August 25, 2017 | Cannon Beach Gazette | cannonbeachgazette.com • 5A
A summer surprise visit from a New Yawker
I
magine my surprise last week
when my phone rang and it was
an old friend from New York.
“Will!” I practically screamed
into the phone. I hadn’t heard from
him in so long. Once upon a time,
say a dozen years ago, we met
through horses. A born and lifelong
New Yorker with a lovely home on
Manhattan’s Upper East Side, Will
has a sister who lives in Eugene, so
it’s not like he’s a total stranger to
Oregon.
“I’m in Astoria,” he said. “Aren’t
you kind of close?”
I texted him my address and
within an hour he was pulling his
rental car into our driveway.
“Coffee, beer, marijuana?” I said.
“It’s all legal here. Pick one or have
them all.”
He chose coffee so I brewed up a
pot of Sleepy Monk.
Will said he came out to the
coast to hike and bird watch en
route to Eugene, where he was
headed for a family visit. He’d
fl own into Portland several days
before; already he’d been hiking
and bird watching in the Olym-
‘WHEN I GOT TO CANNON BEACH, I
WENT DIRECTLY TO THE ROCK. THERE
WERE LITERALLY HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE
THERE. THEY SEEMED TO BE HAVING A
TRANSCENDENT EXPERIENCE, LIKE PILGRIMS.’
VIEW FROM
THE PORCH
EVE MARX
pic Mountains with the Audubon
Society, spotting Rufous Hummers,
Varied Thrush, Stellar’s Jay and
Horned Lark.
We offered him dinner and our
guest room, but he had other plans.
He’d booked a reservation that night
at the Hallmark Resort in Cannon
Beach, a place he’d heard a lot
about but had never seen.
“Well, you’ve got to see The
Rock,” I said, referring to Haystack.
“I think the puffi ns — or what’s left
of them, every year there are less
and less — have already come and
gone, but it’s still a must-see.”
We did some catching up, me
mostly asking him about his dating
life since Will is what you might
call an eligible bachelor. He said he
and the lady he’d been seeing for
several years had recently parted
company, but there was a new lady
—Will, a friend from ‘New Yawk’
of romantic interest.
“Another redhead,” he said,
showing me a pic. “This will be my
third redhead in a row. What do you
make of that?”
We took a walk with my young
dog, Lucy, on the beach in south
Seaside.
Will entered the water, which I
described as freezing.
“It’s practically balmy,” he de-
clared, emerging from the surf. He
was so well prepared, he’d brought
his own beach towel. “A few weeks
ago I was swimming off the coast of
Newfoundland, so this doesn’t seem
that bad.”
In addition to being an eligible
bachelor, Will is also a well-to-
do nomad. His Facebook posts in
recent months have recorded visits
to Cape May, NJ; Palm Beach, FL;
Hammonasset Beach State Park in
CT, the National Museum in Swe-
den and Zamora, Ecuador.
After what seemed too brief a
visit, we hugged and he shoved off.
I gave him some ideas where he
might have dinner, although he’s so
slender I suspect he eats like a bird.
Will texted me a few hours later
to say he’d checked into his hotel.
“I didn’t get there for hours,” he
wrote. I thought he was going to
blame the traffi c, but a few mo-
ments later he wrote it was because
he’d pulled off the highway to hike
around. I remember this kind of
behavior from our horseback riding
days. Will’s one of those people
who can’t resist exploring a new
trail.
“When I got to Cannon Beach,
I went directly to The Rock,” he
wrote. “There were literally hun-
dreds of people there. They seemed
to be having a transcendent experi-
ence, like pilgrims.”
“Indeed,” I wrote back. “They’re
drawn by the awesome energy.
While you’re there, be sure to soak
some up.”
I didn’t hear from Will again
until he arrived in Eugene. His
family was thrilled to see him and a
lot of them were there. He told me
in a few days he’d be driving back
to Portland to catch a non-stop fl ight
back to New York. He said me the
one thing he regretted while on his
visit to the coast was a meal at the
famous Mo’s.
“They have one in the Jet Blue
terminal,” I said, having frequent-
ed it myself. “Have a cup of clam
chowder before your Red Eye fl ight
and you’ll sleep like a baby,” I
advised. I’m pretty sure he took my
recommendation.
Come back soon, Will.
LETTERS
How many pot shops
do we need?
Three pot shops in Cannon
Beach? Really?
I don’t think that the ballot
measure said that the city has to
allow them, just that the city may
consider them. I hope that we can
count on our city manager, city
planner, the mayor and City Council
to bring some common sense into the
business -license application process
for pot shops and deny them all.
Astoria has six of them, Seaside fi ve
… you can fi nd it if you really want
to.
The concept is contrary in so
many ways to the comprehensive
plan for Cannon Beach. Think
about neighborhoods and family
businesses. Pot shops are not what
we are about. We have already seen
these applicants ask to change the
existing code to fi t them, to cut
corners in design and construction,
as we read about the crime going on
all around these places where they
already exist. Worst of all, they want
to immediately or eventually change
the heart and soul and spirit of our
wonderful beach village.
How about this: Cannon Beach
is supposed to be the state’s
greatest dog town. We have zero
veterinarians. And now we are
talking about three pot shops?
Really?
David Frei
Cannon Beach
Initiative to form
utility district
Last Tuesday night (Aug. 8)
another power outage blacked out all
of coastal Clatsop County for three
hours. The night was peaceful and
rain had not fallen in two months. So
it came as somewhat of a surprise.
The cause of the outage according
to Pacifi c Power was the failure of a
single pole transformer in Seaside.
Chalk it up to “a bird or a chemical
reaction after rain,” says the
Wyoming-based Pacifi c Power. “It’s
the same idea as the breaker box in
your garage,” Pacifi c Power stated.
I hate to be the bearer of sad
news but in 2017, the failure of one
of the thousands of pole-mounted
transformers should not cause this
level of outage in a well-designed
power grid. It may be a trivial problem
to Pacifi c Power but it is evidence that
PUBLIC MEETINGS
the electrical grid in this area needs a
lot of attention and modernization to
become more fault-tolerant.
Please consider carefully the
initiative now about to circulate
to form our own People’s Utility
District (Cascadia PUD).
We can join all our neighboring
communities in Oregon and
Washington who already have
successfully operating PUDs. They
enjoy local management and because
PUDs have access to Northwest
Bonneville Power, a 30 percent
reduction in your monthly electric
bill. In addition, Cascadia PUD has
plans to construct a local renewable
power generator, which Pacifi c
Power rejected because they plan to
build wind farms in Wyoming and
make us pay to have it delivered
1,500 miles so its cost to us will be
another 30 percent higher.
Cascadia PUD will save everyone
in the community hundreds of
dollars a year, require no increase
in property taxes to operate and
will create local jobs. In the event
a Cascadia event does occur, it will
be located and designed to provide
electrical service to our communities
immediately instead of our homes
not having electricity for a projected
six-month outage with the current
system.
John Dunzer
Seaside
Friday, Aug. 25
Lessons from an
old trapper
Tuesday, Sept. 12
From Vietnam, Watergate, and
Irangate, through Iraq, Afghanistan,
and Syria, we read daily about the
poor judgment of our elected offi cials.
Barbara Tuchman, in her book, “The
March of Folly,” poses the question
well: “Why do holders of high offi ce
so often act contrary to the way reason
points and enlightened self-interest
suggests? Why does intelligent mental
process seem so often not to function?”
I found the answer, not in the
confi nes of some Washington think
tank, but on the edge of a wilderness
river in northern Idaho while fi shing
with my old trapper friend whom
I fondly called Guru Charlie. I
was haranguing him with all the
international and domestic corruption
just as he cast a grasshopper fl y
upstream. Looking back at me, he
yelled, “Scandal to the jaybirds! The
world ain’t round, it’s crooked!”
Rex Amos
Cannon Beach
Cannon Beach Emergency Pre-
paredness Committee, 9 a.m., City
Hall, 163 E. Gower St.
Cannon Beach City Council, 7 p.m.,
regular meeting and work session,
City Hall, 163 E. Gower St.
Tuesday, Sept. 19
Cannon Beach Public Works
Committee, 9 a.m., City Hall, 163
E. Gower St.
Thursday, Sept. 21
Cannon Beach Parks and Commu-
nity 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.
Thursday, Sept. 28
Cannon Beach Planning Commis-
sion, 6 p.m., City Hall, 163 E. Gower St.
Tuesday, Oct. 3
Cannon Beach City Council, 7 p.m.,
City Hall, 163 E.Gower St.
Tuesday, Oct. 10
Cannon Beach City Council, 7
p.m., work session, City Hall, 163 E.
Gower St.
FOR YOUR INFORMATION
MAYOR: Sam Steidel
COUNCILORS: Mike Benefield,
Nancy McCarthy, Brandon
Ogilvie and George Vetter
INTERIM CITY MANAGER: Jason Schermerhorn
M U N I C I PA L M E M O
AUGUST 2017
Is published monthly by the City of Cannon Beach
163 E. Gower Street • P.O. Box 368 • Cannon Beach, OR 97110
(503) 436-1581 • Fax: (503) 436-2050 • TTY (503) 436-8097
MEETINGS
CITY MANAGER RECRUITMENT
AUGUST 2017
5
12
21
28
City Council Regular Meeting - CANCELLED
City Council Special Meeting and Work Session
Design Review Board
Planning Commission
CITY COUNCIL MEETING,
August 1, 2017
• Held a Public Hearing and voted 3:2
against Ordinance 17-09, which would
have changed the time, place, manner
criteria by allowing marijuana businesses
in mixed use buildings;
• Approved Resolution 17-16, for the
purpose of adopting a procedure to hire
a new City Manager. This is a State of
Oregon requirement to be done before
any recruitment can be started.;
• Approved Resolution 17-17, for the pur-
pose of declaring the intent of the City
of Cannon Beach to uphold the environ-
7:00 p.m.
5:30 p.m.
6:00 p.m.
6:00 p.m.
mental concerns of the Paris Agreement;
• Nancy Littell of presented an update of
the Cannon Beach Food Pantry;
• Appointed Douglas Caner to the Public
Works Committee for a 4 year term;
• Adopted the FY 2017-18 Community
Grant awards as recommended by the
Parks & Community Services Committee.
CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING,
August 8, 2017
Voted to participate in the Clatsop
County Housing, along with the cities of
Seaside, Gearhart, Warrenton and Astoria
as well as Clatsop County.
DESIGN REVIEW BOARD – The Design
Review Board met August 17, 2017 and
discussed:
DRB 17-03, Daryl Bell, Application for
Major Modifications at 3115 S Hem-
lock. Continued to 9/21/17
DRB 17-08, Endreson et al, Application
for External Modifications to a Du-
plex at 163 W. Orford. Continued to
9/21/17
FS 17-02, Cannon Beach Arts Associa-
tion, Application for a Freestanding
Sign at 1064 S. Hemlock. Approved
PLANNING COMMISSION - The Plan-
ning Commission met July 27, 2017 and
discussed:
SR 17-03, Enderson et al, Request for a
Setback Reduction in Conjunction with
a Remodel at 163 W Orford
Meetings. Approved
NC 17-01, Austria, Request for Non-Con-
forming Alterations in Conjunction with
a Remodel at 172 W Harrison. Denied
The Planning Commission is scheduled
to meet August 24th at 6:00 p.m. to
discuss:
V 17-01, Wayfarer Restaurant Fence
Located at 1190 Pacific Street.
Cannon Beach has officially opened the
recruitment for our next city manager.
The Council is looking for an expe-
rienced manager, preferably with past
success in tourism-based communities.
Compensation is $115,000 to $130,000
(DOQ) plus a housing allowance and
excellent benefits.
Position details, application materials,
and instructions on how to apply can be
found at www.jensen-strategies.com/
municipal-manager-recruitment.
COMMUNITY GRANTS POTLUCK
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
City of Cannon Beach; Community Grant
Potluck; Thursday, September 7, 2017
6:00p; Chamber of Commerce Commu-
nity Hall; Bring a favorite dish to share.
COMMUNITY GRANT AWARDS
Cannon Beach Arts Association
- $8,226.67, Cannon Beach Chorus -
$1,064.50, Cannon Beach History Cen-
ter - $974.17, Clatsop CASA - $3,016.67,
Clatsop Community Action - $5,950.00,
Clatsop Community College Foundation
- $1,638.33, Coaster Theatre Playhouse
- $3,708.33, Healing Circle - $1,050.00,
Helping Hands - $8,400.00, North Coast
Food Web - $1,339.00, NCLC - $6,510.83,
Restoration House - $3,798.33, Sea
Turtles Forever - $2,107.33, Seaside Hall -
$970.00, South County Community Food
Bank - $2,300.00, SEPRD - $750.00, The
Harbor - $7,016.67, Tolovana Arts Colony
- $12,095.83, Wildlife Center - $4,083.33,
TOTALS - $$74,999.99
CANNON BEACH
FARMERS MARKET
Hello, Cannon Beach Farmers Mar-
ket Friends! The Cannon Beach Farmers
Market is open every Tuesday afternoon
through September 26th. Vendors will
be open from 1 - 5pm. Prepared food
vendors will be ready to serve by 12 noon
to meet your lunch needs. You can listen
to live music, dine alfresco and shop the
market for fresh produce, baked goods,
cheeses, meats, flowers, artisan products
and much more. Market is Located at the
corner of Hemlock and Gower streets. See
you at the market!
NOTICE OF VACANCIES
CITY COMMISSIONS,
BOARDS & COMMITTEES
The City of Cannon Beach is seeking ap-
plications for the following vacancies:
EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS (EPREP)
COMMITTEE: THREE (3) vacancies to
fill four-year terms. The EPREP Committee
meets regularly for the purpose of provid-
ing evacuation planning and public educa-
tion regarding emergency preparedness.
The Emergency Preparedness Committee
normally holds its regular meetings on the
last Friday of each month at 9:00 a.m. and
may schedule work sessions as needed.
PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE: ONE
(1) vacancy to fill a four-year term. The
primary responsibility of the Public Works
Committee is to review all public works
projects and make recommendations to
City Council. The Public Works Commit-
tee holds its regular meeting on the third
Tuesday of each month at 9:00 a.m.
To be eligible to serve on a City commit-
tee, applicants must have resided within
the city or its urban growth boundary
during the one year immediately preced-
ing appointment; or at the time of ap-
pointment, shall have owned real property
located within the city or its urban growth
boundary for at least one year immedi-
ately preceding appointment. Council has
implemented an interview process consist-
ing of a set of questions particular to each
committee/board or commission and writ-
ten answers must be submitted with the
application. Applications with questions
are available at City Hall, 163 E. Gower
Street, Cannon Beach, by email addressed
to riggs@ci.cannon-beach.or.us, or online
at www.ci.cannon-beach.or.us For more
information, please contact Colleen Riggs
by email or phone at (503) 436-8052.
HAYSTACK ROCK
AWARENESS PROGRAM
BEACH VOLUNTEERS
WANTED!
Do you enjoy being outside and sharing
your love of Haystack Rock and Can-
non Beach? Please volunteer! http://
www.ci.cannon-beach.or.us/hrap/page/
hrap-2017-beach-program-schedule.
Please contact:Lisa Habecker, Education
& Volunteer Coordinator, 503.436.8064,
habecker@ci.cannon-beach.or.us
