Ernie Newton is the treasurer for the Coos Soil & Water Conservation District. He has been married to the love of his life, Mary Lou, for 53 years now. They have two sons, four grandchildren and two great granddaughters.

Dee’s Market is one of the oldest running family-owned grocery stores in the area, Ernie and Mary Lou owned it for 21 years, working side by side making it a great place for locals and tourists to shop.

Ernie retired a few years ago, after many years of service at the Myrtle Point Water Treatment Plant. He is a life-long car enthusiast and even though he has spent the last twenty years restoring old pick-up trucks, he is now taking full advantage of his retirement spending his days at his shop with all of the old trucks he has collected.