Volume 18, No. 1
January 10, 2013
northcoastcitizen.com • 75¢
NKN school officials ponder Sandy Hook, lessons learned By Dave Fisher The Citizen
Inside
SNOWY PLOVER PROTECTION Nehalem Bay State Park one of three protected sites Page 5
Business
BIG WAVE CAFÉ TO HOST BENEFITS
The tragedy that happened at Sandy Hook Elementary School in mid-December will be a topic of conversation at the January meeting of the Neah-Kah-Nie School Board. It will be the first time the board has met since the Dec. 14 shootings in Connecticut that took the lives of 20 school children, ages 5 to 7, and six adults who worked at the school. On the agenda is a look at the preparedness level of the five schools that make up the district and what could be done to improve plans already in place if the unthinkable were to happen. Hearing the news that day of the events that had transpired some 3,000 miles away, Neah-Kah-Nie Superintenent Paul Erlebach said he, like others, experienced a wide range of emotions, but mostly sadness for the victims and their families. “You can’t understand it. It’s sickening to think who could kill a child, and the educators who were trying to guide the children out of harm’s way,” Erlebach told the Citizen. “I had a deep sense of sorrow for the families.” Shortly after the Sandy Hook event, Erlebach posted a message on the NKN District website discussing the tragedy, but, more importantly, assuring parents the school district would review its current emergency response plan to ensure the district is doing In an annual ritual, Nehalem Elementary Principal Kristi Woika greets students on the its best to provide a safe learning environfirst day of school in September. The idea that a senseless act of violence couldn’t hap- ment for students and staff. pen here was shattered by the Sandy Hook Elementary tragedy that happened three months later. Photo by Dave Fisher See SANDY HOOK, page 6
The new visitors’ center and restroom will retain the same look as the historic building on Laneda Ave., once home to Ben Lane’s real estate office.
Manzanita tackles 3rd Street project and new restrooms Two municipal projects set to get underway in a matter of weeks By Dave Fisher The Citizen
Following a goal-setting workshop held in early December, the Manzanita City Council appears set to move ahead on a couple of its long-standing goals early on in 2013. By the Fourth of July,
See MANZANITA, page 5
Manzanita Polar Plunge keeps getting bigger! But what economic impact, if any, does the event have on local businesses? By Dave Fisher The Citizen
MANZANITA – As the Manzanita Polar Plunge continues to grow (some estimate this year’s crowd at 600 with half of those actually taking the “plunge”) the economic impact it has on this small coastal community is hard to gauge. On thing is for sure, business owners are not complaining about the annual New Year’s Day event. “This year, the plunge was bigger than ever,” said event organizer and founder Janice Gaines. “Who knew this silly thing I started eight or nine years ago with two other friends would turn into this incredible event. “As far as economic impact from the plunge, I have not heard anything specific, but I do know that folks have put this on their calendar as the thing to do for New Year’s. I have also heard many people drive over from Portland for the day just to do the event, so I imagine they
Area causes include Pine Grove, Rinehart Clinic and MBA Page 8
Index Classifieds....................7 Events calendar.........3 NBFR District Log......3 Public Safety Log......3 Golightly Gourmet...8 Letters to the Editor.4
See PLUNGE, page 6 An estimated crowd of 600 people turned out for the 2013 Polar Plunge, half of which actually took the “plunge.” Inset: Event organizer Janice Gaines and husband Mike Ehlen rev up the Polar Plunge crowd. Photos by Dave Fisher
Tenth anniversary of murder of local woman marks Stalking Awareness Month
January is National Stalking Awareness Month. To underscore the seriousness of the subject, Gayle Ridderbusch, whose daughter was murdered by a stalker ten years ago, consented to sharing her daughter’s story here. By Kathleen Newton For Tillamook County Women’s Resource Center
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Dion Wilks was a beautiful, 25-year-old professional woman with a bright future when, on the night of Feb. 1, 2003, a former boyfriendturned-stalker shot her three times and left her to die under the wheels of traffic on Interstate 5 near Salem. Dion had grown up in Tillamook, attended school here and gone on to stellar achievements at Oregon State
you must take it very seriously. You must move heaven and earth to get them out of it.”
Dion’s story
Dion Wilks University, Oregon Health & Sciences University and Oregon National Guard. She was bright, driven to succeed, physically strong and fit. Yet she was unable to either foresee or prevent the violence that took her life. The tragic events of that night still haunt her mother, Gayle Ridderbusch of Tillamook. And now, as the tenth anniversary of the murder approaches, she has one powerful admonition: “If you believe your child or loved one is in a potentially violent situation or being stalked,
Growing up in Tillamook County, Dion attended Nehalem School, then East Elementary, Tillamook Junior High School and Tillamook High School, where she also became a Rainbow Girl and lettered in track, swimming and dance. As a senior at THS, Dion took college-level classes at Tillamook Bay Community College and won scholarships, despite being seriously dyslexic. Gayle said Dion’s goal was to enter the medical field, so she headed off to OSU, where she took a double science major. After graduating on the Dean’s List, Dion applied to OHSU, and was one of 30 accepted out of 300 applicants. She earned a degree as a dental hygienist and went to work soon after.
See STALKING, page 6
Dion Wilks, left, with her mother, Gayle Ridderbusch, at Dion’s induction into the Tillamook chapter of Rainbow Girls.