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SERVING CURRY COUNTY SINCE 1946 www.currypilot.com

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 28, 2024

Brookings, Oregon

Pirate Fest raids Curry County for another year The Pirates of the Paciﬁc Festival celebrated its 13th iteration this year. Bringing pirate fun and mayhem to the area. This annual event always takes place on the second weekend in August. Featuring live music on two stages, vendors, food, two beer

gardens (with Rum available, of course), a Mermaid Lagoon, and Pirate Village complete with reenactors, cannons, and of course lots of Pirates! Created by Bruce Ellis (Capt. Curry), and Mike Moran (Capt. Squishee’) and brought to the

community by the Insider of S. Oregon Entertainment Newspaper, “The event was designed to bring something back to the area for the support we received in getting the Insider of S.O started (now in its Please see PIRATES, Page 4

New Department of Human Services Facility opens Asbestos The Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS) cut the ribbon on a new building in Brookings on August 5, 2024. The new Brookings building will help the south coast community by bringing together many ODHS programs in one place. This means people won’t have to travel far from Brookings and nearby areas. People will have one place to sign up for critical beneﬁts like SNAP, Oregon Health Plan and childcare. They’ll also be able to meet someone who can talk through options for an aging loved one or for someone with a physical disability looking for work. All of these services will be available at the new Brookings location. “This new building will improve access to our services

exposure may concern Oregon veterans even today BY CRISTINA JOHNSON Guest Column

Please see ODHS, Page 10

New teen club starting courtesy of local Lion’s Chapter BY NATE SCHWARTZ Curry Coastal Pilot

The Lion’s Club of Brookings-Harbor announced a new community initiative for the area’s teenagers. The Leo’s Club is a new group that the Lions hope will turn tomorrow’s leaders into today’s good Samaritans. “This club encourages leadership, opportunity, teamwork, and community involvement,” states the Lion’s Club announcement. The club will be participating in community outreach and upkeep with activities like beach and park clean-ups, service for local seniors, and a revival of the Teen Hangout, a monthly teen meeting that unfortunately had to halt. “The Lions have Leo’s groups throughout Oregon, well nationwide, but we didn’t have one here in Brookings, so we decided to start it with some of the kids from the Teen Hangout. So we have 10 now that have joined, and we need 13 for a an ofﬁcial charter, so we’re having this recruitment afternoon,” said Marianne Baxter, Lion and advisor for the Leos. That ﬁrst meeting will take place Saturday, September 7th, from 2-4 p.m. at the Chetco Community Library’s Forest Room. All local teens from ages 13-18 are welcome and encouraged to come make new friends and engage in uplifting the community. The projects the Leo’s have planned are all decided on by the group of teens, themselves. Learning essential skills along the way, Leo’s Club members will get

The U.S. military resorted to asbestoscontaining products throughout the last century as WWII demanded accessible materials for military equipment. Asbestos was abundant in the markets and became the material of choice for the military industry. All ﬁve branches of the armed forces used these durable products due to their fair price. It resulted in many service members being exposed to asbestos, especially veterans of the Second World War, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. The growing number of toxic exposure cases among our veterans today underlines the health risks they assumed, in addition to the challenges of service. Many of them now have fragile health and may have to deal with severe asbestos diseases linked to their military years. Asbestos contaminated most military bases throughout the state Asbestos’s heat and corrosion resistance was favored in all industries, including the military, and nobody considered asbestos dust a health threat. It is why the risk of developing asbestos diseases remains a concern for all veterans who might have asbestos ﬁbers in their lungs, including those in Oregon’s veteran community and Curry County’s veteran population. Although all the military applied asbestos, the Navy Please see ASBESTOS, Page 9

Please see TEEN CLUB, Page 8

INDEX

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

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