4A • October 20, 2017 | Cannon Beach Gazette | cannonbeachgazette.com
Views from the Rock
What needs to be done to best
prepare for a Cascadia event?
I
f there’s a way to demystify coastal
resiliency, Oregon State University
has found ways to do it.
We’ve seen results in signage,
mapping and awareness through state
programs like the Great ShakeOut and
“Two Weeks Ready,” which aims to
inspire citizens to be self-suffi cient for
two weeks in the aftermath of a major
disaster. A new survey is headed to
a cross-section of Seaside residents
to develop a better understanding of
perceptions and preparedness toward a
Cascadia event.
Clatsop County Emergency
Manager Tiffany Brown, Oregon State
University Coastal Natural Hazards
Specialist Patrick Corcoran and other
local offi cials including Cannon
Beach’s Robin Risley and Seaside
Planning Director Kevin Cupples
joined those seeking to prioritize
research needs for the North Coast. The
session was the fi rst of three workshops
— the others held in Newport and Coos
Bay.
R.J. MARX/CANNON BEACH GAZETTE
At the September Art Walk in Seaside at Fairweather
Gallery.
R.J. MARX/CANNON BEACH GAZETTE
‘W
Oregon State University Professor Peter Ruggiero speaks in Seaside.
CANNON SHOTS
R.J. MARX
Coastal priorities
We know that when the Big One
hits it could bring a 9.0 earthquake and
waves from 30 to 120 feet high. Our
bridges could collapse and our cities
fl ood. Mass casualties would almost be
a certainty.
If Japan’s 2011 tsunami is any
example — 20,000 deaths, 2,500
missing— we need to take note. And
we’re nowhere as well prepared as they
are.
“In Japan they don’t need to be
convinced,” Corcoran said.
Corcoran described attendees as
“researchers from OSU, students,
agency folks, and planning commission
types — the usual suspects who want
to think their way through problems.”
They are the “right people” to
have in the room when thinking
about resiliency, OSU Professor Peter
Ruggiero said, matching university
skills with a target audience.
Ruggiero and others are seeking
seed money via an Oregon Sea Grant,
which provides grant opportunities
related to the marine environment.
Researchers seek to connect “the
kind of things we are interested in and
the things coastal communities have
identifi ed as signifi cant priorities,”
Ruggiero said.
“We are talking about before and
after the event,” workshop attendee
Patrick Wingard of the state’s
Department of Land Conservation said.
That means preparing for disaster,
minimizing risk and response
readiness. Recovery follows.
Research projects could address
elements of all of these, Wingard said.
resolve the Coast’s complex hazards,
even when long-term answers are more
costly than the quick fi x.
“Let’s dig deeper,” he said. “We
could do more looking forward
and thinking about the long range
consequences of our short-term
decisions.”
The process involves “a bit of
matchmaking,” Corcoran said.
At the library workshop, some of
that matchmaking unfolded as city
offi cials interacted with university
academics on issues of interest to both.
Cupples suggested a multi-hazard
approach, taking into account not
only preparation for a tsunami and its
aftermath, but for wind and rainstorms
— “the things we have all the time,”
he said.
John Dunzer, a Seaside resident,
sought ways to develop alternative
energy sources that would provide
local power sources after a
catastrophic event.
Brown said the county was still
“in the fi rst 12 hours” of a catastrophe
and needed to look to longer-term
recovery.
“What about the 1,000 people on
the hill that don’t have shelter?” the
emergency manager asked. “We have
so many unanswered questions about
that phase.”
Strategic, proactive
“Resiliency” is one of those
words newspaper editors and TV
news channels hate, neutering truly
terrifying concepts in a cloak of
slick jargon. Others are phrases like
“infrastructure solutions,” “robust
facilities” and “natural hazard
mitigation.”
Local partners
The goal, Wingard said, is to
provide elected offi cials with the
information and resources needed to
R.J. MARX/CANNON BEACH GAZETTE
Patrick Corcoran contemplates a
large-scale Cascadia Subduction
Zone event.
During the school district’s tsunami
awareness campaign a few years
back, earthquakes and tsunamis were
referred to by “T-shirt sizes”: M, L,
XL, and XXL for example. I found
that a little more graphic and easier to
grasp.
It’s not a game and all the big
words in the world can’t disguise the
disastrous potential of a Cascadia
event.
One takeaway from the Seaside
workshop is the growing sense by
people to be strategic and proactive
regarding hazards.
“This is about local people who
want to work with us,” Corcoran said.
“As a land-grant university, we want
to address local needs. To the extent
where our research can align with
community needs, this is a home-run
for us.”
Whether it has the sex appeal or the
catastrophic sense of a disaster movie
is another story.
Let’s hope that’s not what it takes
to get some action.
State of the Coast
Registration has opened for
Oregon Sea Grant’s annual State of
the Coast conference, which will
be held Oct. 28 in Florence.
Billed as Oregon’s coastal con-
ference for everyone, the event
aims to bring together the public,
scientists, fi shermen, resource
managers, teachers, students and
conservationists. Attendees will
have the opportunity to learn,
network and talk about the cur-
rent status and future of Oregon’s
marine environment.
The keynote speaker will be
Rick Spinrad, the chief scientist
for the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration from
2014 to January 2017. He was also
the vice president of research at
Oregon State University from 2010
to 2014.
Students from various universi-
ties in Oregon will talk about their
coastal research. Also, a coastal
chef will demonstrate how to pre-
A whirlwind
weekend in
Cannon Beach
pare various types of seafood.
Registration in advance is
recommended as space is limited.
Cost is $35 for the public and $25
for students. It includes refresh-
ments, lunch and a raffl e ticket.
The conference begins at 8:30 a.m.
and concludes with a reception
that starts at 4 p.m. For more infor-
mation and to register, visit www.
stateofthecoast.com. The event
will take place at the Florence
Events Center at 715 Quince St.
e have two missions this evening,” said my
spouse. It was Saturday afternoon and the
fi rst mission started at 5 p.m., which is, in
my opinion, an ideal hour to commence drinking. Even
though we live in Party Central, one of my nicknames for
the Coast, where people start drinking at noon or earlier, I
have retained my East Coast prudishness about afternoon
imbibing. A entertaining and educational beer tasting
event we went to a few months ago at Haystack Gardens
sponsored by Martin Hospitality and hosted by Public
Coast where I drank a lot of beer at 2 p.m. made me feel
naughty and guilty.
Our fi rst mission Saturday was to head over to Fair-
weather House & Gallery in Seaside where the proprietor,
Denise Fairweather, had assembled a party to kick off
the autumn season of Saturday Art Walks. While featured
artists took turns
talking, I wandered
about, nibbling
VIEW FROM
cheese and drink-
THE PORCH
ing wine out of an
EVE MARX
alarmingly leaky
plastic cup. The
“home” part of
Fairweather is a dominant
feature of the gallery
showcasing a remarkable
collection of useful, dec-
orative, artisanal items to
buy for yourself and oth-
ers. I could easily envision
spooning up my morning
yogurt from one of those
handmade bowls. A very
luxe silvery candlestick
would look good on my
holiday mantel.
The next stop was
Imprint Gallery in Cannon
Beach where there was
another party honoring
SUBMITTED PHOTO
artists Alfredo Arreguin
and Yuji Hiratsuka. A lim- Salish Sea, oil on canvas by
ited edition print (there are Alfredo Arreguin.
just 15) called “Brico,” by
Hiratsuka caught my husband’s eye. It depicts two young
women talking. “They look really happy, truly unadulter-
ated happy,” he said. “So carefree and full of life.”
The wine was served in real glasses at Imprint, so
I accepted a glass and had a look around. I fell in love
with a Maggie Taylor surreal image called “The Waiting
Game,” of a woman with a fi sh on her head. “This is quite
marvelous,” I said to a Gearhart friend we had in tow.
I’ve been introducing her to my favorite spots in Cannon
Beach, including Sea Level Bakery and Coffee. “The
art here is as good as anything you’d see in a Manhattan
gallery,” I said. “And here we are in Cannon Beach. Isn’t
that lovely?”
Feeling peckish, we took a chance getting into Harding
Trading Co. in north Cannon Beach. They don’t take
reservations, alas. “This is our third time trying to get in,”
I said to our friend. “Perhaps you are our lucky charm.”
It turned out to be true and we got a table. We had a
delicious and fun dinner that included a richly intoxicating
fi sh bisque, Caesar salad, paté with cornichons, halibut
with puréed peas (“Radical,” my husband called them),
and my own personal favorite, mushroom tart. And of
course there was wine. Since there were three of us, we
got a bottle. Despite the fact I’d imbibed at both galleries,
I had a glass-and-a-half of a superb pinot noir. As I said, I
wasn’t driving.
Prizes, games, refreshments and a 90th-birthday cake!
T
he Cannon Beach Library
is very excited to announce
that from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
on Saturday, Oct. 21, we will
be hosting our 90th birthday
celebration. The library began in
1927 when eight women stocked
three shelves in a local variety store
with books donated from the state
library. Over the next 90 years,
thanks to many volunteer hours and
the generosity of the city of Cannon
Beach and many other supporters,
we have grown into an important
Cannon Beach entity, providing
over 14,000 books, a fabulous
children’s room, interlibrary
Publisher
David F. Pero
Editor
R.J. Marx
Circulation
Manager
Jeremy Feldman
Production
Manager
John D. Bruijn
AT THE LIBRARY
CARLA O’REILLY
loan services, an ongoing book
sale room, free Wi-Fi, and many
other events and services. At the
celebration, we will have light
refreshments, a 90th birthday cake,
prizes, and many other surprises.
Drop in and join us for this exciting
event.
And speaking of events, our next
membership meeting will be on
Classifi ed Sales
Jamie Ramsdell
Advertising Sales
Holly Larkins
Staff writer
Brenna Visser
Contributing
writers
Rebecca Herren
Katherine Lacaze
Eve Marx
Nancy McCarthy
Wednesday, Nov. 1 at 10 a.m. Our
hostesses Buddie, Linda Rook, and
myself will be preparing a festive
light brunch. The speaker will be
Katie Voelke from the North Coast
Land Conservancy and the topic
of the talk will be about our local
Land Trust. Plan on joining us at
this cozy event. New members and
guests are always welcome.
The ongoing HRAP lecture
series is beginning for the autumn
and winter months. The fi rst lecture
will be at 7 p.m. November 8th,
when Dr. Debbie Duffi eld will be
presenting “Marine Mammals, Why
They Don’t Eat Grapes.” The talk
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will focus on changes in our marine
environment as they are refl ect-
ed in the marine mammals of the
Northwest.
And speaking of exciting
upcoming events, Wow! Cannon
Beach, otherwise known as Wom-
en’s Only Weekend, is coming up
the weekend of Nov. 10-12. There
will be shopping, classes, parties,
and more. A great way to get a
jump-start on the holiday season.
Main event tickets are available
now online at tickettomato.com
and soon to be at the library, for
$35. If purchased at the door, at the
beginning of the weekend, the price
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will be $40. All proceeds from the
weekend main events will go to
help support the library. For more
information please contact Buddie
at 971-241-3864.
Finally, Cannon Beach Reads,
our ongoing reading and discussion
group, will be meeting at 7 p.m.
on Nov. 15. The group will have
read, and will be discussing, Agatha
Christie’s book “The Mysterious
Affair at Styles.” Group member
Tom Schaeffer will be discussion
leader for November.
Again, please join us for our
90th birthday celebration. The more
the merrier.
THE NATIONAL AWARD-WINNING