Volume 18, No. 17 Including E-Edition northcoastcitizen.com
August 22, 2013
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VIEW OF THE WEST POSES PROBLEMS FOR WHEELER Vacant for years and in
Like us on Facebook a state of continuing facebook.com - deterioration, the northcoastcitizen one-time vacation
Inside
destination is sometimes home to a criminal element
City officials hope that the recent setback is nothing more than a temporary delay
By Dave Fisher The Citizen
Looking back 60 years later Last graduates of Wheeler High School share memories Page 3
Rinehart centennial fundraising nears goal Best ever Sand Dollar Auction and Dinner nets over $87,000 Page 10
Once a destination inn, known for its breathtaking views of Nehalem Bay, the surrounding mountains and sunsets over the Pacific, the View of the West set high on a hill above Wheeler is nowadays apparently home to occasional vagrants and criminals hiding from the law. Built in the 1940s, the View of the West operated as an inn up until 2000, or thereabouts, with its 12 rooms going for $75 to $100 per night. An online listing for bed and breakfasts at the time touted
By Dave Fisher The Citizen
Built in the 1940s, the View of the West Inn in Wheeler has been closed for more than a decade and sits vacant. Blackberry vines have engulfed the sign at the parking lot entry, while another signs warns. the inn’s “famous” John Wayne and Mint Julip rooms, guaranteed to “excite and please the most discriminating of vacationers.” Owners of the building have come and gone over the years, each set of owners, it seems, harboring intentions to renovate and modernize the facility to bring it back to its former glory. Economic downturns, a fire shortly after the inn closed, and escalat-
ing construction costs have thwarted efforts of the well intended, who discovered too late that they had purchased a money pit. Wheeler resident Eunice
Massie stayed at the inn in 1994 before moving permanently to the area. “It’s a shame,” she says of the building’s current condition. “It had such incredible views. When I stayed there, the owners, who were refurbishing it
See INN, page 5
Local soap manufacturer looks to clean up Husband and wife team, owners of the North Coast Soap Co., wear many hats Page 4
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The City of Wheeler’s plans to acquire just less than seven acres of property adjacent to Botts Marsh, owned by Vern Scovell and John Jelineo, received a setback when the city learned in July that the grant it applied for to purchase the property was denied. The city received permission from Scovell and Jelineo to apply to the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department (OPRD) for the grant following a presentation by Jelineo to the Wheeler City Council earlier this spring. The proposal ranked highly according to City Manager Jeff Aprati, raising hopes that the city could apply again next year should the property still be available. Of 36 projects considered by OPRD, half received funding. “We were two spots away from the cutoff line, so
See MARSH, page 5
Work continues, but new visitors center is month behind By Dave Fisher
Business
Wheeler’s plans for Botts Marsh Park hits a roadblock
The Citizen
While the Manzanita Visitors Center continues to make progress, it won’t be completed by the end of September as originally hoped. The reason for the delay: concrete masonry units for construction of the restroom walls. “Apparently,” City Manager Jerry Taylor told city councilors at the Aug. 7 meeting of the Manzanita City Council, “they don’t make it (masonry units) until you order it.” The delay temporarily stopped the framing of the new building, as the masonry walls have to be completed before framing could continue. Taylor expects the 1,000-square-foot building, located at First St. and Laneda Ave. at the site of the former Kent Price Coldwell Banker Realty office, to be completed by the end of October. The city awarded the construction bid earlier this summer to Baumgart Construction, of Rockaway Beach.
At last, concrete masonry units have arrived and restroom walls begin to take shape as work resumes on Manzanita’s new visitors center. Photo by Dave Fisher City of Manzanita, it will In the meantime, the city budget,” Covert noted that contract with the MBA to is working with the Manthe partnership with the city operate the center. zanita Business Alliance would be a learning experiMBA President Kay to reach an agreement on ence. “We’ve never done Covert, in her report to the the organizational structure this before; it is going to council, said she has not for the new visitors center, take some preparation,” she heard one negative comoutlining what the city will said. ment about the new visitors do and what the MBA is With a membership that center. In working with what includes 77 businesses and responsible for. Though the new facility is owned by the she described as a “slim associate members, Covert
said the MBA set the goal five years ago to have a visitors center and restroom facility close to the beach. With the goal soon becoming a reality, the MBA, she said, has been working with similar centers in Tillamook and Cannon Beach to get a better handle on operations. “It’s part art and part science in running a visitors center,” said Covert on what has been learned so far. “Manzanita has a warm heart and we want that to be reflected in the visitors center.” In addition, the MBA is in the process of hiring a coordinator, who will come on board this fall with the completion of the facility and be responsible for volunteer organization and staffing. Though the MBA is running the center, it will serve Nehalem and Wheeler, as well as Manzanita, Covert added. A formal signed agreement will likely be finalized in September between the MBA and City of Manzanita. By consensus, the council directed city staff to proceed in drafting the agreement.
Giant Sequoia topic of concern for Nehalem Council The tree next to the new city hall receives a health checkup following site preparation By Pat Edley For the Citizen
Still on schedule, Nehalem’s new city hall took a back seat to a discussion about a giant Sequoia located near the construction site. At its August 12 meeting, the Nehalem City Council received an update on the city hall project from City Manager Dale Shafer, who said the project was still on track, with the modular components to be delivered to the site on August 26. In addition, the city had received a copy of an arborist’s report from Jeff Gerhardt of Treescapes Northwest, based in Manzanita, concerning the giant Sequoia (sempervirens),
more commonly known as a coast redwood tree, near the site of the future city hall. In the report, Gerhardt stated that the only roots encountered during excavation were small feeder roots. These were pruned, and the amount of pruning was minimal. Furthermore, Gerhardt stated that the future growth of roots will not affect the new construction. He did, however, recommend that the tree receive a deep feeding, and some pruning to remove broken branches, improve the tree structure and create adequate building clearance. Liane Welch, Tillamook County Public Works director, gave a presentation on the replacement of the Lohman Bridge on MiamiFoley Road southeast of Nehalem. The bridge is in bad shape, Welch stressed, and is checked every day during periods of flooding. In case of cracks or other problems, she said the bridge would be closed immediately.
See SEQUOIA, page 5
See VISITORS CENTER, page 5
A giant Sequoia, next to the site of the new Nehalem City Hall, was relatively undisturbed by excavation and site preparation for the new facility, according to an arborist’s report. Photo by Dave Fisher