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About Cannon Beach gazette. (Cannon Beach, Or.) 1977-current | View Entire Issue (April 6, 2018)
VOL. 42, ISSUE 7 WWW.CANNONBEACHGAZETTE.COM APRIL 6, 2018 Tiny homes, larger questions Cost, rules are issues in Cannon Beach By Brenna Visser Cannon Beach Gazette PHOTOS BRENNA VISSER/CANNON BEACH GAZETTE Children look for eggs at the 10th annual Sea Ranch Easter Egg Hunt Saturday, March 31. ONE Nearly a year after Cannon Beach agreed to experiment with tiny homes as affordable housing, the city is taking another look. The original idea was to have four or five 400 square-foot homes in the city-owned RV Resort on Elk Land Road and Haskell Lane by last fall. But the pilot project was put on hold un- til the new city manager, Bruce St. Denis, was hired. Since then, the city has raised more questions about the details: How does the city target tenants who work in Cannon Beach without discriminating? What is the cost of management and maintenance? Will those costs be covered by rents that are af- fordable? See Tiny, Page 6A AT A TIME Cannon Beach celebrates 10th annual Easter Egg Hunt ‘A long way to go’ Local hospitality leaders tackle emergency preparedness By Brenna Visser By Brenna Visser Cannon Beach Gazette Cannon Beach Gazette A bout 100 children were on the hunt for brightly colored eggs filled with taffy Saturday during the 10th annual Easter Egg Hunt at the Sea Ranch Resort. Children as young as three and as old as 10 scoured through bushes, brambles and tree stumps in a variety of bunny costumes and Easter dresses on a clear but incredibly crisp March morning. The staff of the resort spend a couple of months meticulously organizing and filling the 600 eggs it takes to make the event go, said Carmen Swigart, owner of Sea Ranch Resort. But rarely are they all found. Swigart decided to host an egg hunt 10 years ago after realizing there was none to be found in Can- non Beach at the time. “We were looking for something to do for the chil- dren,” Swigart said. “Then we had a great response. There was a need that needed to be filled.” Since then the event has continued to grow. Next year, Swigart said they are considering answering a popular request: introducing an adults-only section of the Easter egg hunt. But for parent Erica Mahoney, who came to cel- ebrate Easter weekend from Seattle, watching her 3-year-old daughter Emily hunt for the eggs was enough fun as it was. “We like this (egg hunt),” Mahoney said. “It makes it a little more challenging to have it on a campground rather than an open field or something. ABOVE Emily Mahoney, 3, looks for eggs with her mom Erica Mahoney at the 10th annual Sea Ranch Easter Egg Hunt Saturday, March 31. LEFT Emmett Sapp, 4, opens some of the eggs he found with his mom Shannon Sapp. The two came to visit Cannon Beach from Forest Grove for a family vacation. After the devastating earthquake in Ja- pan in 2011 that spurred tsunami fears across the Pacific, Linda Beck-Sweeney remembers driving through Cannon Beach and knocking on the doors of her dozens of rental properties to make sure guests knew about the evacuation. Her urgency was an example of the of- ten unique and challenging relationship be- tween the hospitality industry and emergen- cy preparedness. In the past few years, the topic has evolved from taboo into must-do as com- munities on the North Coast wrestle with the growth in tourism and greater tsunami awareness. But emergency planning is a balancing act, with obstacles for commerce at many turns. How do you educate people about the risks of a disaster without scaring travelers away? “(The threat of a tsunami) is something we’ve been aware of for a long time,” said Beck-Sweeney, of Cannon Beach Vacation Rentals. “We want to give them the best information we have. Because informed is better than fearful.” ‘Long way to go’ While on a road trip to educate Ore- gon Coast communities about emergency PAID PERMIT NO. 97 ASTORIA, OR PRSRT STD US POSTAGE See Prep, Page 6A COASTER SETS STAGE FOR LAUGHS ‘Noises Off ’ spins comic mayhem in Cannon Beach By Patrick Webb EO Media Group No offense to the actors, but the star of the show opening at the Coaster Theatre Playhouse may be the set. Built by father-son team Jerry and Mick Alderman, the cleverly designed revolving scenery is the centerpiece of “Noises Off.” The comedy by British playwright Michael Frayn takes place backstage at a the- ater. The actors are trying to stage a sex farce called “Noth- ing On” — but there’s com- ic mayhem when everything goes wrong and their rivalries and foibles are exposed. Mick Alderman said he de- lighted at the chance to direct the show. “I’m always up for a challenge and every show has either creative or technical challenges.” The set demands two levels with eight doors, two stair- cases and one window. “It’s a challenge to do at the Coaster because it’s only 14 feet high and each level must be 7 foot maximum,” he said. “I came up with the concept, and we figured it out.” His father, Jerry Alderman, is known for his firefighting leadership but has significant construction and design ex- perience. He first sketched the structure — measured to the inch — on multiple pages of penciled drawings. “He has the artistic talent, I have to try to make it happen!” Jerry Al- derman said, laughing when asked about working with his son. Figuring out such things is not new. In 1998, a four-door sedan had to be turned side- ways when hauled into Asto- ria’s Performing Arts Center for a Mick Alderman show called “Road to Nowhere.” The set for “Noises Off” is three sturdy wooden pieces, all on wheels. With help from the actors and stage crew, the cen- ter pivots, so during the second of the three acts the audience views a theatrical scene as if from “backstage.” The Aldermans began build- ing two months ago during breaks between rehearsals of See Coaster, Page 10A PATRICK WEBB PHOTO House owner Ann Bronson’s character, right, makes a point to her nervous husband, played by William Ham, watched by a mystery man, Daric Moore, left, and housekeeper Cathey Ryan in a farcical scene from “Noises Off,” which opens at the Coaster Theatre this weekend.