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Cheesemaker swim teams take two trophies Page B1
Lady Cats win
New Tillamook Bay Fire & Rescue District proposed
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Headlight Herald
Tuesday, January 20, 2026 | Vol. 138, Issue 3
$2.00
www.TillamookHeadlightHerald.com
Trask River Apartments fire kills one Merkley
focuses on Trump in Tillamook town hall
WILL CHAPPELL Headlight Editor
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midday fire on Sunday, January 11, at Trask River Apartments on Fifth Street in Tillamook left one dead and twelve displaced after three apartments were completely consumed. Firefighters from the Tillamook Fire District and Bay City Fire Department, as well as local law enforcement agencies, responded to the conflagration, the causes of which are still under investigation, according to Tillamook Fire District Operations Chief Alan Christensen. Tillamook 911 received calls about the fire and a trapped individual just after noon on Sunday, and when fire crews arrived, they found multiple units on fire and heavy smoke engulfing the scene. While officers from the Tillamook City Police and deputies from the Tillamook County Sheriff’s Office evacuated residents from nearby apartments, crews battled the blaze, containing it within a few minutes of arrival and removed a victim from outside the apartment, who was taken by ambulance to the hospital. Despite the quick response, another victim was found deceased in the apartment where the fire is believed to have begun. The identity of the deceased has not been released. In total, 22 firefighters responded to the scene, in addition to personnel from the Tillamook Ambulance, Tillamook Police, Tillamook County Sheriff’s Office, Tillamook Public Works and the Tillamook People’s Utility District. See APARTMENT FIRE, Page A3
WILL CHAPPELL Headlight Editor
The aftermath of the January 11 fire at Trask River Apartments in Tillamook.
Fire merger moves toward ballot WILL CHAPPELL
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Headlight Editor
illamook County’s board of commissioners held their first public hearing on a proposed combination of the Tillamook Fire District and Bay City Fire Department on January 14 and signaled their intention of approving the question for the ballot at a second meeting on February 11. At the meeting, leaders from both agencies and members the steering committee that has been leading the consolidation push and the public spoke in support of the proposal, saying that it was necessary to create a stable foundation for firefighting in the communities. The proposed new district would be named the Tillamook Bay Fire and Rescue Rural Fire Protection District and encompass the area covered by both the district and department. If approved for the ballot, Tillamook voters would be asked in May to approve the dissolution of their current district, while voters in the entirety of the new proposed district will be asked to weigh in on its formation and a new tax rate, and select a board of five directors, all contingent on Tillamook voters’ approval of the dissolution. Tillamook County Administrative Analyst Isabel Gilda kicked off the public hearing with a staff See MERGER, Page A4
Alder Creek Commons’s renovation included new roofing and siding, as well as updated landscaping and the addition of parking spots.
Move ins begin at Alder Creek Commons WILL CHAPPELL
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Headlight Editor
ollowing a $2.5-million renovation, the former Nehalem Bay House assisted living facility has reopened as Alder Creek Commons, with 24 affordable apartments for residents 55 and over. Daryn Murphy, the project’s lead developer from North Development Group, recently gave the Headlight
Herald a tour of the newly updated facility, which had welcomed one resident and received another dozen plus applications. Alder Creek Commons is located on the west side of Nehalem, near Bayside Gardens, and was originally built in 1997 as a 34-room, assisted-living facility. It operated under that model until 2022, when economic pressures forced its closure and it fell into the
ownership of CareOregon. For several years, CareOregon officials searched for a partner to reopen the facility, but following three or four efforts that fell through, they reached out to Murphy, who has worked with the organization before, about renovating the facility. Murphy, who had also led See ALDER CREEK, Page A2
United States Senator Jeff Merkley largely focused on his resistance to the Trump administration’s policies and actions at a town hall at Tillamook High School on January 17. Merkley voiced strong opposition to the recent military operation removing Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to the United States and discussed a list he recently compiled of ten strategies used in recent decades to undermine democracy as a basis to continue his fight to prevent Trump from doing the same in America. “We know that we have to fiercely hold our elected leaders accountable, all of us, even me,” Merkley said, “but maybe you’re making me think about what else I can do, because when I go to town halls and people say, ‘Jeff Merkley, you haven’t done enough.’ I’m thinking, what else can I do?” At the town hall, Tillamook County Commissioner Paul Fournier introduced Merkley, who presented a flag flown over the United States Capitol to members of the Nehalem Bay Health District’s board of directors in recognition of their recently completed pharmacy and clinic project. Merkley then addressed the crowd, sounding the alarm about the dwindling Social Security Trust Fund, which is set to reach a zero balance within seven years, causing a cut of 25% to social security payments. Merkley said that he was using his role on the budget committee to agitate for a solution ahead of the problem becoming an emergency for millions of retirees. “Why do we have to wait until the last second when there’s a crisis and it’s harder to fix it,” Merkley asked rhetorically. “Let’s actually do something before we reach kind of a cliff and show that we can actually govern in this United States of America.” Constituents then began asking question of Merkley, with most focused on disagreements with the administration. In response to a question about the release of the Epstein files, as required by a December 2025 bill, Merkley said that he would do what he could to make court orders compelling the justice department to follow the law stick. On the subject of Venezuela, Merkley took the president to task for taking the action not in support of democracy, but to secure control of the country’s oil reserves. Merkley said the move represented a return to a longtime U.S. foreign policy of supporting dictators as long as they allowed American companies access to their resources, engendering anti-American sentiment around the world. “It’s undermining our reputation for promoting democracy,” Merkley said. “Our damage to See MERKLEY, Page A3
IN THIS ISSUE Send us a news tip at tillamookheadlightherald.com | Your message could be the first thing our readers see! News A2-4, 8, B3 Opinion A5-6 Obituaries A7 Sports B1-2 Classifieds B4-8
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