Cannon Beach Celebrates 60th Annual Sandcastle Contest
DEB ATIYEH for the Gazette
On Saturday, June 15, the 60th Annual Cannon Beach Sandcastle Contest was celebrated in a magical place where the sand meets the sea. Spectators in the large crowd were enchanted by the artistic creations as they strolled past with their children, dogs, families and friends. The weather was mild and cloudy, interrupted by a short burst of rain, while the open sky and fresh ocean air inspired imagination, creativity and curiosity.
The Cannon Beach Chamber of Commerce once again hosted the annual event. Chamber Marketing Manager Sierra Spinler said, “we had the highest contestant attendance of the last few years for the Sandcastle Contest and Fun Run. We had four Master’s Teams, which is more than last year. Our Open-Individuals Division, a pilot division for the contest this year, also went great, and the winner came all the way from Wyoming! We also introduced the ‘People’s Choice Awards.’ Spectators were excited to cast their votes with locally
made wooden tokens made by Exit Sunset in Cannon beach, with the Master’s Team Ozymandias winning the People’s Choice Award.” Spinler added, “we really aimed to elevate the event this year, and the local and visitor feedback has been so positive that we are thrilled the new touches we incorporated went over so well. We are proud to have worked with Donny Masterson on many aspects of the Sandcastle Contest, such as the posters, 60th anniversary mementos and parade float. The new parade float participated in
The Man Behind the Badge
JASMINE SCHERMERHORN
My dad reminds me of the color orange. Orange represents his fun and charismatic side, like the lively energy he brings. It also reminds me of his determination and courage. Orange is a bold, strong color that has always reminded me of my dad Jason. Growing up in a law enforcement household I’ve learned two things; I have a curfew for a reason, and “no, I don’t know that person but they know me, so let’s send them a grad card.” I wouldn’t change being the chief’s daughter for the world. I’ve always felt a sense of protection and family from our small community. My dad never came home and released his stress on our family, he never made me think he had a bad day. He always believes in my journalist dreams, and crazy bursts of ideas, and never doubts a good time. Jason grew up in a family of seven. It was always a busy household full of kids, early Sunday mornings, and mischief. My dad was the youngest sibling, so you can already imagine the influence his older brothers and older sister had on him. I’ve heard many stories of broken windows, angry neighbors, and late-night bike rides. What else do you expect from a family growing up in the 80’s and not much to do. My dad has expressed to me he always knew he wanted to be a police officer. He said, “it always made it look fun and exciting and I wanted to get bad guys.” My dad was the first in his family to be involved in law enforcement. He says his parents always pushed him away from that profession; in dreams he would become a “lawyer” or
“doctor”. He said it wasn’t until he landed his chief position in Cannon Beach that his dad told him he was proud. I am so beyond proud of my dad for following his dreams and doing his own thing even if he didn’t have all the support in the world. He has taught me to always follow my dreams and do what makes me happy. I’ve noticed there is one strong thing that has really affected my dad through his career. It’s the difference he has made in our community. He says sometimes he forgets people do appreciate the things he does and that he does actually offer a helping hand. Small compliments or just words of encouragement are the reason he does what he does because all he ever wants is to help the people around him, I believe my dad truly has the brightest soul. I think hear-
ing that has made me realize that everyone in the community should really take the time to appreciate the small things and let someone know if they have made a difference in your life, because that could really be all they need to have a good day, week, or even month.
Jason’s future plans are to really enjoy his days in Idaho; to start making time for family and to do the things he can only do on his days off. He is currently interviewing for a public information officer position. He is really most looking forward to having a fresh start and “letting his hair down.”
Law enforcement really made my dad who he was, he told me “I really couldn’t have imagined myself doing anything different” This just
the Portland Rose Festival Starlight Parade representing Cannon Beach and the Sandcastle Contest, and it was a grand success.”
Stop by the Cannon Beach Visitors Center to see the new “lenticular” version of the Sandcastle Contest poster created by Donny Masterson. It is a beautiful and magical tribute to Cannon Beach artist and icon Bill Steidel.
We can all look forward to the 61st Annual Cannon Beach Sandcastle Contest to be held June 21, 2025; when newly imagined creations will magically arise from the sand.
CFTLC briefed on HCP revenue replacement schemes
WILL CHAPPELL Gazette Editor
Following ten months of negotiations with the governor’s office, members of the Council of Forest Trust Land Counties were briefed on three proposed solutions for revenue reductions projected to be caused by the habitat conservation plan for western Oregon state forests on June 28.
A group of five county representatives worked with three representatives from the governor’s office to hammer out the options, landing on reducing contributions to either the counties and special districts or Oregon Department of Forestry, or moving school districts in the counties from timber funding to the state’s special equalization fund.
The process began last August, when Governor Tina Kotek’s office reached out to staff from the Council of Forest Trust Land Counties (CFTLC) to initiate discussions about the economic impact of the proposed habitat conservation plan (HCP) on member counties.
The CFTLC selected one commissioner from each of its five regions, David Yamamoto from Tillamook County, Courtney Bangs from Clatsop County, Jerry Willey from Washington County, William Tucker of Linn County, and John Sweet of Coos County, to participate in small table meetings. Tillamook County
Commissioner Erin Skaar replaced Yamamoto when he retired at the end of last year.
To begin the process, CFTLC commissioners discussed what they wanted to accomplish, agreeing that they hoped to see statutes changed to ensure that county governments’ revenues remained steady.
CFTLC staff then worked to develop forecasts of the revenue impacts to the counties using historical harvest and stumpage price data, showing a projected drop of a little over $22 million in revenue county and special district revenues across the 14 impacted counties.
The small group then solicited ideas from the CFTLC’s full membership, fielding 15 proposals for revenue replacement. Those ideas were then pared down in conjunction with the representatives from Kotek’s office to the three that were presented to the full membership at the June meeting.
The first two options involved reapportioning state forest revenues from the current split that sees 63.75% of revenues go to counties, and special and school districts, and the remaining 36.25% directed to the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF).
The first option would see the share dedicated to counties and districts grow to 82% or $62.4 million, allowing their revenues to remain steady at the cost of reducing ODF’s per-
centage to 18% or $13.7 million, less than half of their current budget.
The second option would see ODF’s share bumped to 47% of state forest revenues, allowing the department to fully support its $36.5 million budget, but would cut county and district forest revenues to just $41.2 million.
The final option was to allow counties, special districts and the department to maintain current revenues by removing school districts from state forest funding.
Currently, school districts in each of the counties receive around half of state forest revenues allocated to their county, with the remainder of their funding coming from property taxes and the state school equalization fund.
Under the third proposal, school districts in the counties would move to complete reliance on property taxes and the state school equalization fund. This would allow ODF to receive $35.6 million in state forest revenues annually, while counties and special districs would receive $40.5 million.
Commissioners discussed the proposals, with all saying that of the options presented they would prefer the third. Sweet said that while commissioners might prefer other options they had previously suggested, the three put forward were the ones for
‘UPS Dave’ Gets a Grand Retirement Party
DEB ATIYEH for the Gazette
Residents of Cannon Beach held a retirement party for “UPS Dave” Brady on June 22, with the celebration kicking off at the park in the late afternoon. The group Out-Patientz performed for the large crowd and Dave joined them on stage with his guitar near the end of the concert. The party continued with a full house for dinner at the American Legion, with friends, residents and business owners telling many stories about Dave while expressing appreciation for his many years of service to the Cannon Beach and Arch Cape areas. There were many dog stories and it was obvious how much everyone’s dogs will
There
Making a Difference in our Community
local organizations.
In
Lila is an RN and coordinator of the Cannon Beach Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) which she established in 2015. The thirty-one member MRC consists of doctors, registered nurses, social workers, a pharmacist and a veterinarian. In 2021, MRC
Memoriam
Our dear friend Janice Earley Passed away a year ago. A belated THANK YOU to her neighbor Daryl and her many wonderful caregivers. You’re all greatly appreciated.
volunteers contributed more than 1,400 hours administering vaccines, along with testing and contact tracing, at an estimated value of more than $100,000 for the Clatsop County Health Department. MRC volunteers routinely join with the Cannon Beach Disaster Animal Response Team (DART) to provide support and first-aid at community events, such as the annual Sandcastle Contest. Lila has five years of experience working as an RN in a hospital intensive care unit (ICU), eighteen years directing an eight-county health department in Idaho, four years at the Oregon Health Authority overseeing county health departments, and fifteen years as the Environmental Health
Director for Multnomah County overseeing health inspections and emergency management while applying for and obtaining multiple grants.
After Lila and Rock moved to Cannon Beach full-time in 2014, Lila realized that creating an MRC would significantly improve emergency preparedness for our small community, which will likely be isolated in the aftermath of a natural disaster. Since 2015, Lila has successfully obtained nearly $130,000 in grants to purchase fifteen public service radios, two repeaters along with generators, medical and pediatric supplies, pet supplies, four large shelter tents, three hand washing stations, three showers and other emergency supplies.
Rock is an active member of the Disaster Animal Response Team (DART) and “like a rock” can often be seen helping Lila with multiple MRC projects. Rock and Lila volunteer at the Cannon Beach Community Food Pantry; while Rock shops for supplies every week and actively participates in the distribution of food every Wednesday. Rock is also a member of the Cannon Beach American Legion, after serving three years in the Army from 1967 to 1970 in Texas, Missouri, Kansas and Okinawa.Rock is a strong, reliable and supportive member of the Cannon Beach community.
Lila is on the board of the Cannon Beach Arts Asso-
CFTLC
From Page A1 which Kotek’s office felt they could gain legislative approval.
ciation, which sponsors an annual summer art camp for children ages 4-17. Lila and Rock have four grown children and a beloved dog named Mojo. Rock and Lila are as busy as ever in “retirement” and contrib-
Sweet said that he thought the third option was the best as either of the first two would require the state legislature to allocate general fund dollars to either the counties and special districts or ODF to sustain them. By contrast, the school equalization fund is an existing funding source that provides ongoing funding to schools already and the increased burden would only represent .6% of the fund’s budget.
ANNIE
Annie hasn`t met a person she doesn`t like, she is sweet and greets you with love and cute booty shakes! She is a strong girl but walks well on a leash. Annie has also been in playgroups and although she can be dog selective, she plays well with most! https://clatsopcounty. animalshelternet.com/ adoption_animal_details. cfm?AnimalUID=309948
Pet meet and greets are by appointment, so if you’d like to meet Annie, call the shelter at 503-861-7387 or stop by the lobby to set up a time. The shelter is open 9:30 to 4:00 Tuesday through Saturday, closed 12:30 to 1:30 for lunch. You can also fill out an application here: https://www.clatsopcounty.gov/media/16441 or by going to the shelter’s Adopting a Pet page at https://www.clatsopcounty.gov/animalcontrol/page/ adopting-pet for more information on adoption requirements and then filling out the form at the bottom of the page. Be sure to date it next to the signature line (applications are reviewed in the order they are received) and put the name of the animal you are interested in at the top. You can then save the application to your computer and email it to: ac@ClatsopCounty.gov or print it and deliver it directly to the shelter. H23999
ute significantly to making Cannon Beach a better place. Thank you, Rock and Lila, for all that you do in making a difference for the community of Cannon Beach.
Other commissioners who had not participated in the small table group said that they would like to see further data on the proposals before voting on a recommendation. A major question arose surrounding the four districts that currently don’t receive any funding from the stabilization fund, including Neah-Kah-Nie and Nestucca School Districts in Tillamook County. A CFTLC staffer said that department of education officials had preliminarily indicated that it would be possible to account for those districts and maintain their revenues through an in-lieu payment scheme.
Skaar said that her support of any proposal would be contingent on such a mechanism being in place to maintain the current educational and extracurricular opportunities for students in those districts.
The commissioners agreed that they would ask consulting firm Mason, Bruce & Girard to develop economic projections for the three proposals. They also agreed to convene a meeting of the full CFTLC in July to make a decision on which option they would endorse to allow the governor’s office to work on a draft bill that will need to be submitted by mid-September.
Cannon Beach swears in new Police Chief Rob Schulz
On Tuesday June 11th, 2024, during the City Council work session
Mayor Barb Knop swore in the new Cannon Beach Police Chief Robert Schulz. Rob Schulz comes most recently from Black Butte Ranch, in central Oregon, where he was a Sergeant.
Prior to his 13 years in Black Butte, Rob lived in Cannon Beach for 18 years and spent his final 12 years with the Cannon Beach Police Department moving up the ranks from officer to Lieutenant.
Prior to his law enforcement career, Rob was an Executive Chef at the Stephanie Inn and assistant Chef at the Wayfarer
Restaurant. Rob was a member of the Cannon Beach Fire and Rescue for 17 years as well as Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire District for 5 years as a Firefighter / EMT.
Most recently he was the Vice President of the Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire District board. He also was a member of Sisters Kiwanis for about 5 years. Rob expressed his gratitude to be able to return “home” to Cannon Beach. He will be joined by his wife, Christina, three dogs and three cats.
Chief Jason Schermerhorn will be assisting with the transition and then retiring in August.
New Owners Discuss Plans for Sea Ranch Resort
DEB ATIYEH for the Gazette
The Cannon Beach Gazette had the opportunity to meet with the National Operations Director for PacShore Communities, the new owners of the Sea Ranch Resort; now called “The Retreat at Cannon Beach”.
Located along Ecola Creek at the north end of Cannon Beach, PacShore Communities assumed ownership of the property on May 17. The new owners plan to maintain the rustic character and natural setting of this iconic 15-acre property,
while upgrading, modernizing and expanding the current infrastructure. The Retreat at Cannon Beach will continue as a yearround destination resort for visitors to Cannon Beach, while offering monthly rental rates for long-term residents living in their RV’s.
A family-owned corporation based in San Diego, California, PacShore Communities owns and operates multiple vacation and residential properties in eleven states throughout the country.
National Operations Director Brandy Green has been staying on the
property since May to ensure a smooth transition for the new owners. Green said the plans are for an extensive renovation of the existing facilities, adding an extra restroom and shower building, 10 large RV sites and 8-10 yurts, while providing more amenities for the 8 existing cabins. All yurts and cabins will be pet friendly.
The large event lodge will be available as a rental for weddings, parties and reunions, and the existing sauna and laundry room will continue to be available for guests. The new owners will be
seeking an outside vendor to operate the small store and coffee bar.
Green stressed that the new owners are here to invest in the property, with no plans to substantially change or remove existing structures, except for the horse stables and barn, which will be removed to create space for the additional large RV sites and yurts.
The Retreat at Cannon Beach is planning an open house later this year to give the Cannon Beach community an opportunity to visit the property and learn about the changes planned for the resort.
WILL CHAPPELL Gazette Editor
For more than a month, the harvesting of shellfish on the Oregon coast has slowed to a crawl mussels, clams and dated paralytic in humans. occurred quickly, people who hospital, who Matthew program gon Wildlife the at a had Oregon Paralytic ing is caused by saxitoxins or domoic acid produced in algal blooms by phytoplankton, with a genus known as alexandrium responsible for the most recent outbreak. Those phytoplankton produce saxitoxin and are always blooms, that and cause increased
spikes in their prevalence. In turn, the phytoplankton are ingested by filter feeders such as mussels, clams and oysters, which are not impacted by the toxin but accumulate it in their when the impacted they are the toxin said that within affected with extremities, stomach vomiting extend to symptoms or depending toxin ingested. treatment condition, but should monitoring. The current outbreak at the Oregon coast began in late May, with the first warning coming when six people fell sick shortly after consuming shellfish on the Sunday before Memorial Day. from ODFW regular testing of razor clams on both saxitoxin acid, but Hunter speed at which
levels increased outpaced the testing. Samples are colleted every ten days when tides are low and transported to a lab in Wilsonville, where it takes about five days tor results to become available.
However, in the current outbreak, Hunter said that levels of saxitoxin detected in mussels at Cape Meares were 75 times higher in mussels given to the department by one of the people who fell ill than in those gathered five days before by department staff from the same rock.
Hunter said that this meant the bloom had occurred so quickly and with such intensity that the increase in saxitoxin on each day would have been sufficient to cause sickness.
After receiving word of the outbreak, department staff sprang into action, dispersing across the coast to gather samples from various species of shellfish.
This temporarily led to the closure of harvesting for mussels, bay and razor clams, and oysters on the entire coast. Hunter said that such outbreaks usually did not impact razor clams, but that with the larger number of people harvesting and consuming them compared to mussels, slightly elevated levels of saxitoxin had led ODFW to close their harvest out of an abundance of caution.
Results from a second round of sampling after the outbreak began were
released on June 13 and showed that saxitoxin levels had dropped in all species across the coast.
The drop gave ODFW officials confidence to reopen razor clam harvesting on the coast from Yachats to the Washington state line and oyster harvesting in Tillamook and Netarts Bays.
Another round of testing results released on June 21, led to the reopening of razor clam harvesting on the entire coast and bay clam harvesting from Cascade Head to the Washington state line.
Currently, mussel harvesting remains closed across the entire coast and bay clam harvesting is closed from Cascade Head
to the California border.
Hunter said that the level of saxitoxin in this outbreak was the highest ever recorded by ODFW and that the scope and complexity of the impacts has been “unprecedented.”
A new set of samples was gathered over the weekend and test results will be released later this week.
Hunter said he was hopeful that the lower levels in the most recent results indicated that the phytoplankton activity in the fungal bloom had died down but cautioned that the situation could recur if conditions shifted. Hunter noted that the department has a program to monitor saxitoxin levels in coastal waters but said that the position overseeing it had been vacant since shortly before the outbreak.
Hunter also said that even as the phytoplankton’s activity subsided, it would take time for the shellfish to process and expel the saxitoxins. Hunter explained that the department’s monitoring program relied on homogenized studies that sampled more than 20 individual shellfish per site and that safety thresholds were set at one tenth of the level of saxitoxins that would trigger illness.
Given the multiple layers of complexity, Hunter said that he could not hazard a guess as to when the fisheries would reopen. He said that the next round of sample results had been collected over the weekend and will be released later this week.
CLASSIFIEDS
Ocean Animals, Sherwood Anderson & the Interwar Period
By PHYLLIS BERNT Library Volunteer
The library’s Annual Fourth of July Book Sale is in full swing. Thousands of books of all genres are priced to sell and waiting for book-loving buyers at the library (131 N. Hemlock, in downtown Cannon Beach). Sale hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, July 5 and 6, and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday July 7. Sunday is the traditional bag sale. Patrons can fill a bag to the top for only $8.00 (bags are provided).
July is Ocean Animals Month at the library. All children, pre-k to young adult, can learn about ocean animals by coming to the
library at 2 p.m. on Friday, July 12, for a presentation by the staff of the Seaside Aquarium. During the month of July, they can also win a prize by completing an ocean-animal-themed scavenger hunt in the library. The talk and scavenger hunt are part of the library’s Summer Reading Program, “Read, Repeat, Renew,” but are open to all children, not just Summer Reading Program participants. Children can find out more about, and still enroll in “Read, Repeat, Renew,” either in-person or through the library’s website at www. cannonbeachlibrary.org. Stay tuned for more events in August.
The Cannon Beach Reads book club will meet at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, July 17, to discuss “Winesburg, Ohio: A Group of Tales of Ohio Small Town Life,” by Sherwood Anderson.
This will be a hybrid meeting with participants able to take part in the discussion in-person at the library, or virtually from home (contact book club coordinator Joe Bernt at berntj@ohio.edu for the Zoom link).
“Winesburg, Ohio” is a collection of 22 short stories about the inhabitants of that fictional, small Midwestern town. George Willard, a journalist who, as a young man, wrote for the local paper, knows their stories, and now, as an
old man, remembers those unhappy, lonely souls.
When it was published in 1919, the book was panned by critics for its dark tone; depiction of small-town life as suffocating and lonely; and inclusion of sexual themes.
Today “Winesburg, Ohio” is considered an American classic, taught in many English classes and, though technically not a novel, appearing on Modern Library’s list of the 100 best American novels.
“Winesburg, Ohio” is considered Sherwood Anderson’s masterpiece; his other short story collections, novels and nonfiction works were neither praised by most critics nor greatly admired by the public. His novel “Dark Laughter” was his only bestseller.
Anderson is, however, known for influencing younger writers like Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, William Faulkner, Thomas Wolfe and John Steinbeck with his simple writing style and emphasis on the problems of ordinary people. William Faulkner claimed that he and his contemporary American writers were “all of us children of Sherwood Anderson.”
Duane Clukey will lead the discussion, which will begin at 7 p.m., on Wednesday, July 17. Coffee and cookies will be provided at the library.
New members, whether in person or online, are always welcome.
The period during which Sherwood Anderson wrote–the years between World War I and World War II–was an immensely interesting and challenging time. Not only did it include the Roaring Twenties, the Great Depression and a failed experiment with temperance, it also saw enormous social changes, both in the United States and in Europe, when it came to questions of class and gender.
It isn’t surprising, then, that so many current writers choose to write about that interwar period, including two authors whose recent books have been added to the library collection.
“The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club,” by Helen Simonson, is a novel that tells the story of Constance Haverhill, a capable, sensible young Englishwoman who had successfully run a large estate during World War I while the estate manager was off fighting in the trenches.
It’s now 1919; the war is finally over; a new British law is requiring organizations to replace women workers with returning soldiers; and Constance has no good options. Her parents are dead, and she has no claim to the family farm. Thanks to a family
friend with social connections, Constance has a temporary position as a companion to a genteel, elderly woman recuperating from influenza in the seaside town of Hazelbourne. By lucky happenstance, Constance meets Poppy Wirrall, the daughter of a local baronet. Poppy, who had been a motorcycle dispatch rider during the war, now manages a club for women motorcycle riders and runs a motorcycle-based taxi service staffed by female drivers and mechanics. To help her brother Harris, a wounded pilot, recuperate from his physical and emotional injuries, Poppy hopes to add flying lessons for women to her list of activities, if she is able to keep operating her all-female business.
Constance, Poppy and arris accept a challenge that will test the limits of what is possible, and acceptable, for men and women in Britain in 1919.
“The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club” is worth reading. The characters are for the most part well-developed; the plot is fast-moving, with a couple of unexpected twists; and the novel provides a perceptive look at a British society on the cusp of great social change, especially for women.
Set a decade later and on the other side of the Atlantic, “Little Underworld,” a
mystery novel by Chris Harding Thornton, revisits the gritty world of Prohibition-era Omaha, Nebraska. Far from the picture of a wholesome city built on Midwestern values, Thornton’s Omaha in 1930 is a mini-Chicago, filled with stockyards, speakeasies, brothels, illegal gambling establishments, crooked cops and gangsters. Jim Beely, a former cop who is now a minimally successful PI, goes too far in punishing the low life who molested his daughter. To cover up his crime, Jim needs the cooperation of Frank Tvrdik, a nattily dressed, well-spoken, but crooked cop. In return for his help, Tvrdik involves Jim in a scheme to discredit the Independent Federation, a group of cross-burning, anti-immigrant politicians who hope to take over the city by playing on the voters’ fear of crime. What results are a series of deaths, misunderstandings and violence that make Jim and Frank both question how far they are willing to go to protect themselves and their families. With its dark humor, snappy dialogue and quick moving plot, “Little Underworld” is an entertaining read for lovers of the noir detective novel and for those with an interest in the history of Prohibition.
Keeping It Clean with Adopt-a-Highway
In response to the growing problem of trash blighting the landscape, the Oregon “Bottle Bill” took effect on October 1, 1972. Intended as a litter control measure, the “Bottle Bill” was the first of its kind in the nation, and within a few years the number of cans and bottles littering the Oregon landscape had been reduced by more
than 80%. Anyone growing up in Oregon in the 1950’s and 1960’s can remember the pervasive public service announcements imploring visitors and residents not to litter. Over the past half century, the population of Oregon has more than doubled, and our “throw-away society” now has much more stuff to throw away. When the clean-up of roadside litter came to a halt during the Covid pandemic of 2020
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and debris rapidly started to accumulate, it was obvious to anyone driving Oregon’s highways that roadside trash continues to be a pervasive and unrelenting problem. Concerned by the amount of trash along Highway 101 and wanting to do something positive for the area, Michael Skehan and David Young started participating in the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) “Adopt-a-Highway” program in late 2022. These full-time Cannon Beach residents adopted a threemile section of Highway 101 from the Highway 26 intersection all the way to the north entrance of Cannon Beach. ODOT requires anyone adopting a section of Oregon’s highways to clean it four times a year, but these dedicated volunteers clean their section monthly and have collected more than 130 bags of trash over the past 20 months. Asked what they commonly find littering the road-
side, they said it ranges from plastic containers, bags and wrappers to glass bottles, aluminum cans, paper coffee cups with plastic lids, fast food packaging, construction debris, hub caps, shoes (but never a full pair), clothing and dirty diapers to a curious abundance of small plastic “Fireball” cinnamon whiskey bottles. Most of the litter is from occupants deliberately throwing things out the window of a moving vehicle, while some is accidental, such as debris blowing out the back of an open pickup truck, garbage truck or construction vehicle.
Along with the satisfaction of keeping their section of Highway 101 clean, Michael and David said that ODOT has been extremely easy to work with. ODOT provides all the supplies, including safety vests, garbage bags and trash grabbers for anyone willing to adopt a section, and picks up the full trash bags when volunteers are finished. Michael and
David added that they’re “incredibly thankful for all of the Adopt-a-Highway volunteers and what they do to keep our highways clean.”
They encourage individuals, families and businesses to consider participating in the
Sea Otters Spotted at Ecola Point
Canon Beach residents
Pam Avila and Tabea Goossen monitor Black Oystercatchers at Ecola Point, Chapman Point, and Indian Beach as volunteers for the Bird Alliance of Oregon. A few weeks ago Pam told Tabea that she had seen a sea otter at Ecola Point. Tabea laughed and said “no, it was a seal. There are no sea otters in Oregon”. Last week Tabea was at Ecola Point and saw - a sea otter. Tabea notified Chanel Hason with the Elakha Alliance who came to see for herself, and they spent several hours together at Ecola Point watching two sea otters while taking photos and video. What do sea otters eat? The rocky habitat of the north Oregon coast provides a perfect place for them to eat sea urchins, crabs, clams, mussels, oc
topus, fish, and other ma
rine invertebrates. According to the Marine Mammal Center,
Bob Coussens captured these elk bedded down on the beach in Cannon Beach recently.
photographed these beautiful animals from
ODOT program; adding that several sections of Highway 101 in the Cannon Beach area are still in need of volunteers. “It’s been a great way for us to give back to the community, plus it provides some great exercise.”
Elk on the beach