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About Cannon Beach gazette. (Cannon Beach, Or.) 1977-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 10, 2018)
VOL. 42, ISSUE 16 WWW.CANNONBEACHGAZETTE.COM AUGUST 10, 2018 NIGHT OUT Logistics stymie RV park plan Owner now looking to sell Arch Cape property By Brenna Visser Cannon Beach Gazette ARCH CAPE — Plans for an RV park across from Arcadia Beach that drew ire from environmentalists and neighbors have been scrapped. James Smejkal, the owner of the 17.6- acre parcel of forestland nestled next to U.S. Highway 101, wanted to build what he called “an upscale RV park,” mostly be- cause it is one of the only types of devel- opment allowed with the land’s recreation management zoning. But as the project moved forward, Sme- jkal faced logistical challenges like build- ing proper roadways into the park, finding a nearby water source for infrastructure and doing construction without downing trees, Leonard Waggoner, Smejkal’s development consultant, said. See RV Park, Page 6A City Council pans county lodging tax BRENNA VISSER Cannon Beach Police Chief Jason Schermerhorn addresses members of the community at the an- nual National Night Out. Councilors ask county to consider repeal By Brenna Visser Cannon Beach Gazette Community comes together for annual law enforcement event Annual national event designed to build strong bonds By Brenna Visser Cannon Beach Gazette Hundreds gathered at the Chamber of Commerce to enjoy food, raffle prizes and more for the fifth-an- nual National Night Out event Aug. 7. The event, designed to build a stronger bond between the community and local police, featured traditional preparedness and safety informational booths, as well as a fire de- partment obstacle course in the park next door. After finishing some free hot dogs and burgers, peo- ple were invited to com- plete a microplastics mural sponsored by the Haystack Rock Awareness Program. The art piece, designed to resemble Haystack Rock as depicted on the badge of local police officers. After seeing a similar project of a whale mural made of plastics done by the group a few months ago be gifted to the city, Cannon Beach Police Chief Jason Schermerhorn said he wanted the police de- partment to have one, too. “This is a great way to recognize the issue (of plastic pollution),” Scher- merhorn said. “They are a great set of eyes and ears for us at the rock. It’s an important relationship to have.” City councilors voiced their opposition Tuesday to a Clatsop County lodging tax increase to help pay for jail operations, pri- marily taking issue with the lack of commu- nication the county had with the city before the vote. Monica Steele, the county’s business and finance director, gave a presentation to the City Council about the new tax, which will impact lodging operators starting in January. The county tax comes in anticipation of a $20 million bond measure in Novem- ber to move the Clatsop County Jail from Astoria to the former North Coast Youth Correctional Facility in Warrenton. Annual jail operating costs — $3.4 million this year — are estimated to rise by more than $1.2 million if the jail is relocated. But city councilors took issue with the fact the county did not approach the city or local lodging operators about the tax increase. “They should have been talking to us and hotel management before this,” Mayor Sam Steidel said. Cannon Beach joins dissenters in the lodging industry who have also been criti- cal about not being included in discussions before the tax hike. Lodging operators also have argued the tax would dampen revenue and unfairly targets a single industry. Proponents believe the 1 percent in- crease is relatively minimal and would PAID PERMIT NO. 97 ASTORIA, OR PRSRT STD US POSTAGE See Tax, Page 6A ‘Random Sampling’ relies on recycled materials Arts Association exhibit features collages, paintings by noted Cannon Beach couple By Nancy McCarthy For Cannon Beach Gazette NANCY MCCARTHY A collage of beach elements reflects Bonny Gorsuch’s touch of whimsy. Before 2010, Bonny Gorsuch had never created a garment. But that year, she won a grant from the Cannon Beach Arts Associa- tion to create 24 outfits for 12 models. “It was something I wanted to challenge myself with,” Gorsuch recalled. “I was very rough and tumble about it. I didn’t really know what I was doing. I didn’t know how to sew, and I didn’t know how to construct garments.” She literally pieced thousands of recycled fabric scraps together, sewing many onto existing garments or creating clothing from scratch. Words, patterns and drawings on the materials illustrated newspaper stories she had collected. Her latest exhibit, which also includes paintings by her husband, Richard Gorsuch, is at the Cannon Beach History Center & Mu- seum through September. “I got a little taste of it and realized I real- ly liked creating these garments,” Bonny re- called about her earlier fashion show. She took her first adult sewing class only last year, but, she admitted, “I still don’t know how to put in a zipper or button holes.” “I don’t like following patterns; I just want to be random and free-form … Each (gar- ment) is totally one of a kind.” Transformation The works in the show, called Random Sam- pling: Fabric, Wood, Metal, demonstrate how Bonny takes odd fabric pieces and transforms them into collages, smocks, skirts or shirts that say something, either literally or figuratively. The smock she wore recently said “I wish.” The background behind the words showed a fish, and underneath the words, Bonny sewed See Fabric, Page 5A
