North Coast
Citizen Serving North Tillamook County since 1996
Thursday, November 13, 2025 | Vol. 32, Issue 22
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With SNAP in limbo, food bank braces WILL CHAPPELL Citizen Editor
PHOTO BY PAIGE STAHLE
The dock at the Tillamook County boat launch in Netarts had taken significant damage, including several sections blown away, by high tide around noon on November 6.
Winds batter Tillamook as winter weather arrives WILL CHAPPELL Citizen Editor
Repeated storm systems lashed Tillamook County with high winds and more than two inches of rain in the first week of November, also generating a waterspout off Oceanside on Wednesday and causing multiple power outages and damage. Meteorological conditions were exacerbated by the season’s first King Tides from November 5-7, which saw high tides peak at ten feet each day. Storm systems began See WEATHER, Page A2
WILL CHAPPELL
Citizen Editor
A lifelong drive and passion for fighting fires brought Randolph “Tad” Pedersen to Garibaldi in October, where he now serves as the chief of the fire department. Pedersen said that he is looking forward to helping the department bounce back from a rough patch after former Chief Jay Marugg resigned in protest over the department’s budget in May and that he has already been impressed by the community’s support for the department. “I think that the relationship between the community and the fire department here is exceptional and that excites me,” Pedersen said.
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See FIRE CHIEF, Page A5
Soup Bowl attendees select hand-crafted bowls made by a group of Clatsop County potters.
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New Fire Chief takes reins in Garibaldi WILL CHAPPELL
Citizen Editor
See SOUP BOWL, Page A2
See SNAP, Page A5
PHOTO BY STEVE WECKS
The same high winds that generated Wednesday’s waterspout in Oceanside also upended at least one trailer.
Soup Bowl raises funds to support Tides of Change Tides of Change hosted its 15th annual Soup Bowl fundraising event at Pacific Restaurant on October 25, raising more than $20,000 to support their services to survivors of gender-based and domestic violence. At the event, attendees were able to select one of 150 bowls donated by a group of potters from Clatsop County and enjoy an all-you-can-eat soup buffet catered by more than a dozen local restaurants and individuals. Tides of Change Executive Director Valerie Bundy thanked eventgoers for their support and said that it was critical to helping her staff continue serving those in need.
As funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Plan payments for November remains unsure amid the ongoing federal government shutdown, the Tillamook branch of the Oregon Food Bank and its partner food pantries are preparing for an uptick in demand. Oregon Food Bank’s Tillamook Regional Manager Julia Wentzel said that the uncertainty and potential lack of benefits was going to further strain a system that was already overburdened, and that looking ahead, the issues only promise to get worse as components of the Republican spending bill passed this summer come into effect in January. “I think that it’s important to think about this as a spike in an ongoing crisis,” Wentzel said. “We were in a moment of pretty severe food insecurity before any of this happened and we are looking at permanent changes to SNAP that will have really dire consequences for SNAP families but also for our entire local economy.” The apparent status of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Plans (SNAP) payments for November morphed throughout the week through a series of legal rulings. On Monday, a federal judge ruled that the Trump administration must disburse at least half of monthly payments to SNAP recipients, while another court ordered full benefit payment on Friday, though the administration challenged both rulings. Oregon leaders, along with those in several other states, indicated early on Friday that they planned to send participants full November benefits, even in the face of the pending legal battle. In Tillamook County, about 15% of the population, or 4,5000 people, receives SNAP benefits averaging just under $7 a day, Wentzel said. Under normal circumstances, the food bank and pantry system serves as a safety net for people waiting for
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