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PIRATE
FESTIVAL OF
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WRESTLING WRESTLERS GET BIG WINS, PAGE A9
ANNUAL TREE AUCTION DEC. 11, PAGE A2
Headlight Herald
TILLAMOOKHEADLIGHTHERALD.COM • DECEMBER 11, 2013
Winter weather: The worst is over? By Sayde Moser
smoser@countrymedia.net
For the first time since the 1970s, Tillamook County was slammed by an icy, Arctic cold front that dropped temperatures into the teens. Schools were closed, roads were frozen and travel was difficult. Fortunately, said county emergency management director Gordon McCraw, the worst probably is over. “After Wednesday [Dec. 11], the highs will stay above freezing,“ he said. At least here on the coast. “An onshore flow will warm up the coastline, but all that cold air could get hung up in the [Willamette] Valley with no place to go,” said McCraw. So for those who travel inland, even after mid-week it would be wise to exercise caution. “Higher elevations, like along Highway 6, will remain frozen because temperatures up there will continue to reach freezing,” McCraw said. The culprit has been a big Arctic air mass, which after hanging out up north traveled downwards to engulf much of the U.S. Coldtemperature records were set all over the nation, including here in Oregon. As for Tillamook County, McCraw said, it’s hard to say if any temperature marks were set – there’s no official weather station in the county. “No one’s indicated to me that we broke any records,” he said. Still, such a cold spell was “definitely unusual,” said McCraw. And just because it’s heating back up doesn’t mean winter is over. “Nothing in the immediate future indicates another blast like this,” he said, “but January is our cold month, so we’re not through winter yet. Meaning there is potential for another snowstorm. “But hopefully, this is end of an extremely prolonged cold period.”
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TWO FAMILIES LOSE HOMES TO FIRES By Sayde Moser
INSIDE Find a donation list for the families on page A5
smoser@countrymedia.net
Within a matter of hours, two separate families found themselves without a home Dec. 5 after fires destroyed each residence. Now, almost a week later, individuals and community organizations throughout Tillamook County are pulling together to help. • The first fire was reported at 6:10 a.m. on Dec. 5, involving a house on Old Mohler Road. “The structure suffered significant damage,î said Nehalem Bay Fire and Rescue Chief Perry Sherbaugh. The building was about 25 percent destroyed, he said, “But the contents were a total loss.”
Earlier this week, officials said they were working to determine the homeowner’s name. The cause of the fire remains under investigation, but “we believe it started in the wall next to the fireplace,” Sherbaugh said. Old mortar there may have been the culprit, he added. Nehalem Bay Fire and Rescue sent 15 firefighters, two fire engines, a tender (which carries water) and a “quick-attack” vehicle. Fire insurance reportedly will
See FIRE, Page A5
Photo by Tim Moore
The Nestucca Rural Fire Protection District responds to a house fire in Hebo on Dec. 5 that displaced a family of three. The fire was one of two that day that destroyed homes.
‘Tillamook’ takes wing Beach
erosion worse here By Mark Floyd
Oregon State University
Air National Guard photo by Tech. Sgt. John Hughel, 142nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs/Released Oregon
Air National Guard selects Tillamook as ‘City of Honor’ Oregon Air National Guard Col. Jeff Hwang, 142nd Fighter Wing Vice-Commander, discusses some of the features inside an F-15 Eagle to Paul Wyntergreen, city manager for Tillamook following the “City of Honor” event for the city of Tillamook. The “City of Honor” program began in 2007 as the 142nd created unique nose art for 22 local communities that support the mission and members of the Oregon Air National Guard. Find the full story on page B3.
A new assessment of shoreline change along the Pacific Northwest coast, from the late 1800s to today, has found that while the majority of beaches are stable or slightly adding sand, many Oregon beaches have experienced an increase in erosion. In fact, Oregon State University researchers say Tillamook County is one of the worst areas for erosion. Since the 1960s, the Neskowin “littoral cell” – a stretch of beach between rocky headlands and major inlets – between Cascade Head and Pacific City has averaged more than one meter of erosion annually over the past 50 years. The risk of land loss here is significant from higher waves and rising sea levels, said Peter Ruggiero, an OSU coastal hazards specialist. Along the coastline farther south, the impacts from these phenomena are partially countered by plate tectonics, said Ruggiero.
See EROSION, Page A3
Barge getting unwelcome attention By Joe Wrabek
jwrabek@countrymedia.net
A barge designed for missionary work in Alaska has drawn plenty of attention since it moved this week from Garibaldi’s Old Mill Marina to a visible location at Crab Harbor, on the Tillamook Bay side of Kinchloe Point. “I’ve been getting emails from far-off places,” Tillamook County Sheriff Andy Long told the Headlight Herald. “It got built under the radar at Old Mill. But then it moved.” The barge, being built by Eddie and Denise Ebel, thus far has prompted investigations by the Sheriff’s Office, the Department of State Lands (which owns the land under Tillamook Bay) and the U.S. Coast Guard, among others. “We do have some safety concerns,î said Coast Guard Master Chief Michael Saindon. “We’re working on them.” Added Saindon, “[Ebel’s] real issue is with State Lands.” The Department of State Lands has said the barge could stay in its present location for no more than 30 days, Ed Ebel reported on the family’s website, pacificiceberg.org. “Then we must move. We’re looking for a place to anchor or dock during the next few months,” he said. The state agency did not return the Headlight Herald’s phone calls. As of Dec. 9, new moorage for
Photo by Craig Zuck
The “missionary” barge that was being built in Garibaldi’s Old Mill Marina recently was forced to move across Tillamook Bay to Crab Harbor. That move exposed the unfinished barge to some negative attention and some concerns from local organizations. It may well need to move again soon. the barge had not been found. The Port of Garibaldi, the only nearby commercial moorage, can’t accommodate a vessel that large, said port manager Kevin Greenwood. “If there was a storm, it could do some serious damage,” Greenwood said. What’s more, he said, the port’s policies don’t allow “live-aboards.”
Greenwood likened the Ebels’ situation to “the international traveler stuck in an airport without a passport. I don’t know what they’re going to do.” “They have got themselves in a spot,” Sheriff Long agreed. The Ebels have rented a slip at the port’s “transient dock” to tie up their 21-foot motor launch, which
they use to make trips to town. “We come in every couple of days,” Ebel said. That also allows them to empty the detachable holding tanks from the barge’s toilets. For its part, the Oregon State Marine Board said it’s wrestling with whether the 40-foot by 80-foot
See BARGE, Page A3