Serving North Tillamook County since 1996
North Coast
Citizen August 29, 2019
northcoastcitizen.com
Fish & Chips ...
Volume 24, No. 17
Historical Society installs Civil War medallions
One of the best on the coast
T
Cody Mann
headlightnews@countrymedia.
I
f you ask around in Tillamook County, Old Oregon Smokehouse has a solid reputation for serving up some of the best dishes around. An Oregonian article recently awarded two top slots to the Smokehouse for best fish and chips on the coast, one for each location, adding to a long list of accolades that includes a nod from USA Today for best seafood. With locations in Rockaway Beach and Tillamook, it’s likely you’ve seen the restaurants before. One is directly across from the Tillamook Creamery, the other is tucked away on the main drag in Rockaway. Both spots offer a surprisingly diverse menu that is highlighted by wide array of seafood, too much to list here. There is quite a bit choose from for taking home, too. Harold, Cindy and Adam Brecht own the Old Oregon Smokehouses. They run the restaurants themselves along with manager Sandy Dixson and a staff of around a dozen between both locations. They’re particularly proud of the fish and chips, hand-breaded with a dry batter and fried to perfection. The clam chowder is acclaimed as well, and the
crab dishes are among the most popular. They scour the Pacific Northwest coast for the best to fill out the menu. It’s not uncommon to find a line outside the Rockaway Beach location at opening time. Hundreds of rave reviews on Yelp and strong local following keep the cozy spot packed year-round. During the Kite Festival this year, the line stretched down the sidewalk to the corner, dozens and dozens of people eager for a taste. Old Oregon Smokehouse is said to be the longest running restaurant with the same owners in the community. Harold ran his own logging company before an injury forced his retirement, leading the Brechts to the seafood market and later the restaurant business in Scappoose around 25 years ago. It was a natural fallback after growing up around his mom’s restaurant. The Rockaway Beach Old Oregon Smokehouse opened seventeen years ago and hasn’t slowed down since. Around a decade ago, they opened the Tillamook location. The
secret to their success is working for it. “If you want to be successful, you’ve got to work hard,” Harold said. It’s paying off. The past four years have seen significant increases in business for the Brechts. As locals hear the good word and tourists flock to the shores, they expect to keep seeing crowds line up to check it out.
Local coach, son player to play in 67th Annual East West Shrine Football Game Hilary Dorsey
headlightreporter@countrymedia.net
O
$1
regon’s 67th Annual East West Shrine All-Star Football Game will take place on Saturday, August 3 in Baker City. The parade starts at 11 a.m. and kick off starts at 7 p.m. Once a year, Oregon’s best and brightest Senior football players from the 1A to 4A high schools meet in Baker City to participate in an all-star football game that is much more than a
game. These players are playing for the children who are patients of Shriners Hospital for Children. One of the players on the West Team is Tristan Bennett of NeahKah-Nie High School. The coach of the team, Chris Bennett, is his father. Bennet, who graduated from the school in 1999, has been a coach of the team since 2016. “It’s been great,” said Chris about his experience coaching Tristan. His son gets hit harder than other guys on the team, because he is the coach’s son,
but coaching him has been a fun, rewarding experience for both father and son. Chris played in the East West Shrine Game 20 years ago and is excited to be back on staff for the game and watch his son play. He says the game is a great opportunity for both him and his son. He is excited to see people that he played with 20 years ago. Chris is very excited for Tristan to play in the game. His hope for him is to stay injury-free and make the lineup on the team.
Chris says that his son is a hardnosed football player. He believes that Tristan will play defense in the game, but it is possible that they may find a spot for him in the Offense. He is expected to play in a linebacker position. Tristan received a half-ride scholarship to Western Oregon University to play defense as a linebacker and will move up from there. The East West Shrine Game n See Football, Page 3
he Nehalem Valley Historical Society (NVHS) installed several civil war medallions at the Historic Nehalem American Legion Cemetery on Tuesday, August 13 at 5:30 p.m. Val Vines Magee has led NVHS cemetery beautification efforts. She started out by seeking grant money for the project through the Oregon Department of Parks and Recreation/ Oregon Heritage Commission. She has been brining people to the cemetery for a few years now and has had the support of the City of Nehalem. In 2018, NVHS sponsored a program in which Manzanita’s mayor, Mike Scott, spoke about Oregon’s role in the American Civil War. “He asked questions of our society about civil war vets that are buried there,” said Tom Campbell, President of NVHS. “Lyla Hendrickson and Val answered his questions and Mike did some work of his own and we learned about those civil war vets that are interred there.” Magee has since won the Sally Donovan Award for Historic Cemetery Beautification. The award also came from the Oregon Heritage Commission. The grant money funded a new split rail fence around the cemetery. This year, Eileen Nordquist came up with the idea to have the special grave markers added to the cemetery. Nordquist priced out the markers and sought funding through the City of Nehalem. The city council agreed to pay the amount and the NVHS ordered them. These medallions are star-shaped and were placed on eight civil war vets’ graves. The city halls of Manzanita and Nehalem were notified of this event.
Val Vines Magee, Nehalem City Public Works Director Brian Moore, Joe Balden and Eileen Nordquis.
Council putting $6.5M bond on fall ballot Hilary Dorsey
headlightreporter@countrymedia.net
7
29467 70001 8
A
bond measure of a $6.5M is approved to be on November’s ballot after the Manzanita City Council meeting met on Aug.7 at Manzanita City Hall. This meeting discussed the new city hall project and offered a general project update. Randy Kugler, a former Manzanita city council manager, began the meeting by reading his latest presentation about the ongoing water budget issue. Kugler writes that at the July 10 meeting, the mayor attempted to explain how the city water utility operated in order to justify excessive salary payments from the water fund for the city manager and assistant city manager. Mayor Mike Scott had stated, “If the water system was a separate business, it would have its own manager and board of directors.” “The city water system is not a separate business,” said Kugler. “It is a utility owned by the citizens of Manzanita, operated and managed by employees of the City, under the ultimate authority of the elected City Council who
enjoys some discretion as to which entities outside of the City it may choose to enter into contracts with to sell City water. There is no basis to suggest a hypothetical ‘if’ to the facts in this matter.” For accounting purposes, the water fund is classified as an enterprise fund, Kugler said. “While all Oregon cities have enterprise funds, I am quite sure that Manzanita is the only city that attempts to justify its overhead allocations by creating a fictional water utility manager who reports to an imaginary board of directors,” Kugler said. Another main topic that was discussed at the meeting was the Underhill project. The city council has been doing weekly questions and answers with the community and will continue to do so as long as people show up. These meetings are at 4 p.m. at City Hall or the fire station. The council announced that in this meeting, they would act to place a bond measure before Manzanita voters. If the council approves, voters can still appeal the ballot title. Sept. 5 is the deadline for the city to
The Underhil property currently has a schoolhouse and Quonset hut on site. submit the measure. One of the mandates for the measure is to get a sense of the cost involved. The City Council explained that the bond would be an addition to property taxes for Manzanita voters. It would be a 50 cent increase per thousand dollars of assessed value. “We believe this is a feasible number, but it could
be less, if needed,” said City Manager, Cynthia Alamillo. The bond measure won’t be any more than $6.5 million, the council said. The bond measure includes construction of a city emergency hub, police office, administrative and workspaces, multi-purpose room, and a kitchenette with storage spaces. The funds are expected
to pay for demolition and construction. The bond may be issued at multiple series. Alamillo says that the tax would be for a term of up to 31 years for the citizens of Manzanita. The council thinks that they will be able to get some grants from outside sources, which would
n See Bond, Page 3