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Headlight Herald
Tuesday, June 3, 2025 | Vol. 137, Issue 22
$2.00
www.TillamookHeadlightHerald.com
North Coast Express service kicks off
Close call
WILL CHAPPELL
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Headlight Editor
ongresswoman Suzanne Bonamici and representatives from Senator Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden’s offices gathered at the Sunset Transit Center in Beaverton on May 23, for the inaugural departure of the North Coast Express. A pilot program from the Oregon Coast Visitors’ Association (OCVA), the express will offer two routes to the north coast departing from and returning to the transit center Friday through Sunday, aimed at giving day trippers and weekend visitors a vehicle-free way to access the north coast. “I’m thrilled that there’s going to be a new and convenient transit option to get to the north coast without a car,” Bonamici said at the ceremony. OCVA is partnering with ecoShuttle Charters and Tours of Sherwood to operate the routes, with 54-seat buses equipped with WiFi, charging ports and restrooms transporting customers. The two daily express routes will leave Beaverton at 9:15 each morning, with one heading to Tillamook County on Highway 6 and the other to Clatsop County on Highway 26. The southern route through Tillamook County will first stop at the Tillamook County Creamery, before continuing north on Highway 101 to Astoria, with stops in Rockaway Beach, Cannon Beach and Seaside along the way. It will then turn around and make the same stops on its southbound trip, before returning to Beaverton, arriving at 9:15 p.m. The northern route will first stop in Astoria before making the south bound trip on 101 to the creamery, with the same stops, and returning to Astoria before its nightly trip back to Beaverton. Finn Johnson, OCVA’s Destina-
TLT increase on track for runoff WILL CHAPPELL Headlight Editor
John Gardner, TriMet’s Director of Public Access and Innovation, Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici, Travel Oregon’s Allie Gardner and Alanna Kieffer, owner of Shifting Tides, in front of the bus preparing to depart on the inaugural service of the express’s northern route.
tion Stewardship Manager, said that the buses on the coast would offer hop-on-hop-off service to passengers, allowing multiple stops in different communities for visitors, but that passengers would need to return to Beaverton on the same bus that transported them to the coast. Additionally, OCVA is partnering with the Tillamook County Transportation District to offer riders access to the district’s route network as part of their fare. Johnson said that the service, which OCVA has committed to operating this year and next, is aimed at reducing the challenges faced by coastal communities during the
busy tourist season, especially traffic congestion and the environmental impacts of personal vehicle use. “Today we’re very thrilled to announce the launch of the north coast express, a new pilot service that’s going to make traveling to the coast without a car faster, more comfortable and more enjoyable than ever before,” Johnson said at the event. OCVA’s Executive Director Marcus Hinz said that the shuttles had a combined 40 passengers booked for the second day of operations on May 24. Hinz said that the group was making a concerted advertising push for the service, especially focusing on people living
near bus lines that serve the Sunset Transit Center with plans to reach out to area neighborhood associations soon. At the press conference, after Johnson and Bonamici spoke, representatives from Merkley and Wyden’s offices spoke, as did TriMet’s Director of Public Access and Innovation John Gardner and Travel Oregon’s Allie Gardner. Tickets for the service cost $34.99 and passengers can bring large items for an additional $10. The buses are ADA compatible, but Johnson asked that passengers with disabilities reach out ahead of time to allow staff to prepare for them.
A Tribute to our Heroes Several hundred residents gathered at Nehalem Bay Cemetery on Monday, May 26, to mark Memorial Day and honor fallen veterans. Photo by Hal McMahan
Henson Plaza dedication scheduled D oug Henson Plaza, on Second Street between Main and Pacific Avenues, will be officially dedicated on June 7 at 11 a.m. Tillamook City Council bestowed the honor last June to honor Henson, a Vietnam Veteran and longtime city councilor who was a fixture in the community until his passing in May of last year.
Headlight file photos
(Top) Henson Plaza, a popular spot for community events hosts Halloween in downtown Tillamook. (Left) Tillamook City Councilman Doug Henson who spearheaded the plaza project while in office.
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arring a shift in ballots with missing or unverified signatures, the vote on a measure raising Tillamook County’s transient lodging tax will head to a hand recount before election results are certified on June 16. Updated results from Tillamook County Clerk Christy Nyseth’s office released on May 29, showed that in the week following election day, ballots received by mail had narrowed the margin between yes and no votes on the measure to just 11, below the threshold of 17 votes that would trigger a recount. Measure 29-183 seeks to increase Tillamook County’s transient lodging tax (TLT) rate from 10% to 14% and was advanced by county commissioners in response to a budget crunch in the county government. A concerted campaign was mounted against the proposed measure by members of the lodging industry, who argued that the increase would negatively impact their already-tight bottom lines. After the first round of vote results were released on May 20, election night, the measure had received 21 more no votes that yes, with more than 7,000 votes counted. By May 22, with more than 9,000 votes counted, the margin had fallen to 20. Oregon statute requires that a recount be conducted in an election on a ballot measure if the margin between yes and no votes is less than one fifth of one percent of the total votes cast for and against the measure. With 8,981 votes tallied as of May 29, the threshold for a mandatory recount was 17.9 votes, and 4,496 no votes had been cast, with 4,485 yes. All ballots with verified signatures have now been tabulated, but those with challenged signatures or lacking signatures altogether can still be verified inperson by their caster until June 10. Nyseth told the Headlight Herald that there are 110 ballots with challenged signatures or unsigned envelopes. Nyseth said that if that deadline passes and the margin is still below the threshold, her office will conduct an automatic recount prior to the certification date of June 16. Results held in all other races across the county in the updated election results, including support for a bond for the Tillamook School District and an operating levy for the Neah-Kah-Nie School district.
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