Seaside signal. (Seaside, Or.) 1905-current, February 07, 2020, Image 3

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Newspaper Page TextFriday, February 7, 2020 | Seaside Signal | SeasideSignal.com • A3 DON’T CLIMB THE ROCK One of many sea stacks, but only one Haystack Rock By KATHERINE LACAZE For Seaside Signal A lthough Haystack Rock in Cannon Beach is a unique and state-protected marine environ- ment, Elaine Trucke focused more on the legends, myths and memories surrounding the iconic landmark during her presentation at History and Hops on Jan. 30. “When you think of Ore- gon, you probably think of rain, trees, maybe Mount Hood, but you’re probably going to think about Hay- stack Rock,” said Trucke, the executive director at the Cannon Beach History Cen- ter and Museum. As integrated as Hay- stack Rock is into the local geology, history, and cul- ture, there are about 30 sea stacks comprised of volca- nic basalt rock in the United States that are known, for- mally or informally, as Hay- stack Rock. According to Trucke, they date back mil- lions of years to the same volcanic activity. In Oregon, Cannon Beach’s Haystack Rock — which is part of the Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge — has a doppel- ganger in Paciﬁ c City. Hay- stack Rock stands about 235 feet tall and is accessi- ble during low tides, while Paciﬁ c City rock stands about 327 feet tall and is surrounded by water at all times. The Needles adjacent to Cannon Beach’s rock also distinguish it from others. During her research, Trucke found references throughout the 1940s to Discover Our Coast Haystack Rock in Cannon Beach at low tide. 1960s to Cannon Beach’s Haystack Rock being the third largest, freestanding rock monolith in the world, though she couldn’t deter- mine what quantiﬁ able fac- tors were used to substanti- ate that claim. Keep off Articles and stories from the 20th century illuminate a common challenge in the effort to preserve Haystack Rock and the wildlife that depends on it: People try- ing to climb the rock. At one time, there was a trail lead- ing to the top of the rock that ranged in width from 2 feet to less than 12 inches. In August 1914, a man named Edison Wingard pre- sumably fell to his death while attempting the feat. Despite an intense search, his body was never recov- ered. A tablet was installed that paid homage to Wing- ard. The article reporting on the event declared no one had successfully climbed Haystack Rock in 20 years, Trucke said. In 1935, Earl Hardy, a seasonal worker at the nata- torium in Cannon Beach, reportedly was one of the ﬁ rst people to successfully get to the top using simple climbing equipment. His fastest climb up the rock took about an hour and a half. However, numerous peo- ple visiting Cannon Beach also got stuck while attempt- ing the climb, which not only put them and rescuers at risk, but also could inﬂ ict devastation on the wildlife, Trucke said. In 1968, Hay- stack Rock was declared a National Wildlife Refuge and the trail was closed to climbers. Meanwhile, in the fall of that year, a group of federal ﬁ sheries and wildlife ofﬁ - cials used dynamite to blast off the lower ledge of Hay- stack Rock, making the trail inaccessible. They claimed the blast “did not change the face of the rock in any way,” Trucke said. However, the event was kept rather secre- tive and there is little veri- ﬁ ed information about it. A culture of conservation Some people were not content to simply climb Haystack Rock. In 1973, a Cannon Beach ﬁ re district looking for ways to sustain operations By NICOLE BALES The Astorian BADGE-PINNING The Cannon Beach Rural Fire Protection District will celebrate their new chief with a badge-pin- ning on Monday, Feb. 10, at 5 p.m., before the board meeting. The short ceremony will oﬀ er a chance for the public to meet Reckmann and his family. to, this is tourism,” Reck- mann said. “They’re really putting nothing into the district.” As tourism has increased, the number of volunteer ﬁ reﬁ ghters has decreased, which has put more pres- sure on the volunteers and chiefs. When Cannon Beach ﬁ re district responded to an emergency at Falcon Cove in January where two chil- dren died after being swept out to sea by a wave, Reck- mann was out of town. He said that was an example for why the ﬁ re district needs a second com- manding ofﬁ cer. “When our four (volun- teer ﬁ reﬁ ghters) got there, they started calling the resources they needed, but they also had a girl down on the beach, and they were focused on that rescue,” he said. When the Seaside Fire Department arrived, he said, they passed command to Seaside Fire Chief Joey Daniels and he was able to lead the rescue and focus on other aspects, like commu- nicating with other agen- cies, ambulances, dispatch and hospitals. Agencies rely on each other for mutual aid during rescues, since no agency has enough volunteer ﬁ reﬁ ght- ers and share equipment. “They’re doing the best they can with what they have, but we’re coming to a spot where … the numbers throughout the county are low — the lowest they’ve probably ever been with volunteers,” Daniels said. Like other agencies, he said, call volumes at the Seaside Fire Department have doubled in the past 10 to 15 years. “All these volunteers have probably hundreds of hours of training and that’s a big commitment and most families, both parents are working,” Daniels said. Daniels and Reckmann said paid personnel supple- ments the volunteer ﬁ re- ﬁ ghters and helps make sure there is always some- one who can take command during a rescue. “When I started in 1994 … you walked into the ﬁ re station, they’d give you a set of turnouts and pager and say, ‘Welcome aboard.’ We can’t do that anymore,” Reckmann said. In December, Warren- ton was ﬁ ned $10,800 by the state for safety vio- lations at the Warrenton Fire Department. The state investigation and ﬁ nes have left other agencies look- ing at how they are meeting expectations. “One of the big standards is physicals,” Reckmann said. “So, before we put anybody through any train- ing, you’re supposed to go to a doctor and have a phys- ical. Well, that’s $1,000, $1,500 a person and you’re supposed to be doing that annually — every person — we can’t afford that.” “It’s important, but you have to weigh the cost of that, and where does it come from,” he said. The ﬁ re district is work- ing on a strategic plan mov- ing forward with the goal of not having to rely on lev- ies and bonds “to Band-Aid along as needed.” “The board has done a great job of trying to keep taxes low and not keep ask- ing taxpayers for money. But, in a way, it’s done them a disservice because now we’re where we are,” he said. “I think we, in general, would have voter support (for a levy). But it’s going to take … a lot of education of why we need to do this.” about it,” she said, adding that without maintaining consistent dialogue about conservation, it could lose its vitality. The Haystack Rock Awareness Program is one agency that plays an inte- gral role in the conservation culture of Cannon Beach. HRAP was established in 1985 to protect the rock’s marine environment through onsite interpretation and education that perpetuates and strengthens people’s afﬁ nity for the landmark. Visitors and tourists alike are interested in the birds and marine life involved in the unique ecosystem. “They’re very intrigued by what’s happening,” Trucke said. History and Hops is a series of local history dis- cussions hosted by the Sea- side Museum and Historical Society on the last Thurs- day of each month, Septem- ber through May, at Sea- side Brewery. During the next presentation on Thurs- day, Feb. 27, Jerry and Lau- rie Bowman will discuss the Northwest Carriage Museum. DINING on the NORTH COAST Great Restaurants in: GEARHART • SEASIDE CANNON BEACH WANT TO KNOW WHERE THE LOCALS GO? • Breakfast • Lunch • Dinner • Junior Menu RESTAURANT & LOUNGE • Lighter appetite menu R I L EY’ S The Cannon Beach Rural Fire Protection Dis- trict is exploring options to increase revenue to sustain operations. The struggle is not uncommon for rural ﬁ re districts. Agencies through- out Clatsop County have reported steep increases in call volumes over the past decade, along with a dwin- dling number of volunteer ﬁ reﬁ ghters. Staff and volunteers are left stretched thin, which has contributed to the turn- over of ﬁ re chiefs in Can- non Beach. “The old adage has always been, ‘We’re going to do more with less.’ And I think the ﬁ re service has done that, but I think it’s gotten to a point in many districts, including ours, that we just can’t sus- tain. We really cannot sus- tain functions with what we have,” said Marc Reck- mann, the interim Cannon Beach ﬁ re chief. The ﬁ re district’s board is decid- ing whether to ask voters to approve a levy in May. The additional revenue is needed to hire a second commanding ofﬁ cer and replace aging equipment while developing a replace- ment cycle to reduce main- tenance costs. The board has looked at different options for fund- ing to avoid burdening tax- payers, but options are limited. Fire districts draw rev- enue from property taxes and, unlike city ﬁ re depart- ments, cannot assess other types of taxes to keep up with growth. Since Measure 5 was approved by voters in 1990, property tax rates became permanent. So districts are left with few options and often resort to bonds or lev- ies to increase revenue. Since the permanent tax rate is set when a district is formed, some ﬁ re dis- tricts have resorted to merg- ing with one another to create a new tax rate. The Can- non Beach ﬁ re dis- Marc trict, which serves Can- Reckmann is the interim non Beach, ﬁ re chief in Arch Cape, Cove Beach Cannon Beach. and Falcon Cove, has one of the lowest permanent tax rates in the state at 35 cents per $1,000 of assessed value. The aver- age tax rate for ﬁ re districts in Oregon is $2 per $1,000 of assessed value, accord- ing to the Oregon Depart- ment of Revenue. Over the years, vot- ers have approved a ﬁ ve- year levy to support the ﬁ re chief’s position for 19 cents per $1,000 of assessed value and a ﬁ ve-year bond for a ladder truck at 9 cents per $1,000 assessed value. Since 2012, the ﬁ re dis- trict’s calls per year have increased by more than 42%. The general fund rev- enue has increased by 33%. Fire districts are only legally obligated to respond to ﬁ res, yet only about 5% of Cannon Beach ﬁ re dis- trict calls are for ﬁ res. About 62% are described as rescue and emergency med- ical calls. “It’s what people expect … The ﬁ re service becomes the ‘ﬁ x-all.’” Reckmann said. “Over my years here in the ﬁ re service, I’ve seen it completely evolve.” “When you look at it, Cannon Beach is not just a little coastal commu- nity, we’re a tourism des- tination. And there’s only 2,200 permanent residents in the district, roughly,” he said. “We’re not having the downtime with the tourism, it’s leveled out a lot.” Between September 2018 through August, 77% of calls were for people who do not live in the ﬁ re district’s boundaries. “We’re spending a lot of money and a lot of time on these calls, but this isn’t the taxpayers we’re responding man tried landing his heli- copter atop the sea stack and crashed on the beach. In 1904, a developer named Mulhallan ﬁ led a land claim for the top of the rock. His vision was to divide the space into 12 separate plats for individual homes. “It was crazy for one house, but the idea he thought there should be 12?” Trucke said. “Thank goodness his land claim was denied.” The incident high- lights the issue of what lands should be kept pub- lic and what should be pri- vatized and developed. Over the next several decades, because of the efforts of for- mer Govs. Oswald West and Tom McCall, along with other activists and dedicated citizens, Oregon’s beaches were established as pub- lic property that could be “enjoyed by everybody,” Trucke said. The public nature of the beaches has engendered a culture of con- servation in communities throughout the coast. “We talk about it to the point people don’t want to hear it anymore, but I think you need to keep talking BEST BREAKFAST IN TOWN! Fish ‘n Chips • Burgers • Seafood & Steak Friday & Saturday - Prime Rib Lounge Open Daily 9-Midnight All Oregon Lottery products available 1104 S Holladay • 503-738-9701 • Open Daily at 8am Excellence in family dining found from a family that has been serving the North Coast for the past 52 years Great Breakfast, but that’s not all... • Great lunch and dinner menu,too! • Great pasta, steaks & seafood! • Homemade Clam Chowder, Salads! 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