DailyAstorian.com // TUESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2017
145TH YEAR, NO. 87
ONE DOLLAR
School
board taps
facilities
specialist
GEARHART’S MEASURE 4-188
Lindstrom appointed
to fi ll board vacancy
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
Aaron Fiedler
Residents in Gearhart are divided over
vacation rental regulations as a vote nears.
From the
front lawn
to Facebook
FINAL DRIVE BEFORE GEARHART VOTE ON VACATION RENTALS
The Astoria School Board on Monday
unanimously voted to appoint Matthew
Lindstrom, a facilities manager for Colum-
bia Memorial Hospital, to fi nish the last year
and a half of the term of Shawn Helligso,
who resigned from the board earlier this
month.
The six c andidates for the appointment
included Lindstrom, school
psychologist Heidi Win-
termute, Clatsop County
Historical Society’s Sam
Rascoe, juvenile preven-
tion specialist Darcy Cro-
nin, stay-at-home parent
Samantha Peterson and
Matthew
attorney Kimberly Chaput.
School board members Lindstrom
Jeanette Sampson, Jenna
Rickenbach, David Oser and Grace Laman
interviewed each candidate about their expe-
rience, goals, approach to confl ict manage-
ment and understanding of a school board’s
role. Each candidate was given a copy of the
school district’s strategic plan, a one-page
guidebook defi ning the district’s goals and
driving much of its decision-making.
See LINDSTROM, Page 4A
By BRENNA VISSER
The Daily Astorian
G
EARHART — Comments are lighting up Facebook . Political signs are being stolen.
Clatsop County commissioners are holding their breath until after the election to see how
the vote will impact future vacation rental policies. Even Oregon Public Broadcasting has
started to report on the election and how it fi ts with similar policy debates around the country.
Campaign leaders for and against Gearhart’s Measure 4-188
— which would repeal short-term rental rules put in place last
fall — have noted a level of hostility they’ve never seen before.
But for Bill Berg, the town’s historian and vocal “no” voter,
this debate is as old as the town itself.
“It’s the same campaign that’s been going on since 1918,”
Berg said. “It’s about the integrity of community. What does that
look like?”
How it started
Gearhart residents are no strangers to political controversy.
In the 1970s, the town had a contentious debate about
whether a sewer system should be installed in Gearhart. In 2003,
residents fought to keep part of the Gearhart Golf Links course
from getting rezoned for condominiums. In 2015, some voters
tried to recall Dianne Widdop as mayor.
But there is something about the latest measure that is elevat-
ing tensions and campaign tactics.
Complaints that out-of-town property managers were unable
to promptly reply to public safety concerns led to an increased
call for regulation, particularly a requirement for 24-hour owner
contact information.
The city crafted rules detailing occupancy limits, parking
rules, property management contact information and capped
registration to existing short-term rental properties.
But property owners David Townsend, Joy Sigler, Brian
Sigler and Sarah Nebeker interpreted these rules as the city’s
way of phasing out short-term rentals altogether, and fi led a
challenge in March seeking a ballot initiative that would repeal
and replace the ordinance.
Social media has been a major component in this election,
with the opposition producing video testimony of residents and
debates happening in the comment sections of community Face-
book pages.
See GEARHART, Page 7A
Reaching to
the Heights
Real estate opportunity or
geologic risk in Seaside?
By R.J. MARX
The Daily Astorian
SEASIDE — Eight properties bound for
auction at the Heights at Thompson Falls
offer oceanfront views and a mountainside
location outside of the tsunami inundation
zone.
Priced from $35,000 to $59,000, the lots
could present quite a bargain as the coun-
ty’s residential market values are listed sub-
stantially higher. The landscape includes the
Necanicum estuary and 28-mile-long Neca-
nicum River, the Neawanna River, at least 10
creeks, the ocean, the old timber mill ponds,
mud fl ats, waterfalls and even a prehistoric
underwater canyon.
See HEIGHTS, Page 4A
Realty Marketing/Northwest
View from an auction property at the
Heights at Thompson Falls.
Local options for Medicare dwindle
CareOregon
downsizes in
Clatsop County
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
Ron Beazely recently learned
CareOregon will no longer offer
Medicare Advantage. The letter was
a shock, since he relies on Social
Security for income and pays only
$34 a month for health care premi-
ums. He could face a spike when he
is forced to switch health plans in
January.
Beazely, of Cannon Beach, is
among 300 Clatsop County seniors
looking for an alternative as Care-
Oregon, following national trends,
concentrates coverage in urban cores.
Jeanie Lunsford, a spokeswoman
for CareOregon, said the move is
about better serving the majority of
customers in Clackamas, Colum-
bia, Washington and Multnomah
counties.
“It’s really that it’s a very small
program, and we had a really small
population in Clatsop, and it made
more sense to focus in the metro
area,” she said.
The move leaves someone like
Beazely with two Medicare Advan-
tage plans in Clatsop County —
Moda Health and FamilyCare.
CareOregon will keep its Medicare
Advantage Plus program in Clatsop
County for lower-income customers
also supported by Medicaid, the gov-
ernment health insurance program
for the poor and disabled.
Public and private
Medicare is a federal health insur-
ance program for people 65 and older.
The plan covers hospital care and
outpatient treatment and offers other
services such as prescription drug
coverage through supplemental
policies.
More than 7,800 seniors were
on traditional Medicare in Clatsop
County as of August, according to
the Centers for Medicare & Medic-
aid Services.
Another 2,343 people were using
Medicare Advantage plans, with cov-
erage provided by federally approved
See MEDICARE, Page 7A
Ron Beazely
Ron Beazely and his wife, Jan, began
searching for a new Medicare plan after
their existing provider , CareOregon, an-
nounced it will leave Clatsop County by
the end of the year.