2A • November 3, 2017 | Cannon Beach Gazette | cannonbeachgazette.com
Past paperwork errors hinder fi re grants
ing equipment will expire in
2019, and in total will cost
about $300,000 to replace in
full. Up-to-date fi re engines
usually run around $450,000
each, Reckmann said.
The department is also
looking to replace out dated
radios and repeaters. Because
of the geography of the re-
gion and weak signals, fi rst
responders often have issues
communicating with each
other in places like Hug Point,
where they often go for search
and rescue calls.
“It’s hard to command the
scene when you have to walk
back to your truck to commu-
nicate. Then you don’t have
eyes on the situation,” Reck-
mann said.
Strict federal and state
guidelines mean not replac-
ing this equipment is not an
option. If the department
continues to be penalized for
old reporting errors, Bene-
dict will continue to look for
other matching grants, but
in the meantime could prob-
lem-solve by buying used
equipment incrementally rath-
er than in batches.
For the engines, Reckmann
said proposing a levy may be
necessary down the road.
“It may come down to
decreasing the number of en-
gines we use, buying used or
getting a bottle at a time just
to get us by. We can do that,”
Benedict said. “We will do
what we need to do to keep
our fi refi ghters and the com-
munity safe.”
FEMA grants
harder to secure
due to past
paperwork
errors
By Brenna Visser
Cannon Beach Gazette
Chief Matt Benedict
BRENNA VISSER/CANNON BEACH GAZETTE
Th e Mola mola that washed ashore in Cannon Beach.
Holy Mola mola!
Cannon Beach Gazette
Visitors to Cannon Beach
met up with this sea creature
Sunday morning.
It was identifi ed as a
Mola mola, an ocean sun-
fi sh, nearly 7 feet long, ac-
cording to Tiffany Boothe of
the Seaside Aquarium.
Having the Mola mola
swimming in the waters of
the North Coast is not un-
common, but having one
wash ashore only happens
a couple times a year, she
said.
The fi sh are surface
dwellers, and while the one
found on the south end of
the beach near Tolovana
was about 7 feet long, they
can grow to be about 11 feet
long. They’re the largest
bony fi sh recorded and are
known for carrying a multi-
tude of eggs.
“It’s not that uncommon,
but usually when we have
them wash up they are small-
er,” Boothe said. “The Mola
mola is in our area in the
summer. During the fall and
spring if they get washed up
on the beach, they are usual-
ly coming from storms from
the south.”
Sunfi shes garnered a lot
of attention in 2015 and
2016 after turning up in
Alaska due to warm water
blob in the Pacifi c Ocean.
Boothe said the warm
water current that brings
the Mola mola northward
has been trending closer to
the shore in the past couple
years, which could increase
the likelihood of seeing
these sunfi sh wash up on the
beach.
“It’s a cool fi sh people
don’t get to see very often,”
Boothe said.
‘Th e World of Haystack Rock’
“The World of Haystack
Rock” library lecture series
is free to the public and
held second Wednesday of
each month, November to
April from 7 to 8:30 p.m.
Cannon Beach Library, 131
N. Hemlock St., Cannon
Beach. Scheduled lectures
include:
Wednesday, Nov. 8,
“Marine Mammals, They
Don’t Eat Grapes” Dr. Deb-
bie Duffi eld, professor at
Portland State Universi-
ty and coordinator for the
Northern Oregon/Southern
Washington Marine Mam-
mal Stranding Network.
Wednesday, Dec. 13,
“The Puffi n Study” Shawn
Stephenson, features wild-
life biologist with the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service.
Wednesday, Jan. 10,
“The Marine Reserves Re-
search Project” presents
Wolfe Wagman, Oregon De-
partment of Fish and Wild-
life.
Issues with past grant pa-
perwork could make it harder
for Cannon Beach Rural Fire
District to secure certain types
of future funding.
In 2016, the volunteer fi re
department applied for two
different grants from the Fed-
eral Emergency Management
Agency: one to fund a new
volunteer recruitment and re-
tention position, and the other
to hire a fi re inspector. Both
were denied, due in part to the
district’s failure to properly
close out a grant received in
2010 , Division Chief Marc
Reckmann said.
“When FEMA approves
or denies a grant, part of the
scoring is looking over seven
years at your completion and
performance,” said Reck-
mann, who wrote the grant
applications.
“In 2010, the district re-
ceived a grant for turnouts,
which required a period per-
formance report to be fi led a
year after and a close out re-
port after the grant was done
in 2014. Neither were done.”
The grant was applied for
and used under both former
fi re chiefs, Cleve Rooper and
Mike Balzer. Neither Reck-
mann or current Fire Chief
Matt Benedict were associ-
ated with the district in th ose
years. The reason why the
reports weren’t fi led are un-
clear.
What they do know is
soon-to-be expired breathing
equipment, outdated commu-
nication gear and other de-
partment needs will need to
be funded in the near future.
FEMA grants are a signifi cant
avenue for volunteer rural fi re
departments to pay for this
kind of equipment.
But if the reporting errors
continue to impact the depart-
ment’s competitiveness for
Active
Members
of
All brokers listed with firm are licensed in the state of Oregon
and retention specialist who
would fi gure out what re-
sources are available to solve
the problem. This person
would explore different com-
munity partnerships in the
hopes of expanding the pro-
gram, Reckmann said.
Reckmann and Benedict
are the only two paid employ-
ees of the fi re district. While
they each do their best to re-
cruit volunteers, the necessity
to retain volunteers for the
safety of the community is a
job in itself.
“I don’t think most people
in the community think of
our fi refi ghters as volunteers.
When they show up on scene,
they don’t have a clue who is
volunteer and who is paid,”
Reckmann said. “They just
expect a fi refi ghter who does
their job.”
these grants, the district may
have to pursue other fundrais-
ing strategies to make ends
meet.
“We’re working to get
notes from FEMA so we
know what to do better next
time,” Reckmann said. “This
isn’t the end. We will keep ap-
plying. These issues may have
played a role, but how large of
one I don’t know.”
Current needs
Like many departments
across the country, recruiting
and retaining fi refi ghter vol-
unteers is a challenge. The de-
partment has about 18 volun-
teers, when it is ideal to have
about 30.
“In general, it is hard to
recruit volunteers, but in Can-
non Beach it is even harder,”
Reckmann said. “With the
cost of living so high, it is
hard to fi nd volunteers who
can afford to live here and
are also able-bodied to do the
job.”
To address this, Reckmann
and Benedict applied for a
grant to create a recruitment
Future hurdles
In the next fi ve years,
the department will need to
replace all self-contained
breathing equipment and
two 22-year-old fi re engines,
Benedict said. The breath-
FALL INTO GREAT SAVINGS
FREE
CORDLE
SS
PLUS
25 % Off
Select
Signature Se
ri
es
In-Home Consultation • Expert Measuring • Professional Installation • The Strongest Warranty
Oregon Coast 503-738-5242
Lincoln City 541-994-9954
SW Washington 503-738-5242
www.budgetblinds.com
*Applies to selected Signature Series window treatments. Restrictions may apply, ask for details. Valid for a limited time, not valid with any other offers,
discounts, or coupons. Offer good at initial time of estimate only. At participating franchises only. ©2017 Budget Blinds, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Budget Blinds is a trademark of Budget Blinds, LLC and a Home Franchise Concepts Brand. Each franchise independently owned and operated.
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 offices licensed in Oregon
and Washington.
CALL US TODAY TO BOOK
YOUR FREE CONSULTATION
THERE ARE MANY
REASONS WHY OUR
BAD.
TEETH CAN GO BAD
1(833) 90-SMILE (76453)
At The Smile Store, we only care
about creating high quality
dentures and partials that will
CHANGE YOUR LIFE.
SOLD!
Style and Service for every budget.™
OFFICE LOCATION
740 AVENUE H
SEASIDE, OREGON 97138
OFFICE HOURS
CANNON BEACH
NEWER ARCH CAPE BEACH HOUSE
$302,500
$399,999
MON-FRI: 8:00AM - 5:00PM
NOW OPEN
SAT: BY APPOINTMENT ONLY
SUN: CLOSED
IN SEASIDE
1(833) 90-SMILE (76453)
www.thesmilestoreusa.com
WE DO SAME DAY
DENTURE REPAIRS!
GET A $50
AMEX GIFTCARD
WHEN YOU ACCEPT TREATMENT*
CANNON BEACH OCEANVIEW LOT
CANNON BEACH OCEANVIEW CONDO
$485,000
$489,000
NEW
PRICE
RESTORING CONFIDENCE
WALK-INS WELCOME
AFTER HOURS APPOINTMENTS AVAILABLE
*Limited to the first 13 patients who accept treatment
NEW
PRICE
AFFORDABLE CANNON BEACH OCEANFRONT
CANNON BEACH ESCAPE
$499,000
$529,000
Making Sweet Memories
for over 54 Sweet Years!
TWO
S
LOCAT an I no O n N
Beach
Downtown C
let Mall
& Seaside Out
OVERSIZED
LOT
2.3
ACRES
ARCH CAPE OCEANFRONT
LAKE FRONT ESTATE/CULLABY LAKE
$1,099,000
$1,350,000
THE ONLY
E
TAFFY MAD N
IN CANNO
BEACH!
Fall is the
SWEETEST time
of year, we’ve
homemade
caramel apples,
salt water taffy,
caramel corn and
so much more!
WE CAN SHIP CANDY
DIRECTLY TO YOU!
CLASSIC OCEAN FRONT BEACH HOUSE
CANNON BEACH CUSTOM OCEAN FRONT
$1,799,000
$1,895,000
296 N. Spruce St. • PO Box 924 • Cannon Beach, Oregon 97110
(503) 436-0451 • (503) 436-2913 FAX
www.duanejohnson.com
www.brucescandy.com • 503-436-2641 • 503-738-7828