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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 6, 2017)
7A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2017 Help: ‘This is a reality check’ hurricane-struck areas. In Cannon Beach, Beach- comber Vacation Homes is offering a vacation package with brewery tours, Coaster Theatre tickets, surf lessons and variety of other local goods valued at $6,500. “We are trying to learn how to be better prepare for future tragedies. We weren’t pre- pared,” Upson said. “But at least now Texas properties can say to their clients, ‘You can’t stay with us, but you can stay in Cannon Beach’ and get a cut from the profi t. We’re try- ing to give hope back to com- panies who thought this was it for their business.” Continued from Page 1A Companies all over the North Coast use LiveRez.com to help manage and rent out vacation houses. As a way to raise money, companies like Olson’s are creating silent auc- tion vacation packages, where all of the proceeds of the bid will go to those affected by hurricanes. In a month, Liv- eRez.com has raised about $60,000. “This isn’t about helping second homeowners,” Olson said. “This is about helping the people who work in this indus- try put food on the table. If all of a sudden we were with- out, I don’t know what we would do. Vacation rentals are such a huge part of our local economy.” Moving forward ‘ What are we doing?’ After Hurricane Irma hit, Kelly Willey said all that was on her mind were the basics. “When we came back, we didn’t have electricity. We couldn’t fl ush toilets,” she said. “People weren’t nec- essarily thinking about busi- nesses until sometime after. We were focused on little hur- dles — like being able to fl ush the toilet again, thank God.” But after amenities for basic survival started to come back, the reality of what the storm meant for her business, Coco Plum Real Estate, came back, too. Before Hurricane Irma, Willey managed about 70 properties in Marathon, Florida, a town of about 8,000 in the Florida Keys. After Irma? “Four. Four are opera- tional,” Willey said. “My fi rst thought was, ‘Oh my god I’m out of business.’ When will the visitors want to come back? Will my employees be coming back, and how do we take care of them?” LiveRez.com estimates about 100 property managers like Willey were affected by Hurricane Harvey and Hur- ricane Irma, 30 of whom lost all of their properties in the storms. Like Cannon Beach, many of these towns are small, coastal and driven by tourism. Tina Upson, v ice p resident Submitted Photos Business cards and a medallion lie in the debris at Miss Kitty’s Fishing Getaways in Rockport, Texas. A doll found in the wreckage of one of the vacation homes managed in the Florida Keys. of operations at LiveRez.com, said the company initially responded how they always did after disasters : sent thoughts and prayers. But immediately the company started receiving phone calls and emails. “They kept asking us, ‘What are we doing?’” Upson said. I n response, LiveRez. com launched a program that allows property managers to share inventory. For example, a property manager in Can- non Beach can donate one of their vacation rentals to a prop- erty manager based in an area affected by a hurricane to rent out temporarily. That way, someone in a place like Rock- port, Texas, which is still reel- ing from inconsistent access to power and utilities, can still make money while their own properties are rebuilt. The nonprofi t is also host- ing a silent auction. More than 50 property manag- ers around the country have donated vacation rental pack- ages. Whatever is made off the bids will be donated back to the property managers in While she always knew hurricane damage was a possi- bility, Dawn Huff said imagin- ing how destructive it can be is almost impossible. “Eighty percent of my homes are wiped out. I can’t say I really planned for that,” Huff said. “This is a reality check.” Huff owns Miss Kitty’s Fishing Getaways in Rockport, Texas, a small fi shing town hit by Hurricane Harvey. When she returned from evacuation, starting up her business proved to be a challenge. Many of her employees were displaced, and some, like housekeepers, had to be let go . Finding ways to communicate with confused and disgruntled customers was a challenge with phone lines and internet service inconsis- tent at best. A lot of these problems will take time to solve. But Huff said having a steady stream of income to help rebuild offi ces and pay her staff will help her get closer . Vacation h ouses are still in shambles, but for Willey, in Florida, it’s the little conve- niences that count as success. “I’ve been able to keep staff employed who have come back,” she said. “To me, my success was that I was able to tell someone they could use my fax machine. We don’t expect people to do all the work for us. But hold my beer, so to speak, so I can get my people back to work.” Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian Jon Broderick, far right, plays a song at the Arts Coun- cil of Clatsop County reception on Thursday in the tap- room at Buoy Beer Co. in Astoria. Boon: ‘It’s about giving back’ Continued from Page 1A domestic product. The retail industry, in comparison, accounts for 5.8 percent of GDP. The arts also supported 4.6 million jobs and added $27.5 billion to governments at the local, state and fed- eral levels. Cohen hopes the study illustrates that spend- ing money on the arts is more than simply a charita- ble decision. “Those dollars don’t just disappear in some black hole of goodness,” he said. “It’s giving back to the commu- nity, cultural benefi ts and economic impact. Show me another industry in our community that provides that kind of benefi t to the populace.” Allison Tigard, a member of the arts council , said the ability to reveal economic data has been the 3 -year-old organization’s top event thus far. County Commissioner Sarah Nebeker recalled Thursday a moment prior to her fi rst election in 2012, when she met with Brian Wagner, community arts coordinator for the Ore- gon Arts Commission. Soon before she decided to run, the two agreed that arts and culture needed more attention within county government. “I did see, and I still see, this area of the North Coast as being at the precipice in just fabulous growth in the creative economy,” Wagner said. Mall: Facebook page will be set up Continued from Page 1A “I really want to do the place like a Roman court- yard,” he said. “So there will be the pillars, fl uted pillars going like a colonnade on each side.” The building was con- structed in 1945 for Abeco, which recently downsized to a location west on Com- mercial Street. Hicks plans to take off the metallic decora- tion on the storefront, tear out carpet and polish the original black-and-white tile and oth- erwise restore the building to its original look when it fi rst opened . Hicks will be setting up a Facebook page for Astor Court and recruiting inter- ested tenants. #powerofrural Celebrating Hope CMH-OHSU Knight Cancer Collaborative Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian From left to right: Michael McNickle, Kerry Strickland and Sheri Salber wait for those in need to take advantage of resources including food, water and a new needle exchange program at Peoples Park in Astoria on Thursday. Needles: Events are scheduled to take place each Thursday Continued from Page 1A “We’ve had a few inter- ested people but no takers so far,” McNickle said. “It’s all about building trust. We want people to know we’re not going to arrest them or do any- thing like that.” The six-month pilot pro- gram offers drug users the ability to trade used needles in a one-for-one exchange. Exchange sites Thursday were located at 16th Street and Marine Drive in Astoria as well as the Knappa Fire Dis- trict Station. Staffers oper- ated the fi rst exchange site in Astoria early in the afternoon before eventually heading to Knappa. The county Board of Com- missioners approved the pro- gram in August. The outreach is funded through a $50,000 donation from the Friends of Columbia Community Health. The CMH-OHSU Knight Cancer Collaborative has been built with extraordinary support from our community. The center has been designed to serve the entire region with expanded capac- ity and the most state-of-the-art technology found anywhere on the Pacific Coast. It’s truly been a journey of hope—for CMH caregivers, the community, donors, and patients who will no longer have to travel to receive radiation treatment. Join Columbia Memorial Hospital in celebrating this achieve- ment at a Community Open House. (630) 701-7193 Sunday, October 15, 2017 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. 1905 Exchange Street Astoria, OR 97103 Sheri Salber with the Clatsop County Department of Pub- lic Health checks on supplies during the first day of the new needle exchange program. The health department will explore potential exchange locations along the Astoria r iv- erfront, a well-known hang- out spot for drug users , and throughout the county, includ- ing Seaside. Events are sched- uled to take place each Thurs- day for the duration of the program. Medical Excellence without the Miles 503-338-4085 | columbiamemorial.org/cancer-care
