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A6 • Friday, November 26, 2021 | Seaside Signal | SeasideSignal.com Braxton: Academy students feel impact of family tragedy Continued from Page A1 that big smile and a song in his heart,” said Paul Nof- ield, owner of the Driftwood Restaurant and Lounge in Cannon Beach. Braxton, a manager at the Driftwood, died Nov. 9 after a three-car colli- sion near Shelton, Wash- ington. Kobe died Nov. 11 from injuries sustained in the crash. Amber Hulbert, Michael’s fi ancée and Kobe’s mother, and their daughter Kaia, a kinder- gartner at the academy, also were in the vehicle and sus- tained injuries. “The father passed immediately, and his son, my fi rst grade student, Kobe Braxton, sustained injuries so that they had to put him into a medically induced coma,” Hull said. The event left a scar on both the academy and the community at large. Photos by Katherine Lacaze ABOVE: Drawing by a Cannon Beach Academy student, one of many remembering Kobe Braxton. LEFT: Students provide a memorial for their classmate. ‘A breath of fresh air’ Nofi eld met Michael Braxton in 2015 in Buckeye, Arizona, where he also has a home. Braxton was working at the Verrado Golf Club. They formed a friendship in the following years, spend- ing time with one anoth- er’s families and playing golf together. In 2018, they started discussing the idea of Braxton coming to work for the company in Oregon, and the Braxton family vis- ited that summer. “Michael is defi nitely a professional hospital- ity person,” Nofi eld said. “He could read people and understand their ways just by looking.” In fall 2020, Braxton and his family made the move to the Oregon Coast, and he assumed the manager role at the Driftwood. “Michael fi t right in,” Nofi eld said. “He took right away to the staff , and the staff took to him. … He was one of the greatest managers I ever met in the restaurant industry. He had the heart of hospitality. He also had a heart for people.” For Patrick Nofi eld, president of Escape Lodg- ing Co., which owns the Driftwood, Braxton was “a breath of fresh air.” When Braxton was hired, he sent Patrick a message thanking him for the job. “That’s the kind of guy ‘OUR COMMUNITY IS GETTING BACK AND WE’RE GETTING THROUGH THIS, BUT WE’VE LOST SOME AMAZING YOUNG MEN HERE. IT IS A LOSS.’ Ryan Hull, the interim director of Cannon Beach Academy he was,” Patrick Nofi eld said. “He always portrayed that he was positive and out- going and fun.” Paul Nofi eld recalls Braxton’s extensive assort- ment of colorful and crazy shoes that refl ected his personality. “He had a Nike collec- tion that was wild,” he said, adding even when Braxton was wearing professional shoes for work, he often had on wacky socks underneath. The Braxton family was traveling to Union, Wash- ington, for Escape Lodg- ing’s managers retreat at the Alderbrook Resort & Spa when the accident occurred. Upon hearing of the inci- dent, the mood and the focus of the retreat changed, said Patrick Nofi eld. “We gathered all our managers up in a room and talked about the grief and loss and prayed and just tried to be there for each other.” Instead of celebrating the company’s success and going through their strategic planning process, Patrick Nofi eld added, it became a time to explore, “How do we honor our core values by being family right now?” “This kind of stuff hap- pens every day throughout the world, but when it hits you, it’s like, ‘How tragic, what a loss,’” he said. “It gives you more empathy.” A tribute to Kobe At Cannon Beach Acad- emy, “It’s been a roller coaster,” Hull said. “All those things that make life so busy and hectic just seemed to stop. You just are shocked and numb and can’t realize what has just happened and what has been taken away.” When he fi rst heard the news about the accident on the afternoon of Nov. 10, his response was disbelief. “You’re like, ‘Well, no, they got their information wrong. That can’t be what happened,’” he said. The academy was hold- ing its fi rst Parent Teacher Organization meeting that evening, and throughout it, they continued to get updates about the family, including that Kobe was in a medically induced coma at the hospital. “That was very tough,” Hull said. “Everybody was very caring and thoughtful, and we had good discussions there with the parents.” The school also sent out a message on Veterans Day, so families had a chance to talk about what happened with their students on a day when they didn’t have school. It wasn’t until Nov. 12 that news reached the school about the tragedy. “We talked to the kids,” Hull said. “We were very honest, very transparent on what happened and what’s going on, and then we lis- tened, too.” The students in Kobe’s class immediately came up with the idea of writing notes to place around his desk. They are fi lled with draw- ings and messages such as, “We miss you, Kobe” and “I love you, Kobe.” “Our kids, our family, our community, our teach- ers, they are very strong in supporting each other,” Hull said. The Seaside School Dis- trict also had counselor Kaile Jones visit the academy on Nov. 15 to provide support to the students. When it became clear there was need for extra time to counsel students, she returned on Nov. 16. “Every kid that came to her asked to come,” Hull said, adding some students were able to go back a sec- ond time “after they had a chance to think about it.” Since the crash, Tri- sha Sweet, Hulbert’s sister, started a GoFundMe cam- paign to support the family. While the original fundrais- ing goal was set at $20,000, the amount raised had sur- passed $77,000 as of Mon- day, with more than 570 donors. “We are very thankful for everyone that is help- ing and supporting our family through this rough time,” Sweet wrote on the GoFundMe page, later add- ing, “Thank you everyone for all the donations and prayers. We love each and every one of you.” On Nov. 11, there was a post on Driftwood’s Face- book page stating, the Drift- wood family “is mourn- ing the shocking loss of our beloved manager, Michael Braxton, who passed away earlier this week in a tragic auto accident.” “Please join us in show- ing Michael’s family incred- ible support as they move through this tragedy,” the post continued. “Your gener- osity and prayers are deeply appreciated.” Community members and contributors have expressed an outpouring of love and support for the family and shared memories of Braxton and Kobe. “Our community is get- ting back and we’re get- ting through this, but we’ve lost some amazing young men here,” Hull said. “It is a loss.” OREGON CAPITAL INSIDER Get the inside scoop on state government and politics! We’re investing in Salem coverage when other news organizations are cutting back. OregonCapitalInsider.com The most valuable and respected source of local news, advertising and information for our communities. eomediagroup.com DINING on the Johnson raises $2 million for independent bid for governor NORTH COAST By GARY WARNER Oregon Capital Bureau already attracting signifi cant money for candidates. Former New York Times columnist Nicholas Kris- tof, who lives in Yamhill County, has raised $1.2 mil- lion since announcing last month that he would run as a Democrat. State House Speaker Tina Kotek, a Portland Democrat, announced a run just before Labor Day. As of Monday, she had raised $440,442. Treasurer Tobias Read is running as a Democrat. His campaign reports raising $661,018. Among Republicans, Bud Pierce, a Salem doctor who lost a GOP campaign for governor in 2016, is the top fundraiser. He has taken in $752,939 — with a sig- nifi cant percentage coming from his own funds. The Oregon Capital Bureau is a collaboration between EO Media Group and Pamplin Media Group. Playground: Could debut by this summer Continued from Page A1 Mayor Paulina Cockrum picked up on the idea, pro- posing Centennial Park near Trail’s End Art Association as the location, funded by a mix of donations and city dollars. Sturgell’s Quarter Mile Challenge aimed to collect enough quarters to stretch the length of one-quarter mile — by Berkley’s estimate, $4,290. She exceeded that, raising almost $12,300. City residents donated an additional $33,600, and the city has more than $100,000 available between parks equipment and parks mainte- nance and repair funds. “Nothing is set in stone at this point, but we wanted to give you the best estimates of the direction you’re heading,” Sweet said. The project now heads to the Planning Commission, which will need to grant a conditional use permit to the playground. “Planning and the public must support the placement of this playground in Centennial Park in order to move forward,” Sweet said. With approval, construc- tion takes about 14 weeks, Sweet said, and the play- ground could debut this summer. Great Restaurants in: GEARHART • SEASIDE CANNON BEACH WANT TO KNOW WHERE THE LOCALS GO? • Breakfast • Lunch • Dinner • Junior Menu RESTAURANT & LOUNGE • Lighter appetite menu E RIL Y’ S State Sen. Betsy John- son’s independent campaign for governor fl exed its fund- raising muscle, fi ling a state report that it has $2.3 mil- lion on hand for the race. Johnson, a longtime Democratic lawmaker, announced in October that she would forego the polit- ical party primaries and run as a nonaffi liated candidate. She will have to submit nearly 25,000 signatures to go directly onto the Novem- ber 2022 ballot. The move would set up a rare three-way race between the winner of the Demo- cratic and Republican pri- maries in May. Johnson’s campaign fi nance report included a number of large con- tributions from business interests. Her campaign underlined includes the North Coast. the support from both top Some of Johnson’s big political parties. Contribu- donors locally, according tors include Mike Bonetto, to the fi ling, include Paula the then-Republican who Teevin, who is married to served as chief of staff to Shawn Teevin of Teevin former Gov. John Kitzhaber, Bros. Paula Teevin contrib- a Democrat. uted $100,000. Hampton Republicans Lumber, which has include Antoinette a mill in Warren- Hatfi eld, the wife of ton, gave $100,000. Mark Hatfi eld, the Pacifi c Seafood, former U.S. senator which has a plant in and governor, along Warrenton, contrib- with former Eugene uted $50,000. Van Mayor Jim Torrey Dusen Beverages and former Portland Betsy Johnson Inc. gave $25,000. area state Rep. Jeff Englund Marine & Helfrich. Industrial Supply contrib- “I’m grateful to everyone uted $25,000 and owner Jon from across party lines and Englund gave $25,000. across Oregon for helping Earlier this fall, the our independent campaign secretary of state’s web- get off to a strong start,” site showed Johnson with Johnson said in a statement. $521,605 in available cash, “I only wish I had more time the bulk coming from to return calls — we’d have money she rolled over from even more in the account!” her state Senate campaign Johnson represents Sen- fi nance committee. ate District 16, which The governor’s race is 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 Cannon Beach Chocolate Cafe 10% OFF your purchase through 11/30/21 MILKSHAKE HAPPY HOUR 3PM-5PM, $1 OFF ALL MILKSHAKES 232 N. 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