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About Cannon Beach gazette. (Cannon Beach, Or.) 1977-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 12, 2016)
4A • February 12, 2016 | Cannon Beach Gazette | cannonbeachgazette.com Views from the Rock When good governance makes good romance, too I n this day and age of the poli- tics of extremes and the unfath- omable divides of left and right, a world tense with worry over the latest terror strike, and a Wall Street market that shows signs of throwing a tsunami, it’s hard to get a good grip on Valentine’s Day. I mean, really, Cupid and his bow? Blushing lovers holding hands? C’mon, now! Lianne Thompson, a Clatsop County Commissioner and Arch Cape resident, celebrates her 71st birthday Sunday, Valentine’s Day. She accepted her marriage pro- posal from Ralph Wyatt before their ¿UVW GDWH /LDQQH DQG 5DOSK ZHUH married in Cannon Beach just a few days after it. Policy wonks in love Thompson and Wyatt met at an Association of Oregon Counties lun- cheon. She was attending as a dele- gate to the Council for Forest Trust Lands. She’d “heard” of Wyatt before. He was the savvy Linn County Ad- PLQLVWUDWLYH 2I¿FHU DOPRVW D ³OHJ HQG´DPRQJVWDWHRI¿FLDOGRP Both had been married before. Wyatt, 76, was widowed with three adult children after 54 years of mar- riage. Thompson has three children from two previous marriages. De- spite political differences — he’s a registered Republican, she’s not — they shared common values: “to do good and have fun.” “I was happy to see him because I like smart, capable and humble peo- ple,” Thompson said. “He sat next to me at the luncheon but he didn’t look at me. I wasn’t sure if he didn’t like me or was shy.” After the conference, “we kept talking, so I decided he was shy,” she said. “He’s low-key — what the Chinese would describe as ‘wu-wei,’ generating energy without resis- tance.” The association’s December leg- islative committee coincided with the Annual Oregon Leadership Sum- mit in Portland in mid-December. Wyatt and Thompson were both there. “Listen, we’re policy wonks,” Thompson said. “We talked about everything. Politics, economic de- velopment, good governance. Good governance is essential to who I am as a person, because I believe in de- mocracy and so does he.” CANNON SHOTS R.J. MARX A couple of days after the sum- mit ended, Wyatt called Thompson. “I’d like to get to know you better,” he said. “Would you like to go to lunch?” “Here’s the deal,” Thompson replied. “I said, ‘If you want to be IULHQGV,¶P¿QHZLWKWKDW,I\RX¶UH interested in romance, I’m ready for P\ WKLUG DQG ¿QDO KXVEDQG DQG ,¶P not interested in a dalliance.’ We just kept talking from there.” On Dec. 28, Wyatt drove out to Thompson’s home in Arch Cape DUPHGZLWKÀRZHUVDQGMHZHOU\³+H dropped down to one knee and pro- posed,’ she said. “And I said, ‘Ralph, I will.’ “You get a good bureaucrat in ac- tion and we know how to get things done,” she added. Did they kiss? “Of course, silly!” Tying the knot “I knew nothing about him ex- cept that I admired him and had the intuition that we could have a long- term, satisfying, complete marriage,” Thompson said. “ I could see that. But that’s how I am. “I said, ‘I’ll meet you in Portland on the 30th, get the ring, get the li- cense and go to the symphony.’” The ring, symbolizing Bud- dhism’s “eight points of light,” was “deep, subtle and beautiful,” and resonated with Thompson’s own per- sonal outlook. Then there were family and friends to notify. Did Thompson care what other people thought? “That’s not how I live my life,” Thompson said. “My son said, ‘Mom, congratulations, best wishes I wish you every happiness.’ My middle daughter understands and supports my decision. My youngest is not sure mom gets to behave so impulsively.” Wyatt’s children said “We sup- port you, Dad,” he said. “There was a small element of ‘What the hell were you thinking?’” While the Episcopal Church ad- vised a 60-day wait, Thompson and Wyatt were ready to tie the knot. Clatsop County’s Community De- velopment Director Heather Hansen SUBMITTED PHOTO/CANNON BEACH GAZETTE Ralph Wyatt and Lianne Th ompson share a romantic moment. offered to conduct the civil ceremony and Ann Fontaine provided the venue in Cannon Beach. Wyatt continues to live in Cor- vallis and Thompson in Arch Cape. He plans on retiring in 2016; in the meantime, they get together every chance they get. “From my perspective, we are tru- ly blessed,” Wyatt said. “My daugh- ter described me as giddy, and I’m probably still in that state.” “It’s fricking amazing!” Thomp- son said. “Who’da thunk it?” Happy Valentine’s Day Thompson has guidance for those seeking a little more Valen- tine’s Day romance in their lives. “Do your work,” she advises. “Be a contributor to the community. Do ZKDW FODUL¿HV FOHDQVHV DQG XSOLIWV you. Be courageous about asking what you want and being open to what it looks like. “Live in such a way with no re- grets, to see as far as you can, be kind to other people, be courageous about taking risks. Be generous. It’s great to spread joy instead of pain and heartbreak.” “Well, my advice would be, if the door opens with opportunity, SUBMITTED PHOTO/CANNON BEACH GAZETTE go through the door,” Wyatt added. “You’ve got to be careful, but if you Lianne Th ompson displays her ring. have the opportunity, go for it.” If Tom McCall had been elected to the presidency Library friends, if you’re any- thing like me, Feb. is just about the WLPH,IHHOUHDG\IRUVSULQJWR¿QDOO\ arrive. I adore rain, wind, heavy surf, and storms in general — but I’m getting ready for buds on trees, the blooming of bulbs, and being able to leave the library door wide open! But not too surprisingly, we at the OLEUDU\DUH¿OOLQJRXUGD\VZLWKORWV of reading and special events. Happy birthday to us! Feb. is the month we celebrate the birthday of our library — we are 89 years old this year!! In 1927 eight Cannon Beach women put to- gether a small library in a store in town, checking out books on loan to us each week from the state librar- ian. Today, decades later, we have University will be at the library as part of our November to April HRAP AT THE LIBRARY OHFWXUHVHULHV7KHWLWOHRI'XI¿HOG¶V CARLA O’REILLY lecture will be “Marine Mammals, the Marine Mammal Stranding Net- work and Marine Reserves”. Three days later on Saturday, nearly 15,000 books in our in-house Feb. 13, author Bill Hall will be collection and thousands more in our speaking about his new digital collection — a far cry from book “McCallandia.” our tiny beginnings. We can be very In this year of poli- proud of what we have achieved, tics, Mr. Hall focuses made possible by community sup- on “what might have porters, donors, and volunteers! been,” if Oregon Gov- February is also Library Lovers’ ernor Tom McCall Month. For the entire month we will had become Richard be celebrating all public and private Nixon’s successor as libraries alike. But that’s not all for President of the Unit- Feb.. ed States. The Au- On Feb. 10 from 7 to 8:30 p.m., thor Series will be at 'U'HEELH'XI¿HOGRI2UHJRQ6WDWH 2 p.m. at the library. %\ WKH ¿UHSODFH IURP WR p.m. Feb. 17, the Cannon Beach Reads group will be discussing this month’s selection, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, by Carson McCull- ers, which they’ve been reading. Marjorie MacQueen is February’s discussion leader. As always, new members are welcome. Other opportunities Volunteers are need- ed in several areas. Mem- bers of the Adopt-a-Section group need help organizing and cleaning bookshelves throughout our library. Vol- unteers are also needed to repair spine labels on books, audiobooks, and DVDs. Book pricers are needed during preparation of books for our on- JRLQJ ERRN VDOH$QG ¿QDOO\ GHVN volunteers are always needed at the circulation desk. If you have a little time and can help us, please contact %XGGLHRXURI¿FHPDQDJHUDW 436-1391 or info@cannonbeachli- brary.org. $QG¿QDOO\PDNHWKH\HDU you learn to access books by means of our eBooks program. Buddie is also the person to contact if you need help doing this, and we have introductory materials available at the circulation desk. So as we work our way to the sweeter weather of springtime, this is a reminder that our Cannon Beach Library stands ready to help us get through what remains of win- ter — stop in and warm up! Finding the ‘quiet season’ isn’t so quiet in our city I’ve been waiting for Cannon Beach’s “quiet season” to hit The Wine Shack and Provisions 124, but I haven’t seen it yet. Yes, we’ve had rainy days with only a couple of cus- tomers, but we’ve been busy getting the stores ready for summer. :H¶YH ¿QLVKHG UHPRGHOLQJ 7KH Wine Shack store and tasting room. Contractor Todd Rowley, from TNT Construction, did a beautiful job in- stalling new lights which do a really nice job of highlighting the wine bot- tles. The bottles seem to sparkle with the new lighting focused on them. Todd also re-faced the front counter with wine barrel staves laid out in a weave pattern. I had seen this design Publisher Steve Forrester Editor R.J. Marx Reporter Lyra Fontaine Advertising Manager Betty Smith Production Manager John D. Bruijn Circulation Manager Heather Ramsdell Advertising Sales Laura Kaim VKRHV WR ¿OO DV RXU SUHYLRXV 3XI¿Q Rose’ was “Best of Class” at Savor STEVE SINKLER Northwest and was named a “Top 3LFN´E\2UHJRQ:LQH3UHVV3XI¿Q Pinot Gris 2015 is still in tanks, but the labels have been approved and before and I always thought it was an the wine should be bottled by the interesting way to use old wine bar- end of February. We’re almost ready rel staves. We also had a new Wine WRUHOHDVHRXU3XI¿QSLQRWQRLU Shack sign made for inside the store. I’ve submitted it to the upcoming Made by a metal shop in Austin, Tex- Savor Northwest Wine Competi- as, the new Wine Shack signs helps tion, held here in Cannon Beach create a fresh, slightly industrial, feel and I can’t wait for the judges to try for the store and tasting room. the wine. It’s elegant and delicious. 7KHQH[WYLQWDJHRI3XI¿QZLQHV We’ve been keeping a secret that we are almost here! Our new 2015 Puf- FDQ¿QDOO\VKDUH7KH3XI¿QÀRFNLV ¿QURVpLVERWWOHGODEHOHGDQGUHDG\ H[SDQGLQJ WKLV VSULQJ 3XI¿Q FKDU for me to pick up. This wine has big donnay 2015 will be released in ear- UNCORKED RAMBLINGS LETTER POLICY The Seaside Signal welcomes letters to the editor. The deadline is noon Monday prior to publication. Letters must be 400 words or less and must be 1555 N. Roosevelt, Seaside, Oregon signed by the author and include a phone number 97138 for verifi cation. We also request that submissions be limited to one letter per month. Send to 1555 503-738-5561 • Fax 503-738-9285 N. Roosevelt Drive, Seaside, OR 97138, drop them Web: www.cannonbeachgazette.com off at 1555 N. Roosevelt Drive or fax to 503-738- Email: editor@cannonbeachgazette.com 9285, or email rmarx@seasidesignal.com CANNON BEACH GAZETTE The Cannon Beach Gazette is published every other week by EO Media Group. ly spring. We’ve been collaborating with John Derthick, the winemaker DW /XMRQ &HOODUV RQ VHYHUDO 3XI¿Q wines and I’m really excited to have John make our new chardonnay. John knows what he’s doing with it come to the world’s most popular white wine as evidenced by his 2013 Lujon chardonnay, which earned 91 points and was named a “Best Buy” by Wine Enthusiast. The chardonnay is still in oak barrels and should be released by April. If you’re a char- donnay fan, you’re going to be hap- py. We’ve also been working on a QHZ3XI¿QZLQHFOXEWKDWZHH[SHFW to debut in April. We’ve wanted to SUBSCRIPTION RATES Annually: $40.50 in county, $58.00 in and out of county. Postage Paid at: Cannon Beach, OR 97110 POSTMASTER Send address changes to Cannon Beach Gazette, P.O. Box 210, Astoria, OR 97103 Copyright 2015 © Cannon Beach Gazette. Nothing can be reprinted or copied without consent of the owners. VWDUW D 3XI¿Q ZLQH FOXE VLQFH ZH bought the store and with the addi- tion of the new chardonnay, the time is right. We’ll release more details DERXWWKH3XI¿QZLQHFOXEDVZHJHW close to its launch. We’re also doing some work in Provisions 124 during the quiet sea- son. We’ve added lighting to bright- en up the store, added more local food products and more artisanal cheese. We’re also adding more in- store signage to help cheese lovers ¿QGWKHSHUIHFWZLQH With everything we’ve been working on, it clearly isn’t the quiet season. Please drink responsibly. THE NATIONAL AWARD-WINNING
