Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Cannon Beach gazette. (Cannon Beach, Or.) 1977-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 27, 2017)
JANUARY 27, 2017 • VOL. 41, ISSUE 2 WWW.CANNONBEACHGAZETTE.COM COMPLIMENTARY COPY WANTED MORE CANNON BEACH VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTERS SUBMITTED PHOTO Th e South Wind property is east of U.S. Highway 101 and south of the Haystack Heights neighborhood. A 55-acre site was acquired by the city in 2013, adding to the 3.3 acres the city acquired in 1990. South Wind could off er shelter in disaster By Lyra Fontaine For Cannon Beach Gazette n the next months, Cannon Beach Rural Fire Protection District will ramp up its efforts to recruit and train volunteer fi re- fi ghters. Garry Smith, board member and for- mer fi refi ghter, said at the Jan. 9 board meet- ing that the board should address volunteer recruitment and retention. “We’re down to our lowest that we’ve ever been, as far as volunteers on the department, and I think we need to make a substantial ef- fort in planning for the future,” Smith said. The fi re district currently has 18 volun- teers, though Fire Chief Matt Benedict said certain volunteers show up for most drills while others do not. “Most volunteer agencies cut that in half for the people that show up for trainings,” Benedict said. October through March are slower months, with calls increasing in April through September and peaking during the summer. “It’s a little bit of a strain right now, but not a huge strain,” Benedict said. “Right now, we’re in the low-call volume so it’s not really hurting us too bad. Hopefully in the next few months, we can start recruiting, I See Firefi ghters, Page 7A Cannon Beach plans to transform 55-acre site CANNON BEACH FIRE AND RESCUE By Lyra Fontaine Cannon Beach volunteer fi refi ghters at an emergency medical services training in early January, from left , Mike Johnson, Joanne Cremer, Margaret Strozyk-Hayes and TJ White. Volunteer Firefi ghter 50% 21,500,000 12% $139.8 billion For Cannon Beach Gazette With tsunami safety in mind, Cannon Beach hopes to transform 55 acres of forest into a place for shelter and long-term ser- vices in a disaster. The South Wind site, located east of U.S. Highway 101 almost entirely outside the tsunami inundation zone, was pur- chased by the city in 2013. The goal was to relocate an emergency shelter, police station, fi re station, school, child care and a food bank . In 2014, the rough estimate of infrastruc- ture development costs — highway, street and storm drainage improvements, among others — was about $3.4 million. Preliminary engineering work would cost an additional $400,000, staff mem- bers said at a work session last week. The City Council will decide in coming months whether to include this amount in the bud- get next fi scal year. South Wind is vacant except for a wa- ter tank and a building used for emergency supply storage. The property needs a new road access, since its current highway ac- cess is a logging road. Sewer service could FACTS Percent of volunteer fi refi ghters working at fi re departments that protect a population of less than 2,500. The number of calls for medical assistance, the top reason for fi refi ghter response. The decline in the number of volunteer fi refi ghters in the United States since 1984. The amount that time donated by volunteer fi refi ghters save localities across the country per year. NATIONWIDE FIREFIGHTER STATISTICS AS COMPILED BY THE NATIONAL FIRE PROTECTION ASSOCIATION ‘We’re down to our lowest that we’ve ever been, as far as volunteers on the department.’ —Garry Smith, Cannon Beach RFPD board See South Wind, Page 6A With high bids, offi cials put City Hall renovations on ice Bids exceed budget By R.J. Marx Cannon Beach Gazette R.J. MARX/CANNON BEACH GAZETTE PAID PERMIT NO. 97 ASTORIA, OR PRSRT STD US POSTAGE Th is area of City Hall was among those slated for re- model. The envelope, please. But this time there was no winner. After months of design, updates and re- view, Public Works Director Dan Grassick opened sealed bids on Tuesday for a major remodel of City Hall. Two construction bids had been received — and both well exceed- ed the $150,000 cap the city had budgeted. “Both were well over the estimate and budget by at least $80,000,” Grassick said after bid opening Tuesday. A new building would have cost at least $3 million, but renovations to the existing City Hall at 163 Gower were expected to come in at a fraction of that cost. The De- sign Review Board approved the fi nal stage of a plan to upgrade offi ce space, windows, doors and exterior at a public hearing Thursday, Jan. 19, with board members unanimously voting to approve a site plan to modify three windows on the north side, a change missed at earlier board meetings. The proposed major modifi cations in- clude changes to the windows on a portion of the building’s north elevation, including the offi ces occupied by the city manager, assistant city manager and IT director. “This is major, major retrofi t,” Public Works Director Dan Grassick said after the Design Review Board meeting. “We’ll end changing the entire inside of City Hall in four phases.” Among changes, the police department would have received a new entrance and doorway and more space for storage. Plans had placed Haystack Rock Aware- ness Project offi ces in an exterior building and the fi nance corner completely redone and rebuilt. Building and planning departments would also receive a new, separate entrance so contractors seeking permits can come di- rectly to the appropriate offi ces. See Renovations, Page 6A Voices from Cannon Beach join protest at Women’s March Messages of resolve, unity By Jack Heff ernan with R.J. Marx Cannon Beach Gazette Hundreds of people including supporters from Can- non Beach and the South County gathered in Astoria Saturday for a Women’s March to counter President Donald Trump, sending messages of resolve and unity against potential threats to equality and civil rights. The large, peaceful crowd — mixed with women, men, children and pets from across the Columbia-Pa- cifi c region — fi lled one side of Heritage Square down- town. Many carried handmade signs like “Make Amer- ica Sane Again,” “Power to the Peaceful,” and “Girls Just Wanna Have Fundamental Rights.” Cannon Beach was particularly well-represented said attendee Rex Amos, who joined the crowd with his wife Diane. Among those were Betsy Ayres, Watt Childress, Tom Jiroudek, Susan Glarum, Flora Young, Jim Osburn, Leslie McClanahan, Beth Holland, Prissy Martin, Eeva Lantela, Julie Walker and Hank Johnson. “When I heard Trump say he wanted to ‘Make America Great Again’ by taking us back to the 1950s, Diane and I decided to join the Women’s March in As- toria to meet with those who recognize that in the 1950s women had little access to professional jobs, were paid less than men, were pressured to stay home and have as many babies as the husband wanted, were subject to verbal and physical abuse including rape, had no prop- erty or fi nancial rights without consent of the husband, and could not even make out a will on their own,” Rex Amos said on Monday. Organizers stressed that the march was not a pro- test against Trump, but the undercurrent was plainly about resistance to the Republican real-estate magnate. Marchers also participated to raise awareness for a number of different issues, from public education and immigration to gay rights. Some organizers said they were surprised by the turnout. Astoria Police estimated the crowd at more than 1,300. “We would’ve been excited if it was 100 people,” Sharon Kloepfer, a former physician’s assistant who lives in Gearhart, said. The demonstration was in solidarity with a national Women’s March in Washington, D.C., and in “sister marches” in cities and small towns across the nation and the world. Clatsop County usually favors Democrats, but REX AMOS PHOTO/FOR CANNON BEACH Diane Amos, right, among those at the Women’s March in Astoria on Sunday, Jan. 22. Trump won 41 percent of the vote in November. The march was a reminder that a majority of voters — in Oregon and the nation — preferred other presidential candidates. The demonstration began shortly after noon. Along See March, Page 9A