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Headlight Herald
Tuesday, May 27, 2025 | Vol. 137, Issue 21
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www.TillamookHeadlightHerald.com
Special District Election
Lodging tax increase hangs in balance WILL CHAPPELL Headlight Editor
With five days left for ballots to arrive, the vote on whether to raise Tillamook County’s transient lodging tax from 10% to 14% was nip and tuck, with 20 more no votes counted as of the second round of results released on May 22. Support for measures seeking a bond for facilities improvements in the Tillamook School District and a levy to support operations in the Neah-Kah-Nie School District increased with 56.1% of votes tallied in support of the former and 59.3% for the latter. Results held steady in school board races for all three county
districts as well, even after around more than 2,000 votes were received by the clerk’s office on election day. Tillamook County Clerk Christy Nyseth told the Headlight Herald that the county had seen the highest voter turnout in the state, with 42.3% of eligible voters having cast an accepted ballot. Nyseth said that all votes received by election day had been counted, but that 600 votes postmarked by election day are in her office’s possession and yet to be counted, with those results to be released by May 29, along with any more ballots postmarked by election day that arrive by May 27. There are also 66 ballots with challenged signatures and 38 with no signature, whose casters have
until June 10 to clarify their signatures. Nyseth’s office must certify the election results by June 16. After the second round of vote results were released, measure 29183 seeking to increase the county’s transient lodging tax rate for the first time since its 2014 institution had received 4,276 votes in favor, with 4,296 opposed. With results so close, the race could possibly be headed for a recount, which would be triggered if the vote differential fell lower than 17, given the current number of ballots received, according to Nyseth. If the margin falls below the threshold, a hand recount would be triggered after results were certified by the secretary of state’s office. In races for the Tillamook
School District board of directors, Kenny Lee Oleman led Amanda Ferrat and Misty Burris in a threeway race for position one, with 51.9% of votes counted, Natalie Rieger led Brandon Affolter in the race for position two with 61.3% of the vote and Ryan Lewis led Jordan Wolfe for position three with 57.6%. Jeannie Christensen was unopposed in the race for position five. In the Nestucca Valley School District board of directors’ races, Sherry Hartford led Irene Barajas in the race for position one with 29.5% of the vote to Barajas’s 42.9%, Kayla Cole led Seth Belsey with 51.1% of the vote in the race for position two and Jason Hagan led Marty Wisehart in the race for
position five with 51.4% of the vote. Greg Woods was unopposed in the race for position four. State Senator Suzanne Weber was on track for a victory in the race for position three on the Tillamook Bay Community College’s board of directors, having received 65.7% votes tallied against Jim Heffernan. Tillamook County Transportation District’s two contested races were on track to see David McCall elected to position one with 59.9% of the voter and Vern Ressler elected to position three with 52.8% of the vote. Eric Sappington and Gary Hanenkrat were unopposed in races for positions five and seven, respectively.
Tillamook Air Museum to acquire Braver U.S. Coast Guard HU-25 Guardian Angels
hosts urban rural divide townhall
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rare sight will soon unfold over the Oregon Coast: a U.S. Coast Guard HU-25 Guardian aircraft will be slung beneath a Marine Corps CH-53K Sea Stallion helicopter and flown to its new home at the Tillamook Air Museum in a remarkable visual display. Date(s) for the arrival will be announced soon. The Tillamook Air Museum is proud to announce the upcoming acquisition of a U.S. Coast Guard HU25 Guardian, a distinguished aircraft with over three decades of service to the nation. The aircraft is scheduled to be delivered to the museum in the near future, in an extraordinary airborne operation involving a CH-53K heavy-lift helicopter from VMX-1, the U.S. Marine Corps Operational Test and Evaluation Squadron based in Yuma, Arizona. Originally delivered to the United States Coast Guard on February 28, 1982, this HU-25 Guardian performed a variety of critical missions including search and rescue operations, migrant and drug interdiction, marine environmental protection, and military readiness support. Over the course of its service, it was stationed in San Diego, CA; Corpus Christi, TX; Mobile, AL; and Cape
WILL CHAPPELL
U.S. Coast Guard HU-25 Guardian aircraft will soon be on display at the Tillamook Air Museum.
Cod, MA, among other stations. Following its retirement in late 2013, the Guardian was placed on static display at Coast Guard Station Astoria, Oregon, where it has remained until now. It will soon take its place in the Museum’s historic collection, offering visitors a deeper understanding of the Coast Guard’s aviation legacy. “We are truly honored to have this Coast Guard aircraft added to the museum’s collection,” said Christian Gurling, Curator of the
Tillamook Air Museum. “Given the significant role the Coast Guard plays in our coastal communities, it is a privilege to welcome this aircraft and share its unique story. We are especially grateful to CDR Neal Corbin & LCDR Steven Podmore and the rest of Coast Guard Station Astoria for their partnership in making this acquisition possible.” The HU-25 Guardian is the first Coast Guard aircraft to join the Museum’s collection, representing an exciting expansion in the scope of
aircraft and stories preserved by the institution. “Witnessing such an aerial transport is exceptionally rare and will be an unforgettable experience,” said the Museum’s Director, Rita Welch. “It’s a powerful way to mark the arrival of a significant addition to our collection.” The Museum encourages the public to stay tuned to its social media channels for the official arrival date and viewing details as this exciting acquisition approaches.
terim City Manager Kevin Perkins following a multi-month recruitment process. Lewis brings 16 years of government experience in Utah to the role in Tillamook and told the Headlight Herald that he plans to gauge community and council priorities before working with the council to craft solutions in a methodical manner. “I follow the Shel Silverstein model; we eat the elephant one bite at a time,” Lewis said. “We put out the fire that needs to be put out today, we plan as best we can for the future and things will get done eventually and over time, we’ll see the progress, but I’m not going to come in today and rewrite everything and totally turn the city on its head.” A native Utahan, Lewis has spent his entire life apart from a brief stint in Boise in his teenage years in the Beehive State, mainly growing up in and around Ogden. After earning a bachelor’s degree
in geography with an emphasis on urban planning from Weber State University, Lewis began his professional career as a planner with Summit County, Utah, home of Park City, where he spent 12 years. Lewis said that while taking political science courses in college, he had developed an interest in ideas of good governance and that not desiring to run for elected office, he had decided to pursue a career in city management to promote positive change in his communities. “I have this idea of functional government and taking political science courses and stuff like that in college, understanding that I’m probably not going to win an election and I don’t want to be a politician, but how can I affect change and found that local government is the way to do that,” Lewis said. “I love the idea of building community and seeing the impacts of change on local government.” After a dozen years with Summit County, during which time
he also earned a master’s degree in public administration from Brigham Young University, Lewis became the Deputy Director for Community Development for South Salt Lake in 2020. From there, he moved to a role as planning and zoning administrator in Ephraim, before being promoted to city manager. Lewis said that after a new mayor took office in Ephraim, political differences led to a mutual decision that it was time to part ways. At that point he began looking for city manager positions around the western states and was drawn to Tillamook, in part due to its renown. “Tillamook was one that just kind of stood out and Tillamook has a brand and a name, muck like Park City does,” Lewis said. In his early days on the job, Lewis is focusing on getting to know the community and its issues.
New Tillamook manager discusses role WILL CHAPPELL
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Headlight Editor
ean Lewis assumed the role of Tillamook City Manager on May 12, taking over from in-
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Headlight Editor
raver Angels, an organization seeking to bridge the partisan divide in the United States, hosted a town hall to discuss the urban rural divide at the main branch of the Tillamook County Library on May 17. At the meeting, residents were invited to share their views on the split and said that they felt there were lower expectations for rural areas that were leading to an uneven distribution of funding for social services to the disadvantage of their residents. The town hall started with a moderator describing the process Braver Angels is using to try to achieve their goal of bridging the gap between people in the city and the country. He said that the group was in a three-stage process of developing a report with suggestions for legislators that will then be taken to Salem. The first stage of the process was a series of debates held last summer about whether the divide is insurmountable. This summer’s town halls mark the second stage and will be followed by a series of moderated discussions including people from urban and rural settings during which the list of suggestions will be developed. The moderator explained that the goals at the town halls were to listen and learn about the causes of and problems created by the divide, explain Braver Angel’s mission and select participants for the full-day, moderated discussions. After the introduction, attendees began sharing their opinions. Residents said that there were many drivers of the divide, noting
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