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About Cannon Beach gazette. (Cannon Beach, Or.) 1977-current | View Entire Issue (July 27, 2018)
July 27, 2018 | Cannon Beach Gazette | cannonbeachgazette.com • 3A Officer-involved shooting in Seaside leaves one man dead Case, of Seaside, was allegedly waving pistols By Brenna Visser The Daily Astorian BRENNA VISSER/CANNON BEACH GAZETTE Witnesses heard gunshots near the Seasider RV Park and the Mazatlan Mexican Restaurant Tuesday before 2 p.m. Cashus Dean Case was killed. SEASIDE — Authorities said the man shot and killed by Seaside police on Tuesday afternoon was armed with two black powder pis- tols. Cashus Dean Case, 44, of Sea- side, was allegedly waving around the pistols at the Seasider RV Park in anger after a man had been bitten by a dog. He was shot by police after allegedly refusing to disarm, accord- ing to the Clatsop County District Attorney’s Office. Authorities did not say wheth- er Case was pointing or waving the guns at police or if he fired any shots. Case was prohibited from own- ing firearms because of felony con- victions, the district attorney’s office said. Jeff Walker, who said he worked with Case at Gorilla Gas in Seaside, described Case as hardworking. He said Case liked to play rock ‘n’ roll on the radio. “He was ‘Wayne’s World,’ party time. He was bombas- tic and he was loud,” he said. “His stature made him seem intimidating, but he’d risk himself for somebody else. And he’s going to be missed.” But Walker also said Case “had his quirks. He was hot tempered.” Two Seaside police officers in- volved in the shooting have been placed on leave with pay, which is standard procedure. The Oregon State Police is lead- ing the investigation. Parks committee reviews thinning in Ecola Creek Reserve Projects have not been a significant revenue source By Brenna Visser Cannon Beach Gazette The parks committee in Cannon Beach is hoping a road evaluation in the Eco- la Creek Forest Reserve will help determine whether thin- ning operations should con- tinue. The evaluation is the be- ginning of a larger, five-year review the committee plans to do of the stewardship plan for the 1,040-acre parcel in the city’s watershed. The public will be invited to suggest up- dates to policies concerning management and recreation access later this year. The majority of the re- serve was established with a $4 million bond in 2010 with the goal to enhance forest health, protect municipal wa- ter quality, enhance salmon habitat and foster community involvement. While major changes have not been proposed, several elements concerning tree re- moval policies, signage and how trails and roads should be maintained have been points of discussion since the plan was last adopted in 2013. Committee members are looking to a report on the state of the former logging roads in the area — left over from when the land was industri- ally harvested — to decide whether thinning projects are cost-effective. After the city acquired 800 acres from the state De- partment of Forestry, Barry Sims, a consultant from Trout Mountain Forestry, recom- mended limited portions of the forest that were dense with similarly aged hemlock trees could be thinned to im- prove forest health. Doing so would encourage the devel- opment of new and different trees hidden under the canopy of these conifers. Thinning projects were seen as a way to achieve the plan’s goal of restoring the forest, as well as a revenue source that could be reinvest- ed back into maintaining the reserve. But the policy is being questioned after the city had to haul in loads of rock five years ago to reinforce log- ging roads after an unusually rainy summer made them too unstable to safely use. Af- ter having to pay fees to use neighboring logging roads and road improvements, what was estimated to be $20,000 in revenue turned out to be closer to only $6,000, accord- ing to Sims. While the weather was an anomaly and made the en- deavor especially difficult, City Planner Mark Barnes said, the city has not done work to maintain the roads since. “And they probably hav- en’t gotten better,” he said. Generating revenue has never been the main priority of the reserve, but the costs associated with maintenance may not make it a sustainable venture, Barnes said. “If we have to do exten- sive road rehab every time we do this, we’re not going to break even,” Barnes said. “We’re going to have to sub- sidize that.” If the report suggests a lot of major modifications are necessary, the community has a few options. Thinning could be taken out of the plan as a recom- mendation altogether, and the roads decommissioned, Barnes said. The downside would be the city would no longer be able to expect any kind of revenue from the reserve, meaning any resto- PHOTOS COLIN MURPHEY/THE DAILY ASTORIAN Signs at the reserve clearly indicate restrictions with- in the protected area. ration will have to be paid with grants or the general fund. The ultimate goal of re- storing the forest would still evolve naturally, Barnes said, but not as quickly. The community could also still have thinning operations, but leave the logs in the re- serve for habitat restoration rather than revenue, Sims said. Roads would not have to be maintained to support log- ging trucks. There are benefits to hav- ing less disturbance in a wa- Roads are being evaluated in Ecola Creek Forest Reserve as part of the five-year review of the property. tershed, but he also has seen how thinning has encour- aged new growth, Sims said. Keeping woody debris within the reserve could also aid in ongoing salmon habitat resto- ration efforts. “You do have an impact,” Sims said. “But it’s also more about the perception of what that is. People are shocked by it, but in a couple of years it looks more natural.” This summer, Sims will continue evaluating roads throughout the reserve to de- termine which need major, minor or no maintenance to support any future activity — whether that be a logging truck or a hiker. He expects the report to be finished by September, and hopes it will inform the committee in whatever direction is chosen. “A lot of it will come down to: What do people want these roads to do for them?” Sims said. “We’ll take a fresh look at all of it, to see if the com- munity is excited about an- other thinning project.” Custom Homes & Remodels Making Sweet Memories for over 55 Sweet Years! 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