Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Cannon Beach gazette. (Cannon Beach, Or.) 1977-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 2, 2016)
4A • December 2, 2016 | Cannon Beach Gazette | cannonbeachgazette.com Views from the Rock 2016 was a great year for Oregon wine Heroes wanted: Daring to ‘go there’ with tsunami safety T wo guys can move mountains. Well, at least they can move schools and build bridges. Catching the wave for Seaside City Council was Tom Horning. Horning, the unlikely hero of Bonnie Henderson’s nonfi ction book “The Next Tsunami,” didn’t even expect to win. He was a one-issue candidate who during the campaign frankly admitted he didn’t care much about the day-to-day business of city governance. He dared to “go there” when it came to the issue of tsunami preparedness. What he did want to see was tsunami preparedness. The new school location was just the start for Horning, and probably not the best way to save the most lives in a catastrophe. He wants to see the city’s tsunami-vulnerable bridges replaced. “Tsunami preparation should touch every issue,” Horning said. “The city likes to not rock the boat too much. They like to appear in control. That’s reassuring to the tourist and business community. To say the town has problems is upsetting to some business people. We don’t stand out as the worst-case scenario, even though we are, but there’s every reason to do something about it. Simply hike up your pants and get to work.” Like Horning, Seaside School District Superintendent-emeritus Doug Dougherty is a hero of Henderson’s book. Dougherty took a lot of heat in 2013. Cannon Beach residents were not pleased with the decision to close the elementary school due to its $1.15 million budget shortfall and high per pupil cost. “Shocked and angry,” was how the Gazette charac- terized reaction in 2013. ‘It’s not just a building, but a community’s heart,” said one mom. At that time, the tsunami was almost an afterthought. When the new campus plan was unveiled, voters didn’t like the $128.8 million price tag on the bond vote, which stumbled at the polls and left the district with no “Plan B.” “I think we need to go back to the draw- ing board,” Cannon Beach’s Mayor Mike Morgan said after the result. When Dougherty stepped down earlier this year as district superintendent, he dedicated much of his own personal time to ensure the passing of the bond vote. It looked iffy and passage was by no means certain. Even at a reduced price the bond was a tough sell to voters; in Sea- side, 4 out of 10 homes are vacant, and in Cannon Beach, 6 out of 10 are seasonal or vacation properties, putting the tax burden on people who don’t even live here full- time. Residents couldn’t let go of the idea of “gold-plated doorknobs” and property owners are never ready for tax hikes. Dougherty spearheaded “Vote Yes for Our Local Schools” and teamed bond supporters from throughout the communi- ty. He lobbied in Salem and brought Sen. Ron Wyden to Seaside to see the threat fi rsthand. He brought national attention to the issue in Kathryn Schulz’s Pulitzer Prize-winning article, “The Really Big One.” This year saw a donation of an 80-acre campus land gift and the prospect of $4 million in state funds to move the schools. Bond rates were low, adding cost savings. But voters weren’t supporting this because of favorable accounting data. Dougherty’s cheerleading led the com- munity to take action. The marches and the rallies, the lobbying — led by student leaders and representatives throughout the state and in UNCORKED RAMBLINGS STEVEN SINKLER W R.J. MARX Supporters of the district’s bond rallied in Seaside in early November. R.J. MARX PHOTO Seaside School District Superinten- dent-emeritus Doug Dougherty points out an evacuation route to Sen. Ron Wyden as Tom Horning looks on during a visit to Seaside earlier this year. CANNON SHOTS R.J. MARX Salem — all had its result in the polls. In a 65 percent to 35 percent vote, residents endorsed the plan to replace deteriorating schools in the city’s East Hills adjacent to Seaside Heights Elementary School. The decision to build a new school campus on the hillside “is a hugely import- ant step not just for Seaside but for fami- lies from Arch Cape to Gearhart,” Hender- son said immediately after the election. With the bond’s passage, there is work to be done, and quickly. The district is required to expend 85 percent of the bonds within three years to avoid paying taxes on the funds. At the new school site, engineers will have to work with 80 acres of hillside to construct a quake-resistant campus for a 21st-centu- ry education, resiliency and a safe gather- ing spot in the event of a catastrophe. Plans were on hold as architects waited for the result of the bond. Submitted drawings, so far, are general and limited to a campus site plan. The school district needs to ask Seaside to bring the land into the city’s urban growth boundaries. LETTERS Sued for our trees Many people are not aware of the $1.4 billion Linn County class action law suit fi led against the State of Oregon. Nor are they aware of the impact it could have on the place where we live. If the suit succeeds, Oregon Department of Forestry will be under pressure to operate much like the timber industry in order to squeeze more logging revenue out of state managed forests. The mandate to ODF will be to log, mostly clearcut, for greater revenue. We will lose the goal of balance with other values such as environment, species protection and recreation . Look around you at the clearcut hills. More of this is what we would be choosing. But wait, we don’t even have to choose. In fact, if we say nothing, since it is a class action suit naming 15 counties including Clackamas and Tillamook, we will just silently slide right along with the pack. Incidentally this suit, although called by a county name, was backed and fi nanced by the timber industry. Publisher David F. Pero Editor R.J. Marx Reporter Lyra Fontaine Sales/Advertising Manager Betty Smith Production Manager John D. Bruijn Circulation Manager Heather Ramsdell Classifi ed Sales Jamie Ramsdell Advertising Sales Holly Larkins Brandy Stewart 1555 N. Roosevelt, Seaside, Oregon 97138 503-738-5561 • Fax 503-738-9285 www.cannonbeachgazette.com • email: editor@cannonbeachgazette.com Results of the 2013 vote left the commu- nity in limbo. Transportation studies must be devised to get Cannon Beach, Seaside and Gearhart kids to the new location — and there isn’t even a project manager yet. Students still have four or fi ve years in their current schools — their day-to-day plans and infrastructure needs must be met. If the Cannon Beach Academy opens next year as planned for kindergartners through second-graders, what is their tsunami safety strategy? Children will not necessarily be safer in a Cascadia event at the temporary location on Sunset Avenue than they would have been at the elementa- ry school. And as enrollment increases and grade levels are added, where can the academy safely relocate for the long-term? Dougherty and Horning approached this election from vastly different places, but in the end their platforms had a similar goal: to protect our residents to the risks of a catastrophic quake and tsunami. Luckily they’re not alone. In Novem- ber’s vote, the entire community shared its own awareness of a risk larger than our community, our state and our region. Con- tinued scrutiny and delivery by both critics and supporters of this ambitious project will ensure the safety of students during the school year, and serve as a model for future efforts to reach out to residents and visitors alike. Dougherty and Horning are the fi rst wave. Time for the rest of us to step up. PUBLIC MEETINGS The hard truth for some of us is that the timber industry does not live with the consequence of their actions. They do not live with hills that have been denuded and sprayed. They do not experience the effect of toxic spray in the water, the mud slides and fl ooding in the winter, the siltation of the streams and rivers, the dying off of wildlife and fi sh and the loss of forests. We are, in fact, even forgetting what the word forest means. It is not acres of homogenous trees. A few of us were lucky enough to know forests as children, to play in them and learn from them. This is a value beyond money that we hope to share with our chil- dren’s children. We still have time. Contact your County Commissioners. Ask them to opt out of the Linn County law suit. Ask them not to support a forest management policy destructive to the place where we live. Gwendolyn Endicott Nehalem CANNON BEACH GAZETTE The Cannon Beach Gazette is published every other week by EO Media Group. FILE PHOTO Tuesday, Dec. 6 Cannon Beach City Council, 7 p.m., City Hall, 163 E. Gower St. Monday, Dec. 12 Cannon Beach Rural Fire Protection District, 6 p.m., Fire-Rescue Main Station, 188 Sunset Ave. Tuesday, Dec. 13 Cannon Beach City Council, 5:30 p.m., work session, City Hall, 163 E. Gower St. Thursday, Dec. 15 Cannon Beach Parks and Community Services Committee, 9 a.m., City Hall, 163 E. Gower St. Cannon Beach Design Review Board, 6 p.m., City Hall, 163 E. Gower St. Tuesday, Dec. 20 Cannon Beach Public Works Committee, 9 a.m., City Hall, 163 E. Gower St. Tuesday, Jan. 3 Cannon Beach City Council, 7 p.m., City Hall, 163 E. Gower St. 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. e still have a month left in 2016, but this has been an incredible year for the Oregon wine industry. Across the Willamette Valley, an early bud break and nice summer weather lead, once again, to an early harvest. We’ll wait to see how the 2016 vintage stacks up against 2008 and 2012, but the winemakers I’ve spoken with are excited about 2016 being another excellent vintage. The infl ux of California wineries buying well-known Oregon properties has now become a strong trend. In April, Jackson Family Wines, a large California corporation (LaCrema, Carmel Road, Siduri, Kendall-Jackson and about 30 oth- ers) purchased, Penner Ash Wine Cellars, located in Newberg. More recently, Jackson Family Wines added another Oregon winery, Willakenzie Estate, to its corporate holdings. Willakenzie and Penner Ash join other Oregon properties, Solena (now known as Gran Moraine) and Zena Crown, in the Jackson Family Wines collection. Don’t be sur- prised to see additional acquisitions in the future as Willamette Valley real estate prices are substan- tially cheaper than Napa and Sonoma. Addition- ally, Oregon has less regulation and more water than California. All of which make the Willamette Valley attractive to California based buyers. On the wine awards scene, nothing was bigger than the Decanter Wine Awards bestowing Domaine Serene’s 2012 Winery Hill Pinot Noir with one of their top awards. Of course, we know Oregon makes some of the fi nest pinot noir in the world, but other regions, such as Sonoma, Russian River and Australia, also believe their wines to be of comparable stature. In winning this top award, Domain Serene defeated some of the fi nest premier cru and grand cru Burgundy pinots. This result is being com- pared to 1976’s “Judgment of Paris” where Cali- fornia winery, Chateau Montelena, shook the wine world when it took the best chardonnay honor. Locally, it was a great year for the wine industry in Cannon Beach as well. The Stephanie Inn started the year off strong by being named an Oregon Wine Press A-List Award winner. Each year, the Oregon Wine Press and Oregon Wine Board recognizes restaurants which do the best job of promoting Oregon wine on their wine list. Cannon Beach was the site of two big wine events early in 2016. In February, the Savor Northwest Wine Competition was held in Cannon Beach. This annual wine competition is run by Gary Hayes and an invaluable group of local volunteers. I have been fortunate to participate in this event for several years as both a judge and a panel moderator. Laurel Hood, owner of Laurel’s Wine Shop, has also judged the competition for years. Once again, Puffi n wines did very well at Savor Northwest as every wine walked away with a medal, including our latest release, Puffi n Chardonnay. Just a couple of weeks after the wine com- petition, it’s time for Savor Cannon Beach. This four-day wine and food festival showcases Cannon Beach’s restaurants and Pacifi c Northwest wineries. The most popular event during the week- end is the Saturday Wine Walk. Approximately 40 wineries are paired with local stores and pour their wines for about 500 thirsty wine lovers. It’s a great event! In summer, Westport Winery opened a tasting room in Cannon Beach, giving visitors another great place to enjoy Pacifi c Northwest wines. Westport Winery is best known for their fruit based wines, such as their delicious Cranberry Sparkling wine, but they also make more tradi- tional wines, such as merlot and riesling. 2016 was a great year for The Wine Shack and Puffi n Wines as well. In January, The Wine Shack was named “Best Local Wine Shop” by Coast Weekend readers. We strive to offer the fi nest selection of Pacifi c Northwest wines and highest level of customer service, so the recognition was nice for our shop and staff. Our 2015 Puffi n Rosé was named a “cellar Selection” by the Oregon Wine Press in July. This is the second time our Puffi n Rosé has been as one of the best summer wines by the Oregon Wine Press. Additionally, both our 2013 and 2014 Puffi n Pinot Noir were named “judge’s selections” at the Great Northwest Invitational Wine Competition in October. Because of it’s incredible value, Puffi n Pinot Noir remains The Wine Shack’s best-selling wine. Our second best-selling wine, Puffi n Pinot Gris, had a pretty good year too. Our 2015 Puffi n Pinot Gris won its fourth consecutive gold medal at the Oregon wine awards. Yes, 2016 was a great year for Oregon wine. My guess is that 2017 won’t disappoint us either. I look forward to a year with more acquisitions, more awards, new products and new friends. Those things sound like topics for a column early next year. As you enjoy an alcoholic beverage during the holiday season, please do so responsibly. Don’t drink and drive. See you at The Shack. THE NATIONAL AWARD-WINNING
