October 19, 2018 | Cannon Beach Gazette | cannonbeachgazette.com • 3A
OBITUARIES
Betty Jean Casavant
Seaside
May 10, 1927 — Oct. 11, 2018
COLIN MURPHEY/THE DAILY ASTORIAN
Kristen Sodervick answers a call at the dispatch center in Astoria.
Crossed wires
Cannon Beach emergency responders look to fix
spotty radio communications
By Brenna Visser
Cannon Beach Gazette
For emergency respond-
ers in Cannon Beach, being
able to communicate with
dispatch over the radio while
on a call in certain parts of
South County is always a
gamble.
For years, some areas
south of Tillamook Head
have earned reputations as
perpetual dead zones: Hay-
stack Heights. Sections of
Tolovana. Large chunks of
the beach. Even parts of
downtown.
So far, these gaps have
not led to serious incidents,
though some situations teeter
too close for comfort. Police
Chief Jason Schermerhorn
remembers one officer’s
struggle to call for backup
in a dead spot near Tolovana
during a drunken-driving test
on the side of the road.
“That’s their lifeline,”
Schermerhorn said.
Radio
communication
can be so spotty near Hug
Point that Fire Chief Matt
Benedict recalls a rescue op-
eration where he was close
enough to see his crew and
still not able to reach them
on the radio.
“It’s a big safety issue,”
Benedict said. “If I’m going
to send some individuals into
a burning house on a repeat-
ed channel I may not be able
to hear them even if I’m able
to see them.”
It’s an issue that has
plagued the region for years,
and unforgiving topography
is mostly to blame. From
Cannon Beach to Falcon
Cove, mountainous terrain
between radio repeaters and
the one radio tower on Til-
lamook Head interferes with
the signals that bounce be-
tween Seaside Dispatch and
first responders.
Though there is noth-
ing they can do about the
mountain range, the chiefs
have been looking at ways to
make communications more
reliable.
Schermerhorn is apply-
ing for a $130,000 grant to
install a new tower near Old
Cannon Beach Road on the
north end of town that would
fill the gap between an area
known as “the S curves” and
Tillamook Head.
One of the difficulties
Cannon Beach faces, Scher-
merhorn said, is that the main
tower on Tillamook Head is
not owned by the city, which
means the repeaters can be
moved around by the private
owner.
“One was lowered last
year, and it made commu-
nicating more difficult for
Hamlet Fire,” Schermerhorn
said.
The fire district, however,
sees switching from Seaside
Dispatch to Astoria 911 Dis-
patch as a possible solution.
Gentlemen’s
agreement
For as long as anyone can
remember, Cannon Beach
and Seaside have had a gen-
tlemen’s agreement to use
Seaside Dispatch.
When Benedict took over
as fire chief in 2016, he no-
ticed the communication is-
sues and asked Seaside about
what could be done. But be-
yond the upkeep of existing
repeaters, he said there isn’t
much more the dispatch cen-
ter could provide.
So Benedict began con-
versations with Astoria 911
Dispatch, which has spent
about $3 million on improve-
ments to its system since
2007, said Jeff Rusiecki, the
emergency communications
manager at Astoria 911 Dis-
patch.
“The 2007 storm really
caught the county by sur-
prise with how vulnerable
our communications were,”
Rusiecki said.
After having major sites
fail, Astoria began submit-
ting grants, securing ad-
ditional repeater sites and
syncing them up to make a
more cohesive countywide
system.
By moving to Astoria,
Cannon Beach could work
off 10 towers across the
county rather than relying
solely on the one on Tilla-
mook Head, Benedict said,
improving communication
quality.
The fire district could also
save some money in the long
run, Benedict said. Every call
that is dispatched through
Seaside costs Cannon Beach
fire and police roughly $35
in comparison to Astoria,
which would charge about
$22 a call.
“This isn’t so much
cost-driven as safety-driv-
en. I’m not saying we’re
right and Seaside’s wrong
or Seaside’s right and we’re
wrong,” Rusiecki said. “Be-
cause we have the county, we
have an interest in improving
communications through-
out the county, and Cannon
Beach is just one of those
challenging areas.”
Betty Jean Casavant, age 91, passed away law John; 12 grandchildren; 21 great-grand-
on Oct. 11, 2018, at Neawanna by the Sea in children; and many nieces and nephews, and
great-nieces and nephews. She will be sorely
Seaside, Oregon.
Betty was born May 10, 1927, in Valley, missed by everyone in the family, and her end-
less family stories will live in our
Nebraska, to Edith and Delbert
hearts forever.
Speer, the youngest of six brothers
Betty was a loving “mom” and
and sisters.
friend to many. She knew no strang-
Betty grew up in Ovid, Colorado,
ers, and was loved by all.
and moved to California as a young
Betty loved traveling, the ocean,
woman. After many years of dedi-
cated service with the Civil Service
“party pants,” reading, plays, old
she retired from the Portland VA
movies, friends and family. Her love
Medical Center and moved to Can-
of Christmas was contagious, and
non Beach, Oregon with her hus-
she shared the magic of the season
band, Frank.
with everyone.
Betty Casavant
Her family wishes to extend their
Betty served in the community
greatest and warmest gratitude for
endlessly, volunteering and giving
the wonderful care given to her by
of herself to help others. She volun-
teered in many capacities at the Community everyone in the community, with a special
Church in Cannon Beach, and enjoyed being thank you to Mindy, Pastor David, Linda, and
with her church family and Pastor David so the wonderful staff at Neawanna.
Please join us in a celebration of life at noon
much.
Betty is preceded in death by her husband, Oct. 27 at Cannon Beach Community Church
Francis (Frank) Casavant; son, Douglas; and on East Washington Street. For those who
granddaughter, Kimmy. Survivors include wish, a donation can be made to the church, to
her daughter, Jerrilynn Randall, and son-in- the “Betty Casavant Fund.”
HRAP wraps it up for 33rd year
Cannon Beach Gazette
The Haystack Rock Aware-
ness Program nears the culmi-
nation of their 33rd season of
education and stewardship. The
program’s mission is to protect,
through education, the intertidal
and bird ecology of the Marine
Garden and National Wildlife
Refuge at Haystack Rock.
HRAP Rocky Shore en-
vironmental interpreters are
on the beach during daily low
tides from February through
October to educate visitors at
Haystack Rock about biodiver-
sity found both on and around
the rock. Their free public ed-
ucation program offers bird
scopes, aquaria stations, in-
teractive visitor displays, and
many other fun and exciting
educational opportunities.
As of September, the en-
vironmental education pro-
gram had interacted with over
85,000 visitors, ran nearly 70
education programs, rescued
and transported 35 birds to the
Wildlife Center of the North
Coast, and attended more than
100 events with the assistance
of 160 volunteers.
The Haystack Rock Aware-
ness Program continues to par-
ticipate in statewide citizen sci-
ence projects including black
oystercatcher abundance sur-
veys, black oystercatcher nest
monitoring, seabird nest mon-
itoring, brown pelican mon-
itoring, sea star monitoring,
COASST dead bird surveys
and marine debris surveys.
The program reports that the
tufted puffins had a good year
HRAP
HRAP education and volunteer coordinator Lisa Habecker
leads a group of students on a tour of Haystack Rock.
with preliminary data, show-
ing an increase of nesting pairs
from last year. The puffins left
Cannon Beach in September.
The new beach wheelchair
program has been increasing-
ly popular and has provided
beach access to over 265 vis-
itors so far this year. The pro-
gram continues to accept dona-
tions to purchase a third chair.
Interested donors should visit
https://squareup.com/store/
haystack-rock-awareness-pro-
gram/ to donate or contact pro-
gram coordinator Andrea Su-
arez, 503-440-2598, suarez@
Sou
RJ Marx nds of modern
These g , John Orr, D jazz as rend
e
uys are
a
taking t ve Gager & Jo red by
he Nort
h Coast e Church
by storm
Swing, Bo
p, Cool
Admission
$10
Performance 7pm-9pm
October 27th
Doors Open 7pm
239 N. Hemlock • Cannon Beach • 503.436.0208
TED VAUGHN BLUES BAND
Costume Contest:
Grand Prize (Best overall Costume) $300
“What are you supposed to be?” $50
Scariest Costume $50
Audience Choice $50
North Coast
Excellence in family dining found
from a family that has been serving
the North Coast for the past 52 years
Great
Great
Great
Homemade
Breakfast, lunch and
pasta,
Clam
but that’s
dinner
steaks &
Chowder,
not all...
menu,too!
seafood!
Salads!
Seaside • 323 Broadway • 738-7234 (Open 7 Days)
Cannon Beach • 223 S. Hemlock 436-2851 (7am-3pm Daily)
Astoria • 146 W. Bond • 325-3144
Saturday
10
November
You asked, and we listened:
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It’s time to invest in
regular and IRA
share certificates,
with terms
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Seaside Elks Lodge • 324 Avenue A
Dining on the
Hoffman Center for the Arts
594 Laneda Ave • Manzanita
503.368.3846
Savings Rates are
Looking Up!
The Bridge’s
Boo’z & Blues
Concert
$ 10 Online & At The Door
-OR-
$5 w/two cans
Live Performance by
ci.cannon-beach.or.us.
The Haystack Rock Aware-
ness Program’s official last day
on the beach is Oct. 24, from 4
to 6 p.m. HRAP Rocky Shore
environmental interpreters will
be on the beach at low-tide,
daily, until then. To find their
full schedule visit https://www.
ci.cannon-beach.or.us/hrap.
HRAP will return in February.
For more information, con-
tact Melissa Keyser, Haystack
Rock Awareness program
director at 503-436-8060 or
email hrap@ci.cannon-beach.
or.us.
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