11A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2015
Royal: ‘He was a man with great vision’
Continued from Page 1A
Nebeker’s wife Sarah, daughter
Hannah and son Israel.
Letters supporting the name
change have poured into the
college from former colleagues,
students and friends. Nebeker is
credited with helping build not
only the college’s lauded arts
program, but also the arts com-
munity on the North Coast as a
whole.
“We believe that this is a
¿tting honor for a former long-
term faculty member who has
had such an immeasurable im-
pact at the college and in the
community,” said a letter by
the college’s art faculty, recom-
mending the name change to
interim college President Ger-
ald Hamilton.
Edward Stratton/The Daily Astorian
The late Royal Nebeker’s “Hamlet’s Dream” oil painting is
one of his many pieces on display at the Clatsop Com-
munity College’s newly named Royal Nebeker Art Gallery.
MORE INFO
A life on the coast
Originally from San Fran-
cisco, Nebeker moved to As-
toria in the mid-1970s after
earning a Master’s of Fine
Arts from Brigham Young
University in Provo, Utah. His
wife Sarah Nebeker said after
the meeting the move was on
a whim, as her husband had
originally wanted to live in a
more urban setting.
“But when he saw the
landscape, it reminded him of
Norway and he loved it; and
the fact that there was such a
strong Scandinavian commu-
nity, him being of Norwegian
descent and speaking the lan-
guage,” she said. “He was
charmed by it.”
After a two-year stint
Clatsop Community College/Courtesy Photo
Royal Nebeker attends the opening of the Yoshihiko Yoshida exhibit in 2011. Nebeker, who
taught at the college for more than 30 years, is credited with inspiring many top-notch
artists, while bringing even more to the North Coast.
teaching drawing in Oslo, Nor-
way, Royal Nebeker returned
to Astoria in 1978 and joined
the college as a full-time facul-
ty member for the next quarter
century, directing the program
from 1998 to 2004. He stayed
on as an adjunct faculty mem-
ber until shortly before his
death.
Royal Nebeker is credited
with turning out students who
went on to some of the best art
schools in the country, while
also bringing many global art-
ists to Astoria.
Sarah Nebeker said her hus-
band saw the potential of Asto-
ria to develop into an artist’s
enclave. Meanwhile, his work,
much of it created in his icon-
ic “Big Red” net shed on the
Astoria waterfront, has been
exhibited around the world. In
2006, then-Gov. Ted Kulon-
goski appointed Nebeker to
the Oregon Arts Commission,
a state body fostering art.
“I think it will help to in-
spire future faculty, future
students to say ‘Who’s this
person,’ and to learn about
him and what he did,” Sarah
Nebeker said of the Royal Ne-
beker Art Gallery. “He did so
much. He was tireless in his
efforts, and he was a man with
great vision, and we need more
people like that.”
As part of the exhibit open-
ing Thursday, Israel Nebeker,
a frontman for indie folk band
Blind Pilot, said he will play
“Joik No. 3,” a song from
Blind Pilot’s upcoming fourth
studio album. Joik is a type of
song traditional to the Sami
people of northern Scandina-
via. The song will also be per-
formed on NPR’s “All Things
Considered.”
Clatsop Community College’s art faculty exhibit, honoring
the late Royal Nebeker, opens 6 p.m. Thursday at the Royal
Nebeker Art Gallery, 1799 Lexington Ave. in Astoria. The exhibit
continues through Jan. 14.
Remembering
Roy Garrison
The Royal Nebeker Art Gal-
lery is housed in the college’s
art center, established in 1979.
Dave Phillips, the college’s for-
mer vice president of instruc-
tion and student services, said
the art department’s director at
the time, Roy Garrison, who
died Sunday, helped push for
the idea at the college, which
used a combination of local and
state funding to build the struc-
ture.
In her letter of support for
the Royal Nebeker Art Gallery,
retired math instructor Gerry
Swenson mentioned another
proposal to name the college’s
3D art studio after Garrison.
Swenson said Garrison was
the ¿rst full-time art instructor at
the college and was instrumen-
tal in hiring Stanley Wanlass,
the second full-time instructor at
the college and a world-famous
bronze sculptor. When Garri-
son left the college in the late
1970s, Swenson said, he likely
inÀuenced the selection of his
replacement, Nebeker.
“Having made such import-
ant contributions to the Art De-
partment of the College, he is
more than deserving of having
the 3D studio named after him,”
Swenson said of Garrison.
Fire chief: Balzer was given a chance to resign or retire
Continued from Page 1A
Board member Garry Smith,
who has background as a vol-
unteer ¿re¿ghter, said Balzer
did not ful¿ll his job duties and,
despite mentoring, did not im-
prove over time.
Balzer was not in attendance
at the meeting and his family
declined to comment afterward.
“Mike was an incredible, ex-
emplary ¿re¿ghter for 30 years,”
board member Bob Cerelli said.
“Nobody is questioning that.
But I’ll be 100 percent truthful
now, a great ¿re¿ghter isn’t nec-
essarily a great administrator in
the of¿ce.”
There were issues that had
been ongoing for two years,
board members said. If commu-
nity members had come to more
meetings, Cerelli noted, they
would have known.
for more years than
Community mem-
any of us can re-
ber Alaina Gigui-
member,” she added.
ere said many were
“And, truly, for you
shocked by the termi-
guys to terminate him
nation. Her concern
in the manner that
was with how Balzer
you did is disgusting
was let go. She said it
and disrespectful and
felt criminal and was
reprehensible. And
“in poor taste” to have
I think you owe him
a police presence at
and all of us a com-
Mike
the meeting he was
plete apology.”
Balzer
dismissed.
She said it “looks
Clyde said the police depart- crazy” that Clyde bought a lock
ment asked if board members from Balzer’s son-in-law’s store
wanted that presence there and for the ¿re chief’s of¿ce. Clyde
she said yes because it’s hard to replied it was the only hardware
predict what someone will do store in town.
when terminated.
Community member Erik
Giguiere said Balzer is a for- Meyer said the board should
mer police of¿cer and respected have placed Balzer on admin-
community member.
istrative leave for transparency
“He has been a respected and given him a chance “to save
member of this ¿re department face.”
Smith said Balzer was given
the chance to resign or retire.
He added that the board gave
Balzer multiple opportunities
and presented him with a time
frame in June, “so he wasn’t just
suddenly ousted out of the ¿re
department.”
Cannon Beach resident Su-
san Neuwirth said she and oth-
ers would have helped “¿ll in
the gaps” by assisting Balzer in
¿ling or ¿lling out paperwork.
“Don’t let this man go,” she
said. “He’s golden.”
Community member Mary
Peterson said she’d heard Bal-
zer had good rapport with the
¿re¿ghters. “Whether he de-
served it (termination) or not is
really not the issue,” she said,
but rather the treatment Balzer
received. He deserved better,
she added, asking the board to
resign.
Cerelli said she and others
would have heard a different
story if they had attended past
meetings.
“None of you were there.
None of you know what hap-
pened,” Clyde said. “None of
you know the job he has done.
None of you know all the things
that you are complaining about.
Now we all love Mike a lot, but
it’s our responsibility to have a
person in that position that is go-
ing to do the job. Whether he’s a
nice guy or not, he still needs to
do the job.”
Frank Swedenborg is serv-
ing as interim ¿re chief while
the search for a new leader is in
progress.
LNG: ‘Political concerns are always
inherent in processes like this’
Continued from Page 1A
The students analyzed
LNG-related letters in local
newspapers (including The
Daily Astorian) and regula-
tory documents, and inter-
viewed 45 people who joined
in the public processes.
The goal of their ongoing
research — guided by Hilary
Boudet, an assistant professor
in the OSU School of Public
Policy — is to improve public
participation processes during
large-scale industrial develop-
ment on the coast.
They wondered whether
residents believe the process-
es fairly reÀect their concerns,
and how this belief inÀuences
the community’s response to
LNG projects.
Opponents, the students
said, believe they have many
opportunities to be informed
about the LNG siting process
but that their input isn’t prop-
erly incorporated into the deci-
sion-making. Thus, opponents
not only attend public meet-
ings but stage protests and ral-
lies to voice their concerns.
Supporters, however, be-
lieve public participation
processes are dominated by
opponents, so they often
form alliances with pro-LNG
groups to increase support.
“Political concerns are
always inherent in process-
es like this,” Gaustad said,
“so, in a way, perceptions do
matter, because there’s al-
ways that political concern
of who’s gaining from some-
thing and who’s losing from
something.”
I Am Thankful
This is the time of year when we
reflect on our lives and our blessings
Our people make
The Planetree Difference
There are many that list something they are thankful
for each day in November on social media.
On Thanksgiving Day,
The Daily Astorian will dedicate a
full page in our classified section to the
community, allowing a time to share
something you are thankful for.
T here is a 20 w ord m axim u m for each su b m ission .
T his allow s m ore p eop le to p articip ate.
How to p articip ate:
em a il you r “ I a m tha n k fu l” to- hla rk in s @ d a ilya s toria n .com
or m a il to- The Da ily A s toria n , P.O . Box 210, A s toria , O R 97103,
A ttn : Holly La rk in s
Dea d lin e: N o vem b er 2 0th a t 5pm .
Congratulations Spirit of Caring Award
Winner Dr. Jennifer Lycette!
The Spirit of Caring
Awards honor individuals
who personalize,
humanize and demystify
the healthcare experience.
“Her care for each patient is
evident with all the compliments
we hear... She motivates her clinic
to be excellent, to have leadership
and compassion.”
– Award nomination for Dr. Jennifer Lycette
&YDIBOHF4U"TUPSJB0SFHPOt

XXXDPMVNCJBNFNPSJBMPSHt"1MBOFUSFF%FTJHOBUFE)PTQJUBM