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About Cannon Beach gazette. (Cannon Beach, Or.) 1977-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 18, 2015)
December 18, 2015 | Cannon Beach Gazette | cannonbeachgazette.com • 7A To keep water safe, task force remains vigilant Surfrider helps monitor water quality By Dani Palmer Cannon Beach Gazette Clean water is crucial to eco- logical health. It’s why Jesse Jones with the Surfrider Foundation’s Blue Water Task Force talked about the Ecola Creek Watershed’s health during a Haystack Rock Awareness Program lecture at the Cannon Beach Library Dec. 9. Jones has worked in many as- SHFWVRIZDWHUERWKVFLHQWL¿FDQG artistic. She grew up on the Ne- halem River. “The quality of water depends upon who needs it to live,” she said. “Salmon need cold water to reproduce, so testing is done to determine the temperature. That is done here in Ecola. Humans need clean water to drink and bathe, so testing is done to determine bac- teria levels. Plants, people and animals need clean water to grow, so testing is done to determine all sorts of things.” Scientists look at SUBMITTED PHOTO/CANNON BEACH GAZETTE Salmon swimming in Ecola Creek. Many streams are too warm for salmon spawning, but Ecola Creek appears to be healthy. factors like oxygen, algae, metals and sediments. Monitoring limited The Oregon Department of En- vironmental Quality only monitors four sites in Clatsop County and the Beach Action Value used to determine whether water is safe to swim in or ingest will be lowered in 2017, adding more strain. Jones said the state just doesn’t have the money to do more — that commu- nities need to do more work. Jones said she thinks Timothy Morton’s book “Ecology Without Nature” makes a good point: hu- mans need to focus on doing more. But she disagreed with him on data being a waste of time. “If we aren’t looking in the water to see what’s there, then we aren’t going to know what’s in the water, so we have to continue to do it,” she said. “But I think we can do it a lot PRUHHI¿FLHQWO\´ She added there should be con- versations about how to do so and who should do it. Bob Lundy samples for entero- coccus bacteria in Ecola Creek and both the Blue Water Task Force and Oregon Beach Monitoring Program test at the outfalls and in shorewater. Lundy said water farther back in Ecola Creek looks different from the outfall water. Outfall water has an- imal feces, trash deposits and more that’s run into it. Pesticides are also a water quality concern. Volunteers needed The Ecola Creek Watershed Council does the monitoring of wa- ter temperature. Many streams are too warm for salmon spawning, but Ecola Creek appears to be healthy, Jones said. “Ecola Creek is pretty cold, which is great,” she added. There are some spots above 70 de- grees, but testers aren’t sure of the causes. They are working on cor- relation studies. Jones said there are steps the public can take to assist by volunteering for the Blue Water Task Force, and help protect the creek by paying attention to physical charac- teristics and buying reusable water containers. Surfrider needs more volunteers to assist in water testing. The Blue Water Task Force has four regular volunteers and 12 total, Jones said. Many are retirees. She said co- ordinators like their knowledge, but also need youth to carry on the tasks. “I think education is a big part of it,” she said. Some in the audience suggested partnering with local schools. If they had more volunteers, Jones said, they could do additional testing. Some want the stormwater run- ning into drains and rivers tested, but it takes many resources. ‘Pretty cold’ Marijuana: ‘Once it’s here, you’re not going to get rid of it’ Pot from Page 1A Cannon Beach is a beau- tiful area known for being result might differ from 2014. family and dog friendly, “Maybe the reason the Laws said, and secondhand vote was so high wasn’t that marijuana smoke causes they wanted to have a dis- illness in children and pets. pensary or a store or a crop,” She cited risks to children %HQH¿HOG VDLG 3URSRQHQWV and studies indicating in- “just wanted to be able to creased accident rates asso- go to Seaside and get a joint ciated with marijuana use. She also expressed concern and not get arrested for it.” Councilor George Vetter over the security of mari- said it doesn’t “make sense juana shops. “We need to preserve the to go back to the voters.” “It seems to me that image of Cannon Beach,” would be a waste of time Laws said, adding Seaside, and money and is kind of with two dispensaries, is a like saying, ‘You made a short drive away. Steve Hudgik, a retired bad decision, now we’ll give you a chance to correct marketing specialist and pastor of the Cannon Beach it,’” Vetter said. He noted a marijuana Bible Church, said numbers business would not survive in Colorado and other states in Cannon Beach without indicating an uptick in tour- ism following marijuana le- demand. galization were misleading. Opposition to licensing Hudgik questioned if Marlene Laws, a resi- marijuana would enhance dent, voiced her opposition “the Cannon Beach ex- perience” and noted it is to licensing dispensaries. Dining on the North Coast important not to rush a de- cision because “once it’s here, you’re not going to get rid of it.” Support for marijuana Sam Chapman, found- ing partner of New Econ- omy Consulting, said he wants to open a marijuana shop with family members as employees. He said he chose Cannon Beach be- cause of its atmosphere. Chapman said he wants to address the stigma of marijuana and believes a dispensary could bring in additional tourism with an “emerging cannabis indus- try.” He said he is looking at potential dispensary lo- cations and one business owner has already given approval. Now, Chapman said, it is up to the city to make a decision. Resident Jan Sie- bert-Wahrmund said mar- ijuana is actually not that different from alcohol. “I don’t use it myself, I don’t drink alcohol, but I think people have the right to do so,” Siebert-Wahrmund added, pointing to Cannon Beach’s voter approval of Measure 91. The rules The Oregon Liquor Con- trol Commission is in the process of adopting rules for recreational cannabis use due in January. “This is really a moving animal,” Herdener said. There are already lim- itations in place. Dispen- saries must be located R OBER T C AIN LD , 45 Y ea rs o f E xp erien ce TW O L OCATION S S EAS IDE & HIL L S BORO 740 Ave H • S te 2 • S ea s id e 232 N E L in co ln • S te B • Hills b o ro FR EE C ON S ULTATION • Den tu res fo r a ll a ges , New , Pa rtia ls a n d Cu s to m Den tu res • Den tu res fo r im p la n ts • Relin es & Rep a irs • Den tu re rep a irs d o n e s a m e d a y! • Pers o n a l s ervice a n d a tten tio n to d eta il Open W ed n es d a y a n d Frid a y • 9 -4:30 • 503-738 -7710 O P EN W ednesda y - S u nda y fo r L u nc h & Dinner L ive M u s ic • W in e Ta s tin g 2 7 1 N . H em lo ck St., C a n n o n Bea ch 5 0 3 .43 6 .15 3 9 • w w w .ca fesw eetb a sils.co m HAPPY HOLIDAYS! PIG ‘N PAN C AK E ENTER OUR HOLIDAY COLORING CONTEST TO WIN COOL PRIZES! 223 S Hem lo ck 5 03 -4 3 6 -285 1 7AM - 3 PM D a ily F rom ha shbrow n pota toes grou n d fresh d a ily a n d a w a rd -w in n in g sou rd ou gh pa n ca k es to hom em a d e sou ps a n d cla m chow d er, you ’ll fin d d eliciou s fa m ily frien d ly d in in g a t the Pig ‘N Pa n ca k e. O ver 35 brea k fa st va rieties a n d a com plete lu n ch m en u , too. O u r d in in g a rea overlook s a bea u tifu l w etla n d a rea a n d d ow n tow n Ca n n on Bea ch. C hristm as Eve C andlelighting Service at 7 P M Special m u sic provided by Tevan G old berg & M em bers of th e C on g reg ation Serm on: “Th e D ifferen ce a Baby M akes” Seaside United Methodist Church 241 N . H o lla d a y D r. • S e a s id e • 5 03-7 38-7 5 62 HEY KIDS! COLOR ME! Na m e: Age: Ad d res s : N O RM A’S SEAFO O D & STEAK Pho n e: 20 N . C o lum b ia , Sea sid e 5 03 -73 8-4 3 3 1 Pa ren t’s Na m es : TO PLACE YOUR AD HERE! few lots available meeting those criteria. Herdener said the buffer requirement does not apply to preschools and Bible schools. She said staff are seeking guidance because it will take work to prepare a ballot measure. Even if the council de- cides to go with the No- vember 2016 vote, Herden- er added, staff will have to draft regulations in case residents don’t opt out. City Planner Mark Barnes said it would take four months to go through the adoption process, so the city would need to come to a decision next spring. An opt-out of marijuana sales would prevent Can- non Beach from receiving state taxes on sales, he added. Ple a s e Prin t C le a rly: City Sin ce 1976 d iscrim in a tin g d in ers ha ve sou ght ou t this Sea sid e la n d m a rk . There’s a cha lk boa rd fresh ca tchlist, exclu sively n a tu ra l An gu s beef a n d a grea t region a l w in e list a s w ell a s loca l m icrobrew s. F rom Stea k & L obster to F ish & Chips (a n d Chow d er to d ie for) - this is w orth the d rive! 11a m -10pm d a ily. Visit w w w .n orm a ssea sid e.com more than 1,000 feet from schools. Oregon residents are allowed to grow up to four plants for personal use without a license and may carry an ounce of marijua- na on their person in pub- lic, but may not consume it in public places such as hotels, the beach or on the street, Herdener said. Herdener said the city could impose its own “rea- sonable restrictions,” like dispensary hours, distance from parks and more in drafting a licensing ordi- nance. Mayor Sam Steidel questioned whether the school run by the Christian Conference Center would be included in that 1,000- foot buffer area around dispensaries. 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