshore impacts would be increased boat trafﬁc in those areas. It would also allow ocean ﬂoor and core sampling, biological and geophysical studies to happen there. The players As with many proposed governmental/environmental actions, the number of involved regulatory agencies can become overwhelming and confusing and this is no different. The 80-page draft Environmental Assessment presented contained a list of 134 acronyms, 39 or which are government agencies, government documents or legislative actions. The (federal) Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is part of the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI). BOEM prepared an environmental assessment which looked at whether issuing leases in Wind Energy Areas (WEA). House Bill 3375, passed in 2021, directed agencies to look at the possibility of developing offshore wind energy, directing the Oregon Department of Energy (ODE), in consultation with the state Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD), to

INDEX

Southwestern Oregon Community College offers a variety of classes this summer for credit and for personal interest on a range of topics from Agroecology to Writing. Popular ﬁtness classes include: Low-impact Aerobics, Better Bones and Balance®, and Tai Chi, as well as a new American Tribal Style Belly Dance class. New this summer is a series of three Agroecology classes – What is Agroecology, Life and Photosynthesis, and Sustainability is for Everyone. Join Dr. Linda Pope to learn more about these topics. Two cooking classes are offered: Easy Cooking Refresher for the beginner and Walk Through the Roots of Latin America for the more adventurous palate. Aspiring writers can practice their craft and enroll in What Makes a Good Story. GED and English language classes are offered at the Curry Campus and via Zoom for free. Selected credit classes during summer term are being offered on a “Two for One” deal. Register for one summer class and take another class for FREE! This “Two for One” summer deal allows students a costeffective way to explore their options and career pathways or get ahead on credits over the summer. Classes may be in-person or online and must be a minimum of three credits, with a maximum limit of two free classes. This offer excludes Oregon Coast Culinary Institute courses. All required fees and books are the student’s responsibility. The second class must be of equal or lesser value. For more information and to register contact the Student Success Center at the Curry Campus at 541-8131667. Southwestern Oregon Community College leads and inspires lifelong learning through its campuses on the south Oregon coast in Coos and Curry counties. For more information, visit www.socc.edu.

Please see WIND AREAS, Page 3

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

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