JULY 3, 2015 • VOL. 39, ISSUE 14
WWW.CANNONBEACHGAZETTE.COM
COMPLIMENTARY COPY
City may return
emergency supply
barrels to residents
By Nancy McCarthy
Cannon Beach Gazette
A potential riot between
the haves and the have-nots
following a natural disaster
may prompt Cannon Beach
city of¿ cials to discontinue
storing barrels containing res-
idents’ personal emergency
supplies.
Instead,
the
city
would store
supplies —
ready-to-eat
meals, med-
ical resourc-
es, tents, cots
and blankets
— for every- Brant Kucera
one to use.
City Manager Brant
Kucera told the city’s emer-
gency preparedness commit-
tee recently that he and Police
Chief Jason Schermerhorn
were concerned about the
barrels, “both about what’s in-
side and what happens when
things are taken out of them.”
“We fear for peoples’
lives,” Kucera said.
The police learned after
break-ins at two of the city’s
three cache container sites
last summer that some barrels
contained guns, alcohol and
cash, Schermerhorn said.
Stored in three 8-foot by
20-foot shipping containers,
most of the barrels were pur-
chased and ¿ lled by full-time
residents, second-home own-
ers and employees three years
ago when the city began the
“cache container” program.
About 100 barrels have been
purchased and ¿ lled with
supplies that could be used in
an emergency, such as a Cas-
cadia subduction earthquake
and resulting tsunami.
The containers were
placed above the tsunami in-
undation zone on city-owned
property at the east end of Elk
Creek Road, on the South
Wind site in Tolovana and on
Old Cannon Beach Road.
See Barrels, Page 14A
CITY COUNCIL
Councilors divided
on future allocation
of room tax funds
By R.J. Marx
Cannon Beach Gazette
A Cannon Beach City
Council meeting meant to
handle a housekeeping item
opened a discussion on the
use of funds to be collected
when a 1 percent room tax
increase goes into effect Oct.
1. Councilors were divided
on the question of whether
the room tax increase is spe-
ci¿ cally designated for the
Chamber of Commerce Vis-
itor Center or for other uses.
“My thought is, the in-
formation center should
really be a separate agree-
ment from this new money,”
Councilor George Vetter
said. “We shouldn’t put the
two together. They’re really
two separate entities.”
The June 25 meeting
was called to approve the
agreement between the city
and the Chamber of Com-
merce for the Visitor Infor-
mation Center from July
1 through Oct. 1, the ¿ rst
¿ scal quarter before the in-
crease.
The city’s payments to
the chamber for the ¿ rst
quarter of 2015-16 will be
$35,000. After the room
tax increase goes into ef-
fect Oct. 1, quarterly pay-
ments to the chamber are
expected to be $100,000 to
$115,000. Thirty percent
of the total of the room tax
increase, or about $78,000
annually, would go into the
city’s general fund.
GEORGE VETTER PHOTO
More vendors enhance shoppers’
experience on Tuesday afternoons
By Nancy McCarthy
Cannon Beach Gazette
W
hen Portlanders Paul and Lauren Lambert decid-
ed to visit Cannon Beach on a beautiful after-
noon, they had no idea it was opening day of the
Cannon Beach Farmers Market.
“We happened to be driving by; this is an area of town
we don’t usually visit,” said Paul Lambert, while their son,
Isaiah, 4, sampled a product from a booth. “It was a nice
little surprise.
“It’s very festive, very fun,” he added.
With a new slogan, several new vendors and a new chil-
dren’s program, the Cannon Beach Farmers Market is off
to a sunny start this year.
Nearly 1,200 people visited the market, which started
its eighth season June 16. The market runs from 2 to 5 p.m.
Tuesdays through Sept. 29 at the City Hall parking lot, on
the corner of Gower and Hemlock streets in midtown. Mu-
sic begins and lunch is served by vendors offering pre-
pared food at 1 p.m.
“It’s a perfect place to shop for organic produce,” said
market Manager Philomena Lloyd. “Come early, eat lunch,
listen to the music and then go shopping.”
See Funds, Page 12A
See Market, Page 12A
Celebration features fl oats, hot dogs, hot rods
By Andrew R. Tonry
Cannon Beach Gazette
The Fourth of July is a
celebration of the American
nation writ large. And while
observant of the coun-
try’s declaring freedom
from British rule, Cannon
Beach’s Independence Day
parade kicks off the holiday
with second salute to local
community.
PAID
NANCY
MCCARTHY
PHOTO
PERMIT NO. 97
ASTORIA, OR
ABOVE: Wild mushrooms, gathered by Bill Cole,
who operates Nature’s Wild Harvest, were already
bagged and ready to go.
A salute to local community
Th e Jackson
Street Chair
Clacking
Brigade was
armed with
their lawn-
chairs in the
2014 Fourth
of July parade
in Cannon
Beach.
PRSRT STD
US POSTAGE
NANCY MCCARTHY PHOTO
TOP: Shoppers at the Cannon Beach Farmers Mar-
ket. Th e market is open Tuesdays at 1 p.m. with
music, prepared food and community booths.
“It’s just pure Ameri-
cana,” Dan O’Reilly said.
O’Reilly is a retired Navy
master chief petty of¿ cer,
and as of July 1, commander
of Cannon Beach’s Amer-
ican Legion Post 168. “In
larger metropolitan areas you
don’t see this kind of thing,”
he said. “You’ll see streets
gather, Neighborhoods gath-
er. People come from all
over. They all sign up and get
in the parade. I swear half the
spectators are in the parade.
It’s a pure outpouring.”
Sign-up to participate in
the parade begins July 4 at 9
a.m. at the American Legion,
which organizes the event.
The parade sets off at 11 a.m.
from Monroe and Spruce
streets, then northbound on
Spruce through downtown,
See Parade, Page 14A
Wabi Sabi makes its ‘comeback’ in sandcastle quest
Event almost
tranquil
compared to
2015 crowds
By Andrew R. Tonry
Cannon Beach Gazette
A year removed from
the celebrated 50th anniver-
sary, the 2015 Sandcastle
Contest’s estimated 10,000
attendees seemed almost
quaint by comparison.
Competition in the Masters
division, however, remained
near the Cannon Beach
event’s high-water mark.
Wabi Sabi took ¿ rst
place. Along with medals
and bragging rights, the
10-member team received a
check for $1,200.
“We’ve come back from
the depths,” said Wabi Sa-
bi’s Eric Hawley.
The team, comprised
of members from across
Washington state, com-
bined detail and ¿ nesse,
art and architecture. At
15-feet-high, their castle
was the tallest of the day.
It was accompanied by an
octopus, a mermaid and a
shell cupping the earth, and
fronted by a treasure chest
bearing the theme: “The
World is Your Oyster. Trea-
sure It.”
Against the six others
in the Masters division,
Wabi Sabi’s entry was a
crowd-pleaser, as visitors
gathered close to watch the
team at work. The build-
ers obliged with additional
showmanship, at one point
ANDREW R. TONRY — FOR EO MEDIA GROUP
Th e Jessop family, subjects of an Oregon Public Broadcast-
ing documentary, at work during the Cannon Beach Sand-
castle event. Th e Jessops suff ered a bit of bad luck when two
bridges between sandcastles collapsed only fi ve minutes
before the fi nal bell sounded.
breaking from sand-shap-
ing into dance.
“Our motto is: if you’re
not here to have fun then, why
are you here?” Hawley said.
“We want the people to have
fun. We want everyone here to
come back and see us. “
As much as it was a fan
favorite — and the team
took that award as well —
so too were the judges en-
amored with Wabi Sabi’s
creation. The four ¿ rst place
votes were unanimous. All
contestants were judged not
only on the ¿ nished prod-
uct, but also teamwork, cre-
ativity and more.
“All of us came up with
No. 1 separately, Masters
judge Robin Risley said.
“The use of the space, the
detail, the teamwork, crowd
excitement, the energy that
they created — that was the
one!”
Comeback
With the win, Wabi Sabi
found a bit of redemption.
See Castles, Page 3A