Oregon’s five Northwest Delegation members, including Rep. Peter DeFazio, Kurt Schrader, Jaime Herrera Beutler and Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, have sent a letter to President Obama asking for funding to dredge the state’s small ports, including the Port of Port Orford.

The letter highlights the local, regional and national benefits small ports provide and the critical role they play in their communities.

Alden Loring wanted no more than to build a legacy by displaying his antique and historically significant mementos in a grand showcase, Loring’s Lighthouse Museum, on Hemlock Street.

But Alden died on March 29 at his home in Brookings – and before the museum was built, throwing a wrench into all the plans.

Four citizens braved high winds and waters to weigh in against the county’s proposal to divest four properties to the county Health and Human Services Department (HHS), which commissioners hope to spin off as a nonprofit entity by the end of the year.

It’s that timing that had citizens concerned.

Evie and Dennis Peterson, residents living in trailer at AtRivers Edge RV Resort near Brookings on the Chetco River, awoke at 6 a.m. Tuesday morning to a text message from their son asking if they were okay.

“I opened the door and saw that the first step was completely under water,” Evie said. “The river was flowing all around us. In the four years we’ve lived here, I’ve never seen anything like this before.”

The Curry County Courthouse in Gold Beach was evacuated Monday after a man called the clerk’s office at 2:27 p.m. and said there were multiple bombs in and around the building that would be detonated within 20 minutes.

It was one of several bomb threats reported throughout Oregon.

Volunteers are available at a variety of Curry County locations to help people fill out surveys for the Oregon Kitchen Table project.

The Oregon Kitchen Table is a statewide endeavor to gather public input in regards to services received and financial matters, particularly at the county level.

“It’s important to have a voice, or to weigh in, to have help saying something about the future of county government,” said Georgia Nowlin, a Ford Foundation graduate who is assisting with coordination of the effort. “It is important. There’s a new (county) board coming in, and it helps them to hear from citizens. It’s important to have the voices.”

The Curry County Board of Commissioners are expected to declare a state of emergency today (Nov. 21) after County Roadmaster Dan Crumley outlined some of the damage done by the season’s first winter storm Monday and Tuesday.

“The Chetco River is higher today than in anyone’s memory,” Crumley told commissioners David Itzen and George Rhodes at a meeting Tuesday. “I think we need to make an emergency declaration.”

Outreach Gospel Mission volunteers were busy Monday and Tuesday making sure food boxes for the needy were filled with all the Thanksgiving goods: turkey, potatoes, stuffing, fruits, veggies and pumpkin pie mix, to name a few. 

They were preparing food boxes for more than 400 people.

Visitors to Sporthaven Beach at the Port of Brookings Harbor watch storm surf arrive. The Pilot/Jane Stebbins

Wind gusts of up to 65 mph in Gold Beach and Port Orford today toppled trees, downed power lines and sent a storage shed tumbling down the street as the brunt of Curry County’s first major storm pummeled the area.

Wind damage was minimal so far in Brookings, where a high gust of 46 mph was reported at 3:30 p.m. However, Carpenterville Road just north of Brookings was closed as of 4:45 p.m. today after a fallen tree blocked the road, according to the Oregon Department of Transportation.

“We’re lucky. The damage has been minimal so far,” Curry County Sheriff John Bishop said at 4:30 p.m. today.

X marks the spot: Bryan Tillung and Jan Ramelli stand at a small park at the north end of the Chetco River bridge where they would like to place an oversized U.S. flag on a 50- to 80-foot pole in honor of past and current veterans.The Pilot / Lorna Rodriguez

Brookings resident and Gulf War vet Bryan Tillung wants all past and present service members and their families to be remembered. 

“I can still remember the feeling of loneliness, the feeling that everyone had forgotten me,” Tillung said.“I thought well, what do we do for our kids who have served or who are retired?” 

After Seaview Senior Living Community Relations Director Jan Ramelli approached Tillung with the idea of flying an oversized American flag near the Chetco River Bridge, he knew: a “freedom flag,” a large American flag that will serve as a symbol of freedom.