VOL. 42, ISSUE 11 WWW.CANNONBEACHGAZETTE.COM New staff positions drive up budget JUNE 1, 2018 A MEMORIAL DAY TRADITION View from the bridge Transient room tax revenues projected to rise by 7 percent By R.J. Marx By Brenna Visser Cannon Beach Gazette Cannon Beach Gazette eterans, their families and visitors stood in si- lence shortly after 11 a.m. Monday to remem- ber men and women of the armed forces who served at home and abroad. Post member Jack Kerwin served in the U.S. Marine Corps 1966 to 1969. He urged a remem- brance not only of those who gave their lives, but all who suffered in the line of duty. “We have so much to be grateful for, because of peo- ple who were in the service, es- pecially those who gave their life. But there were so many wounded, and we tend to forget about those,” V Emergency management is a full-time job, City Manager Bruce St. Denis said in presenting the city’s $18.6 million 2018-19 budget, about an 18 percent increase from last year. Cannon Beach would be the first city to have a manager other than the county man- ager, Tiffany Brown. In the past, St. Denis noted, not having a full-time position has resulted in less continuity in training. He hopes a full-time person can put more effort toward building a recovery plan in the event of a major disaster. “I think it’s important to have a full-time position,” St. Denis said. “Emergency man- agement can’t be done as a side job.” R.J. MARX Flowers thrown into the creek in honor of the men and women fallen in war. Kerwin said. American Legion Commander Dan Boehm has been attending the ceremony on the Fir Street bridge since 1979. “Over the years it keeps getting bigger and bigger,” he said, as the color guard headed from Cannon Beach Elementary School across the road to the Fir Street Bridge. A presentation and moment of silence was followed by the play- ing of taps, as participants cast their flowers into the water below to honor their loved ones. “It is a remembrance worth making, a tribute to those who uphold all that America stands for,” Boehm said. See Budget, Page 6A Excavators win $17.4M construction contract Environmental permits await approval By R.J. Marx Cannon Beach Gazette The first bid package for the new Sea- side Middle and High School site and util- ities — storm, sanitary and water — was awarded to Coffman Excavation of Clacka- mas, according to project construction man- ager Cary Bubenik. Coffman’s base bid of $17.4 million represents about 20 percent of the total con- struction cost, senior project manager Jim Henry said at the Tuesday, May 15, meeting of the Seaside School District’s board of di- rectors. “That’s a great milestone and gives us a clear sense of where we’re going and we’re on the right path.” Coffman’s contract amount will be fi- nalized over the next month as the design is completed. “We are also working with a local subcontractor on the electrical utilities scope, however, that has not been award- ed,” Bubenik said. Dan Boehm plays Taps on the Fir Street Bridge. Permits await The new campus, part of the existing Seaside Heights Elementary School with a property addition of about 50 acres to the east, is located at 2000 Spruce Drive. The 140,000-square-foot K-12 project will include doubling the current elementary school’s size to double the student capacity, and a new middle and high school building EVE MARX “ ‘We have so much to be grateful for, because of people who were in the service, especially those who gave their life. But there were so many wounded, and we tend to forget about those.’ —Jack Kerwin American Legion post member who served in the U.S. Marine Corps, 1966 to 1969 PAID PERMIT NO. 97 ASTORIA, OR PRSRT STD US POSTAGE See School, Page 7A Fans, friends turn out for Maggie Kitson fundraiser More than $4,000 raised for Maggie’s cancer treatment By Brenna Visser Cannon Beach Gazette More than $4,000 was raised in donations Satur- day, May 19 during a concert held at Sweet Basil’s Cafe Saturday, May 19, to benefit longtime local musician Maggie Kitson. Owner and chef John Sowa organized the benefit concert, which featured four different bands, to raise funds to help pay for surgery costs associated with Kitson’s cancer diagnosis. “I was shocked, I really was, at the amount of money,” Sowa said. ‘It’s gratifying when something like this turns out the right way. I’m an old city boy from Brooklyn, so it just pleases me when I see a small community like this come together.” Sowa met Kitson when he moved to the area in 1999. She and her band, Maggie and the Katz, would play at his former restaurant, Little Bayou, in PHOTOS BY BRENNA VISSER/CANNON BEACH GAZETTE Friends and fans were invited to sign a card for local artist Maggie Kitson, who is battling cancer, at Sweet Basil’s Cafe. The Jackson Andrews musical duet plays at a benefit concert for local artist Maggie Kitson at Sweet Basil’s Cafe. Seaside. Since then she has played in his restaurant every Friday night. Betsy Ayres, a longtime listener and friend of Kit- son, was one of the many who came out to support the cause Saturday. She first met Kitson “forever ago” in town, and was enraptured by her singing tal- ent and energetic, exuberant spirit. “Cannon Beach used to be a really small place and someone with a voice like that, you don’t over- look her,” Ayres said. “She likes to have fun and bring people together. She can bring a crowd to their feet.”