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About Cannon Beach gazette. (Cannon Beach, Or.) 1977-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 23, 2015)
INSIDE STORMY WEATHER ARTS FESTIVAL 2015 GUIDE OCTOBER 23, 2015 • VOL. 39, ISSUE 22 WWW.CANNONBEACHGAZETTE.COM COMPLIMENTARY COPY Fire chief suddenly out in Cannon Beach Balzer relieved of his duties By Dani Palmer Cannon Beach Gazette The Cannon Beach Rural Fire Protection District has relieved Chief Mike Balzer of his duties. “It was a personnel mat- ter,” District President Sha- ron Clyde said, con¿ rming Balzer had been let go. “I’m not able to comment much at this time.” The decision was made on Monday night, Oct. 12, during a district meeting. A ¿ ve-year annual $141,4 district levy was approved by voters in 2013 to fund the ¿ re chief’s budget, including salary, training and vehicle costs. According to the levy’s summary, the ¿ re chief di- rects 25 volunteer ¿ re¿ ght- ers who respond to about 330 calls annually for emer- gency medical problems, ¿ res, rescues and accidents, and manages budgets, vehi- cle, equipment and station maintenance worth over $4 million. Assistant Fire Chief Frank Swedenborg, own- er of The Waves Cannon Beach, will step in as the in- terim chief. Balzer and Swedenborg did not return calls seeking comment. County and city of¿ cials have not commented on the dismissal, or referred the Gazette to Clyde for com- ment. “Everything else will re- main the same,” Clyde said. “All the services are still top-notch. There will be no interruption in services.” She noted that the district will be working with the Special Districts Associa- tion of Oregon on the search process for a permanent ¿ re chief. There is no timeline for hiring yet. The Cannon Beach Rural Fire Protection District pro- vides ¿ re¿ ghting and emer- gency medical service to the North Coast communities of Cannon Beach, Arch Cape and Falcon Cove. Balzer, 58, started as a volunteer ¿ re¿ ghter in the 180s. A California native, he and his wife came to See Balzer, Page 9A A SHAGGY DOG CHIEF MIKE BALZER Voters given option to renew local tax for school district STORY Revenue goes toward operational expenses at four local schools By Katherine Lacaze EO Media Group R.J. MARX PHOTO/CANNON BEACH GAZETTE Genevieve and Jean-Luc take the winners stand. By Dani Palmer Cannon Beach Gazette T he potential for rain didn’t keep canines and their owners from the beach for the 18th Annual Dog Show on Saturday. About 70 dogs and 200 people stopped by the Surfsand Resort in Cannon Beach for the com- petition, Surfsand Assistant General Manager James Evrard said. The event included over 20 categories with pri]es, a rafÀ e and a hot dog roast. The Clatsop County Animal Shelter also fea- tured dogs for adoption. 3roceeds bene¿ t Clatsop Animal Assistance. Animal Control and Shelter Supervisor Ste- phen Hildreth said the event provides great expo- sure for animals in need, and that at least one dog is adopted during the show each year. A special election Nov. 3 will give voters in Seaside School District 10 the option to renew a ¿ ve-year local option tax to fund operations at the district’s four schools. Ballots were sent out Oct. 14, and voters have until Nov. 3 to turn them in. The question on the ballot asks if the district should renew its $0.52 tax per $1,000 of assessed property value for ¿ ve years beginning 201-17. The measure renews a current local option tax, in place since 2000 to sup- port the school district, which includes Seaside High School, Broadway Mid- dle School, Seaside Heights Elemen- tary School and Gearhart Elementary School and serves students from Sea- side, Gearhart and Cannon Beach. This is the fourth time voters have the option to renew the levy, according to Superin- tendent Doug Dougherty. If the measure is approved, the levy will be renewed at the same rate for the next ¿ ve years, starting with school year 201-17. Residents will not see an in- crease because of the local option tax. According to the state’s Department of Revenue, most taxing districts are See Tax, Page 12A Cannon Beach Academy wins board OK First year to be limited to kindergarten and fi rst-grade students By Dani Palmer Cannon Beach KATHERINE LACAZE/EO MEDIA GROUP PAID PERMIT NO. 97 ASTORIA, OR PRSRT STD US POSTAGE Seaside School District Board of Directors Chairman Steve Phillips discusses a motion to include the Can- non Beach Academy as a public charter school within the district on numerous conditions. Cannon Beach will once again have an elementary school next fall. Cannon Beach residents cheered af- ter the meeting, excited to have a school once more. Cannon Beach Elementary closed in 2013 for ¿ nancial reasons and fears for student safety. The building, now shuttered, lies in the tsunami inundation zone. “Congratulations to all of the sup- porters who worked so hard to bring a school back to the community,” wrote Michele Floyd on Cannon Beach Acad- emy’s Facebook page after the decision. “Let the learning begin.” The Seaside School District 10 Board of Directors unanimously approved a three-year contract with Cannon Beach Academy on Wednesday evening, Oct. 14, in front of a packed room. Under the district’s conditions, the new charter school will serve a mini- mum of 44 kindergarten and ¿ rst-grade students its ¿ rst year, with the ability to add grades over time. The charter eventually wants to host kindergarten through ¿ fth-grade students. “We’re very willing to work together to compromise,” said Ryan Hull, pres- ident of the academy’s board of direc- tors. Hull noted he will have to “chew on” the ¿ rst year grade limit to analyze how it will impact the school, but added he understands the decision from the dis- trict’s point of view. See Academy, Page 12A Community College seeks stronger South County ties Hospitality businesses off er management opportunities By Dani Palmer Cannon Beach Gazette Clatsop Communi- ty College has a strong presence in North Coun- ty, where its main cam- pus sits. It has served the North Coast and Southwest Washington since 158, but college representatives ac- knowledged last week that South Clatsop County is being “underutilized.” Nearly 20 people from the South County business community and Clatsop Community College dis- cussed ideas on how to im- prove those relations during a meeting Oct. 7. “The South County economy is very strong,” said Kevin Leahy, exec- utive director of Clatsop Economic Development Resources and the Small Business Development Center. “You have key stakeholders here. There’s been ongoing discussion during my four years as di- rector of CEDR and SBDC with the of¿ ce here in Sea- side that the college should be paying more attention to this population.” Cannon Beach Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Court Carrier said hospitality and the culinary arts provide a good oppor- tunity for Clatsop Commu- nity College to get more in- R.J. MARX PHOTO/CANNON BEACH GAZETTE Clatsop Community Col- lege’s Kevin Leahy in front of the South County campus. volved with job training in the South County area. The college should “focus on matching up training with the needs of the industry, he said. Carrier cited one Can- non Beach hotel having to close its dining area over the summer because there was no one to run it. Carrier discussed a hy- brid business and hospital- ity degree at Mount Hood Community College. Even in August Cannon Beach businesses were still hiring to ¿ ll positions. Seaside High School Principal She- lia Roley added many stu- dents earning college credit in the high school culinary program want to continue with their studies by going onto Portland or other areas for advanced opportunities. Leahy noted a seafood processor recently expe- rienced dif¿ culty ¿ nding a candidate from the local pool to serve as chief ¿ nan- cial of¿ cer. Cannon Beach Police Chief Jason Schermerhorn said internships are great tools for South County. Cannon Beach Police would like Clatsop Com- munity College to bring the criminal justice program back as the department prefers those who know the community well. Be- tween the various law en- forcement agencies in the county, there have been 13 personnel hired this year. There is high turnover in smaller agencies, Scher- merhorn said, because of- ¿ cers often move onto big- ger departments for more opportunities. Masudur Khan, owner of hotel properties in Sea- side, said he “can only train See Jobs, Page 13A