VOL. 42, ISSUE 24
WWW.CANNONBEACHGAZETTE.COM
RISING
FROM THE
ASHES
Former
school may
be bought
School district, history
center in discussion
By Brenna Visser
Cannon Beach Gazette
CANNON BEACH RURAL FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT
Firefighters who responded to the fire at Ecola Sea-
foods Restaurant and Market came to visit during
the business’ soft opening Nov. 21. From left, Ecola
Seafoods manager Shawna Beckman, Lt. Mike John-
son, firefighter Jordan Spencer, recruit Nate Wilker-
son, Ecola Seafoods owner Cindy Beckman, Lt. TJ
White and firefighter Silvia Avila.
Ecola Seafoods Restaurant and Market reopens after July fire
By Brenna Visser
Cannon Beach Gazette
Four months ago, Shawna Beck-
man and her family were awakened
to a startling phone call.
“My sister’s husband is a vol-
unteer firefighter and got the call,”
Beckman said. “She got up and told
us ‘208 North Spruce is on fire.’”
It was the address of Ecola Sea-
foods Restaurant and Market — the
business her family had owned for
25 years. The small electrical fire
caused an incredible amount of
NOVEMBER 30, 2018
smoke damage, to where everything
from equipment to the baby photos
stored upstairs were destroyed. The
fire closed down the shop for the
majority of the busy tourist season
where most businesses make most of
their money.
“We had just gotten new equip-
ment, a new point of sale a month
before the fire,” she said. “We were
doing everything we could to keep
employees on and paid through this.”
But the day before Thanksgiv-
ing, the market got a new start. On
Wednesday, Nov. 23, the market had
PHOTOS BY BRENNA VISSER/CANNON BEACH GAZETTE
Ecola Seafoods Restaurant and Market reopened Wednesday, Nov. 21 four
months after a fire shut down operations.
a soft reopening, just in time for
families to get seafood for holiday
meals. The business has a fresh new
look, with entirely new furniture and
equipment.
The new restaurant does have a
few homages to the past, however. A
few chunks of a mural portraying a
fish market, which hung on the walls
of the market for 23 years, survived
the fire and still hang there today.
“It’s been crazy, but we have pret-
ty loyal customers we hope they all
come back,” she said. “It’s really
brought our family closer together.”
A small piece of a mural that sur-
vived the July fire hangs on the wall
at Ecola Seafoods Restaurant and
Market.
The Seaside School District is serious-
ly considering selling the former Cannon
Beach Elementary School property to the
Cannon Beach History Center and Muse-
um.
Though other offers have been made in
the past, this is the first time the district has
publicly expressed intention to commit to a
sale. Superintendent Sheila Roley said the
board has shown interest in supporting the
sale, and will likely vote to approve it in the
next month or so.
“It’s a good offer,” Roley said. “We look
forward to working out the details of the
sale with the historical society.”
See School, Page 6A
Dune grading
rules proposed
Height, vegetation and
other factors considered
By Brenna Visser
Cannon Beach Gazette
The planning commission has unan-
imously voted to recommend a new fore-
dune management plan to the City Council.
The updated plan, approved Nov. 20, is
the product of more than a year of work ses-
sions and public testimony, guides how and
where dunes can be graded for views, as
well as how they should be monitored after
the work is done.
The revision of the plan was in part
prompted by requests made in recent years
by residents to remove large amounts of
sand, citing issues of sand inundating their
property and lost ocean views.
An unprecedented request to remove
73,400 cubic yards in 2014 from a dune
north of Ecola Creek made the city consider
taking another look at the science and pol-
icies of sand removal that had not been up-
dated since the late 1990s.
Substantial changes include allowing
the use of native grasses in some areas to
restabilize the dune after it has been graded
and prohibiting all mowing and pruning of
vegetation. Language requires permit hold-
ers to consider the impacts on clams and
other shellfish when pushing sand out into
the surf. Studies show native grasses tend
to create a flatter dune — which would help
with views — in comparison with Europe-
an beach grass, which has been used since
the 1950s and produces more vertical and
stable dunes.
The commission also increased the dune
height requirement to account for projected
sea level rise. Currently, the city requires
dunes be graded no lower than 4 feet above
the Federal Emergency Management Agen-
cy’s 100-year base flood elevation recom-
mendation, which adds up to between 27
and 29 feet.
PAID
PERMIT NO. 97
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PRSRT STD
US POSTAGE
See Dunes, Page 6A
NOT IN KANSAS ANYMORE
Playgoers off to see the wizard at the Coaster Theatre
By Jonathan Williams
For Coast Weekend
Actors as young as 5 years old to
teens and adults make a “u” shape sing-
ing and bobbing as they welcome Doro-
thy to Munchkinland. The actors’ energy
and movement make you feel like you,
too, are about to walk the Yellow Brick
Road.
And that’s exactly what director Pat-
rick Lathrop hopes audiences see from his
27-person production of the classic 1939
film “The Wizard of Oz” opened Friday at
the Coaster Theatre Playhouse in Cannon
Beach.
Lathrop wants to stay true to the film
and hopes audiences see the community
values of family, love and friendship in
COLIN MURPHEY PHOTO
the show.
Sue Neuer, left, and Emily Dante during a rehearsal of “The Wizard
“What I want to establish with the
of Oz.”
production is what the movie gives you,
which is that beautiful opening statement
at the beginning — how the film is not for
just the young, but the young at heart,”
Lathrop said.
The production is also a family affair.
Coaster regular Emily Dante, who
plays Dorothy, is joined by her five chil-
dren. Three play Munchkins, one is a tree
and another a Winkie.
Seth Goldstein, who plays Uncle Hen-
ry and a guard, is in the show with his
daughter, Luthian, 5, who plays a Munch-
kin and mini guard.
Theater community
The show includes actors who are new
to theater, coming back to it or are regulars
in Coaster productions. Many are from
Cannon Beach, Seaside and Nehalem and
enjoy the community aspect.
See Wiz, Page 7A