4A • March 27, 2015 | Cannon Beach Gazette | cannonbeachgazette.com
CB Chamber honors its members
Academy
Awards
ambience
accompanies
awards
By Erick Bengel
Cannon Beach Gazette
If only because it offered
the singular experience of
seeing Cannon Beach Po-
lice Chief Jason Schermer-
horn in a tux — “tuxed up,”
as Fire Captain Matt Gard-
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the second annual Chamber
of Commerce’s Member
Awards ceremony, held at
the Community Hall on
March 20, will not soon be
erased from local memory.
Schermerhorn’s excuse
is that he currently serves as
vice president of the Cham-
ber Board, working with
board President Steven Sin-
kler; Treasurer George Vet-
ter; Secretary Sheri Russell;
the chamber’s Executive
Director Courtland Carrier;
and its Administrative As-
sistant Jim Paino.
Against a glitzy Academy
Awards-themed backdrop —
awash in ruby-red lighting,
bedecked in miniature gold-
en statuettes and featuring
an imposing life-size Oscar
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He-Man-style — they and
ERICK BENGEL PHOTO
Nancy McCarthy, retiring editor of the Cannon Beach Ga-
zette and Seaside Signal, snags a lemony treat at the Cham-
ber of Commerce Membership Awards. McCarthy was
nominated for the Excellence in Leadership Award.
ERICK BENGEL PHOTO
Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Courtland Carrier, dressed as a film director,
reviews the chamber’s achievements from 2014 in the Cannon Beach Community Hall.
The membership awards were handed out shortly thereafter.
dozens of other members of
the Cannon Beach commu-
nity honored their fellow em-
ployees and business leaders
for everything they achieved
during 2014.
Sinkler and Russell,
supported by a nostal-
gia-inducing Disney mix
compiled by DJ Dan Moe,
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different categories. This
year’s recipients were: Ex-
cellence in Customer Ser-
vice - The Ocean Lodge,
accepted by Wendy Hig-
At the Library
gins, general manager;
Excellence in Leadership
- Tom Drumheller, accept-
ed on his behalf by Patrick
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of the Year - Cannon Beach
Vacation Rentals, accepted
by Tanya Waddell, book-
keeper, on behalf of owner
Linda Beck-Sweeney, own-
er; Volunteer of the Year -
Tracy Abel, owner of Abel
Management; and Member
of the Year - Cannon Beach
Yoga Arts, accepted by
Christen Allsop, owner.
ERICK BENGEL PHOTO
Trinity Diak, 4, of Cannon
Beach, gets into the spirit
of the Academy Awards-
themed Chamber of Com-
merce Membership Awards
ceremony while her mother,
Katie Diak, stands behind
her.
ERICK BENGEL PHOTO
Tracy Abel, center, accepts the award for Volunteer of the
Year. Left: Sheri Russell, secretary of the chamber board.
Right: Steven Sinkler, president of the chamber board.
CARLA O’REILLY
Collection features many books on marine, coastal wildlife
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and most of us by now have
noticed the booted, red-jacket-
ed group in front of Haystack
Rock pointing out various
forms of life in the tidepools
or setting up their telescopes
on the beach – our hardy group
of HRAP volunteers!
What many may not re-
alize is that in support of the
Haystack Rock Awareness
Program’s beach efforts, the
Cannon Beach library has a
special section of books about
marine animals, seabirds, and
other coastal wildlife. The col-
lection of books is a reality due
to the initial vision of two gen-
erous local men – Bob Carey
(now deceased) and Joe Hum-
mell, who still lives actively
among us.
Samantha
Ferber,
HRAP’s wonderful program
coordinator, says that as HRAP
celebrates 30 years of service
on our beach, she would like
to see volunteers make more
use of the collection at the li-
brary. When asked why more
volunteers do not make ad-
equate use of the books, Fer-
ber said, “Maybe they haven’t
been made enough aware that
the collection is available. As
we celebrate the 30th year of
HRAP, we’d like to make sure
that all our staff and volunteers
know that the books are at the
library. By becoming more
educated about the beach and
its species, they will be better
educators of the many people
who come to the beach.”
“The World of Haystack
Boac’s Bird Notes
lecture still on the schedule. On
April 8, Ram Papish, wildlife
artist, biologist, and author will
focus on “Seabirds of the Falk-
land Islands.”
Children’s Programs
CARLA O’REILLY
Rock” lecture series is also a
joint effort by beach folks and
library folks. Co-sponsored by
Friends of Haystack Rock and
the library, this series of free
community lectures is held at
the library the second Wednes-
day of each month from 7 to
8:30 p.m. There is only one
During spring break, we at
the library will make sure our
little visitors are well provided
with reasonably-priced books
and fun entertainment. From
March 21 through April 4, we
are holding a book sale espe-
cially for children and juniors.
Each sale book will cost just 50
cents.
At 1 p.m. Saturday, March
28, we will be offering a free
children’s event – Twisty Bal-
loons by Dean. Balloon art-
ist Dean Deonier will delight
children of all ages as he twists
balloons into various shapes
with a “Pirates and Princesses”
theme! Each child will receive
a balloon to take home – a not-
to-be-missed event for local
and visiting children!
Northwest Author
Series
At 2 p.m. on Saturday, April
18, author Tony Wolk will be
discussing his book The Par-
able of You. Mr. Wolk is an
English Professor at Portland
State University. He is also au-
thor of the Abraham Lincoln
time travel trilogy. In this latest
book, he presents a feast of sto-
ries that challenge our assump-
tions about history, reality, and
what stories reveal about their
tellers.
Cannon Beach Reads
The next book to be read
and discussed by the library
reading group, Cannon Beach
Reads, will be Sinclair Lewis’s
classic novel Babbitt. This event
will be held at the library from
7 to 8:30 p.m. on April 15. The
group welcomes new members.
Upcoming 4th of July
Blook Sale
Finally, this is a good time
for each of us to be weeding out
our bookcases and storage areas
for used books to donate to the
library for the 4th of July Book
Sale. The earlier we receive
the books, the better – as there
is much sorting and pricing in-
volved. Get those books to us as
soon as possible!
SUSAN BOAC
Be sure to take advantage of every birding opportunity
SUSAN BOAC
My mom was in town for
a few days last week and we
took every opportunity to
look for birds.
We kept a backyard bird
count one day, and even
though we were both gone
for several hours, we broke
the old record (36 species)
with a whopping 40 species
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time like this with my original
birding inspirational parental
unit.
During her stay, my work
took me to Tillamook County
and I talked her into accom-
panying me. At about mid-
day, we took a break from
work and headed out to the
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phoebe that has been repeat-
edly reported. After checking
out my regular spot there, we
went in search of the entrance
to the museum. That’s when
we saw the cemetery road.
My children have me trained
to turn into every cemetery,
hence the detour. Much to our
delight, we found the magical
bird spot. With hundreds of
widgeons, teal, ruddies, scaup
and mallards in the settling
pond (yep, a sewer lagoon)
and several visits from raptors
in the minutes we spent there,
it was considered a highlight
of Mom’s visit. We even saw
a Red-tail hawk hack up a
pellet!
Sadly, the phoebe was no-
where in sight, but there is al-
ways next time. I know where
I’ll be eating my lunch from
now on. It was pure enchant-
ment there by the Air Muse-
um. Next time, we may even
go in!
Reminder: Coming up on
April 11 is the North Oregon
Coast Birdathon, a one day
birding event in conjunc-
tion with 12 Days of Earth
Day and fund raiser for the
Wildlife Center of the North
Coast. Join us for birding or
help by sponsoring a partici-
pant. More information is on
the birdathon Facebook page.
After spending many plea-
surable hours with her avid
birder parents, Susan has
taken up birding as a pas-
sion, to the mixed emotions
of her husband Scott. The
Boacs reside on the Neawa-
nna Creek in Seaside where
their backyard is a birder’s
paradise.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Saving Razor Clams
I was much encouraged by
testimony at recent public hear-
ings in Cannon Beach expressing
great concern for the population
of razor clams along our beach-
es. I have been asked to foster a
greater awareness of their plight
and to campaign on their behalf
for better living conditions. So I
formed a group, ‘Friends of Ra-
zor Clams at Chapman Point.’
We have 18 members so far, and
more are being encouraged to
join.
You may recall from recent
coastal geology lessons that
wind and water currents predom-
inantly run northward along the
beaches in winter and southward
in summer. Tillamook Head is a
barrier to sand transport in either
direction but is also a barrier to
the free-swimming razor clam
larvae that result from the spring
spawn. Those that would like to
head north have a tough time
against the southbound currents.
Razor clam larvae can grow
rapidly and by late summer to
early fall they are ready to ‘set’
– that is, pick a spot on the san-
dy bottom of shallow waters and
dig in. It is during the set that
juvenile razor clams are most
vulnerable to being wounded
and killed – by gun, by shovel,
or by large boot. It is for this rea-
son that ODFW prohibits razor
clamming north of Tillamook
Head from mid-July through the
end of September. Such protec-
tion is vital to achieving a sus-
tainable population. I sense that
our local population would like
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place to set, and have a chance
to enjoy life, and to procreate a
little. But as nature conspires to
thwart their desires, I believe it
is time for human intervention.
Yes, I mean by having a closed
season here, south of Tillamook
Head.
We do understand that ODFW
will have to make a law to get the
season closed here. We believe
a city resolution to that effect
would help (I have one avail-
able but it requires the signature
of the mayor and city manager).
But we also have to send a peti-
tion to ODFW before they will
act, and for that we need more
signatures. The other 17 current
members are still free-swim-
ming juveniles. They can’t vote
yet, and therefore can’t sign a
petition.
When you see me with a clip-
board at Whale Park this sum-
mer, please stop by and lend the
weight of your signature to this
important conservation move-
ment.
I thank you. And my friends
thank you.
Ken McQuhae
Cannon Beach
‘Disappointed’ in
Cannon Beach Council
To the editor:
I am very disappointed that
four members of the city coun-
cil who were elected to uphold
the ordinances of the city of
Cannon Beach chose to over-
ride the decision of the plan-
ning commission to deny the
application of Jeff Nichol-
son to amend the city’s zone
map, to obtain a variance to
the slope-density requirement,
and to build a planned unit de-
velopment on his property at
532 N. Laurel.
Municipal code 17.84.030
clearly states that variances
should be granted only if a
strict interpretation of the code
would be inconsistent with the
objectives of the comprehen-
sive plan. The comprehensive
plan calls for controlling de-
velopment in areas with slopes
exceeding 20 percent and ar-
eas subject to potential geo-
logic hazards so that potential
adverse impacts can be mini-
mized. The property in ques-
tion exceeds the 20 percent
criterion and is composed of
the accretion of sand held to-
gether with native vegetation.
Since the councilors claim
to have visited the site, I
wonder why they were so im-
pressed with the model the
applicant presented of the pro-
posed development which por-
trayed the area as essentially
flat. Much of the property is
composed of a deep ravine.
The applicant’s solution of
building a wall 120 feet long
and up to ten feet tall would
add yet another wall to two
others already in the area to
support the building of Oak
Street.
My hope is that council-
ors, if given the opportunity,
will be willing to listen to ar-
guments opposed to changing
city requirements for the ben-
efit of an applicant intending
to build four houses and sell
them for a profit. If the coun-
cilors refuse to reverse their
decision, they will in essence
have subsidized a commercial
venture rather than upholding
the codes that were written for
the good of the community.
Diane Amos
Cannon Beach