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About Cannon Beach gazette. (Cannon Beach, Or.) 1977-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 12, 2016)
February 12, 2016 | Cannon Beach Gazette | cannonbeachgazette.com • 3A Cannon Beach Balzer lawsuit, recall effort proceed wants fire chief on job by June 1 Balzer from Page 1A What Cannon Beach is seeking in a new leader By Lyra Fontaine Cannon Beach Gazette A college degree, lead- ership experience and EMT training are all characteris- tics sought in a new Cannon %each ¿re chieI ,nteriP ¿re chieI -iP Stearns announced the board would accept applications Ior a new chieI until March +iring is expected b\ -une The ¿re chieI would lead ¿re, water rescue and non-transport EMS services in the -sTuare-Pile area, in- cluding the coPPunities oI Cannon Beach, Arch Cape and )alcon Cove The chieI would also be expected to work closel\ with neighboring ¿re districts and city, county, state and Iederal partners At the Cannon Beach Ru- ral Fire Protection District Board oI Directors Peeting Monday night, directors said they were looking Ior an ex- perienced chieI who is active- ly involved in the community, works well with the board, and displays strong ¿scal re- sponsibility The chieI will lead the paid staII and volunteers with ³Iairness, honesty and eI¿- ciency´ Salary Ior the chieI¶s Mob is , to ,, de- pending on Tuali¿cations Candidates are asked to possess at least an associate degree in ¿re administration, although a bachelor¶s degree or degree Irom a Iederal ¿re oI¿cer program would be considered A public admin- istration degree is considered a plus, along with experience in a ³closely related ¿eld or a satisIactory combination oI education and experience that demonstrate the ability to per- Iorm the ¿re chieI Mob duties´ Documents provided by the Fire District aIter an open records reTuest include an - evaluation oI Balzer¶s perIormance Bal- zer, who earned more than , in annual salary and compensation as chieI, was said to demonstrate “poor leadership,´ “poor communication´ and “lied´ to the board when he agreed to leave the chieI¶s truck on district property and Iailed to do so, directors said “This continues to seri- ously erode the trust board has Ior the chieI,´ they wrote In addition, remarks by Colleen Balzer on social media exhibited “poor judg- ment´ by ChieI Balzer “in allowing his spouse to con- tinue to interact inappropri- ately online via social media criticizing board members and staII,´ directors wrote in their evaluation In Iour out oI ¿ve cat- egories — accuracy, job knowledge, productivity and timeliness — Balzer¶s work “needed improvement,´ ac- Candidates are reTuired to have at least eight years Iull- time paid experience, with at least ¿ve years oI superviso- ry experience in a command position oI captain or higher Emergency medical techni- cian basic training is a pre- reTuisite, although paramedic training is preIerred The board is seeking to re- place Iormer ¿re chieI Mike Balzer, who was discharged in 2ctober Balzer has since ¿led a lawsuit against the Cannon Beach Rural Fire Protection District claiming wrongIul dismissal Balzer seeks more than , in damages and his reinstatement as ¿re chieI Stearns, oI +ermiston, has served as interim ¿re chieI since December Stearns said he expects there to be about applicants Ior the ¿re chieI position, with halI oI those meeting Tuali¿- cations ‘If (Clyde, Smith and Beck-Sweeney) step down, there’s no cost. There’s that to factor in. Do they want to cost the district more money?’ Susan Neuwirth cording to the directors¶ eval- uation In the ¿Ith category, thor- oughness, Balzer received a “satisIactory´ rating Balzer, who signed oII on the evaluation in March, told the board at the time “AIter reviewing the contents oI this review, I believe it¶s best to not comment on how things were said and written´ A six-month review was to be held in 1ovember “Fail- ure to achieve the six-month goals may result in termina- tion,´ directors wrote Board recall sought Balzer was terminated three weeks prior to the six- month review period Since that time, many Cannon Beach residents have deIended the Iormer chieI and sought his reinstatement Resident Susan Neuwirth launched a petition to remove three oI the board¶s ¿ve di- rectors, President Sharon Clyde, Garry Smith and Lin- da Beck-Sweeney, in a recall election Neuwirth accused the board oI lacking transparen- cy and being “unproIession- ally run´ Recall proponents need a reTuired signatures to Iorce a vote, a number deter- mined by taking percent oI the votes the district cast in the last election As oI Friday, Feb , Neuwirth said she had the reTuired number but was seeking at least names in the event some signatures are dismissed on technicalities Neuwirth has until April to collect signatures, Clatsop County Clerk Valerie CraIard said “:e¶re well within the time period,´ Neuwirth said “:e¶re just gleaning peo- ple who were out oI town and were missed People are seeking me out´ II an insuI¿cient number oI signatures are submitted, it proceeds no Iarther, CraIard said “II a suI¿cient number oI signatures are submitted, I inIorm the public oI¿cer that they may submit their resig- nation or a statement oI jus- ti¿cation,´ she said “II the public oI¿cer does not resign within ¿ve days, the election must be held no later than the th day aIter the last day Ior the public oI¿cer to resign´ II the three commission- ers named in the recall peti- tion choose to ¿ght the oust- er, a special election would be held at a cost oI about , to the taxpayers, Neu- wirth said “II they step down, there¶s no cost,´ she said “There¶s that to Iactor in Do they want to cost the district more money"´ A TOTEM FOR A TRIBE In brief Local arts grant to pay for statue of Clatsop tribesman The ¿re district had EMS calls and ¿ve ¿re calls in the past month • Stearns praised the com- munity support and volunteers during the search Ior +aystack Heights resident Raymond Hickman, , which was sus- pended aIter a ¿ve-day search • The Fire Corps program — a national initiative to as- sist local ¿re departments — continues and is “moving along nicely,´ Stearns said They have had drills and ex- ercises Most oI the corps is made up oI ex-¿re¿ghters and will be ready Ior their ¿rst calls soon • :ith the acTuisition oI ladder truck , the cus- tom-built, -Ioot-long, -hundred-horsepower Pierce Arrow ¿re stations in South Carolina and Tennes- see have expressed interest in buying the old ladder truck Volunteers were trained with the new custom-built truck over the weekend By Nancy McCarthy For EO Media Group SUBMITTED PHOTO A totem pole designed by Guy Ca- poeman. A 10-foot-tall welcom- ing pole in the figure of a Clatsop tribesman may soon be installed in NeCus’ Park. A -Ioot tall welcoming pole in the ¿gure oI a Clatsop tribesman may soon be installed in NeCus¶ Park at the Iormer Cannon Beach Elementary School play- ground The city¶s arts advisory committee has recommended that its annual , grant Ior public art be spent on the statue, to be carved Irom a cedar pole BeIore the pole is Iormally commissioned, however, it must be approved by the city¶s design review board, which will consider it in February City Manager Brant .ucera will have the ¿nal say about whether the statue should be purchased The arts committee approved the pole, proposed by the city¶s Palette Group, during a meeting this month The pole will be carved by Quinault, Washington, artist Guy Capoeman, who has carved other poles and canoes Some oI Capoeman¶s relatives belong to the Clatsop, Nehalem and Tillamook tribes, according to Dick Basch, vice chairman oI the Clatsop-Nehalem Tribe The statue will depict a member oI the NeCus¶ village extending his arm out in a gesture oI welcoming Palette Group members are suggesting that the pole be placed just west oI the picnic table at Ne- Cus¶ Park in a clearing The pole would Iace toward the ocean, as NeCus¶ village members did when they welcomed ¿sher- men and traders approaching the Clatsop village by dugout canoe on the ocean Although the statue would be carved Irom a cedar log, it would have spots oI black, red and blue paint Members oI the public arts committee Tuestioned how in- tense the colors would be, and Basch, who has been in contact with Capoeman, said he thought they would be created Irom natural pigment PUBLIC MEETINGS Tuesday, Feb. 16 City Hall 163 E. Gower St. Friday, March 23 Cannon Beach Public Works, 9 a.m., City Hall 163 E. Gower St. Seaside School District, 6 p.m., 1801 S. Franklin St. Seaside School District, 6 p.m., 1801 S. Franklin St. Thursday, March 17 Cannon Beach Emergency Pre- paredness Committee, 10 a.m., City Hall, 163 E. Gower St. Thursday, Feb. 18 Cannon Beach Design Review Board, City Hall, 6 p.m. 163 E. Gower St. Cannon Beach Design Review Board, City Hall, 6 p.m. 163 E. Gower St. 45 Years of Experience Cannon Beach Planning Com- mission, 6 p.m., City Hall, 163 E. Gower St. Cannon Beach Emergency Pre- paredness Committee, 10 a.m., City Hall, 163 E. Gower St. Tuesday, March 15 Cannon Beach Public Works, 9 a.m., THE COASTER THEATRE PLAYHOUSE PRESENTS Cannon Beach Planning Commis- sion, 6 p.m., City Hall, 163 E. Gower St. ROBERT CAIN LD, Thursday, Feb. 25 Friday, Feb. 26 Thursday, March 24 TWO LOCATIONS SEASIDE & HILLSBORO 740 Ave H • Ste 2 • Seaside 232 NE Lincoln • Ste B • Hillsboro FREE CONSULTATION • Dentures for all ages, New, Partials and Custom Dentures • Dentures for implants • Relines & Repairs • Denture repairs done same day! • Personal service and attention to detail Open Wednesday and Friday • 9-4:30 • 503-738-7710 DEAD GUILTY Jan. 29 - Feb. 20, 2016 Tickets $20 or $15 Shows begin at 7:30 pm Sunday shows at 3:00 pm Sponsored by Mike & Tracey Clark Tickets: 503-436-1242 or coastertheatre.com 108 N Hemlock St Cannon Beach, OR Tolovana Arts Colony P R E S E N T S Yoga WITH Barb Connecting mind, body & spirit Sundays 9:00-10:30am 10 week session begins Feb. 21st February 21 st Class is FREE (beginners and drop-ins welcome) Classes held at 779 S Hemlock Cannon Beach, OR 97110 For more info call (503)504-7716 barbarafucci@outlook.com 102.3 fm Art for the Heart Please join us for a Community Celebration of the Heart and artist reception on Valentine’s Day, Sunday, February 14, 2016, 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. at NCRD in Nehalem. Enjoy artwork by local artists, live music by Eric Sappington and delicious, heart healthy refreshments and sweet treats. Art for the Heart is a community art show in honor of American Heart Month. The show will hang at NCRD gallery through February. Please visit nwregionalheart.com to learn more about heart health. MORE INFO: 503-815-2402 or email BellM1@ah.org. Sponsored by Manzanita Primary and Specialty Care Clinic and NW Regional Heart and Vascular the Classic Rock Station facebook.com/TillamookHospital TillamookRegionalMC.org
