BIG DAY
SENIOR SALUTE
ON T-BAY
Bounty on the Bay, Page A10
Photos of grads from Nestucca and Tillamook high schools, Page A6, A7 and A9
Headlight Herald
TILLAMOOKHEADLIGHTHERALD.COM • JUNE 6, 2012
LONGEST RUNNING BUSINESS IN TILLAMOOK COUNTY • SINCE 1888
Rural post offices may cut hours SPRUCE UP
BY SAMANTHA SWINDLER sswindler@countrymedia.net
Tourists will soon be visiting our community, and it’s time for a “summer spruce up.” Volunteers are needed for a cleanup event in downtown Tillamook on June 16. This is a great chance to get your church, scouting group, nonprofit, or business involved in the community and show pride in your town. Register in advance with the Tillamook Area Chamber of Commerce, 503-842-7525. Volunteers will meet at the corner of Ivy and Second at 10 a.m. They’ll be clearing weeds, cleaning windows, power washing (in some cases) and doing minor painting. The event is sponsored by the City of Tillamook, the Chamber and the Tillamook Revitalization Association. Surveys were dropped off weeks ago asking merchants what kind of work they would like help with. It’s not too late to get in your requests. Turn them in to the Chamber.
mfbell@countrymedia.net
The U.S. Postal Service has announced a plan to consolidate services in small rural post offices across the state including three in Tillamook County. The Hebo, Wheeler and Oceanside post offices are marked to be reduced to half-time. Neighboring Otis is also on the list. Currently open for eight hours a day, all four post offices will be open just four hours per day when the changes are implemented.
There are 149 rural Oregon post offices on the list, (which can be found at usps.com); the majority are scheduled for reduced hours, while six of the 149 will increase hours from four to six per day. The changes reflect an effort on the part of the U.S. Postal Service to cut an anticipated $1.2 billion annually, and reduce staff by approximately 13,000 employees. “We simply do not have the mail volumes to justify the size and capacity of our current mail
processing network,” said Patrick R. Donohoe, Postmaster General and C.E.O. of the USPS. “To return to long-term profitability and financial stability while keeping mail affordable, we must match our network to the anticipated workload. Given that the Postal Service is currently projecting a $14 billion net loss in FY 2012, and continuing annual losses of this magnitude, we simply cannot justify maintaining our The Hebo Post Office, along with Wheeler and current mail processing footprint.”
See POST, Page A3
Oceanside post offices, are slated to reduce hours of operation from eight per day to four.
Parents protest new school start times
safe at sea
BY MARY FAITH BELL mfbell@countrymedia.net
INDEX Classified Ads .........................B5 Crossword Puzzle....................B2 Dining Guide ...........................B3 Fenceposts ..............................B3 Obituaries................................A8 Opinions..................................A4 Sports....................................A10
WEATHER MAY 30 31 JUNE 1 2 3 4 5
HIGH 63 61 61 58 59 58 65
STATS LOW 48 52 54 50 48 48 45
RAINFALL .12 .06 .19 .01 .03 .42 --
PRECIPITATION PAST WEEK: 0.83 MONTH TO DATE: 5.04 MAY NORMALS HIGH: 62 LOW: 44 TOTAL PRECIPITATION: 4.72 WEATHER COURTESY OF WEATHER UNDERGROUND
1908 2nd St. 503-842-7535 www.TillamookHeadlightHerald.com
Vol. 123, No. 23 75 cents
MARY FAITH BELL/HEADLIGHT HERALD
The Pacific City community gathers at Cape Kiwanda for the Blessing of the Fleet.
Dorymen’s Association holds Blessing of the Fleet BY MARY FAITH BELL
A Fishermen’s Prayer
mfbell@countrymedia.net
On June 2, dorymen, their families and the Pacific City community gathered for the annual blessing of the dory fleet. The beach at Cape Kiwanda was full of trucks, trailers, dories and dorymen, reminiscent of the commercial Coho fishing heyday 30 years ago, when as many as 300 dories used to launch in the surf at Pacific City. Piper George Grandison and trumpeter Johnny Zell provided music for the event, including a glorious duet of Amazing Grace that left the audience breathless as the notes floated over the beach toward the sea. Johnny Zell played trumpet professionally for 38 years with the Lawrence Welk Show; he and his family visited Pacific City for 30 summers in a row, and built a house here when he retired. Playing for the blessing of the Fleet has become an annual event for Zell and Grandison. This year, for the first time, the Pacific City Choirleers accompanied them.
Johnny Zell plays the trumpet.
Criag Wenrick, Pacific City doryman, read 29 names of people near and dear to the Dorymen’s Association who have passed as Tom Donohue tolled the ship’s bell. “It kind of chokes me up to read some of these names,” said Wenrick. “They were people in our community, people who fished dories, people who were an integral part of our lives here. We miss them and we like to remember them.”
VIDEO AT TILLAMOOKHEADLIGHTHERALD.COM
Father James Dieringer, retired Roman Catholic priest, retired commercial fisherman and dues paying member of the Pacific City Dorymen’s Association, led the 2012 Blessing of the Fleet with this prayer: “Almighty God, Creator, You made the sea and the fish and You put into Adam’s descendants the desire to go onto the waters of the ocean to fish. In the fullness of time Your son came into our world to restore the order lost through sin. He chose fishermen as his first disciples. Be close to us, Lord, as we fish for the bounty of the sea. Protect us from adverse weather. Give us wisdom to read the surf and the winds, and the courage and strength of will to remain ashore when conditions of launch are adverse. Give us continual respect for Your creation so we do not waste what we seek, and we enjoy our fishing and our companionship here in the Dorymen’s Association. “We bless these dories and dedicate them to Your honor. We ask the guardian angel of fishermen to be with us. “We pray for our members who have died during this past year. We ask Your blessing on the members of our Dorymen’s Association. May we stay united and true to our mission. This we pray with confidence. Amen.”
ELECTIONS COVERAGE
Pride of the Pirates
Two former candidates endorse Baertlein BY ERIN DIETRICH edietrich@countrymedia.net
Two candidates out of the seven in the May primary for County Commissioner Position 1 will face off in the November general election. But the pair – Lisa Phipps and Bill Baertlein – together only received 44.4 percent of the vote. The Headlight Herald asked the other five primary candidates whom they would throw their support to come November, and only two are making public endorsements. Jill Williams, who garnered 12.7 percent of the primary vote, and Tom Donohue, who had 7 percent, both plan to back Baertlein. “He’s more fiscally conservative than Lisa (Phipps) and I think he’s a more practical person from a conservative perspective,” Donohue said.
See ENDORSE, Page A3
PHOTO BY DAVE FISHER
The Class of 2012 bid NeahKah-Nie High School adieu at its graduation ceremony held June 1. This year’s class, 45 members strong, was led by valedictorians Alexis Anderson and Kellie Woodward, and salutatorian Shelby Porter, who challenged fellow graduates to make the most of educational opportunities and to embrace the future in their speeches. The 60th graduation exercise of Neah-Kah-Nie High marked the last commencement exercise for NKN School District Superintendent Jay Kosik, who, after eleven years with the district in that capacity, is retiring at the end of June.
TILLAMOOK FARMERS’ CO-OP
See TIMES, Page A3
City ends TRT grants BY MARY FAITH BELL mfbell@countrymedia.net
The Tillamook City Council decided on June 4 to discontinue the Transient Room Tax (TRT) grant program. In past years, TRT grants have provided up to $32,000 in grants of $1,000 to $3,000 to local organizations to promote tourism. The Council debated whether the money would be best spent on tourism promotion through the Tillamook Area Chamber of Commerce, or invested in a growth fund, to be used on a large capital project. The Council approved the finance committee’s recommendation of a hybrid of those ideas, with an additional financial commitment to the Tillamook Farmer’s Market. The Chamber, which has received 10 percent of the City TRT funds in the past, will now receive 18 percent. This represents an increase for the Chamber from about $35,000 in the current fiscal year to an estimated $56,700 in the next.
See GRANT, Page A3
PROPANE
Tillamook’s Country Store Serving Tillamook County Since 1935
RESIDENTIAL- COMMERCIAL
“FRIENDLY, GOOD SERVICE!”
Finches Feast Reg. $7.39 SALE $6.50 5 lb. bag
La Mexicana - Rodeo Steak House & Grill
Also Available in 20 lbs.
NEW SUMMER HOURS M-F 5-8, SAT 6:30-8, SUN 9-4 503-842-4457 • Fax 503-842-7684 1920 Main Street North • Tillamook, OR
About 50 parents met with Tillamook School District Superintendent Randy Schild last week to express concerns about the schedule for the 201213 school year. In particular, some parents are dreading the earlier start times planned for fall. South Prairie Elementary students will start school at 7:30 a.m. next year; Liberty and East elementaries will start at 7:45 a.m. Early students will start at the high school at 7:45 a.m.; all other high school students begin at 8:55 a.m. Junior high students will begin at 8:45 a.m. Schild acknowledged parents’ concerns about getting their youngest children up and out the door earlier. The earliest busses on the most distant routes will pick kids up about 6:15 a.m., according to the district transportation director. Earlier wake-up means earlier bed times for most kids, and parents were worried that this will cut into evening family time.
Commercial & Home Delivery
DeWayne O’Brien Branch Manager
Office (503) 842-6220 Toll Free (877) 339-4572
H24018
DOWNTOWN
BY MARY FAITH BELL