North Coast
Citizen Serving North Tillamook County since 1996
Thursday, September 5, 2024 | Vol. 31, Issue 16
www.northcoastcitizen.com
$2.00
Rockaway Beach balloting methodology withstands legal challenge WILL CHAPPELL Citizen Editor
he remembered thinking. Prime among those was the need to upgrade the park’s water and electrical infrastructure, much of which dates to the park’s construction in the early 1970s. All the park’s 265 campsites currently receive water via PVC pipe, through a system whose valve locations are lost to time, making localized issues necessitate widespread shutdowns. The system will be completely replaced with a new
After an extended hearing on August 28, Tillamook Circuit Court Judge Jonathan Hill ruled that the City of Rockaway Beach can proceed with its November city council elections with position numbers on the ballot on August 30. Numerous citizens spoke on the stand about their belief that the city’s elections would be fairer if they were conducted using an at-large methodology. But Hill found that the current approach was a reasonable interpretation of the city’s charter and ordinances and declined to issue a writ of mandamus to change the city’s ballot. “It is not the court’s place to determine public policy for the city of Rockaway Beach,” Hill said. The matter came before the court when two Rockaway Beach Citizens, Daniel Howlett and Justin McMahan, who is running for city council, filed a petition for a writ of mandamus on August 8. The petition alleged that a 2014 change in balloting methodology had been made illegally, without legislative action. Prior to 2014, the city used an at-large or block-voting format, with all candidates running against each other and the top vote getters being elected. But starting in 2014, the city began attaching positions to its council seats and requiring candidates to select a seat to contest. The petition alleged that
See NEHALEM, Page A5
See BALLOTS, Page A6
PHOTO BY WILL CHAPPELL
The view looking from Nehalem Bay State Park’s beach looking north toward Neah-Kah-Nie mountain.
Nehalem Bay State Park prepares for major infrastructure upgrades WILL CHAPPELL Citizen Editor
Rangers at Nehalem Bay State Park are preparing for extensive upgrades to their power and water systems along with other projects that are scheduled to be carried out during a park closure from November 1 to the end of June 2025. Park Manager Ben Cox said that the work will not yield many new facilities for the public but will allow the park to continue serving the community and visitors for years to come.
“That’s the non-sexy infrastructure stuff that we really need to meet demand and maintain the capacity we have,” Cox said. Funding for the $11 million in work is coming from general obligation bonds that were approved by the Oregon legislature in 2021 to help improve state parks. Cox said that even before the funding became available, he and other parks staff had been asked to come up with a list of projects at Nehalem State Park that needed funding. Cox said that during a spit
balling session the group had come up with a list of 20 to 25 ideas and sent it in to a committee for review. After the bonds were approved, that committee evaluated requests from parks across the state, weighing the age of their infrastructure against visitor statistics and demographics to eventually choose nine parks to receive funding across the state. Having received a green light from the selection committee, Cox and the team at Nehalem Bay State Park hired a
project manager and other consultants in 2022 to get the ball rolling on the upgrades. Whereas the original list of projects included ambitious items like adding 14 camper cabins and a new 50-campsite loop, once preparatory work began, it became clear that the allocated funds would not support all the ideas. Cox said that this led the team to pare back the list and focus in on projects that were necessary. “Let’s kind of pull in our horns and focus on those things that we know that we need,” Cox said
Hoffman Center celebrates two decades WILL CHAPPELL Citizen Editor
Manzanita’s Hoffman Center for the Arts marked its 20th anniversary with an all-day festival on August 31, welcoming volunteers and the community for a day filled with artistic activities. Volunteers staffed tables to let event attendees experience all the center’s
offerings, including visual arts, horticulture, clay and writing, before local band Stay Tuned performed in the late afternoon. The festival began with a welcome ceremony in the center’s Wonder Garden. Executive Director India Downes-Le Guin welcomed guests before turning the ceremony over to Adria Badagnani. Badagnani spoke about
the center’s integral place in the community and gave a brief history of the nonprofit. Formed in 2004 when Lloyd and Myrtle Hoffman left their estate, including a house and vacant property, as well as their savings to the community to start a center for the arts. See HOFFMAN, Page A2
PHOTO COURTESY CAVITT FAMILY
Kyler at his high school graduation with sister, Kayla, and Dennis and Amanda.
Kyler’s Big Heart Benefit to help boost cardiac disease awareness and prevention WILL CHAPPELL Citizen Editor
Following the sudden death of their son, Kyler, earlier this year from a cardiac event, Dennis
7
29467 70001 8
and Amanda Cavitt have planned a benefit concert for September 7. Dennis and Amanda said they plan to put proceeds from the concert into a foundation that will support awareness of and training to respond to cardiac diseases for area first responders. “If I can save some parents from having to go through what we’ve gone through I’d love to do that because it’s just devastated our family,” Dennis said.
Tragedy struck earlier this year while Kyler, 28, was working a carpentry job in the Phoenix suburbs in late May. Kyler grew up in Garibaldi and played basketball, baseball and football at Nestucca High School. He loved the Oregon coast, but Dennis said that the pay for the job in Arizona was too enticing and Kyler had decided to work there for a year or two before moving back to See KYLER, Page A6
Community members congregated in the Wonder Garden at the Hoffman Center for the Arts to celebrate its 20th anniversary on August 30.