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
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Tickets $20 or $15
Shows begin at 7:30 pm
Sunday shows at 3:00 pm
Sponsored by
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Tickets: 503-436-1242
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108 N Hemlock St
Cannon Beach, OR
Tolovana Arts
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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
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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