June 15, 2018 | Cannon Beach Gazette | cannonbeachgazette.com • 3A
Citizen’s academy grads recognized
By R.J. Marx
Cannon Beach Gazette
COLIN MURPHEY/THE DAILY ASTORIAN
Erick Owen, Melissa Keyser and Bonnie Neugebauer look
for sea stars that have been decimated in recent years by a
mysterious disease.
Gov. Brown appoints HRAP
coordinator to state board
Melissa Keyser to
serve on ocean
policy council
By Brenna Visser
Cannon Beach Gazette
Haystack Rock Awareness
Program program coordinator
Melissa Keyser has been ap-
pointed by Gov. Kate Brown
to serve on the Oregon Ocean
Policy Advisory Council.
The council is a state-
wide marine policy advisory
body that advocates for envi-
ronmental conservation and
coastal community interests.
Keyser, who has lead the pro-
gram charged with protecting
the intertidal and bird ecology
of Haystack Rock’s marine
garden and Oregon Islands
National Wildlife Refuge in
Cannon Beach since 2015,
heard about the position while
serving on another advisory
board about preserving the
state’s rocky shorelines.
“I am happy to do my part
in raising awareness about
the vast issues that affect our
ocean,” Keyser said. “We all
have to be doing more. I didn’t
apply because I thought I was
better or more qualified than
anyone else. I wanted to make
more of an impact.”
Her role will be to rep-
resent coastal communities
when the state looks at ad-
dressing environmental issues
like ocean acidification, envi-
ronmental education and plas-
tic pollution.
With her background as an
environmental educator, Key-
ser said she hopes to advocate
for environmental programs
and solutions that can balance
the need for conservation with
providing recreational oppor-
tunities in Oregon’s natural
spaces.
SEASIDE —With a packed room at
the Seaside City Council Monday eve-
ning, graduates of the citizen’s police
academy were honored upon comple-
tion of the spring course.
Cannon Beach Police Chief Jason
Schermerhorn presented the recognition
to 19 students — the most in the class’s
more than decade-long history — along
with Dave Ham, Chief Matt Workman
of Warrenton and Astoria Chief Geoff
Spalding.
City councilor Tita Montero partici-
pated in the class’s 14th year. “I wish I
had done it earlier,” she said, “because it
was such a fabulous experience.”
The course took participants behind
the scenes at each city’s police depart-
ment, the county courthouse, with fire-
arms training and simulated confron-
tations. Participants visited dispatch
centers, the county jail and studied the
public safety budget. The group met
weekly on Tuesday nights, Schermer-
horn said.
Police shared philosophy and experi-
R.J. MARX
Four chiefs: Jason Schermerhorn of Cannon Beach, Astoria’s Geoff Spalding,
Warrenton’s Matthew Workman and Seaside’s Dave Ham.
ences that you “wouldn’t normally think
about,” Montero said. The class was
“impressive and thought-provoking,”
CANNON BEACH POLICE LOG
May 25
Five incidents of prohibited over-
night camping reported.
1:19 p.m., 500 block N. Larch: Fol-
lowing up on a complaint about a
neighbor’s garbage, the responsible
party agreed to clean it up.
1:38 p.m. Haystack Rock: Police
respond to a report of someone
gathering mussels and eating them
from a protected area. Subject was
advised of the law; reporting party
did not wish to sign a citation.
4:30 p.m., Second Street parking
lot: A suspicious person reported
looking into vehicles was located by
police who said the person partially
resembled the description, noting
the man was missing part of his left
foot. He seemed to be having trou-
ble walking. Another possible sub-
ject was spotted by the cell tower,
but police were unable to locate.
May 26
Six incidents of prohibited over-
night camping reported.
12:55 p.m., 200 block N. Spruce:
A person selling jewelry outside
in a courtyard was warned of the
outdoor merchandising laws.
Anderson pursued dance before law enforcement
Anderson from Page 1A
“The best way to describe
(parkour) is finding the most
efficient way to get from
point A to point B,” he said.
“It’s learning how to traverse
obstacles by just using your
own body.”
Originally from Grants
Pass, the Astoria resident
grew his love for all things
acrobatic at his aunt’s gym-
nastics gym. Through that he
developed a passion for push-
ing his body to the limit.
“I quickly saw I didn’t
enjoy traditional sports, but I
still had the passion to be an
athlete,” he said.
He eventually moved to
California to study kinesi-
ology — the study of hu-
man body movement — at
California State University,
Sacramento. But after some
scheduling conflicts led him
to take dance classes to fill
some extra credit hours, he
quickly fell in love with the
art and switched his major to
dance.
For the next few years,
Anderson designed and
taught parkour and gymnas-
tics to children in the Sacra-
mento area. But through it all,
a career in law enforcement
always lingered in the back of
his mind.
“When I was a little kid,
people would ask me what I
wanted to be and I would say
a police officer,” Anderson
said. “I didn’t have parents
or aunts or uncles who were
(police officers), but it’s just
what I always said. I don’t
know why but I have always
thought about it.”
A year and a half ago, An-
derson and his wife, Melissa,
decided they wanted to move
back to Oregon to be closer
to family. After some strate-
gic Googling, the two decid-
ed the North Coast’s natural
beauty and cultural feel was a
good place to raise their two
children.
Anderson picked up a
tech support job at the AT&T
Store in Warrenton to make
ends meet. But after seeing
an advertisement for a posi-
tion with the Astoria Police
Department, his passion for
law enforcement was reig-
nited and he decided to make
a career change. He applied
across the county and even-
tually received an offer from
Cannon Beach. He is sched-
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she said. “It brought to the fore that it
takes a very special type of person to
serve and protect.”
Fresh Beers on Tap
Growler Fills
uled to attend the police acad-
emy June 10.
While going from acro-
batics teacher to tech support
worker to police officer defi-
nitely has caused some life-
style whiplash, Anderson said
skills from each have more
crossover than one might ex-
pect.
“The knowledge of move-
ment helps a ton in police
work. There can be a lot of
sitting around in a patrol ve-
hicle,” he said. “But when
something does happen, it
happens fast, and you have to
be able to move.”
9:04 p.m., 1100 block Spruce Court:
An intoxicated female is given a ride
home by a friend. Her intoxication
was reported to police who said
she was not causing a disturbance.
May 28
May 27
One incident of prohibited over-
night camping recorded.
17 incidents of prohibited over-
night camping recorded.
9:30 a.m., 200 block Siuslaw: A
dog off leash attacked and killed
a rabbit. The owner was contacted
by police, saying the dog became
loose during a medical crisis. The
owner was warned of the dog’s
behavior.
Three incidents of prohibited
overnight camping recorded.
May 29
May 30
Six incidents of prohibited over-
night camping recorded.
10:49 a.m., Downtown: Police
responding to a report of a man
singing to himself and appearing
possibly disoriented found no one
of that description.
Relay for Life heads to Seaside
The music was flowing
as talent belted out their rep-
ertoire at the Relay for Life
Talent in late May at the
Seaside American Legion.
Karaoke music backing, a
stage drop and burgers hot
off the grill set the scene at
the Seaside American Le-
gion hall.
The event was a preview
of the July 7 Relay for Life
fundraiser, event organizer
Laura Parvi said. Whichever
band or performer succeeds
in raising the most money
between now and July 1
will be the opening band for
Grammy-winning recording
artist Ty Herndon. All funds
go to fight cancer.
“We’re doing a rockin’
out cancer theme this year,”
Parvi said. “My husband
Doug passed away in Octo-
ber of lung cancer. He was
our entertainment musician
manager. This year is totally
all music and totally dedi-
cated in his honor.”
The event alternates be-
tween Seaside and Astoria,
Parvi said, with this year’s
scheduled at Seaside High
School, 1801 N. Broad-
way. To sign up or donate,
visit acsevents.org. So far,
the event has raised almost
$5,000 with a final event
goal of $75,000.