Curry County highlights aquatic safety program; board approves SkillBridge internship on consent agenda

Luke Alcorn, Curry County’s aquatic safety officer, told the Board of Commissioners on March 5 in Port Orford that the county-run aquatic safety program educated about 8,000 people in 2024, expanded youth classes and junior lifeguard sessions, and relied heavily on interagency grants and local partners.

Alcorn summarized the program’s mission as outreach, education, visitor services and response for shorelines and waterways and said the program currently has one full-time aquatic safety officer. “Our goal [is] to provide an exemplary public service to ultimately reduce injury and or death along our waterways and shorelines,” Alcorn said. He listed collaborative partners including the Oregon State Marine Board, the National Weather Service, Oregon State Parks, the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Coast Guard and local public-safety agencies, and cited grant support from the Humboldt Area Foundation, Wild Rivers Community Foundation, the Curry Health Foundation and others.

Why it matters: Curry County spans a large area of coastline and inland waterways and saw high visitation in key parks in 2024. Alcorn said Harris Beach State Park recorded more than 1.5 million visitors in 2024 and that increasing visitation makes prevention and education programs more important. He reported an increase in preventative actions (about 300 in 2024, up from a three-year average of about 200) and said the county also experienced a cluster of drownings last year — all on the Rogue River within roughly 30 miles of each other — which prompted continued emphasis on life-jacket use and targeted outreach.

Details: Alcorn said the program taught water-safety classes to roughly 2,500 students across five school districts in Curry and Coos counties and ran two junior lifeguard sessions in 2024 (about 40 participants and 10 aides per session, ages 9–17). He described smaller projects such as life-jacket loaner stations at Boyce Cope, Floras Lake and Lobster Creek Campground on the Rogue River, plus first-responder training and workforce-development links with the junior lifeguard program.

Alcorn asked the board to approve hosting a Department of Defense SkillBridge intern, Declan Devler, for a start date of May 15, 2025. The SkillBridge placement appeared on the meeting’s consent agenda and was approved as part of the consent vote earlier in the meeting. Alcorn also recognized Master Chief Widows of the U.S. Coast Guard Station Checo River for 25 years of service to the region.

Commissioner comments and questions focused on the junior lifeguard program’s uniqueness in Oregon, outreach to visitors unfamiliar with ocean hazards, and simple public-safety messages. When asked for the three most important safety tips for visitors, Alcorn advised: check tide charts and local conditions before going into open water; heed National Weather Service beach hazard statements (high surf, sneaker waves, coastal flooding and tsunamis); and always wear a life jacket. “It’s just like a seat belt. Just put it on,” he said.

Formal action: The board approved the meeting’s consent agenda as amended (vote recorded 2–0), which incorporated the SkillBridge internship approved on the consent calendar. The consent vote was recorded earlier in the meeting when the board moved and seconded the consent agenda and voted “Yes” (2–0).

What’s next: Alcorn said the program will add a junior lifeguard session at Sunset Bay State Park in 2025, continue partnerships with California State Parks lifeguard divisions and pursue sustainability through ongoing grant and partner funding.

Ending: Commissioners thanked Alcorn for the presentation and for the program’s work educating visitors and youth on water safety.