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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 22, 2016)
3A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2016 GUEST COLUMN Oregon Coast loses a pioneering journalist By SAMANTHA SWINDLER The Oregonian LeeAnn Neal, a longtime local journalist and pioneering daughter of Tillamook County, died on Saturday, less than two months after she was diagnosed with stage 4 liver cancer. As was her way, LeeAnn, 46, didn’t want folks to make a fuss. She spent nearly a month in the hospital, much of it in intensive care, but was always upbeat when describing her health issues. The cancer had been discov- ered during emergency surgery. After post-op complications, it became clear it was quite advanced. She was waiting to tell friends about her diagnosis, but never got the chance. It was left to LeeAnn’s fam- ily to share the news of her rapid decline in health. LeeAnn arrived at Nehalem Bay House on Friday, where she was meant to receive end- of-life care. By Saturday night, she was gone. Oregon stock LeeAnn came from true Oregon stock. She was a sixth-generation Tillamook res- ident whose great-great-great grandfather, Elbridge Trask, was among the area’s first white settlers in the 1850s. She started covering local news as a teenager, and over the years served as a tireless ampli- fier of her community’s tri- umphs — and a tactful recorder of its tragedies. Her work appeared locally in the The Daily Astorian, North Coast Citizen, Tillamook Headlight Herald and Coast River Busi- ness Journal, and sometimes statewide in The Oregonian. Most recently — and most personally — LeeAnn helped start the Tillamook County Pio- neer, a hyperlocal online news source, in July 2013. She was one of the first peo- ple I met when I moved to Til- lamook in 2010 to work for the Headlight Herald. LeeAnn called it a “grand old dame” of a newspaper. She wore oversized, untucked men’s button shirts and had a wild mane of curly dark hair. You could hear her coming, that loud voice, that booming laugh, that joyous bounce in her step. All Tillamook, through and through. Connections Later, after I moved to For- est Grove, the demands of dead- lines and the distance between us meant we most often com- municated online. We left a digital trail of more than 5,000 Facebook messages, preserving our conversations about coastal Neal Family/Submitted Photo LeeAnn Neal, shown with brother Dan Neal, died Saturday. She was one of the founders of the Tillamook County Pio- neer online news site. gossip and encouragement in an often stressful profession. After my first column at The Oregonian, she told me, “I hate writing, too, but, as the saying goes, I love having written.” I know that’s a Dorothy Parker quote. But to me, it will always be LeeAnn Neal’s. We often daydreamed about starting or buying a community paper, making it work within what LeeAnn jokingly called her “maverick-no-resources lifestyle.” We’d share ideas on revenue models and paywalls. And we’d consult with one another while writing sensitive stories. “The Tillamook County Pioneer staff is small, as is our community,” she wrote once as a disclaimer. “If I were to avoid writing about everything that touches my personal life, I would have to skip a lot of worthwhile articles.” Journalism of attachment LeeAnn was a first-name- only celebrity in Tillamook County. She understood the journalism of attachment — of caring about the people and places you report on — which is the only journalism of value you can provide for a rural town. She cared because she was connected, directly or indirectly, by blood or by heart, to everyone she wrote about. During festivals and floods, major events, people looked to LeeAnn to tell it straight and accurate. David Dillon, who worked with LeeAnn as editor of Man- zanita’s North Coast Citizen from 1996 to 2003, said she chased news and feature stories “with equal ferocity.” “She would invariably come back with great work,” he said, “complete with more details, quotes and insights on the topic than I ever imagined would be there.” “Her office was clear across the building from mine, but I always knew when she was in her office because I could hear that wonderful laugh,” said Carol Hungerford, co-owner of the Tillamook Headlight Herald. “I miss her for the joy and integ- rity she brought to her craft.” Not well Looking back through our conversations this year, I real- ized how often LeeAnn felt ill. How she couldn’t shake a cold. How she had to cancel plans. How she kept trying new diets and vitamins and workouts. How we commiserated about seasonal-affective disorder. “For the last few months, I’ve been having lots of frus- trating memory issues (mostly involving the names of peo- ple, places and things), trouble concentrating and a flare-up of my old OCD (obsessive-com- pulsive disorder) intrusive thoughts,” she wrote in March. “I’ve also been tearing up from time to time for no good reason and having a hard time motivat- ing myself to work, which isn’t like me.” Not ‘a lot of time’ I visited LeeAnn the day she died. I had been told only that she “didn’t have a lot of time,” which I interpreted to mean days, weeks or maybe months. But when we arrived Satur- day afternoon, the nurse said she had only a few hours left. She was in a coma, but could still hear us, we were told. We took turns sitting near her bedside, telling her how much she meant to us, how thankful we were for her friendship. Hundreds of well- wishes came in over social media and they were read to her in her final hours.”Thank you, LeeAnn, for your life, for your brilliant, heartfelt jour- nalism that knit the commu- nity together in love, humor and honesty,” wrote Helen Hill. “You gave and gave and gave to us.” This is, sadly, the second death to hit the Pioneer’s small staff in a little more than a year. Another friend and co-founder, Will Seymour, died of can- cer on Sept. 26, 2015, his 29th birthday. It’s unclear what will hap- pen to the Pioneer without LeeAnn, but her family hopes to keep it going in some form. A memorial service will be held at 2 pm Jan. 7, at Tilla- mook Church of the Nazarene. Cannon Beach Arts Association, director abruptly part ways Brumfield leaves arts association By LYRA FONTAINE and R.J. Marx The Daily Astorian CANNON BEACH — Two weeks ago, Jane Brum- field was accepting a grant from the Clatsop County Cultural Coalition at a cere- mony at the Clatsop County Community College’s South Campus. This week, Brumfield left the post. In a text statement, she said she would prefer not to talk about her former orga- nization and she “only wishes them well.” Brumfield accepted $600 from the coalition on behalf of the Cannon Beach Arts Associ- ation’s “Artists Talk,” a series aimed at sharing information R.J. Marx/The Daily Astorian Jane Brumfield accepts a grant on behalf of the Cannon Beach Arts Association at the cultural awards ceremony in December. and experiences between art- ists and arts professionals. Cannon Beach Arts Asso- ciation Board President Lila Wickham said the organiza- tion’s board will begin post- ing for a replacement in January. “The Cannon Beach Arts Association wishes the best of luck to Jane Brumfield, who has served as the program art director for the last year and a half,” Wickham said in a statement to members. “Jane is stepping away, allowing herself to focus on her mas- ter’s degree program in arts administration.” Wickham said Brumfield and her husband, Mike, “have generously contributed pas- sion, talent, and time to our association. … We are grateful for Jane’s service and wish her and Mike health, happiness, and great art in the future.” The Cannon Beach Arts Association supports, funds and enhances the arts and art- ists in the city and the region through education, events and exhibits. In the past, the arts association was known for multidisciplinary events, ry Christmas r e M to the Lower Columbia area from Astoria Church of Christ T HE D AILY A STORIAN ’ S C UTEST B ABY C ONTEST Cla tso p Po st 12 Frid a y, Decem b er 23 rd January 1st & December 31st , 2016 , between Alder and Maple Saw Logs & Standing Timber N orth w es t H a rdw oods • Lon gview , W A Contact: John Anderson • 360-269-2500 Merry Christmas Courtney Ann My Angel in Heaven August 21, 1982 - December 22, 2001 My soul fi nds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. Psalm 62:1 NLT Love always, forever and ever Dadio Park section of Boise, Idaho, since 2009. In an interview prior to the 2015 Stormy Weather Arts Festival, Brumfield said she sought to bring “as many voices in as possible to get so we get a good range of work to look at, and to select from.” 692 12th Street D 503-325-7398 If your baby was born W A NTED adding concerts and spe- cial events to their showings. Those aspects are less empha- sized today, with the gallery and scholarships the primary focus of the association. Brumfield, who moved to the region with her hus- band Michael in June 2015, had run a gallery in the Hyde you can submit your newborn’s picture either via email at: $ CLASSIFIEDS @ DAILYASTORIAN . COM or drop by one of our offi ces in Astoria or Seaside and we can scan in the photo for you. Deadline to enter is Wednesday, January 25 th at 5 pm Entries will be printed in The Daily Astorian on January 31st. *Human babies only please!* N e w Full color, scenic montage postcards of Astoria now available at the Daily Astorian office! 8 MEATLOAF DINNER 5-7 PM 4 PM until gone Post Com m ander’s Tom ‘n’ Jerry Party S a tu rd a y Decem b er 24 th 6 PM Karaoke Dave S u nd a y Decem b er 25 th Christmas Eve Merry Christmas Post 12 Closes at 4PM Post 12 Closed!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 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