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About Cannon Beach gazette. (Cannon Beach, Or.) 1977-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 24, 2018)
August 24, 2018 | Cannon Beach Gazette | cannonbeachgazette.com • 3A MORE THAN JUST A SUMMER JOB AT CLATSOP WORKS Clatsop Works connects students to workforce By Edward Stratton The Daily Astorian R ebecca Sprengeler felt bad not being able to take on shifts at her usual summer job at Pelican Brewing Co. in Cannon Beach, despite the need for help during the busy tourist season. But the recent Warrenton High School graduate received a job offer managing social media and helping to market the Sunset Empire Park and Recreation Dis- trict in Seaside, more in line with her goal of becoming a graphic designer. “I could just be working during the summer, working at a restaurant down in Cannon Beach, but this is helping me get to where I want to be in the future,” Sprengeler said. Sprengeler is one of 16 students in Clatsop Works, a new summer internship program to give local students an intro- duction to the workforce. Interns from Astoria, Warrenton and Knappa high schools, along with Clat- sop Community College, have taken up a wide variety of full-time jobs around the county with Sunset Empire, Bergerson Construction Inc., Englund Marine & In- dustrial Supply Co., Columbia Memorial Hospital, Providence Seaside Hospital, Hampton Lumber, Ocean Crest Chev- rolet Buick GMC, Lum’s Auto Center, the Haystack Rock Awareness Program, Martin North Hospitality and Rickenbach Construction Inc. Students spend each Wednesday in professional development workshops learning customer service, safety, com- munication and other skills. Local school districts and the college provided funding for the internship pro- gram’s coordinator, Anna Stamper, who led students through the process of apply- ing and interviewing for jobs. “It’s very real-world,” Stamper said. “The students negotiate their pay rate.” One early entrant was Hampton Lum- ber, which last year took on two local high schoolers as part of a pilot program. Cliff Tuttle, who oversees special projects for Hampton Lumber, said he’d spoken with Craig Hoppes, superintendent of As- toria schools, about how to get kids more engaged in school and ready for the work- force. Hampton Lumber has also helped expand career-technical courses at Asto- ria High School. “Everywhere, Hampton tries to take on interns,” he said. “It was a natural fit. We were surprised by the number of kids who did not know about the opportuni- Newly hatched pipefish at Seaside Aquarium Cannon Beach Gazette The Seaside Aquarium’s pipefish are having babies. This relative of the seahorse passes eggs from the female to the male, who carries them in a specialized pouch until they hatch, says Tiffa- ny Boothe of the aquarium. They are very small, only about a half an inch in length and only as thick as a single strand of hair. The pipefish have found a home at the aquarium for a little more than a year and a half, Boothe said. They are a local fish that live in the region’s estuaries, found where eel EDWARD STRATTON PHOTOS Will Berezay, a Clatsop Works intern, loads waste lumber into a wood chipper at Hampton Lumber’s Warrenton mill. Leo Matthews, a Clatsop Works in- tern, assembles orders for Englund Marine & Industrial Supply Co. ties” locally. Hampton employs more than 140 peo- ple, with an average wage of above $22 an hour. The mill interviewed several candidates and settled on Will Berezay, a senior at Astoria High School who start- ed late last month working 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. shifts on the mill’s cleanup crew, where most employees get their start. “I knew I would be shoveling sawdust,” Berezay said. “I wasn’t expecting much. I was just ready to get my hands dirty.” Mentoring Berezay is Jama Evans, who after decades in day care took a job on the mill’s cleanup and planing crews. Evans teaches Berezay proper work and safety habits at the mill, a maze of wood, metal, concrete and heavy machinery. The two make visits to Hampton Lumber’s export docks, corporate offices and tree farms, learning all aspects of the business from trees to lumber. Skyler Archibald, executive director of Sunset Empire, said the agency created a marketing position just for Sprengeler, who has experience in graphic design and photography, and to bolster the recreation district’s public presence. Sprengeler re- ceives relative autonomy to cover the dis- trict’s programs and create a newsletter, and will also help design a new website. “She’s a member of our management team,” Archibald said. “She sits in when we’re discussing policies. It’s just holding her to a standard we hold all our employ- ees to, about punctuality and responsibili- ty and those sorts of things.” Employers agree that the internship program isn’t about finding a pool of new employees so much as exposing the area’s youth to local opportunities and how to be a good employee. A native of Seaside, Archibald said he hadn’t desired coming back to the area because low wages, a high cost of living and the seasonal nature of business made living locally a challenge. But the region has developed new career opportunities with education, health care and local gov- ernment he wanted to share with young people. Stamper had about five weeks to ar- range the work sites for students. With more time next year, she hopes to expand the pool of government, education, fisher- ies, manufacturing and other major local industries taking part. “Some of the businesses could afford it, but they couldn’t dedicate a mentor,” Stamper said. “They need to have the ability to do the training and put them into a position they can learn and grow from.” She is also looking for more funding sources to help low-income students take part. Kevin Leahy, the director of Clatsop Economic Development Resources, who oversees Stamper, said the goal is to ex- pand the internship program next summer to 24 students. Similar internship pro- grams in Washington County have more than 100 participants. WIKIPEDIA COMMONS A pipefish. grass is plentiful. Each pipefish had about 30 babies, she said. “All in total we are attempting to raise 61 newly hatched pipe- fish.” FLOORING CCB# 205283 y ou ou r r w ep alk ut o at n io n Flooring Installation Carpet Cleaning 3470 Hwy 101 Suite 102 • Gearhart, Oregon 503.739.7577 • carpetcornergearhart.com PAINTING Randy Anderson Licensed • Bonded • Insured CCB# 89453 36 Years Experience Anderson Painting (503) 738-9989 • Cell (503) 440-2411 • Fax (503) 738-9337 PO Box 140 Seaside, Oregon 97138 www.andersonpainting.biz “Custom Finishing” CONSTRUCTION B oB M c E wan c onstruction , inc . E xcavation • u ndErground u tiitiEs r oad w ork • F ill M atErial s itE P rEParation • r ock owned and operated by M ike and C eline M C e wan 503-738-3569 34154 Hwy 26, Seaside, OR P.O. Box 2845, Gearhart, OR S erving the p aCifiC n orthweSt S inCe 1956 • CC48302 LANDSCAPING Laurelwood Compost • Mulch • Planting MacMix Soil Amendments YARD DEBRIS DROP-OFF (no Scotch Broom) What’s on the ballot for Cannon Beach voters 503-717-1454 Voter registration deadlines around the corner for special election By Brenna Visser Cannon Beach Gazette Election season is around the corner, and Cannon Beach voters have a lot to consider this fall. Here’s what you need to know. Special election: Sept. 18 Fire Chief Levy: Vot- ers will be asked to renew a five-year fire chief levy for the Cannon Beach Rural Fire Protection District. The levy covers the chief’s salary, vehi- cles, administrative costs and supplies, It will go up to19 cents per thousand of assessed property up from an average14 cents voted in five years ago. With the new rate, a homeown- er would pay $19 a year on a $100,000 house. Earlier in the year, the board indicated an intention to keep the levy rate the same out of fear that voters would have “tax fatigue” from multiple levies and bonds com- ing on the ballot in November, but decided an increase was needed to cover growing costs. Between 2019 to 2024, the levy is estimated to bring the district about $1.2 million over five years. The last levy brought in approximately $700,000 over five years. General election: Nov. 6 County Marijuana Tax: Clatsop County voters will decide on the general-election ballot in November whether to place a 3 percent tax on rec- reational marijuana. Revenue from the handful of dispensa- ries outside city limits would be about $50,000 annually, county staff estimates. The state ballot measure in 2014 that legalized marijuana sales gave cities and counties the ability to impose a tax of up to 3 percent if approved by voters in a general election. No recreational dispensaries exist- ed outside city limits in 2016, the most recent general elec- tion. The tax would be effective 30 days after voter approval. County Jail Tax: Voters will decide on the general-elec- tion ballot whether or not to support a $23.8 million bond to relocate the Clatsop County Jail from Astoria to Warrenton. If the bond is approved, the coun- ty would relocate the jail from Duane Street in Astoria to the former North Coast Youth Cor- rectional Facility. Jail capacity would rise from 60 inmates to 148 with room for future ex- pansion. City Council positions: Two seats on the City Council and the mayor’s seat will be on the November ballot. The may- or’s race is uncontested as of Aug. 22, with incumbent Sam Steidel seeking re-election. On the council, incum- bent Mike Benefield, real es- tate agent Robin Risley, and hotelier and Cannon Beach Chamber board president Greg Swedenborg are vying for two council seats currently held by Benefield and George Vetter in the November election. Vetter has announced he is not seek- ing re-election. 34154 HIGHWAY 26 SEASIDE, OR Laurelwood Farm CONSTRUCTION Am I registered to vote? Voters must register by Aug. 28. to be eligible for the special slection Sept. 18, and by Oct. 16 for the general election. Residents may register through the Clatsop County Elections Office, 820 Exchange St., at a U.S. Post Office, a pub- lic library, an Oregon Depart- ment of Motor Vehicles office or online at sos.oregon.gov/voting. C oast G allery and n umismatiCs “a different kind of gallery” “Helping shape the character of Cannon Beach since 1973” Residential • Commercial • Remodeling New Construction • Storm Damage Repair Full Service Custom Cabinet Shop 503.436.2235 www.coasterconstruction.com • CCB# 150126 LAWN CARE Free Estimates • Storm Clean-Up JIM’S LAWN CARE 503-325-2445 LAWNS • SHRUBS • GUTTER CLEANING BARK • BRUSH CLEARING & REMOVAL WEEDING • HAULING • MONTHLY RATES STORAGE Coast Gallery and Numismatics is the northwest coast newest gallery. Opened June 1, 2018, Coast Gallery and Numismatics exclusively features original oil paintings and wood fired ceramics by Jeff Whyman MFA University California Berkeley 1981. Jeff Whyman lived in Cannon Beach for over 10 years and taught at Clatsop Community College in Astoria, Oregon. From around the world we also offer exotic shells and choice world coins. Regards coins we offer complimentary appraisals on Saturdays. 239 N. Hemlock • Cannon Beach • 503.436.0208 3350 N Hwy 101 Suite D, Gearhart, Oregon Wed. thru Sat. 9 am to 4 pm www.coastgallerynumismatics.com STORAGE AVAILABLE CANNON BEACH BUSINESS PARK 10’ x 10’ Heated Contact Holly at 503-436-2235