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Old House Dahlias Pumpkin Patch
CARE Shelter Village Opens
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Headlight Herald
Tuesday, October 14, 2025 | Vol. 137, Issue 41
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www.TillamookHeadlightHerald.com
Bonamici Railroad Bridge fire under investigation focused on federal O shutdown TCSO
WILL CHAPPELL
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Headlight Editor
t the recent opening of the Nehalem Bay Health District’s new clinic and pharmacy in Wheeler, United States Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici made time for a short press availability to discuss current issues. In response to a question about the federal government shutdown, Bonamici said that she had been in Washington D.C. the week prior, unlike her Republican colleagues, and was planning to return the next week. Bonamici said that she was interested in working to get the government open again, but not at the cost of jeopardizing constituents’ access to healthcare or increasing the costs of care. “I am interested in getting the government back open, but I’m not interested in supporting a budget that will result in increases in healthcare costs or people losing their access to healthcare,” Bonamici said. On the subject of the Secure Rural Schools Act and resuming the split of federal timber revenues with counties, Bonamici said that while she was aware of the issue, she and congressional colleagues were focused on ending the government shutdown at the moment. The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s proposed updates to development standards in areas of special flood hazard for Oregon jurisdictions to continue participating in the National Flood Insurance Plan was an issue Bonamici said was on her radar. Bonamici said that the Oregon congressional delegation had sent a joint letter to the agency urging them to slow the process to better account for impacts to Oregon communities. “We just sent another communication saying you’ve got to slow the process down because you don’t understand how this works,” Bonamici said, “particularly here on the Oregon coast.” Finally, in response to a question about Democrats’ message to voters heading into the midterm elections next year, Bonamici said that rising costs would be a primary focus, along with capitalizing on voters’ discontentment with President Donald Trump. “The overall message is, because we’re hearing that people are really disappointed in what they’re seeing, even people who voted for the current president, is that you deserve better,” Bonamici said. “I feel that way about the people I represent, it’s like, you deserve better than a government that is going to increase your cost, create economic chaos and take away healthcare.”
n October 8, 2025, deputies from the Tillamook County Sheriff’s Office responded to reports of a fire on a railroad bridge near the end of Hadley Road. Upon arrival, emergency personnel found the bridge actively burning. Thanks to the quick and coordinated efforts of Tillamook Fire District and Bay City Fire Department crews, the fire was promptly contained and extinguished, preventing further damage to nearby areas. Tillamook County Sheriff’s Office detectives are working in coordination with fire marshals, Port of Tillamook Bay, FBI and ATF to determine the cause and origin of the fire. The investigation remains ongoing. Anyone who may have witnessed suspicious activity in the area or has information relevant to the investigation is urged to contact Tillamook County Sheriff’s Office Detectives at 503-815-3325. No injuries were reported, and no additional information is available at this time. Updates will be provided as the investigation progresses.
Photo courtesy of Tillamook County Sheriff’s Office
According to the Tillamook County Sheriff’s office, a recent fire on Railroad Bridge near the end of Hadley Road is under investigation.
NBHD Clinic and Pharmacy opens in Wheeler WILL CHAPPELL
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Headlight Editor
everal hundred residents gathered in Wheeler on October 4, for the grand opening of the new Nehalem Bay Health District Clinic and Pharmacy, featuring a ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house. The new $12.2-million facility will allow the Nehalem Bay Health Center to expand its offerings to include dentistry and mental healthcare and significantly expand its clinic and pharmacy capacities and was supported by a $10.25-million bond approved by voters in 2023. “We reach a historic milestone today with this new health center and pharmacy,” said Nehalem Bay Health District (NBHD) President Marc Johnson, “with new services, a new and better patient experience, and a wonderful facility for the dedicated healthcare workers who devote themselves to our community. So, I am so please to have so many folks here today.” Progress toward building the new facility began when NBHD went through a strategic planning process in 2018, which led the district’s board of directors to expand the district’s mission to include helping with area needs beyond healthcare, including housing. In 2021, that led Tillamook County Commissioner Erin Skaar, then the director of Community Action Resource Enterprises, Tillamook’s homeless services provider, to reach
NBHD President Marc Johnson addressed the crowd gathered for the grand opening of the new clinic and pharmacy.
out to Johnson about a property adjacent to Highway 101 in Wheeler. At first, Skaar thought that the parcel could present an opportunity to add much-needed housing to the community. Initial inquiries showed that it would not be fit for that purpose, but that it would serve as a good home for a new health center. NBHD was then operating out of a building constructed in the 1980s, which had only six exam rooms and lacked capacity for expansion. NBHD’s board began working on a plan for a new facility and by 2022, had developed an ambitious $15.5-million plan to build the new clinic and pharmacy, majorly renovate the district’s senior care facility in Wheeler and repurpose the old clinic site for affordable housing.
Johnson said that during the development of that plan, community members asked how the district would pay for the projects, and he told them, “If you can’t envision the final project, you’ll never find a way to pay for it. If the vision is good; you can find the resources.” The district first secured $3 million in 2022’s federal OMNIBUS spending bill in support of the project as well as an additional $500,000 grant from the federal government. The board then sought voter approval for the $10.25-million bond issue in May 2023, and the measure passed with 69.7% voting in favor. Further support came in from the Oregon Community Foundation, Roundhouse Foundation, Murdoch Charitable
Trust, Robert D. and Marcia Randall Charitable Trust, Ford Family Foundation, Sam Wheeler Foundation, Samuel Johnson Foundation, Jeffrey Koslovsky Fund, Fred Cornforth and Hampton Lumber, which donated $100,000 in lumber to the project. Work began with a July 2024 groundbreaking ceremony and was led by Bremik Construction, progressing on-schedule and under budget over the past 15 months. At the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Johnson welcomed the large crowd and thanked them for attending, before welcoming Nehalem Bay Health Center and Pharmacy CEO Gail Nelson to the dais. Nelson thanked the Health Resources and Services Administration and other contributing foundations for funding furniture for the new facility, which at 16,000 square feet is three times the size of the district’s old facility, and said that the clinic’s used medical equipment was being donated to Ukraine. Nelson also thanked Dr. Harry Rinehart, a member of the Rinehart family which has practiced medicine in north Tillamook County since 1913 and helped build the hospital that was replaced by the district’s previous clinic, for his commitment. “Today’s the day to celebrate not only a new building, but the people, past and present, who make compassionate healthcare possible in north Tillamook See NBHD, Page A3
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