A4 • Friday, February 26, 2021 | Seaside Signal | SeasideSignal.com
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For Tsunami Marijuana owner, cannabis is a family tradition
SEEN FROM SEASIDE
R.J. MARX
Tsunami Marijuana owners Craig John-
son and Tom Pruitt were best friends in col-
lege. Now they’re partners in a new dis-
pensary at 1555 N. Roosevelt — about
half-a-block south of the former high school,
in a building formerly occupied by the Sea-
side Signal.
The duo will close their store off of U.S.
Highway 26 but may use it as a processing
facility to make oils, tinctures, edibles and
concentrates, Johnson said.
Johnson grew up in Shady Cove and set-
tled in Olympia, Washington, where he has
owned an electrical contracting company for
25 years.
It was Johnson’s parents who suggested
he get into the cannabis business.
“My family was very open in that way,”
Johnson said. “They grew marijuana when I
was a kid. So it was just part of and always
around my family. And then when it was
about to go legal, my dad was really on me.
‘Aren’t you going to get a grow? A store?
When are you going to get into it?’”
With legalization in Washington in 2012,
Johnson started a grow facility and Pruitt,
an “ex-casino slot guy,” at Emerald Queen
Casino launched a dispensary.
“We happened to run into each other at
dinner one night,” Johnson said. “He said
what he’s doing and I said what I’m doing,
and we said, ‘Why aren’t we doing this
together?’”
They looked to Seaside, a middle point
between Olympia and Johnson’s family in
southern Oregon.
“I was looking to build an actual grow
facility,” Johnson said. “When I was look-
ing on (U.S. Highway) 26, it just happened
to be one of those few properties in Clatsop
County that you can grow on it, you can pro-
cess on it, and then they said you can have a
store on it. I really wasn’t looking for a store
when I started it. It just so happened the
county said I could open a store there too. I
decided to open there and get all licenses for
that piece of property.”
They started considering an in-town loca-
tion about a year ago, Johnson said. “With
so many restrictions kid-wise and spot-wise,
there just wasn’t a lot available,” he said. “I
looked at a lot of properties. When the old
high school was closing this popped up as a
viable property.”
Johnson hopes to have six full-time
employees at the new location. Along with
cannabis products, they plan to sell clothing,
surfboards and boogie boards.
“We’re going to try and make it more of
an ocean-like destination for tourists, but
R.J. Marx
Craig Johnson and Tom Pruitt of Tsunami Marijuana.
also make it the same comfortable location
we’ve always had,” Johnson said.
Johnson will be among those in-house.
“You’ll see me. I love being here. It’s like a
retirement job,” he said.
“We are going to give our local Highway
26 people a discount,” Johnson said. “Being
original customers, we always want to make
sure they get a discount for keeping us in
business for all these years.”
Train with kindness, and train before the training is needed
CANINE
CORNER
RAIN JORDAN
Much has been made of the fact
that, as a result of sheltering in place
long-term, many have acquired
a new puppy. That’s because so
many of us found ourselves sud-
denly with a lot of at-home time on
our hands. Apparently, being home
alone every day for months upon
months in a row creates new homes
for needy pups.
One challenge is that eventually,
most of us will need to start leaving
home again. What, then, will hap-
pen to our canine loved ones? Many
of them, now accustomed to having
us home all day every day, will nat-
urally experience this constant com-
panionship as normal. It will also be
natural that when we eventually go
back to work and social life, these
pups may panic.
Is suffering inevitable? While
no one escapes life without some
degree of discomfort, we can
reduce the likelihood that our pups
will suffer after the pandemic if we
start preparing them long before
they have to be alone. We can do
this by slowly, methodically desen-
sitizing them to being alone. It’s
an incremental process that is best
begun before there is any problem
or risk of problem. Depending on
your dog, you might begin with just
stepping outside your door for a few
seconds every day, or several times
a day, then returning to your pup
inside. Just before you step out, say
“I’ll be back.”
Your saying these words and
keeping your word every time will
gradually teach the dog that the
phrase “I’ll be back” means that you
are leaving but that she can count on
you to return, that there’s no need to
panic. The phrase becomes a signal
that lets the dog know your leaving
is only temporary.
Once the pup shows absolutely
zero distress or concern about your
leaving for that short duration of
just a few seconds, begin add-
ing seconds, then minutes, work-
ing your way very slowly up to the
duration you will eventually need
— but never adding duration before
the pup is ready to handle it, and
never too long a duration at once.
Any time the pup shows any sort
of stress signs related to your leav-
ing, go back at least one step in dura-
tion and redo until you are abso-
lutely sure the pup is completely
happy with that duration. Then,
when you’re ready to add more
time, do so in only very tiny incre-
ments. Instead of adding 30 minutes
to a 30-second duration, add just a
few extra seconds. Repeat this pro-
cess every time you add duration, in
similarly small increments until you
get to the desired duration with your
dog still completely happy. Each
increment is a baby step. Take many
baby steps, and only baby steps.
Some people call the process
“alone training,” and some people
do it right away, every time they
bring home a new dog. It is wise
to do so, even if you don’t work
outside the home. That’s because
at some point, you will have to go
out, and the last thing you want to
fi nd when you return is that your
dog has broken a window trying to
follow you and now is on the lam.
Canine separation anxiety occurs
sometimes even if the caregiver
never leaves the dog for more than
a moment or so at a time, so you
might as well give the pup positive,
comfortable experiences with being
left alone even if the pandemic
didn’t much change your schedule.
Whatever you do, make sure to
keep your training and preparations
positive. Scolding, yelling, or any
other negative emotions or behav-
iors, and any sort of corrections,
can result in your dog developing
more negative associations, which
is where undesired behavior often is
rooted. This is true even if you think
the dog doesn’t know you’re upset
because you haven’t said anything
to him.
But are you frowning? Stomp-
ing? Slamming a door? Stud-
ies have shown that dogs read our
facial expressions and body lan-
guage. “Smile when your heart is
breaking” might be an annoying
platitude in the context for which
it was written, but for helping your
dog feel safe and comfortable, it’s a
really good idea to emit happy, calm
signals — auditory as well as visual.
A dog whose caregiver addresses
her softly and kindly — even and
especially when the dog’s behav-
ior upsets the caregiver—is much
less likely to develop new prob-
lem behaviors and much less likely
to escalate established problem
behaviors.
The resolution is always this:
Train with kindness, and train
before the training is needed.
Rain Jordan is a certifi ed canine
behavior consultant and dog
trainer, a fearful dog expert, and the
author of several books, including
“Such Small Hands: An Anti-Aver-
sives Primer” and the children’s
book “The Dog Who Couldn’t Be
Petted.” Visit her at www.Expert-
Canine.com.
Small acts of kindness make difference in our lives
TUNNEL
ECHOES
LIANNE
THOMPSON
Did you watch the Super
Bowl? Did you catch Bruce
Springsteen’s commercial?
He spoke about the heart-
land, the middle of America,
geographically, politically,
and emotionally — and liv-
ing from our hearts, emo-
tionally, in what we could
call “a community of good
neighbors.”
We’re still living together
in challenging times, but
the Boss has said some-
thing worthwhile to guide
us, as he’s often done over
the years. “Look for the mid-
dle, with some humility,
grace, and kindness. Be kind
to each other.” At least that’s
what I heard him say.
Maybe that’s because
I’m getting frayed around
the edges, tired of the strains
and constraints of COVID-
19 and life in the 21st cen-
tury on planet earth. One
thing about this pandemic:
as it goes on and on, it’s
relentless and confusing and
frustrating.
There are moments of
good cheer and hope, acts
of kindness, joy gained in
focusing on what nourishes
and sustains our goodness.
And then there are the other
kinds of moments.
I see my job as a Clat-
sop County commissioner to
be one of leading us through
changes and the chal-
lenges we’re facing. Lead-
ing through change requires
channeling a vision and lis-
tening to how changes
impact people. Lots of listen-
ing is required: “What’s in
it for me?” is their question,
because everyone wants to
know that they’re seen and
heard and loved, and that
they matter — because we
all need to matter.
Being a leader means that
I spend lots of time listening
to people tell me their hopes
and fears, sharing their best
and worst. If I don’t open
my heart to them, care about
what matters to them, and
listen to their ideas and emo-
tions, how can I do a good
job? So I open my heart and
listen.
Sometimes it’s almost
unbearably painful to per-
ceive the fear and anger,
the righteous indignation,
armored and aggressive.
Ouch, ouch, and ouch.
Sometimes I’m reminded
of the fragility and unpre-
dictability of life, as when
the phone call or email or
Internet post tells me some-
one else is sick or dead.
Sometimes, the beauty and
joy of a sweet human con-
nection brings me to smiles
or tears.
Sometimes small acts
of kindness like a strang-
er’s eyes crinkling in a smile
behind a face mask while I
grocery shop touch me more
than I’d expect. “Thank you
for your smile,” I say, “I
needed that today.” “You’re
welcome,” she says. A piece
of beauty in life’s mosaic.
We’re communicating
a lot to each other, given
our many avenues. Are we
kinder, more generous? Or
are we snarky? The answer
is probably, “Sometimes
one, sometimes the other,” at
least for me.
The chatter I’ve been
noticing is about who’s wel-
come in our neighborhood
and who’s not, who’s enti-
tled to set a boundary and
declare they’re the boss over
somebody else.
In a public or private
organization, there’s con-
cepts like “scope of author-
ity” and “chain of com-
mand.” In day-to-day human
interactions, we sometimes
make up our own scope of
authority and see no chain
of command except our
own sense that we’re enti-
tled to command and con-
trol another person’s words,
actions, thoughts, or feelings.
That’s a short trip down a
hard road.
Negotiating boundaries
in relationships takes confi -
dence. If we don’t trust our-
selves to be able to commu-
nicate by listening to another
and honoring them and our-
selves, we resort to quick
and easy violence.
That violence doesn’t
always involve mobs or
guns. Sometimes it’s done
through lawyers. Sometimes
it’s done through signage.
Sometimes it’s done through
emails, phone calls, or one
on one communication.
However communication
happens, we have a choice.
If we can trust ourselves
to be capable and loving
human beings, we can nour-
ish our well-being through
goodness and kindness to
one another instead of war-
fare. Or not.
If not, we’re eating poi-
son. Let’s eat kindness and
joy; it’s a healthier diet.
Lianne Thompson is Clat-
sop County Commissioner,
District 5.
Kenneth and Deirdre Dalhberg and their son, Kive.
Happ y ann iversary!
Seaside Signal
Kenneth Earnest Dahl-
berg and Deirdre “Dee”
Gayle Dahlberg are cele-
brating their 50th anniver-
sary on March 6.
They met through friends
and were married on March
6, 1971, in Campbell Meth-
odist Church in Camp-
bell, California. During
their early marriage, Gayle
worked as a social worker at
a San Jose, California hospi-
tal, while Ken worked as a
mailman.
In 1983 the two moved to
Elsie, where they still reside.
They have one son, Kive,
who is known by many in
Seaside. The couple will
celebrate the landmark anni-
versary at home with Kive.
Phone calls are welcomed.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
Contact local agencies fo latest
meeting information and atten-
dance guidelines.
TUESDAY, MARCH 2
Seaside Planning Commis-
sion, regular meeting, 6 p.m.,
cityofseaside.com.
7 p.m., regular meeting, city-
ofgearhart.com.
989 Broadway.
THURSDAY, MARCH 11
TUESDAY, MARCH 16
MONDAY, MARCH 8
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 3
THURSDAY, MARCH 4
Gearhart City Council,
5:30 p.m., executive session;
Seaside Parks Advisory
Committee, 6 p.m., City Hall,
Seaside City Council, 7 p.m.,
cityofseaside.us.
Gearhart Planning Commis-
sion and City Council, joint
meeting, 7 p.m., cityofgearhart.
com.
Sunset Empire Park and
Recreation District Board
of Directors, 5:15 p.m., 1225
Avenue A.
CIRCULATION
MANAGER
Jeremy Feldman
ADVERTISING
SALES MANAGER
Sarah Silver-
Tecza
PUBLISHER
EDITOR
Kari Borgen
R.J. Marx
PRODUCTION
MANAGER
CONTRIBUTING
WRITERS
John D. Bruijn
Skyler Archibald
Darren Gooch
Joshua Heineman
Rain Jordan
Katherine Lacaze
Esther Moberg
SYSTEMS
MANAGER
Carl Earl
Seaside Signal
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