DailyAstorian.com // MONDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2016
144TH YEAR, NO. 127
ONE DOLLAR
DEPARTING CANNON BEACH CITY COUNCILORS CELEBRATED PAGE 2A
Gearhart
goes to
class for
dune grass
Homeowners seek to
control dune vegetation
By R.J. MARX
The Daily Astorian
Photos by Danny Miller/The Daily Astorian
Cannon Beach Police Chief Jason Schermerhorn, right, and his son Jackson, a Boy Scout in Troop 642, help load boxes of food
with other community volunteers into a truck to be delivered to families in need on Friday at the American Legion in Cannon Beach.
‘We’re here for the community’
A community effort
to deliver food,
gifts to families
See GEARHART, Page 7A
By LYRA FONTAINE
The Daily Astorian
After refuge
takeover, a
quieter land
battle unfolds
C
ANNON BEACH — Every year since
the 1970s, the Cannon Beach Amer-
ican Legion Post 168 and local vol-
unteers have spent almost a week gathering,
organizing and distributing items to make
sure families have food on their tables and
gifts under their trees during the holidays.
This year, the post’s Community Christ-
mas Basket Program delivered children’s
gifts, whole turkeys and various other items,
from milk to paper towels, to 55 households.
About 30 people total were involved in prepa-
ration, food gathering and wrapping the toys,
said Dan O’Reilly, the post’s commander.
“The American Legion is the one that puts
it all together and gathers all the toys and
food,” O’Reilly said. “We get this all going
without the city’s help. It’s very significant.”
On Thursday, the American Legion Post
168 building was filled with piles of wrapped
presents — games, puzzles, books, stuffed
animals and more — meticulously organized
by age group and household.
“It’s a big job trying to figure out who gets
what,” said Nancy Teagle, who has volun-
teered for the program for about 20 years.
The American Legion helps deliver gifts
that kids wish for from the “Giving Tree” at
U.S. Bank, containing cards with items that
people in the community can purchase.
Maddy Wrege, 10, was volunteering for
the fourth year.
“These are the most toys we’ve had for
awhile,” she said. “I like delivering because I
like seeing the people’s expressions.”
By Friday, the presents were delivered and
volunteers, including police officers and fire-
fighters, helped load and deliver food boxes to
low-income apartments at Elk Creek Terrace
See COMMUNITY, Page 7A
GEARHART — Noxious species, high
grass, fire hazards and trees growing in the
midst of foredunes are among unaddressed
issues in Gearhart, resident Margaret Marino
told city councilors at three separate fall
meetings.
An educational forum at the
Gearhart Firehouse on Jan. 5 aims to rem-
edy that.
Marino, who is working with homeown-
ers along Ocean Avenue, seeks approval to
manage vegetation on the dunes.
Right now, the city’s zoning code does
not address mowing, removal of trees, nox-
ious weeds or grasses.
Marino first came before the council in
September when she sought permission to
manage shore pines, Scotch broom, tansy,
thistles and other noxious weeds.
In November, City Attorney Peter Watts
advised that before taking action, the city
must revise the zoning code, a process that
would be initiated by the Planning Commis-
sion and approved by City Council.
American Legion First Vice Commander Don Boehm fills a box with eggs and milk
for delivery to families in need on Friday in Cannon Beach. Boehm has been helping
organize this charity with the American Legion since 1977.
Suspicion of federal
government’s motives
in land management
By ANDREW SELSKY
Associated Press
Stacie Gilligan hands a turkey to Cannon Beach Police Chief Jason Schermerhorn as
he helps with other community volunteers and American Legion members to deliver
boxes of food to families in need on Friday in Cannon Beach.
JOHN DAY — On a recent wintry eve-
ning, members of the Grant County Public
Forest Commission walked into the warmth
of a rustic diner and took seats at their cus-
tomary table for their bimonthly meeting.
They voiced anger and frustration. At this
meeting, they were officially a non-entity.
A judge this fall dissolved the commis-
sion at the behest of a former county super-
visor who worried it was becoming a risk,
citing the takeover of a federal wildlife ref-
uge in a neighboring county.
While the armed occupation of the Mal-
heur National Wildlife Refuge grabbed the
world’s attention, a quieter struggle over fed-
eral lands is being waged by those trying to
use elections and the levers of government.
Their grandparents and great-grandparents
wrested a living from the West’s rugged
landscape.
See LAND BATTLE, Page 7A
The Heroux family made a big move
From 10,000
Lakes to clams
and crabbing
By R.J. MARX
The Daily Astorian
S
EASIDE — Suppose you
just decided to close your
eyes and pick a spot on the
map? Lynne Heroux, a long-
time Minnesota resident,
didn’t exactly blindfold her-
self, but she made a list of cri-
teria for her and her 12-year-
old son, Sam.
Heroux sought to make a
change in her daily work-life
and to try something different.
OUR NEW
NEIGHBORS
HIGHLIGHTING PEOPLE WHO ARE NEW TO THE COMMUNITY
“My son said if we were
going to make a move, we
were going to make it big,”
Heroux said. “So we started
reading the atlas at night. I
wanted to be by the coast. He
wanted to fish. So we picked
Oregon.”
After deciding on a desti-
nation, Heroux then went job
searching. An occupational
therapist, she found an oppor-
tunity with Providence Seaside
Hospital.
They embarked on their
cross-country adventure in
June, but after arriving, got
caught in the North Coast
housing crunch. Unable to find
a place to rent, they stayed
six weeks in the Hillcrest Inn
before purchasing a home.
See HEROUX, Page 7A
Submitted Photo
Lynn Heroux and Sam Heroux at a Thanksgiving dinner
in Seaside.