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Santa Visits Air Base
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Headlight Herald
Tuesday, December 9, 2025 | Vol. 137, Issue 49
Tillamook Chamber celebrates with annual awards
Weber raises alarm over family courts
Decking the Halls
TILLAMOOK AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
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t’s time to start the search for the unsung heroes of our community. The Tillamook Area Chamber of Commerce is excited to announce our Annual Community Awards Banquet, set for Saturday, January 24th, 2026, at 5:30 p.m. This special evening is dedicated to honoring the heart and soul of Tillamook County: the dedicated individuals, businesses and projects that elevate and inspire us all. To ensure every deserving contribution is recognized, we are relying on you. Be the one to spot and nominate those who are truly making a difference in our county. It is through your nominations that we discover the unsung heroes and shining stars among us. We want to hear about the businesses that consistently go above and beyond, the individuals who tirelessly volunteer their time and the projects that are shaping a brighter future for everyone in Tillamook. All businesses, projects, and individuals throughout Tillamook County are eligible for nomination. Please note that for the Development Project of the Year, the primary development must be completed by December 31st, 2025, to be eligible. We know that our county is brimming with incredible talent and dedication, and while we receive a high volume of nominations each year, we want to assure you that every single nomination is valued. To ensure fairness and truly reflect the best of Tillamook, the honorees are carefully chosen by a selection committee composed of community members, not Chamber staff. This independent committee reviews each submission, ensuring the final list truly represents the outstanding spirit of our area. We are continually astonished by the positive impact being made county-wide. The powerful stories of remarkable businesses and dedicated individuals remind us just how wonderful and resilient Tillamook County is. To spark your inspiration and showcase the kind of excellence we are searching for, we wanted to briefly recap some of our inspiring winners from last year, demonstrating the people and projects that make our community shine: Citizen of the Year, Kaylan Sisco. A true community leader, Kaylan revitalized the local YMCA, transforming it into a welcoming hub that fosters inclusivity and rebuilds trust. His dedication to repurposing the former bowling alley into the Pastega Activity Center has provided a safe and engaging space for kids, addressing a vital need with creativity and compassion. Small Business Community Award Winner, Tillamook Tire. A third-generation family business, Tillamook Tire has been a trusted See CHAMBER, Page A3
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WILL CHAPPELL
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Headlight photo by Will Chappell
Tillamook community members gathered downtown on December 6, for the city’s 23rd annual tree lighting ceremony, followed by a light parade. Before the tree lighting, kids were invited to a coloring contest and photos with Santa, while local musical groups performed and twin rocks offered free hotdogs and hot cocoa. Suzanne Weber selected a local youth to light the tree and afterwards, local businesses and individuals with cars bedecked in festive lights paraded down Third Street.
Commissioners discuss financial priorities WILL CHAPPELL
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Headlight Editor
n a work session on December 3, Tillamook County commissioners prioritized a list of revenue-generating and costcutting measures to help bridge a $2-3 million annual shortfall in the county’s budget. Part of a multiyear process started in summer 2024, the meeting gave staff direction on which ideas to research further, with commissioners stressing that public processes would take place before they pursued implantation of any of the ideas. Conversations around the county’s tenuous budget situation kicked in to high gear last summer after the spring approval of a habitat conservation plan for western Oregon state forests cut the county’s timber revenues substantially. Along with statutorily limited increases to property taxes, that revenue cut created a projected deficit of to $2 million to $3.6 million in each of the five fiscal years starting in 2025, which began in July 2024. In special meetings of the budget committee last summer and fall, suggestions for cutting expenses and generating new
IN THIS ISSUE News Opinion Obituaries Sports Classifieds
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revenues were brainstormed, including raising the county’s TLT, instituting utility fees on electric bills and shortening employee work weeks. Consultants from Tiberius Solutions then generated a prioritized list of those suggestions based on feasibility and economic impact. Commissioners first discussed the list in October and returned to the subject to finalize their prioritization. At the meeting, commissioners began their discussion by affirming that continuing to delay the filling of open staff positions was a high priority. Commissioners then touched on the building on Third Street that previously housed the Bureau of Land Management, for which they signed a purchase agreement on September 24, at a price of $2.475 million. If the sale is consummated, commissioners plan to relocate some county staff from the courthouse to provide adequate space for the circuit courts that share the building. Due diligence is ongoing on the property and county staff are investigating financing options for the purchase as well as the building’s renovation. All three commissioners said that figuring out how to purchase
and renovate the building should remain a high priority for staff, despite the high price tag associated with it. Commissioners similarly affirmed their commitment to completing a project to replace the courthouse roof next summer, which carries an estimated price tag of $650,000. Turning back to cost-cutting measures, commissioners said that they wanted departments to continue looking into ways to leverage computer automation for increased efficiency. Regarding revenue generation, commissioners instructed staff to continue investigations of a public service charge that would be added to the electric bills of residents in unincorporated areas of the county. The fee would generate around $2 million annually and could be instituted through a board order followed by approval from the Tillamook Peoples’ Utility District’s board of directors. Commissioner Erin Skaar stressed that the direction to staff was to continue investigating the fee, which would match those levied by each of the cities in the county.
Headlight Editor
ollowing voluminous constituent feedback about poor outcomes in Washington County family court, Oregon State Senator Suzanne Weber is working to raise awareness about the issues in the system. Weber said that she believes family court judges are given too much authority and that the special courts may need to be abolished Suzanne Weber in favor of letting regular courtrooms handle the cases, though she acknowledged that somebody else will have to take up the cause after her time in the legislature concludes following 2026’s short session. “It has to be something that someone will take up in the long session and carry through, but at least we’ve done the groundwork to be able to express the concern we have for our children,” Weber said. “Because It’s not only our children right now and what is happening to them, it’s how it’s affecting their futures.” Family courts are administered by individual states but regulated by numerous federal laws that have created requirements for the courts’ dockets and processes. Residents of Tillamook, Clatsop and Linn Counties all use family courts located in Washington County, and Weber said that over the past year she has heard numerous horror stories about the court’s decisions. While avoiding specifics, Weber discussed a case in which a custody decision from another state had been reversed and another in which child staying with a grandparent was removed and given to a parent without a stable place to stay. Weber also criticized the practice of charging parents hundreds of dollars for visitation with their children. Weber said that she believes the issues with the courts stem from a lack of jury trials and oversight or accountability for judges, who have little to fear outside of costly, timeconsuming recall elections. “I think that they have a little kingdom and no one can really challenge them or their decisions,” Weber said of family court judges. To solve the issues, Weber believes that the best answer might be abolishing family courts and challenging the constitutionality of federal laws governing them. Weber traveled to a national conference in Washington D.C. on the subject family court reform in November and said that she learned several states on the east coast as well as Idaho and Arizona are moving to either abolish the courts or make serious reforms to them.
See PRIORITIES, Page A3
See WEBER, Page A3
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