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About Cannon Beach gazette. (Cannon Beach, Or.) 1977-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 7, 2016)
OCTOBER 7, 2016 • VOL. 40, ISSUE 21 Arch Cape committee dissolved WWW.CANNONBEACHGAZETTE.COM COMPLIMENTARY COPY 30 for YEARS 30 MILES Group called ‘unnecessary,’ ‘expensive’ By Kyle Spurr EO Media Group Arch Cape residents interest- ed in local land use issues will have to fi nd another outlet. The Clatsop County Board of Commissioners unanimously voted Wednesday, Sept. 28, to dissolve the Arch Cape Design Review Committee, a citizen group that makes recommenda- tions on development within the unincorporated town south of Cannon Beach. In February, the Board of Commissioners originally dis- continued the Arch Cape com- mittee, calling the group un- necessary, time-consuming, expensive and a potential legal liability. Former interim County Man- ager Rich Mays accused the committee of harassing a coun- ty employee about her disabil- ity. Despite her requests, Mays claims, the group voted to move its meetings to a building that is not a federal Americans with Dis- abilities Act-approved facility. After supporters challenged the decision to the state Land Use Board of Appeals, the coun- ty went through a new public process that led to the Board of Commissioners’ decision Wednesday. “This is an issue that I have not taken lightly, and staff has not taken lightly,” Scott Lee, Board of Commissioners chair, said. “We are doing what I be- lieve is best for the county.” Commissioner Dirk Rohne said it is a fair outcome for all county residents. No other part of the county has a design review committee. Other residents bring proposals directly to the county planning staff, without having to seek input from a local committee. Rohne said all county resi- dents, including in Arch Cape, have opportunities for citizen involvement. One proposal for Arch Cape is applicant-neigh- borhood meetings for projects such as subdivisions or rezoning requests. “No public process is being short-changed,” Rohne said. Supports of the Arch Cape Design Review Committee, also known a the Southwest Coastal Citizens Advisory Committee, could try to appeal the board’s decision again. More than 50 people signed a petition in sup- port of retaining the group. During public testimony Wednesday, a half dozen sup- porters urged the board to change their minds. They said the com- mittee has been meeting for the SUBMITTED PHOTO/CANNON BEACH GAZETTE Kathleen and Dave Zunkel of Warrenton were two of 50 participants on the inaugural three-day CoastWalk Oregon. First CoastWalk Oregon marks land conservancy’s 30th year By Lyra Fontaine Cannon Beach Gazette heryl Lund embarked on CoastWalk Oregon solo, without much knowledge of the North Coast Land Conservancy. By the end of the three-day adventure, she had made friends, seen new sights and gained a better understanding of the conservancy’s work. “The friendships that I made in those three days were just wonderful,” said Lund, of Portland. “I went down as a solo hiker. The next thing you know, I’d met some of the best people.” Lund was one of the 50 participants who hiked 30 miles for the inaugural CoastWalk, which marked the conservancy’s 30th year of helping to protect land on the Oregon coast. Participants from fi ve states and staff members hiked from Astoria See CoastWalk, Page 7A SUBMITTED PHOTO/CANNON BEACH GAZETTE CoastWalk Oregon participants hiked 30 miles over three days, from the Columbia River to Cannon Beach. “People were really prepared, but I don’t think people knew what it meant to walk 10 miles in sideways rain. Now they know.” — LORRAINE ORTIZ , conservancy development director PAID By Katherine Lacaze For EO Media Group Seaside School District Su- perintendent Sheila Roley report- ed the district received a $60,000 one-year preschool startup grant from the Oregon Department of Education for the 2016-17 school year. “There is indisputable evi- dence that children who have preschool experiences … will thrive in school at a higher lev- el than if they didn’t have those experiences,” Roley said at the district’s September board meet- ing. “A lot of our students don’t have those naturally provided for them.” In applying for the grant, the school dis- trict did not intend ‘It’s really to compete exciting with other that providers in the area, we’re but to aug- getting ment the this services so there would off the be enough ground.’ spots for all preschool- Sheila Roley, ers, she Seaside said. School District The dis- superintendent trict is part- nering with the Sunset Empire Park and Recreation Dis- trict, which previously offered a limited preschool option. The district is taking their par- tial, three-day-per-week Learn- ing Ladder Preschool program and helping them grow it into a fi ve-day-per-week, full-day pre- school, which is a requirement of the grant, Roley said. The stu- dents must have access to at least 900 hours of instructional time, similar to what a primary student would receive. “It’s really exciting that we’re getting this off the ground,” she said, adding if the program is successful, the district can re ap- ply for sustaining grants. Part of this initiative will en- tail monthly professional meet- ings involving the preschool and kindergarten teachers so they can collaborate and “try to build a very smooth transition from pre- school into kindergarten, so the preschools are aligned with what kindergarten readiness requires,” Roley said. The board unanimously ap- proved a memorandum of under- standing to work with the recre- ation district on this program. “The funds are channeled through us; they’re doing most of the labor,” Roley said. Aerial spraying rattles some coastal residents PERMIT NO. 97 ASTORIA, OR PRSRT STD US POSTAGE See Arch Cape, Page 7A District receives preschool startup grant Concerns raised about pesticides used by timber companies By Lyra Fontaine Cannon Beach Gazette SUBMITTED PHOTO Jamie Taylor of Manzanita at Oswald West State Park. She and others seek an end to aerial spraying by timber companies. Nancy Webster became con- cerned about aerial spraying af- ter smelling pesticides in the air near her Rockaway Beach home. “That began the growing concern of what’s happening with our drink- ing water and our air,” Webster said, adding that the spraying could affect birds, fi sh, soil and more. “This is hap- pening up and down the coast.” Webster, a member of the Rock- away Beach Citizens for Watershed Protection, is pushing for more timely public notifi cations, since currently, “the notifi cation is seeing a helicop- ter.” The group also seeks an end to aerial spraying on the Oregon Coast. At Short Sand Beach in Oswald West State Park, local activists and area surfers gathered in late Septem- ber to raise awareness about pesticides that would be sprayed on harvested forest land nearby. According to the citizens group, Weyerhaeuser recently clearcut parcels of forestland, including several border- ing Oswald West State Park, Arch Cape and Neahkahnie Mountain. Weyerhae- user completed the aerial spraying on the harvested forest land near Oswald West on Wednesday, according to the Oregon Department of Forestry. See Spraying, Page 7A
