Author: North Coast BBQ

I have been checking on this again. A few days ago – I checked all judges on the Oregon Supreme Court. And they were previously selected by either Kate Brown or Tina Kotek. This means of course that all of them stepped down before their time was up, which makes it legal for the governor to select the another judge for that position. Then I found this article in the Willamette Week! www.wweek.com/news/dr-know/2025/10/26/why-do-oregon-judges-so-often-run-unopposed/

This article makes some good points about selection of judges. However, the journalist writing for Willamette Week says that it is “so common for judges to step down before their time is up,” doesn’t pass the smell test!! No that is not common at all and sends up a red flag!

I checked to see if there isn’t a review of judges performance. There should be! And there is!!! Yes, Oregon has a formal judicial review process to review cases and a separate commission to handle complaints against judges. The Oregon Court of Appeals is the primary body that reviews lower court cases, while the Commission on Judicial Fitness and Disability investigates complaints about judge conduct. Isn’t that good to know? OH! BUT WAIT……here is a link: medium.com/@pinkerton_69080/the-oregon-commission-on-judicial-fitness-and-disability-a-shield-for-corruption-457378d4df1e. This is commission is corrupt also!!!!! I just have to sigh!!!
Do we not all yearn for justice?
For the first time ever on the ballot there is a judicial opening where there are two candidates vying for this position: an incumbent, although it doesn’t say that and another person who doesn’t realize that he shouldn’t be there and is upsetting to the status quo. I am voting for that person.

Being of service to her community is an integral part of who she is and is based on her belief in the true teachings of Christ, the basis of which is love. Her connections, integrity, honesty and tenacity are assets to our County.

In her tenure as Commissioner, she has gained essential knowledge of issues and subjects crucial to Tillamook County and continues to learn and do her homework. She has faced intense challenges with grace, intelligence and fortitude.

She is smart, well educated, ethical, transparent and a good listener. She knows it is not possible to give everyone what they want and is still able to provide quality leadership.

Please join me in voting for Mary Faith Bell.

Barbara McLaughlin
Nehalem

My concerns deepened during her handling of the COVID-19 crisis. While she positioned herself as a “health authority,” not an “expert,” her decisions directly impacted our community’s well-being. She mandated business closures and enforced mask requirements—which lacked legal standing—resulting in people being cited for criminal trespassing if unmasked. Many were barred from the courthouse or removed from board meetings for not following these mandates. Moreover, she compelled county employees to take an experimental mRNA vaccine—neither proven safe nor effective at the time—or risk losing their jobs. Where was the advocacy for medical freedom? She pushed vaccination, particularly targeting the Hispanic community, despite legitimate concerns rooted in historical abuses like the Tuskegee experiment. She disregarded scientific studies showing potential harm and ignored community concerns throughout the crisis.

The damage to children, young adults, the elderly, and previously healthy individuals has been significant, with many now facing chronic health issues or worse after getting COVID shots. The impact on our children’s education is irreversible. Forcing children as young as two to wear masks-toxic ones from China, and wearing them outdoors in fresh air, while participating in sporting events. Then the 6 ft. rule that Dr. Fauci admitted during congressional testimony he simply made up. When asked about investigating the effects of her decisions, she openly admitted to not reviewing the evidence, instead waiting for direction from an “expert.”

Her decisions often lack common sense or independent critical thinking, as she consistently defers to “experts.” For example, despite an outcry from hundreds of parents about inappropriate books in our library, she dismissed their concerns or sent them back to the library director—her designated “expert.” As the library liaison, she refused to review the books I presented, redirecting me to the director with whom I had already spoken extensively. Other parents who followed proper channels to challenge these books were similarly ignored. One parent even received an astonishing response from the director: “I don’t find the content of these books erotic, and they don’t excite me sexually.”

I firmly believe in common human decency and find it alarming that many of these books sexualize and groom children, making them vulnerable to predators. Our community has experienced troubling incidents involving sex crimes against minors. When I was growing up, and even when my children were young, inappropriate books weren’t an issue in libraries. As a former special education professional who worked with children and young adults who were groomed and abused, I am acutely aware of these dangers. If I had children or grandchildren today, I would hesitate to take them to the library. While I support literary freedom, we must recognize when basic decency has been crossed.

Fiscal responsibility is another lesson I learned from my parents, who lived through the Great Depression. Unfortunately, our county has not been responsible stewards of taxpayer money. The current centralization plan is not saving money; we now have a hybrid system(home rule and general law) with a highly paid county manager and 3 county commissioners, all operating under a general law framework. Our debt has surged by 30 percent, and instead of finding solutions, Commissioner Bell advocates raising fees and taxes—placing an unfair burden on struggling taxpayers and small business owners.

It is especially troubling that, while Commissioner Bell claims to care about our community’s hardships, she took a retroactive pay raise for nine months. She could have declined this increase but chose not to. Meanwhile, she supported reducing the elected treasurer’s position to just eight part-time hours per week. This role is intended to provide essential checks and balances, but with the financial director assuming a part-time position, a clear conflict of interest arises. Who would even want to run for such a position? Lingering questions remain about the former treasurer’s resignation, likely prompted by her warnings about our high debt-to-revenue ratio and lack of support. We need accountability and a genuine change in leadership.

Additionally, the county purchased the BLM building for $2 million and now needs another $6 million to fund it, while we struggle to pay for roads, bridges, and infrastructure and again a debt that increased by 30% with declining timber revenues due to environmentalists tying up harvesting because of litigation that we depend on to fund our infrastructure and schools. We are facing $600,000 just to replace the courthouse roof. We need a leader who can mediate between environmental and economic interests—something Commissioner Bell has failed to do. As longtime environmentalists who understand the importance of timber revenues for funding our county and schools, we believe balance is essential.

Finally, with emergency preparedness, Commissioner Bell takes credit, but key issues remain unaddressed. In Pacific City, where I live, evacuation plans are inadequate. We have no siren to warn residents, and only 20 minutes to evacuate up to 10,000 people that come here during the height of the tourist season. Commissioners have celebrated containers for pets and livestock at a recent meeting, yet ignore the larger, pressing realities. In a major earthquake, bridges will collapse, and the town will be underwater in a tsunami. Water sources will be cut off, supplies with be inaccessible and little thought has been given to aftermath logistics. We built our new treatment plant on tsunami flats and an area that will be prone to liquefaction during an earthquake.

There are public safety issues(drug cartels, human and child sex trafficking, theft, sex crimes with minors, substance abuse, rape, murder and how our DA prosecutes many of these cases. Although we need more affordable housing/workforce housing, I haven’t seen a plan as to who will qualify for these projects that also place a greater burden on our infrastructure=water, sewer, power, emergency services. The ratepayers end up picking up the extra capacity needed.

We dealt with this issue and worked with Oregon Coast Alliance when our local municipality was going to build an oversized treatment plant and we learned that we would be subsidizing the primary developers=Mary Jones/Jeff Schoens who control our town. We were in violation with DEQ for many years, and needed to replace our aging plant, but smaller in size. I also learned we still had degrading asbestos pipes along the river and a few other places. It took me 6 months to get that information because of a lack of transparency. The EPA only requires testing every 9 years.

Commissioner Bell’s tenure has been marked by inaccessibility, poor crisis management, lack of fiscal responsibility, and failure to address constituent concerns. Our community deserves better leadership—someone willing to listen, act with common sense, and put the well-being of all citizens first. We will be voting for Jeff Spink for position #3.

Beautiful and exotic with swirling bands of gold and brown on thick fur that matches her large golden eyes, Lynx is described by her foster as “the epitome of a sweet kitten.” She is as unusual and beautiful as she is sweet. Lynx loves to explore and play with anything made with feathers, but her very favorite thing is having contact from humans. Belly rubs send her over the moon!!

Lynx and other kittens were found abandoned in a remote area of Nehalem and rescued by volunteers. Lynx was one of the sickest kittens United Paws has worked with. It took many months of heroic medical care, good food, safe shelter, and loving hands to bring this beauty back to perfect health. Lynx has survived the battle of a lifetime and, through all of her suffering, she continued to be the sweetest, most tolerant, and patient of personalities. She is a true champion, now healthy and ready for her forever home.

This loveable kitten will do well as the only cat in a home where she can receive lots of attention, human connection and cuddle time. Because she has formed strong bonds with the foster kittens she has grown up with, a littermate or another friendly cat would be an added bonus in her new home. Lynx will likely do well with a gentle dog, with the proper introduction. Because of her early struggles, it will be important for her adopter to be attentive to maintaining Lynx’s good nutrition and seeing that she has regular veterinary care.

Meet Lynx and you will be dazzled by her sweetness and striking beauty. See more photos and videos at unitedpaws.org, and email unitedpawshelp@gmail.com to schedule a Meet & Greet.

And thanks to everyone who is participating in the National Day of Action.

From Facebook
Rivers in the Ocean
www.facebook.com/RiversInTheOcean

Happy May and Beltane Blessings!
May is such a magical month infused with the spirit of rebirth, fertility and diversity of life.
May 1 is Beltane, an ancient Celtic celebration of the new season with expectations for a good harvest in the incoming summer. It was admired with lighting bonfires as a symbol of purification, creation, and new beginnings. It was custom for communities to dance around maypoles beautifully decorated by flowers and ribbons, gather wildflowers, and wear elaborate flower garlands.
Today, we can create our own Beltane celebration rituals by burning the sage or lighting candles to purify our spaces and our energetic fields, by communing with the nature, and making gratitude offerings for her abundance and beauty. It is a time to pause, think about the changes we need to make as an individual and the collective to create a new reality where all living beings are free from sufferings and injustice.
Set your intentions for the new season in your life, and let them be rooted in what brings you a deeper sense of joy and fulfillment. It’s a time that we honor the life-force in all things, when we remember that joy, like wildflowers, yearns to bloom inside us.
Enjoy the magic of May and Beltane!