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About Cannon Beach gazette. (Cannon Beach, Or.) 1977-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 20, 2017)
6A • October 20, 2017 | Cannon Beach Gazette | cannonbeachgazette.com Library looks to the future as it celebrates 90th birthday Private library supported by 80 volunteers By Brenna Visser Cannon Beach Gazette The original Cannon Beach Library had 54 books sitting on three shelves at what used to be a grocery store on Hemlock Street. Ninety years later, the li- brary now fills its own build- ing with more than 14,000 books. It has seen a number of location changes and tech- nological advances since 1927. But for nine decades its legacy as a private, almost solely volunteer-driven li- brary has remained. The Cannon Beach Li- brary board is hosting its 90th birthday party Oct. 21 as a way to thank the com- munity for decades of sup- port. People are invited to dress as their favorite literary character and enjoy a buffet of snacks from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the library. “(The library) has been a community effort from the beginning, starting with com- munity dances and chicken dinner fundraisers,” said Phyllis Bernt, co-president of the library board. “We are here to serve the needs of the community.” Unlike most libraries, Cannon Beach has never been public. It was estab- lished by the Cannon Beach Civic Club — a group of eight women who worked on civic needs such as street lighting, garbage disposal, public restrooms and, even- tually, the library. Through donations and hundreds of volunteer hours, the library was able to move into a small cottage on Sec- ond Street in 1945 before set- tling in the Hemlock location in 1972. While the civic club that started the library no longer exists, its spirit of public ser- vice has remained. There is one paid position at the li- brary. Otherwise, day-to-day tasks like running the front desk, book collection and inventory, maintenance and fundraising are done by more than 80 volunteers, who each year donate 9,000 hours of in keeping (the library) per- fect.” Lynne Murray, another li- brary board member, said part of what she thinks has made the library thrive for as long as it has is not just the number of volunteers, but the type. “We have a large number of re- sources in Cannon Beach. We have people move here who were former children’s librar- ians, people who worked in finance, people who worked in real estate, and they donate their expertise and do it for free,” Murray said. “Everyone brings something different to the table to help this run.” The goal for the next 90 years is continue to figure out what resources people need from a library and find ways to fund it, Bernt said. But for now, she wants the party to press pause on the hectic day- to-day library routine to thank volunteers and supporters. And for those who are on the fence about coming, the board offers an incentive. “We’re giving amnesty for overdue book fees, one day only,” Lundy said. “You can’t miss it: We only do it every 90 years.” SUBMITTED PHOTO Jay Schwehr in 1976 moving books to the new building using the “Library on the Move” cart. their time, Bernt said. Running as a nonprofit rather than a public institu- tion has its share of challeng- es and benefits. Collecting books and movies to rent is relatively easy — the library receives about 10,000 book donations a year. But it takes about $83,000 a year to op- erate, with only $16,000 of that funding coming from the city. It’s not always easy to find enough volunteers to help organize programs and fund- raisers to keep the library running. Tasks like general building maintenance and janitorial work are shared between everyone. But for library board member Sandi Lundy, it is worth it. “We take a lot of pride in making this library the cen- ter of the community,” Lun- dy said. “There are so many moving parts to it, but it’s fun to bond with the other volun- teers. There’s a sense of pride Counties seek sustainable tourism City manager finalists picked Tourism from Page 1A “The city (of Cannon Beach) asked for an ecotour- ism strategy in their strategic plan,” Melissa Keyser, the program coordinator for the Haystack Rock Awareness Program, said. “It’s every- one’s job to protect this area. We all have positive ideas, but how do we make it happen?” Finalists from Page 1A Sustainability At places like Fort Stevens State Park, Oregon State Parks North Coast District Manager Teri Wing sees the impact of the booming tourism industry almost every day. Wing has been with the parks system for more than 30 years and said it’s almost hard to describe the influx of trav- elers. At Fort Stevens, people book RV spots nine months in advance, and for most of the summer the park is at capacity with more than 5,000 visitors at once. Being constantly at capacity leads to more main- tenance for staff, as well as an increase in people parking and camping alongside U.S. Highway 101 when the park is full, she said. Overuse of certain parks and trails has lead to erosion issues, as well. Cape Kiwanda State Natural Area in Pacific City has had to put up fenc- ing and more signage to keep people out of actively eroding areas. “When the understory (on the trail) isn’t allowed to heal, all you are going to have is mud,” Wing said. “Grass doesn’t grow back, so you end up with a lot of erosion. With how much use they get, we don’t have the infrastructure to fix them.” Terms like ecotourism or sustainable tourism often make people think of travel- ing in an eco-friendly way, said Kristin Dahl, the vice president of destination de- velopment at Travel Oregon, who led Monday’s workshop. But making tourism sus- tainable also means tackling local livability issues like af- fordable housing for service industry employees, having accessible public transit and representing cultural heritage. For Jon Burpee, the super- intendent of Lewis and Clark National Historical Park, creating sustainable tourism COLIN MURPHEY/EO MEDIA GROUP Spending by tourists in the region has increased from $391 million in 2000 to $779 million in 2016. means developing affordable housing. “It is hard to manage a park effectively when sea- sonal park rangers can’t find housing that’s affordable,” he said. “Sustainable tourism has to be a way to meet greater needs.” Often when Dahl leads these workshops, she said communities are looking for ways to bring more people to their area. But the challenge for the North Coast will be learning how to manage the volume of tourists already coming, which could come in the form of asking them to visit different times of year other than summer and to try underutilized parks and at- tractions. “It’s a good problem to have. Tourism is good for the economy,” Wing said. “We just want to lessen the pres- sure on these areas.” A path to follow Casey Roeder, the execu- tive director at the Skamania County Chamber of Com- merce in Washington state, participated in the Columbia River Gorge tourism studio last year. As the former president of the Columbia River Gorge Visitors Association, Roeder said the region faced similar issues to Clatsop and Tilla- mook counties. “We have very highly used areas that feel congestion — Multnomah Falls, Dog Moun- tain, et cetera. The same time of year we would have too many people,” Roeder said. “So we had to ask, ‘How do we disperse people to other areas that get less use?’” Out of their tourism studio came the Columbia Express, a shuttle system that takes vis- itors to and from Multnomah Falls, which reduced traffic and parking challenges. Another project funded by the grant was a 20-year plan to connect biking and hiking trails, as well as an itinerary of events that lined up with bus schedules to reduce vehicle use. Greenwood served as gen- eral manager of the Port of Newport for the past three years until this summer. He resigned as general manager in July because recently elect- ed port commissioners want- ed a change in leadership, according to a press release from the port. Steidel said Tuesday he feels confident in the abilities of all three candidates. City staff and Jensen Strat- egies will work on forming community and local govern- ment administrator panels to evaluate finalists. Represen- tatives will be chosen from the Cannon Beach Chamber of Commerce, the hospitality industry, arts community, en- vironmental groups and other Kevin Greenwood Peter M. Jankowski locals to offer input, interim City Manager Jason Scher- merhorn said. The other panel will be made up of three other city managers and one special district manager. None have been chosen yet. Those interested in meet- ing the finalists are invited to a community forum at 7 p.m. Nov. 6 at the Surfsand Resort. Bruce St. Denis Citizens are encouraged to submit their questions ahead of time to City Recorder Col- leen Riggs, either in person or by email by the end of the day Oct. 31. The City Coun- cil plans to choose a preferred candidate by Nov. 8. “I’m looking forward to seeing the different types of questions the community will ask,” Steidel said. BEACH LIVING OASIS 31948 Star Mooring Lane, Arch Cape THE PERFECT BEACH HOUSE 80105 Pacific Rd, Arch Cape EASY ACCESS TO THE BEACH! 3579 S Hemlock St, Cannon Beach Close to the sand, close to the surf, close to heaven on earth with open, relaxing spaces to help you unwind and feel the calm of the sea. 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