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Harrier Now on Display
Mook at Alderbrook Hosts Golf Camp
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Headlight Herald
Tuesday, August 12, 2025 | Vol. 137, Issue 32
100th Championship
Manzanita city hall opens for business WILL CHAPPELL
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Headlight Editor
everal hundred community members gathered on Manzanita Avenue on August 2, to celebrate the completion of Manzanita’s new city hall and police station with speeches, a flag raising, a ribbon cutting and tours of the facilities. Manzanita Mayor Kathryn Stock and City Manager Leila Aman expressed deep gratitude to city leaders and staff past and present, local organizations who had supported the project and the team that undertook it and said they were excited for the new city hall to welcome the community. “As we open this new city hall, we honor not just a building, but our community; one grounded in service, resilience and sheer purpose,” Aman said. “May this space inspire civic responsibility and may it welcome every voice and guide us always to work for the public good.” The crowd began to gather in front of the new city hall on a sunny Saturday morning as a DJ played music, attendees enjoyed snacks and kids participated in activities organized by the Hoffman Center for the Arts. After Stock welcomed the group, Bob La Torre played the national anthem on trumpet while Manzanita Police Sergeant Mike Scott and veteran Chuck Bridge raised the flag over the building. Aman then addressed the crowd and thanked many of the people who had contributed to the project’s success. “This project was many years in the making, decades in fact, so my role today is to recognize the many hands and hearts who helped envision, plan and build this space,” Aman said. Thanked first were the city councilors who had taken part in the project’s planning, approval and construction. Aman specially thanked Councilor Linda Kozlowski, who led public listening sessions in the wake of a failed 2019 vote seeking support for a tax increase to pay for the project. After city council reaffirmed their commitment to building a new city hall and police station in 2020 and directed city staff to find funding sources to support the facility, the listening sessions helped to inform a preliminary plan, completed and approved by council in 2021. See OPENS, Page A3
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Tillamook council prepares to raise water rates WILL CHAPPELL
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Will Chappell/Headlight Herald
Ben Salo won Saturday’s championship Pig n’ Ford race thanks to three perfect cranks and two smooth pig exchanges.
Salo wins 100th Pig n’ Ford races Staff report
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nother Tillamook County Fair is in the books, after a four days of music, food, rides, animals and so much more from August 6-9. The week kicked off on a drizzly Wednesday that saw the Pig n’ Ford association forced to cancel their first day of racing but ended with three days of beautiful weather, culminating in Saturday night’s Pig n’ Ford championship race and demolition derby. This year, the fair celebrated the Pig n’ Ford races centennial anniversary, with booths around the fair getting in on the fun, limited edition, commemorative souvenirs available for sale and a driver meet and greet on Friday night. Ben Salo won the centennial championship in the #20 car owned by his father Ken, with the Walker franchise #13 car finishing second and the Prince #15 car coming in third. Exhibit halls at the fairground were busy throughout the week as locals showed off their green thumbs and handiwork, while area youth showed a plethora of farm animals as part of FFA and 4H competitions. Parimutuel horse racing filled the afternoons in the main grandstand, while various entertainment from ice
cream tasting and bubble gum eating contests to magicians kept families delighted in the courtyard. Chase Matthew, Fleetwood Mac cover band Taken by the Sky and up-and-comer Waylon Wyatt put on memorable concerts in the grandstand arena.
Salo embraces his father, Ken, owner of the #20 franchise after triumphing in the championship race.
Music returns to Bay City with Pearl and Oyster Festival B
Staff report
ay City’s fourth annual Pearl and Oyster Festival is scheduled to bring a weekend of music and family fun to Al Griffin Memorial Park on August 23 and 24. As in past years, Saturday will see a full day of live performances from professional bands before Sunday is dedicated to kids, with a talent show and other activities, games and entertainment for the youth. First held in 2019, the festival was envisioned as a celebration of the city and a way to attract visitors and returned for its second edition in 2023 after a three-year pandemic hiatus. Each year, the festival shuts down Fourth Street in Bay City, as dozens of vendors offer their wares, while Al Griffin Memorial Park is transformed into a concert venue featuring two stages. On Saturday, the main stage will play host to three cover bands, with Creedence Clearwater Revival tribute band Tombstone Shadows playing the first set at 1 p.m. Grand Royale, a Beastie Boys tribute band, performing at 4 p.m. and Eagle Eyes wrapping up the evening
Festivalgoers enjoying Petty Fever’s performance during the 2024 Pearl and Oyster Festival.
with renditions of Eagles’ favorites at 7. The second stage in the park will host two performances by Hope Montgomery & The Invasive Species at 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. A beer and wine garden will be hosted by Clatsop Distributing and Grocery Outlet and food will also be available for purchase. On Sunday, kids will take center stage with games, music and chalk art on offer and the opportunity for kids to set up their own vendor table with no charge from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. A pet parade will start the day’s festivities at 11 a.m., with kids
encouraged to bring their furry pal and to be prepared to walk several blocks with them. At noon, a local kids’ band will perform and at 1 p.m., an open-mic hour will give kids a chance to prepare for the talent show. Kicking off at 2 p.m., the third annual kids’ talent show is open to those aged zero to 18, has five categories and a five-minute time limit per performer, and offers a cash prize. To register for the talent show and find more information about the weekend’s activities visit baycitypearlandoysterfestival.com.
Headlight Editor
illamook’s city council was briefed on needed water rate increases at their meeting on August 4, learning that an 18% rate increase will be necessary each of the next five years to maintain the water fund’s solvency. City Manager Sean Lewis told councilors that the recommendation had been made in a recently completed water rate study and said that staff would be bringing the 18% increase to council for approval soon. Lewis started his presentation on the rates with a refresher on the current rates being paid by water and sewer customers in the city, with the base water rate costing $15.04 monthly, sewer at $92.68 and an optional leak protection $2.80, for a total bill of $110.52. Lewis explained that 80% of the city’s residential customers used the allotted 2,999 gallons or less and paid the base rate and said that consumption charges started at $10.93 for 3,000-4,000 gallons of usage and went up from there. In the spring, council had discussed increasing the base water rate by 5%, which would have raised customers’ bills to $112.78, but elected to wait until the water rate study was complete to decide a path forward. Lewis presented two options for increasing the water rate, with the first being a phased increase of 15%, with a 5% bump in July and 10% in January, which would raise customers’ base bill to $112.78. The second option was to increase rates by the recommended 18%, which would see the base rate jump by $2.71, and monthly bills rise to $113.25. Lewis explained that either option would include matching increases to consumption charges for those using over 3,000 gallons monthly. Lewis then discussed the water rate study that recommended the increase, saying that the study had shown the city would need to make 18% annual increases every year for the next five years for the city’s water fund to remain solvent. Lewis said that this would mean a $124.06 monthly base bill for residential users after five years with steady sewer rates, though those also need to be updated in the coming months. Lewis said that he planned to start the public noticing process required under Oregon Law for the rate increases and bring the recommended 18% increase to one of the council’s next meetings. The city’s water rate was last increased by 5% in 2022, and the sewer rate was last increased by 4% in 2021. Councilor Nick Torres asked how the city’s rates would compare to neighboring cities and water districts after the See RATES, Page A2
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