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north coast Volume 21, No. 8

northcoastcitizen.com

April 28, 2016

Oregon closes coastal clamming, mussel harvesting

Tunnel Vision... Manzanita couple killed in Hwy 101 crash

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n Nehalem Bay, the shellfish are mostly Softshells and Purple Varnish. In Tillamook Bay, there are Gapers, Butters, Cockles, Littlenecks, as well as Softshells and Purple Varnish. In Netarts Bay, the choices are Gapers, Butters, Cockles, Littlenecks, Softshells and Purple Varnish. And in Nestucca Bay, the Softshells and Purple Varnish are plentiful. The recreational harvest of bay clams is

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Citizen photo by Jordan Wolfe A 350 ton crane carefully lowers each piece of the new fish tunnel under Highway 101 in Manzanita Tuesday.

open along the entire Oregon Coast from the Columbia River to the California border. But to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, the stretch of ocean coastline in Tillamook County has a problem. The state agency has issued a public warning. It has closed the recreation harvest of razor clams from Tillamook Head (south of Seaside) to the California border for elevated levels of domain acid on the coast. It is still open for clamming from Tillamook Head north to the Columbia River. The announcement includes closure of the harvesting of mussels from the Columbia River to Cascade Head near Lincoln City because of elevated levels of shellfish toxin. South of Cascade Head, the harvesting of mussels is still permitted.

NORTH COUNTY NEWS ONLINE

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Crews construct fish friendly tunnel in Manzanita under 101 By Jordan Wolfe

jwolfe@countrymedia.net

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he fish of Neahkahnie Creek are currently receiving a big upgrade in the form of a 200 foot long tunnel being built underneath Highway 101 in Manzanita. The project, which began construction in early 2015, is replacing a failing culvert for the fish and has been designed and is being built by LRL Construction in Tillamook under project manager Justin Laviolette, according to owner Dan Laviolette. Laviolette says each piece of the tunnel weighs around 57,000 pounds, is moved with a

350 ton crane and is engineered to have beveled female and male ends that interlock. The tunnel is more than doubling the size of the old, six foot diameter culvert. According to ODOT’s website, “Neahkahnie Creek is listed on the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife as the highest priority for fish passage due to excellent spawning habitat within the upper reaches of the existing lake.” Laviolette says he and his team have taken every precaution to not endanger or pollute the habitat of the fish, citing the difficulty of protecting the area during winter and the rains.

n See TUNNEL, Page A2

n April Saturday 23, at approximately 3:15PM, OSP Troopers and emergency personnel responded to the report of a two vehicle head-on crash on Highway 101 near milepost 28 (just north of Cannon Beach). Preliminary information indicates a 2011 Hyundai sport utility was traveling southbound on Highway 101 when it crossed over the centerline and struck a northbound 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe head-on. After the impact both vehicles came to rest on the highway. The driver of the Hyundai, Gregory W Heron, and his passenger, Martha H Heron (both age 64 and from Manzanita) were pronounced deceased on scene. The driver of the Chevrolet, Diana R Feke, age 57, and Jethro J Feke, age 59 (both of West Linn) received non-life threatening injuries. Both were taken to an area hospital for treatment. Highway 101 was closed for about three and a half hours while the investigation was conducted. OSP was assisted by the Clatsop County Medical Examiner, Cannon Beach Fire Department, Cannon Beach Police Department, and the Oregon Department of Transportation. Cause of the crash is still under investigation. More information will released when it becomes available.

Giving Back: Local Les Schwab store donates to county Backpack Programs By Jordan Wolfe

jwolfe@countrymedia.net

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una fish has just saved Garibaldi Grade School’s backpack program. Twenty-one hundred cans of tuna fish, that is. Backpack programs across the county aim to provide low-income or homeless children guaranteed meals over the weekend, when they may not know when or where their next meal will come from. “Many children have difficulty filling the food gap between Friday afternoon and Monday morning,” says Nehalem Elementary School’s coordinator, Rose Hucek. She was approached by the Manager of Les Schwab Tire Center in Tillamook, Pat Dean, about a donation. Dean says, “we offered a cash donation to Rose, but she said Garibaldi’s program had recently run out of funds, so because of her,

we donated $1,000 to Garibaldi.” Family Resource Coordinator for Garibaldi Grade School, Terry Houchins says, “the donation kept the program going. If we just had that, it would’ve, probably, kept us going until the end of the school year.” She says that Garibaldi Grade School has had a backpack program for five or six years. “I used to do a whole backpack that would feed a whole family,” Houchins says, “but Citizen photo by Jordan Wolfe this year we’ve changed to a S.H.E. Warriors and Les Schwab manager Pat Dean unload cans of tuna at Nehalem gallon-sized bag. This year, money hasn’t shown up.” Elementary school. The Tillamook Les Schwab store donated over 16,000 cans of tuna to all But the donations from Dean county school districts for their Backpack programs. and Les Schwab did not stop there. didn’t know I’d be getting 2,100 Houchins says, “Last week, cans of it.” n See TUNA, Page A2 Rose asked ‘do you want tuna?’ I A friend of Dean’s from when

Nehalem Elementary receives $1.4 million for earthquake stabalization upgrades By Jordan Wolfe

jwolfe@countrymedia.net

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n the event of a major earthquake, Nehalem Elementary School has been awarded a nearly 1.4 million dollar grant to retrofit escape routes of the building to help protect children and staff, according to superintendent Paul Erlebach. Representative David Gomberg, whose district encompasses the southern part of Tillamook County, says the “Seismic Rehabilitation Grant Program” comes from Business Oregon, the state’s economic development agency, who oversees the program to Citizen photo by Jordan Wolfe rehab schools and other critical public buildings so Nehalem Elementary School has been awarded a nearly 1.4 million dollar grant to retrofit escape routes of the building to they will be better prepared to withstand a major help protect children and staff. earthquake. This important tool to keep schools and

emergency buildings safe was championed by Senate President Peter Courtney, who held a media event on Friday to announce the awardees. Gomberg says, “we need to make sure our structures hold up through the quake so when the shaking stops our kids can run to high ground. And later, these public buildings will serve as support centers for families that need help. This is scary stuff, but smart investments now will save lives in the future.” Erlebach says, “the state did a drive-by assessment of all schools in Oregon and rated them all for seismic priority.” While this round of grant money went to Nehalem, the district plans to apply for Garibaldi Elementary School during the next round of applica-

tions in the fall. The grant has a list of eligible and ineligible activities that the funds may be used for. Structural improvements, architecture and engineering are eligible. However, buildings located in the Tsunami Inundation Zone are ineligible, according to Business Oregon’s website. Erlebach says that Neah-Kah-Nie Junior/Senior High School would not qualify for this round of grant money due to their location next to the Pacific Ocean. According to Erlebach, there is a two-year timeframe to utilize the grant money from the official award date. “The purpose for Nehalem Elementary’s grant is not structural,” he says, “it is to make sure we can get out of the building.”


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