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.
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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.
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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