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.”
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PAINTING
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Anderson Painting
(503) 738-9989 • Cell (503) 440-2411 • Fax (503) 738-9337
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www.andersonpainting.biz
“Custom Finishing”
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34154 Hwy 26, Seaside, OR
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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
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Full Service Custom Cabinet Shop
503.436.2235
www.coasterconstruction.com • CCB# 150126
LAWN CARE
Free Estimates • Storm Clean-Up
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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