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About Cannon Beach gazette. (Cannon Beach, Or.) 1977-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 16, 2015)
4A • January 16, 2015 | Cannon Beach Gazette | cannonbeachgazette.com Take time to refl ect before plunging into a new year B eing the news junkie that I am, at the beginning of every January, I can’t help but wonder what the biggest news stories of the upcoming year will be. Unfortunately, most all of the national and international stories topping the list at year’s end are bad news: natural disasters, wars, serial murders, plane crashes and celebrities gone awry. Even in our own region, the top stories in Cannon Beach and Seaside were bad news. In Cannon Beach, taking top spot was the murder of a 2-year- old girl and the attempted murder of her 13-year-old sister, alleged- ly by their mother. 7ZRIRUHVW¿UHVLQ$UFK&DSH sea star wasting disease at Hay- VWDFN5RFNWKHSXUVXLWDQGGHQLDO of a charter for the Cannon Beach $FDGHP\DQGWKHGHDWKVRIVRPH too. • The South County Communi- ty Food Bank successfully found DQHZORFDWLRQDFHOHEUDWLRQDQG open house will occur soon. This was a story about the coopera- tion between the Seaside School District, which gave away two portable buildings from the for- mer Cannon Beach Elementary 6FKRROWKHFLW\RI&DQQRQ%HDFK DQGWKH6HDVLGHSDQWU\RI¿FLDOVWR create a permanent location for the pantry. $IHZPRQWKVODWHUWKH&DQ non Beach Food Pantry found itself in the same position: It had to move from its present loca- tion. Once again, the school dis- WULFW DQG &DQQRQ %HDFK RI¿FLDOV helped out, and the Cannon Beach pantry is busy remodeling anoth- er portable building at the former school site and will move in soon. • While the retirement and depar- ERICK BENGEL PHOTO Cash, the would-be K-9 offi cer. well-known residents, including Cannon Beach Book Co. owner Val Ryan, also were among those stories on the list. In Seaside, the recent death of another 2-year-old girl and an accident last spring when a fam- ily nearly drowned after their car went off a boat ramp and into the Necanicum River headed the “top story” list. Other stories include an effort to recall Gearhart Mayor Dianne Widdop, a controversial adoles- cent sexuality conference and the inundation of anchovies onto the banks of the Necanicum River. But there were happier stories, ture of former Seaside Police Chief Bob Gross was a sad occasion for many, the city made an easy tran- sition by promoting Seaside police Lt. Dave Ham, who has been with the department since 1995. • The city of Seaside is antic- ipating other changes in the fu- ture, with a 20-year “visioning” campaign completed and the pur- chase of a former church building that could become another event space. • Cannon Beach’s Sandcas- tle Contest celebrated its 50th anniversary. Or was it the 50th? There may be more to this story in 2015.... Uncorked Ramblings Impressions By NANCY McCARTHY We refl ect on the past year, take a deep breath and plunge into the next year, ready to explore what comes next But there are stories that resonate personally with me that wouldn’t necessarily make the Top 10 list or any list for that matter: • The invasion of elk in Gearhart and Seaside. Photos emailed to me E\EXVLQHVVRZQHU-HII7HU+DUQD WXUHSKRWRJUDSKHU1HDO0DLQHDQG especially, Gearhart administrative assistant and treasurer Gail Como generated more than 30,000 hits from all over the world on the Sea- side Signal Facebook page. &DVKWKHZRXOGEH.RI¿FHU LQ &DQQRQ %HDFK JRW ¿UHG ,W ZDV a small story that captured the inter- est and imagination of news outlets across the country. • The tussle over ownership of the south half of the Cannon Beach Elementary School property. The school district owns it, and the Can- non Beach City Council wants to buy it, but not for the $1.2 million the district is requesting. There was D ÀXUU\ RI ZRUGV IURP WKH VFKRRO district chairman and the Cannon Beach mayor, then (apparent) si- lence. • It wouldn’t make anyone’s list of top news stories, but when Can- non Beach reporter Erick Bengel decided to accompany City Planner Mark Barnes on a bicycle ride from Seaside to Cannon Beach, I also had to take the trip — by car — to take photos. I didn’t know whether to laugh at Erick’s attempts to climb the Cannon Beach hill or worry that the 25-pound backpack he was car- U\LQJZRXOG¿QLVKKLPRII Then there are experiences that aren’t stories but are pretty memora- ble for me, anyway: 0\ ¿UVW YLVLW WR WKH 6HDVLGH Jazz Festival allowed me to listen to wonderful music and watch dancers get into the “beat.” • I appreciated the sense of peace and true connection felt through- out the room during the “Welcome Home Salmon” celebration in Can- non Beach. • There was the thrill when the Seaside Signal staff was awarded the Seaside Chamber of Commerce’s “Business of the Year” award. • I very much enjoyed the enthu- siastic performance of “Grease” put on by Seaside High School students last spring. There are truly talented youth — and instructors — on the North Coast. • It was fun to be part of the ca- maraderie among friends at the Seaside Downtown Development $VVRFLDWLRQ DQG 6HDVLGH &KDPEHU of Commerce morning breakfasts throughout the year. If you want to know what’s going on in the South County, that’s where to go. Every day we are on the lookout for news, seeking stories that in- trigue, entertain, inform and inspire. Then there are the stories that take us by surprise, that overwhelm us, disappoint, alarm and bring us to despair. Sometimes we become so in- undated with the news and with deadlines that we don’t have time to pause and take a look back. I guess that’s what the turn of the calendar page on Dec. 31 enables us to do. :HUHÀHFWRQWKHSDVW\HDUWDNHD deep breath and plunge into the next year, ready to explore what comes next. Nancy McCarthy covers South County for The Daily Astorian and is the editor of the Cannon Beach Gazette and the Seaside Signal. JEFF TER HAR PHOTO Looking to make a goal, an elk herd spends time munching the grass near the goal post at Seaside High School Jan. 31. CONTRIBUTED BY DIEDRE FEINAUER Seaside High School’s spring musical, “Grease,” drew a stand- ing-room-only crowd. Members of the cast are pictured. STEVEN SINKLER Puffi n Wines bring home platinum and gold medals Most of you know by now that in addition to owning The Wine Shack, Maryann DQG,DOVRRZQ3XI¿Q:LQHV When we bought them both from Dean Reiman in 2012, we gave him our sincere promise to take good care of 3XI¿Q:LQHVDQGGRRXUEHVW to grow the wine brand he created. Recently, we were invited WR VXEPLW WZR RI RXU 3XI¿Q Wines — our 2013 pinot gris and our 2010 pinot noir — to the Platinum Wine Judging competition held in Kenne- wick, Wash. It’s truly an honor to participate in this particular competition. Here’s why: With most wine competi- tions, you decide whether your wine is a participant by paying an entry fee, sending your wine in and crossing \RXU ¿QJHUV +RZHYHU WR get into the Platinum Wine Judging, your wine must be LQYLWHG$QG WR EH LQYLWHG the wine must have won a gold medal at a competition in Oregon, Washington, Idaho or British Columbia during the year. From this initial list, the judges then select the wines they invite to compete. We were elated to receive an in- vitation! $V,SDFNHGXSWKHZLQHV for the event, I put each pre- cious bottle into the shipping box and wished them good luck. I know that it’s kin- da weird to talk to bottles of wine, but I tend to do this more often than you’d think. Fortunately, they haven’t talked back to me yet. 2YHU RI WKH ¿QHVW ZLQHVIURPWKH3DFL¿F1RUWK west were tasted and evaluat- ed by a panel of nine highly experienced judges. Based on their evaluation, the judges could award a wine with one of three designations: a plati- num medal, a gold medal or no medal. $GGLWLRQDOO\ ZKHQ DOO RI the judges gave the wine a ZKHQ , ¿QDOO\ UHFHLYHG WKH email with the Platinum Wine Judging results. I furiously read the email. 7KHUH LW ZDV 3XI¿Q 3LQRW Gris won a platinum medal! I jumped up and hollered to Maryann, “Pinot gris won a platinum”! We were over- joyed at the result. How big of a deal is this? 3XI¿QZDVRQHRIRQO\WZRSL STEVEN SINKLER not gris wines to be awarded a platinum medal. I quickly platinum medal, the wine re- sent off an email to winemak- ceived a “double platinum” er Ray Walsh, congratulating award. Likewise, a “double him for making such a deli- gold” medal would also be cious wine. awarded if all the judges gave But wait, what about Puf- a gold medal to a wine. ¿Q 3LQRW 1RLU" ,Q DOO RI WKH $V &KULVWPDV GUHZ QHDU H[FLWHPHQW DERXW 3XI¿Q 3L I began to anticipate the an- not Gris winning a platinum nouncement of the results. medal, I had forgotten that The competition is stiff, and RXU 3XI¿Q 3LQRW 1RLU the judges are exceptional. I was also in the competition. I WKLQNWKH3XI¿Q:LQHVDUHH[ was immediately disappoint- cellent, but how would they ed that it hadn’t won a plati- VWDQG XS DJDLQVW WKH ¿QHVW num medal, but I went back wines throughout the entire to the results. 3DFL¿F1RUWKZHVW"/HW¶VMXVW 7KHUHLWZDV3XI¿Q3LQRW say that I was a little nervous 1RLUZDVWKH¿UVWZLQHOLVWHG LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Angels in heaven or be afraid. Kids shouldn’t have to be put through any To the editor, W\SH RI DEXVH $IWHU DOO They say our children they are just kids. DUH WKH IXWXUH , ORRN DW God took two little an- them as God’s angels. Chil- gels home and will be their dren are the bright spot in protector when they were the world, but recently two too young to protect them- of those bright spots went selves. out. Give your little angels all Two little angels were the love and protect them taken away in an unspeak- from all the bad. Please able manner and will never don’t let another angel be have all the chances and taken away. happiness they deserve. Jenny McCollister Children look to parents to Seaside keep them safe, guide them and most of all love them always. Children should al- To the editor, ways be made to feel they Gearhart is very fortunate are the most important gift and never feel pain, neglect to have a mayor and a council Public ‘pout’ that will defend the laws of the community as they have been put in place by genera- tions of caring citizens. Now one man and his clique are mounting an extend- ed and expensive campaign to override some of these laws and allow them to do what no other citizens would be allowed to do. This effort can only be recognized and treated as an extended public “pout.” Dianne Widdop, his target, is a public treasure — she’s honest, fair, open-minded and kind as anyone who knows her is happy to verify. Count your blessings that she is de- fending Gearhart! Sally Mannex Gearhart in the double gold medal sec- tion. Yes! $JDLQ , VKRXWHG RXW WKH UHVXOWV WR 0DU\DQQ ZH DUH so proud of our pinot noir as well. Double gold. I sent an- other congratulatory email, this time to winemaker Sean Driggers, and thanked him for a job well done. Two wines submitted, two medals won. We couldn’t have asked for a better out- come. Those two wines that I wished good luck represent- ed themselves and the entire ÀRFNRI3XI¿QZLQHVOLNHWKH rock stars they are. 3XI¿QLVDOUHDG\RXUWRS seller at The Wine Shack, but since the results were released two weeks ago, WKHVHZLQHVKDYHÀRZQRII the shelves with even great- er velocity. In fact, we are now sold out of the 2010 3XI¿Q3LQRW1RLUKRZHYHU we have plenty of the 2012 3XI¿Q 3LQRW 1RLU DQG LW¶V even more delicious than the double gold medal win- ner. We still have some of the platinum-winning 2013 3XI¿Q 3LQRW *ULV RQ KDQG but it, too, is in very short supply now — partially be- cause Maryann pulled three cases aside to pour at our daughter’s wedding next month, and I don’t think I can get it back from her. The good news, though, is WKDW WKH 3XI¿Q 3LQRW Gris will be available in about 45 days. If you haven’t tried a Puf- ¿Q ZLQH \RX UHDOO\ VKRXOG The results speak for them- selves. Oh, and I think we’ve kept our promise to Dean. Don’t forget that we are still donating a portion of the SURFHHGVRI3XI¿QZLQHWRWKH Friends of Haystack Rock to support the great work they do on the beach. Please remember to drink responsibly. Steven and Maryann Sin- kler own The Wine Shack in Cannon Beach. His column appears every month. OBITUARIES Dennis Michael ‘Mike’ O’Brien Feb. 9, 1935 — Dec. 25, 2014 Dennis Michael “Mike” O’Brien, 79, of Cannon Beach, Ore., died on Dec. 25, 2014, at Nehalem Valley Care Center in Wheeler, Ore. He was born Feb 9, 1935, in Cusick, Wash., to Harry and Beatrice O’Brien. He graduat- ed from Newport High School in Newport, Wash., in 1953. He served in the U.S. $UP\ DQG ZDV KRQ orably discharged in 1959. Mr. O’Brien is sur- vived by his wife of nearly 51 years, Dar- OHQH KLV FKLOGUHQ .HYLQ DQG 6KDQQRQ stepchildren, Randy, /RUHHQ DQG 5LFN IRXU JUDQGFKLOGUHQ DQG IRXU great-grandchildren. $ SULYDWH EXULDO RI his ashes is planned in Newport, Wash. Ocean View Funeral & Cremation Service of $VWRULD LV LQ FKDUJH RI the arrangements, and an online guest book may be signed at www. 2FHDQ9LHZ$VWRULDFRP DENNIS MICHAEL