VOL. 42, ISSUE 8
WWW.CANNONBEACHGAZETTE.COM
APRIL 20, 2018
Commission
gives campus
go-ahead
With approval, district
readies to put shovels
to the ground
By R.J. Marx
Cannon Beach Gazette
BRENNA VISSER/CANNON BEACH GAZETTE
“Soup for the Soul” on April 14 raised $9,000 for the Cannon Beach Food Pantry.
LADLES OF LOVE
Cannon Beach Food Pantry hosts soup cook-off to raise funds
By Brenna Visser
SEASIDE — The Planning Commis-
sion unanimously gave the go-ahead to
the new Seaside School District campus
in the Southeast Hills. The $99.7 million
campus, approved by voters in November
2016, is expected to begin construction
June 1.
“It is a significant milestone for us that
now we can proceed with our planning
and begin the process of starting construc-
tion,” Superintendent Sheila Roley said af-
ter Tuesday’s public hearing, the district’s
third after two continuances. “We were able
to have some good conversation with the
commissioners and resolve any concerns
that came up.”
Expansion plans
The district came before the commis-
sion requesting a conditional use permit to
authorize the master plan and development
plan for the new campus in accordance with
the city’s zoning code.
The permit allows expansion of Sea-
side Heights Elementary School and estab-
lishment of a new middle school and high
school facility.
Cannon Beach Gazette
See Campus, Page 6A
A
PAID
PERMIT NO. 97
ASTORIA, OR
PRSRT STD
US POSTAGE
n intoxicating aroma of 20 different
soups filled the American Legion
Post 168 hall Saturday, April 14, as
part of the Cannon Beach Food Pan-
try’s first-ever fundraiser “Soup for
the Soul.”
Five local restaurateurs and 15 home chefs
cooked up their best homemade soups for
more than 200 people in the community and
a set of “anonymous, mystery judges” to taste
and judge. Between the $5 tasting fee and a
silent auction filled with more than 100 items,
the Cannon Beach Food Pantry raised more
than $9,000 that will go to buying more food
and supplies – $4,000 more than their target
fundraising goal.
Inspiration for the fundraiser came in re-
sponse to a need to keep up with growing de-
mand, said board member and event organizer
Krista Tye.
“This community used to feed about 30
people a week. Now it’s more like 200 people
a week we feed,” Tye said.
The board decided on a soup cook-off
because of how easily shareable soup is, Tye
said, as well as the fact it is the perfect food
to “hunker down and eat” on the cold, rainy
days that often happen through the spring on
the North Coast.
Chelsea Donoghue was one of the many
community members who threw her soup into
the competition. Donoghue, a Seaside resi-
dent, was a regular food bank customer when
she first moved to Clatsop County five years
ago. As an homage to that period of her life,
she decided to make her lentil soup solely out
of ingredients from the food pantry.
“I wanted to show how you can make ex-
cellent food from the ingredients they provide
here,” she said. “It’s how I fed my family.”
For now, the need will outweigh how much
the food pantry can provide. But Tye is hoping
the fundraiser helps make a dent.
“If people are fed, than everything else
works,” Tye said.
Pot stores OK
in mixed-use
buildings
Change will affect about
30 buildings
By Brenna Visser
Cannon Beach Gazette
BRENNA VISSER/CANNON BEACH GAZETTE
Bonny Gorsuch pours Gearhart resident Jenn Whyman some soup from Bald
Eagle Coffee House at the Cannon Beach Food Pantry “Soup for the Soul”
fundraising event.
BRENNA VISSER/CANNON BEACH GAZETTE
Three mystery judges tasted 20 different soups in a competition featuring local
chefs and home cooks.
Marijuana shops will now be allowed in
mixed-use buildings.
In a 4-1 vote, the City Council on April
10 reversed a decision made in August that
blocked marijuana retailers from moving
into properties with both commercial and
residential uses.
Matt Ennis, a former resident in the
building that now houses Five Zero Trees,
had told city councilors at a July meeting
his landlord planned to evict him to rent the
commercial space under him to the marijua-
na store. But rather than change the code,
councilors argued that denying applications
from pot stores seeking to operate in mixed-
use buildings was a better approach
The idea to reconsider came from the
fear that landlords with mixed-use proper-
ties would continue to evict tenants to allow
marijuana retailers to rent their commercial
spaces for a higher price.
“We didn’t contemplate a business owner
evicting residents to have a pot store,” City
Councilor Mike Benefield said in March.
See Pot, Page 6A
Putting down roots
Cannon Beach
Academy kids
participate in annual
tree planting
By Brenna Visser
Cannon Beach Gazette
Students from the Cannon Beach
Academy carried on a nine-year-long
tradition of planting trees Thurs-
day, April 12, in honor the Cannon
Beach’s 12 Days of Earth Day cele-
bration.
With the helps of the parks de-
partment, students helped plant baby
spruce trees along the perimeter of
the former Cannon Beach Elementary
School. Following tradition, each stu-
dent was able to name their tree. Any-
one walking through NeCus Park will
now see a dozen trees wooden stakes
that read names like “Bob,” “Flower”
or “Bruce Jet.”
This year’s tree planting signified
more than just the coming of Earth
Day, however. In years past, the tree
planting was always done by Cannon
Beach Elementary School students
along the lagoon. But since the school
closed in 2014, the planting project
has been carried out by any kid inter-
ested in the area. Now with the Acade-
my in full swing, the tradition of hav-
ing a Cannon Beach school participate
do the planting has been reinstated.
“It feels wonderful,” said 12 Days
of Earth Day coordinator Barb Knop
with regards to having a new school
be a part of the planting. “It’s kind of
ironic that this year we’re doing (the
planting) on the old school grounds.
We decided there was enough planted
around the lagoon trail, and that it was
time to find a new spot. New school,
new spot.”
BRENNA VISSER/CANNON BEACH GAZETTE
Kindergartner Valentina Rodriguez hammers in a wooden stake with the
name of her tree on it with the help of community member Les Wierson at
the 12 Days of Earth Day tree planting April 12.