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Headlight Herald
Tuesday, March 4, 2025 | Vol. 137, Issue 9
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www.TillamookHeadlightHerald.com
TCVA fetes tourist industry WILL CHAPPELL Headlight Editor
T
he Tillamook Coast Visitors Association hosted its annual tourism awards banquet at the Red Barn at the Tillamook Creamery Association on February 21. Guests were treated to a dinner catered by the creamery association and given a virtual tour of tourism across the county, with awards given to businesses and organizations doing standout work. The evening kicked off with hors d’oeuvres as guests filtered in, before Tillamook Coast Visitors Association (TCVA) Director Nan Devlin welcomed attendees and recognized the elected officials who were present. Devlin shared that the association has recently hired an administrations and operations assistant and has a new tourism sector coordinator beginning on March 1, which will bring them to full staffing for the first time in a decade. Devlin then shared a video produced by TCVA celebrating the Cape Meares Loop Road Project, which was awarded Project of the Year in 2024, and another video discussing the vision of and projects accomplished by TCVA. Dan Haag, TCVA’s trails and outdoor recreation manager, then talked about the association’s work with Wheel the World, which aims to increase accessibility and make the process of visiting tourist destinations seamless for people with different needs. Tillamook County was named an accessible destination by the program last year and Haag shared a video showing some of the programs that helped the county garner that recognition, including the multiple David’s Chair beach wheelchairs across the county. After dinner, Devlin returned to the stage and began a presentation about developments in Tillamook Tourism in the past year, during which she handed out the awards. Tillamook County Historical Society was given an award for Excellence in Cultural Heritage in recognition for its work to preserve Cloverdale’s Main Street. The society was founded almost 40 years ago to preserve the county’s history and engages with the community
Tyler Reed
Photo by Will Chappell
TCVA’s staff, Dan Haag, Lisa Hayden, Nan Devlin, Mariah Surat and Nicole Steen (left to right), during the awards presentation ceremony at the banquet.
through hands-on projects, plaques that mark sites of historical interest, publishing books and newsletters, and conducting tours. The Blimp Base Disc Golf Course at the Port of Tillamook Bay was recognized for Excellence in Outdoor Recreation. The disc golf course was constructed with $8,000 in funding from TCVA, $10,000 from the Oregon Coast Visitor’s Association and a $75,000 facilities grant from Tillamook County. Opened last year, the course currently comprises nine holes on thirty acres next to Anderson Hill and has welcomed almost 1,000 players to date. Slade Sapora who has overseen the course’s construction said that nine more holes will be added this year and that when complete the course will be the
only professional-level course on the Oregon Coast. Sapora also said that the Tillamook Disc Golf Club, which runs the course, is now a registered 501(c)3. D.J. and Jaimie Josi, of Josi Farms, were recognized for Excellence in Culinary Agritourism award for their farm stand and work educating local kids about farming. Cape Meares Community Association received the award for Excellence in Community Stewardship for their work on a project to preserve 107 acres of the forest containing the community’s watershed. The group consummated the purchase by partnering with the Conservation Fund, which will eventually sell the parcel to the Cape Meares National Wildlife refuge for permanent protection.
Pacific City Fishing and Nordic Pirate Guide Service were recognized for Excellence in Marketing and Sidney and Larry Oswald were awarded for their Excellence in Business Development for Twins Ranch LLC, which offers a bevy of services in Bay City and Garibaldi, including catering, a restaurant and dog grooming. Rockaway Beach’s Sand Dollar Restaurant and Lounge was given an award for Excellence in Accessibility for its owners’ dedication to creating an environment that is welcoming to all. Nehalem’s Riverbend Players were awarded for Excellence in Arts and Culture and the City of Manzanita received recognition for Excellence in Destination Management for its recent rebranding and wayfinding efforts.
NVHD clinic on track for October opening WILL CHAPPELL
W
Headlight Editor
ork is progressing on schedule and budget at the Nehalem Valley Health District’s new clinic and pharmacy building
in Wheeler, keeping the project on pace for completion in early September and a grand opening a month later. Crews are currently working to complete the roughing in process for different utilities and will then move onto hanging drywall in the coming weeks. Marc Johnson, President of the Nehalem Valley Health District (NVHD) Board of Directors, said that he was excited to see the project take shape and believed it would be a great asset for the community. “I’m going to go out on a limb and say that I think people will be really pleased with this building when it is complete,” Johnson said. Work on the $12.2-million facility began last July with a groundbreaking ceremony and represents the first step in a $15.5-million makeover of the district’s facilities, the majority of which is being financed by a $10.25-million bond approved by voters in May 2023. Kevin McMurry, a senior superintendent with Bremik Construction overseeing the project, recently gave the Headlight Herald
Photo by Will Chappell
The building’s exterior is nearing completion as the roof will be installed in the coming weeks, with solar panels to follow later.
and Johnson a tour of the construction. The facility’s first floor will be home to the district’s medical clinic and pharmacy, which will have separate entrances to reduce congestion. The new clinic will be home to 15 exam rooms, more
than doubling the current clinic’s seven, allowing for much greater efficiency as care teams will be able to accommodate multiple patients at the same time, according
NKN’s Reed talks budget crunch WILL CHAPPELL
A
Headlight Editor
s his district has taken a million-dollar budget haircut this year, Neah-Kah-Nie Superintendent Tyler Reed is working to minimize impacts to students and staff and continue the district’s strong performance. In a recent interview with the Headlight Herald, Reed said that he is concerned that further cuts could be coming to the portion of the district’s budget supported by federal dollars with the recent administrative change in Washington and that he hoped to educate citizens about potential impacts. “We just want to do right by kids and our staff and continue to be a great asset to the Neah-KahNie School District,” Reed said. Neah-Kah-Nie School District has historically sat in an advantageous financial position, supported by strong property values in its coastal communities and receiving $2-3 million annually from harvests on timberlands held in trust in the Tillamook State Forest. This has allowed the district to forego funding from the state, as it does not qualify for the school equalization fund, though it does receive around a million dollars towards its roughly $15-million annual budget from the federal government. That position of strength took a hit last March, however, when the Oregon Board of Forestry approved a habitat conservation plan (HCP) for western Oregon state forests that limits harvest areas and consequently volumes to comply with federal laws. Though the plan still has to be approved by federal agencies, the Oregon Department of Forestry began offering timber sales under the new plan’s constrictions this year, leading to revenue decreases for the department and counties and various special districts that receive portions of the forest funds. For Neah-Kah-Nie, the partial implementation has already had a drastic impact, with revenue down by around a million dollars for this fiscal year, according to Reed. See NKN, Page A3
See CLINIC, Page A3
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