SEPTEMBER 8, 2017 • VOL. 41, ISSUE 18
WWW.CANNONBEACHGAZETTE.COM
Longer fall sessions
promise a tour
of printmaking
techniques
COMPLIMENTARY COPY
Kathy Carrier, of
Arch Cape, and
Terri Churdash,
of Portland,
work on their
linoleum blocks
while instructor
Alisa Vernon
provides advice.
NANCY MCCARTHY/FOR
CANNON BEACH GAZETTE
Making
Making
Impression
Impression
Gallery’s workshops
imprint artistic
experience on
participants
By Nancy McCarthy
For Cannon Beach Gazette
t the Imprint Gallery
in Cannon Beach,
there’s more to do
than admire the in-
triguing paintings and sculptures on
the main fl oor.
There’s an opportunity to create art,
and by doing that, to develop an appre-
ciation of the artists’ prints covering
the walls of the gallery’s second fl oor.
Tucked upstairs is a studio where
gallery visitors can drop in on week-
ends or reserve time a day in advance
to try their hands at linocut or drypoint
printmaking. But if a 45-minute after-
noon workshop isn’t enough to satisfy
See Imprint, Page 10A
NANCY MCCARTHY/FOR CANNON BEACH GAZETTE
Instructor Alisa Vernon shows how to hold a blade and cut a line into a linoleum
block. She cautioned to keep fi ngers back from the blade.
RV park may
be headed
to Arcadia
Beach area
Oregon Coast
Alliance raises legal,
environmental concerns
By Brenna Visser
Cannon Beach Gazette
A proposed RV park across the high-
way from Arcadia Beach south of Cannon
Beach is facing criticism from environ-
mental groups for encroaching on an en-
dangered species — the marbled murrelet
— and disregard for forestry practices.
A land-use compatibility statement
was submitted earlier this year by James
Smejkal, the owner of the 17.6-acre parcel
of forested land, requesting temporary ac-
cess from Highway 101 from the Oregon
Department of Transportation to conduct
surveys on the property.
Smejkal thinks the property would be
well-suited for an RV park, mostly be-
cause it is one of the only types of devel-
opment allowed with the land’s current
zoning, he said.
“Because of the high volume of camp-
ers that visit the coast in the summer, I
don’t think there will be a problem,” Sme-
jkal said. “Planners designated it for park
use because they saw it as a need.”
This early on in the project, signifi cant
details — such as a site plan and geohaz-
ard surveys — will need to be completed
before any site development or road con-
struction can begin, Clatsop County Plan-
ning Manager Will Caplinger said.
The land was owned by Oregon Parks
and Recreation Department before it was
traded to Smejkal in 2002 in exchange for
land he owned in Columbia County. In
2009, Smejkal attempted to develop the
property as housing , which was ultimate-
ly denied by the Clatsop County Planning
Commission.
Cameron La Follette, director of the
environmental advocacy group Oregon
Coast Alliance, said urbanization —
whether it be houses or RVs — is not the
best use for the property.
La Follette argues the development
lacks the infrastructure to support an ur-
ban project in a rural area, and that ulti-
mately, the land should be back in public
hands.
See RV park, Page 6A
New charter school opens its doors
Cannon Beach
Academy welcomes
the community
By Brenna Visser
Cannon Beach Gazette
PAID
PERMIT NO. 97
ASTORIA, OR
PRSRT STD
US POSTAGE
Students, their families and residents
gathered for an open house Thursday,
Aug. 31, to celebrate the beginning of the
Cannon Beach Academy’s fi rst school
year, as well as the end of the four years
of work it took to make it happen.
It was the fi rst public unveiling of the
school after a summer’s worth of renova-
tions. To the backdrop of a potluck and
live music, students and their families ex-
plored classrooms and met the teachers
who will be welcoming on the fi rst day of
school Tuesday .
“We’re really happy to see this suc-
ceed,” said Dania Nolazco, whose
younger brother is enrolled in the fi rst-
and- second-grade blended class.
Nolazco still remembers the sadness
she felt when she heard the news of Can-
non Beach Elementary School closing,
the school she attended .
Going to school in Cannon Beach was
a large part of her childhood, she said,
and she was happy to see with the acad-
emy opening that was an experience she
could now share with her brother.
“There were a lot of ups and downs,
and we were just hoping for the best,” she
said. “A lot of people put a lot of hard
work into making this happen.”
Because of budget issues, the Cannon
Beach Academy board had to change
locations for the charter school in May.
That left only a few months to secure the
lease for the current location at 3781 S
Hemlock St. from the city and fi nish nec-
essary renovations before a fall opening.
Dania’s father, Rafael, said he and his
family have lived in Cannon Beach for
about 22 years. When they fi rst heard
about the possibility of a charter school
coming to town, they enrolled their son
right away.
See Academy, Page 10A
COLIN MURPHEY/EO MEDIA GROUP
Kellye Dewey and her daughter, Rian, attend the Cannon
Beach Academy open house on Th ursday, Aug. 31, to cele-
brate the start of the fi rst school year. Dewey is the acade-
my’s board president.
Local fi refi ghters pitch in to battle blazes across state
By Brenna Visser
Cannon Beach Gazette
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Cannon Beach Firefi ghter Shaunna White helps
to battle the Eagle Creek fi re.
Thirteen Clatsop County fi refi ghters are battling
the Chetco Fire near Brookings and 14 are in Eagle
Creek.
Knappa Fire Chief Paul Olheiser, who is coordi-
nating Clatsop County’s volunteer effort, said fi re-
fi ghters from Seaside, Olney, Lewis and Clark, War-
renton and Knappa fi re districts have been deployed
to fi res throughout the state.
On Wednesday, Olheiser said the number of
people sent and from which department is based on
availability of personnel and resources.
“When the state gives a resource order, you go
down the list of what the state is asking for and see
who has it,” he said.
Among local residents, Cannon Beach Fire Chief
Matt Benedict deployed with the Oregon State Fire
Marshal Incident Management to the Milli Fire in
Sisters for one week in August.
Firefi ghter Shaunna White was on the Whitewa-
ter Fire near Detroit for three weeks in August with
Contract Agency Inbound, LLC, and subsequently
deployed to the Eagle Creek fi re in the Columbia
River National Scenic Area.
White is a full-time student at Clatsop Communi-
ty College studying fi re science and was highlighted
by Cannon Beach Fire and Rescue as Firefi ghter for
the month of September.
As of midweek, more than a dozen wildfi res
burned throughout Oregon. Oregon’s Offi ce of
Emergency Management activated the state Emer-
gency Coordination Center, Monday, Sept. 5, to
monitor the fi res and provide support for local ju-
risdictions.
The Eagle Creek Fire in the Columbia Riv-
er Gorge National Scenic Area started on Sept. 2,
just south of Cascade Locks. Level 3 evacuations,
affecting approximately 350 people, sent area resi-
dents to Red Cross shelters at Mount Hood Commu-
nity College in Gresham and at the Skamania Coun-
ty Fairgrounds, immediately across the Columbia
River in Stevenson, Washington.
As of Wednesday, I-84 remained closed from
Troutdale to Hood River due to rocks, snags and
other debris the roadway. The fi re is mapped at
30,929 acres.
This is the third time this summer Clatsop Coun-
ty has been called to provide assistance.