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About Cannon Beach gazette. (Cannon Beach, Or.) 1977-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 25, 2017)
August 25, 2017 | Cannon Beach Gazette | cannonbeachgazette.com • 11A Eclipse weekend mostly quiet for fire, law agencies “I think this is a reaction to over-advertising,” Cannon Beach Police Chief Jason Schermerhorn said. Eclipse from Page 1A the state’s population by near- ly 25 percent. Officials from around the state were expect- ing massive traffic delays, in- cluding in some areas outside the path of totality like the North Coast. But compared to initial worries, it was sunny skies for the state Department of Transportation. “It’s like a busy weekend,” ODOT spokesman Lou Torres said. “We didn’t encounter anything we couldn’t handle.” The Department of Trans- portation’s maintenance crews and communications teams will take the next few days to discuss what worked and didn’t work in preparation for future large events. “This was a great experi- ence,” Torres said. “We’ve never had anything like this in terms of a mass traffic event.” Though some agencies in- creased patrols and even sent some officers south to aid oth- er departments near the path of totality, law enforcement offi- cials did not report any unusu- al traffic or criminal activity. ‘Eerily quiet’ Local wildland firefighters were prepared for a number of emergency scenarios that, by the time the eclipse actually arrived, had yet to happen. In- stead, they saw the last thing they had expected: Nothing. In fact, said Neal Bond, Astoria protection unit for- ester with the Oregon Depart- ment of Forestry, the eclipse weekend was quieter than is typical for the summer. There was even a “vacancy” sign out for Fort Stevens State Park before the eclipse, he said, “which is fairly unheard of in August.” “It’s eerily quiet,” said David Horning, wildland fire supervisor at the state Depart- ment of Forestry’s Astoria of- fice, on Sunday. Fire was a major concern leading up to the eclipse — and, with the mass of people traveling to Oregon, emergen- cy responders worried about COLIN MURPHEY/EO MEDIA GROUP Porsche Brunzell, left, and Juliette Moore, right, pre- pare for the solar eclipse at the Astoria Column. The two had a spot staked out early in the morning and were soon joined by many others who chose the loca- tion to witness the event. traffic gridlock that would not only increase fire danger but also make it almost impos- sible to move crews, fire en- gines and equipment to where they were needed. In Clatsop County, out of the path of totality, state and local officials mostly worried about fire and emergency sit- uations that could occur in the days before and after the eclipse when people were pened right near the end of a busy month, beginning with a beach volleyball tournament in Seaside the week before and Hood to Coast this com- ing this weekend. The popular recreational Buoy 10 fishery has drawn hundreds of anglers to the area all month long. traveling to and from their viewing locations. Local for- estland and campground man- agers prohibited all campfires, and the Astoria Department of Forestry Office began staging crews and equipment at key spots across the county last week. One firefighter stationed near the county’s southern border was prepared to camp for several days in case traffic was so bad that it didn’t make sense for him to return to the office each day. By Sunday, the whole thing felt more like a test run for this weekend’s Hood to Coast relay than a response to the eclipse. When fire crews near Forest Grove asked for assistance with a wildland fire there, the Astoria Department of For- estry office was easily able to send a few people down. In Astoria, businesses downtown were no busier than they normally would be during a summer weekend. Area campgrounds were full or near capacity — as they are every August, eclipse or no eclipse. The celestial event hap- On a whim People who wanted to experience the full eclipse had already traveled south to watch it glide along the path of totality. Those who remained to watch it at North Coast landmarks — the Astoria Col- umn, Peter Iredale shipwreck and Haystack Rock — were largely a mixture of locals and vacationers who happened to be passing through the area. Libbie Stobely and Jeff Skinner of Seattle made res- ervations at the Hallmark Re- sort and Spa in Cannon Beach a year in advance. Regulars at the hotel, the two did not con- sider booking a room in the path of totality. When pondering whether they should have made plans inside the path or away from possible cloud cover, both had the same response: “Who cares?” Others, like Tom Ch- mielewski and Sharon Rus- sel, of Madeira Beach, Flor- ida, ended up making their eclipse plans on a whim. They were visiting Astoria as part of a two-week West Coast trip celebrating their upcoming 30th anniversa- ry. Though they knew of the eclipse, it didn’t factor much into the plans they made Monday morning. “We stumbled upon this and we said, ‘Let’s go see the totem!’” Chmielewski said. Later that day, they witnessed the eclipse from the Astoria Column. Tom Barnum of Astoria had already witnessed the 1979 eclipse, and he consid- ered traveling south. Instead, he and his wife parked their camping chairs and took pho- tos from the Column. Maybe they will some- day witness the total eclipse as part of a foreign vacation, Barnum said. “I’d rather go to Australia than Albany.” Arts Association Pot shop building ‘needs more work’ gets ‘a bigger vision’ Pot from Page 1A CBAA from Page 1A concerts in the park, arts in education, individual artist grants and more. For just under 10 years, all the events were conducted from a trailer on First Street before moving to their cur- rent location at 1064 Hem- lock St. in 1994. Paying the bills Cannon Beach is no stranger to a number of fine art galleries, but Cannon Beach Gallery’s nonprofit status does set them apart from the rest in the com- munity. To operate, the gal- lery relies on memberships, grants, voluminous volunteer help and, of course, gallery sales to pay the bills, Wick- ham said. There are challenges as- sociated with running a non- profit gallery. Nonprofits are particularly susceptible to downturns in the economy, and drawing from a volun- teer pool that is constantly being tapped can be difficult with so many of the same people giving their time to multiple causes at once, said Linda Gebhart, board vice president and volunteer co- ordinator. Right now, the associa- tion is supported by 30 vol- unteers, who run the front desk and provide support for programs like summer art classes and paint nights. But having a business model that doesn’t put prof- it first can do something in- credible for the artist com- munity, Program Director Cara Mico said. “In order to make a liv- ing, most artists have to do something else to subsidize,” Mico said. “It’s nice to have nonprofit support, because then we can focus on sup- porting artists. Some are get- ting to the point where they can make a living.” Lack of funding and con- sistency within the organi- zation about the program’s purpose have been points of contention in the associ- ation’s history, Mico said, but having Gebhart lead the charge to increase volun- teers and expand programs has helped make the gallery more cohesive. These goals have al- lowed the program to evolve from a place to display art to engaging the community in art workshops, internships and artist grants to keep lo- cal artists active. “It’s about getting the processes in place, getting a bigger vision for the associ- ation, rather than getting by show to show,” Mico said. What that bigger vision means for now is including more artists of color, Mico said, as well as supporting more pop-up shows that can engage a larger swath of the public that rarely find them- selves in a gallery. For Wickham, having art be her full-time job has only been a reality since she retired 2½ years ago as the health di- rector of Multnomah Coun- ty. But she said her passion comes from her children, who are artists, and serving on the board is another way to sup- port artists the way she tried to support her own children. Bell at the meeting and de- scribed their goal for the busi- ness as “high end.” Bell, who has spent the last couple of years building out dispensaries for clients, is expanding his career in can- nabis on the coast to places like Rockaway Beach, Pacific City and, hopefully, Cannon Beach, Benson said. Bell’s pitch for a marijuana shop at a condominium complex near Pier 39 in Astoria was reject- ed by the Astoria City Council last year. “This is going to be a very nice place. Our goal as a com- pany is to make it look nice,” Benson said of the Cannon Beach store. But before moving for- ward, Bell and his team must address parking issues iden- tified by the city. As plans stands now, parking spaces are drawn onto the city’s right of way, City Planner Mark Barnes said. “The problem here is these are private spaces half in the public sphere,” Barnes said. Bell will have to work with public works to find different solutions before the next De- sign Review Board meeting Sept. 21 in order to secure approval. More abstractly, board members took issue with the lack of detail in the applica- tion. Bell provided plans to paint the building and modify windows, along with gener- al landscaping ideas, but the board wasn’t satisfied without seeing a full mock up. Barnes also noted the lack of discus- sion concerning meeting ven- tilation and signage require- ments in the proposal. : D E T N WA E V I T A E R r! C BRENNA VISSER/CANNON BEACH GAZETTE A third marijuana retailer, at 3115 S. Hemlock St., has ap- plied to operate in Cannon Beach. to the city, he thought more needed to be done to help re- habilitate a structure that has been sitting vacant for years. Just repainting the build- ing, Crane wrote, “is like put- ting lipstick on a pig.” Escape Lodgings President Patrick Nofield leases space from a modular unit connect- ed to the property, and asked board members to wait on ap- “We look at actual samples of paints and facade,” board member Sandi Lundy said. “It’s just a matter of us be- ing able to physically see the changes you are suggesting.” Some neighbors took issue with the vague nature of the design plans, including Steve Crane, the property adviser of Lodges at Cannon Beach next door. In written testimony sent proval before issues like ade- quate parking and more thor- ough designs were presented. One of his concerns was making sure this property was “architecturally compatible” with the rest of Tolovana. “I’ve leased space for 10 years, and I know that build- ing needs help,” Nofield said. “It needs more work than what this plan is showing.” Kiki Meletis is a co-trustee of Demetrios Meletis Living Trust, which owns the prop- erty, and said having the new business move in was a great way to “revitalize the property in a timely way.” Benson said she and Bell are happy to work with the city to make sure the business fits with the community. “This is a community thing, so I want community input,” Benson said. Active Members of What is RMLS? As the Northwest’s largest REALTOR®-owned Multiple Listing Service(MLS), RMLS serves approximately 10,000 Real Estate Professionals in over 2,200 offi ces licensed in Oregon and Washington. 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