AUGUST 25, 2017 • VOL. 41, ISSUE 17
WWW.CANNONBEACHGAZETTE.COM
COMPLIMENTARY COPY
Cannon Beach Academy gets the go-ahead
Volunteer eff orts
help charter school
meet deadline
By Brenna Visser
Cannon Beach Gaette
Cannon Beach will have an ele-
mentary school again.
It’s a project that supporters of the
charter school have been working to-
ward for almost four years after the
old elementary school was closed for
tsunami safety reasons and a bud-
get shortfall. But as of , Aug. 15, the
a cademy, a tuition-free, public charter
school offering kindergarten to sec-
ond grade, has secured a temporary
occupancy permit that will allow the
school to open for classes on Sept. 5.
“I’m over-the-moon excited,”
Amy Moore, the school’s execu-
tive director, said. “We are blessed
to have all of the support from the
community.”
Almost every weekend over the
past month, Moore said volunteers
came out to help clear brush, paint
the interior and exterior of the school
and clean a building that sat vacant
for more than a year.
Moore has also received a number
of in-kind donations, such as school
supplies, organizational items and
a defi brillator from Cannon Beach
Fire and Rescue .
“People have really come out of
the woodwork for this,” Moore said.
The road here
Because the location for the school
was secured only two months ago,
volunteers, academy board members
and Coaster Construction worked
down to the wire to meet the Aug.
15 deadline set by Seaside School
District. The last-minute need to fi nd
a new location came when the board
received an estimate of $150,000
over the $90,000 they budgeted for
construction costs at the original loca-
tion on Sunset Boulevard. Costs were
driven up because the space would
need to be renovated extensively to
meet state school fi re codes.
The academy was able to fi nd an
alternative in the former Preschool
and Children’s Center at 3781 S.
Hemlock St. But by the time lease
BRENNA VISSER/CANNON BEACH GAZETTE
Volunteers helped sweep up leaves at a clean up event in July for the new
Cannon Beach Academy . Th e school will open for classes on Sept. 5.
negotiations with the city fi nished
and the proper permits were in hand,
the academy was left with about a
month to renovate the building up
to code. Installing fi re safety equip-
ment, addressing Americans with
Disabilities Act access concerns and
other general maintenance projects
were needed.
“It is thanks to Coaster Construc-
tion and all the volunteers that we
were successful,” Moore said.
More to go
There are still a few hurdles left for
the academy before offi cially crossing
the fi nish line. The charter school was
awarded temporary occupancy with
an agreement that a full fi re safety sys-
tem would be installed by November.
This is one of the largest renovations
See Academy, Page 7A
North Coast was
‘BLINDED BY THE LIGHT’
A view of the eclipse from Seaside.
JEFF TER HAR/FOR CANNON BEACH GAZETTE
Eclipse has great views on
the coast, few glitches
By Jack Heff ernan, Katie Frankowicz
and Brenna Visser
EO Media Group and Cannon Beach Gazette
P
KATIE FRANKOWICZ/EO MEDIA GROUP
PAID
PERMIT NO. 97
ASTORIA, OR
PRSRT STD
US POSTAGE
Eclipse watchers near the Peter Iredale shipwreck at Fort
Stevens State Park near Warrenton.
orsche Brunzell, sporting a NASA
shirt and sweatpants featuring draw-
ings of galaxies, sat at the base of the
Astoria Column facing the sun. An ad-
mitted space nerd, she had been count-
ing down to the moment for weeks.
She fi gured the Column, just up the road
from her home , was as good a spot as any to
see the celestial event.
“I’m geeking out a bit, trying to calm
down,” she said about an hour before the solar
eclipse as early morning clouds began to fade .
“The universe has to give me this.”
For Brunzell and millions of people across
the United States on Monday, the universe
did just that. But the total solar eclipse did
not bring the potential downsides many had
feared. There was little traffi c gridlock and no
unruly crowds — a relief on the North Coast.
Sunny skies
Estimates had roughly 1 million people
coming to Oregon over the weekend and Mon-
day, temporarily — and quickly — increasing
See Eclipse, Page 11A
It’s 30 years for the Arts Association Th ird pot shop
Non profi t art gallery observes
seeks OK in
years of dedication to artists
Cannon Beach
By Brenna Visser
Tolovana shop slowed by
design review process
Cannon Beach Gazette
The Cannon Beach Arts Association has weathered
all sorts of storms to make it to its 30th anniversary.
Sometimes that meant physically surviving storms,
Board President Lila Wickham said.
“We do live on the edge of the ocean,” Wickham
laughed.
But the type of storms Wickham mostly means were
the internal ones that go with launching and sustaining
a local non profi t. Over the course of 30 years, the Can-
non Beach Arts Association has cycled through many
locations, boards, aesthetics and visions, Wickham said.
“What making it 30 years mean is that we are an in-
tegral part of the community — otherwise we wouldn’t
last,” she said.
The Cannon Beach Arts Association represents 150
regional and local artists working in fi ne arts and crafts
in nine curated shows each year. It was a product of a
two-day workshop conducted in 1986 through the Or-
By Brenna Visser
Cannon Beach Gazette
egon Arts Commission, which decided developing an
association would help replenish and enhance the vital-
ity of the arts in the community.
The association grew into a number of pro-
grams, including the Cannon Beach Gallery, summer
Progress will be stalled for a marijuana re-
tailer looking to set up shop in Tolovana.
On Thursday night, the city’s D esign R e-
view B oard decided to issue a continuance to
allow the applicant, Daryl Bell, more time to
elaborate on and amend major exterior design
modifi cations at 3115 S. Hemlock St.
If approved, this would be the third retail
marijuana shop to come to Cannon Beach.
Nancy Benson, the project manager from
Grace Design and Landscaping LLC, represented
See CBAA, Page 11A
See Pot, Page 11A
BRENNA VISSER/CANNON BEACH GAZETTE
Board Vice President Linda Gebhart, Program
Director Cara Mico, Board President Lila Wick-
ham and volunteer Nancy Bond pose at the Can-
non Beach Gallery.