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Holiday Edition 2022
Family Owned Businesses Shopping Local & Events
2022 Celebrate the Holidays Special Event Highlights
Thanksgiving Weekend through New Year’s Day Weekend, Pages 4-5
Holiday Family Owned Business Section
Mooks Headed to State Page 10
Inside
Headlight Herald
Headlight Herald
Citizen North Coast
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2022
TILLAMOOK, OREGON • WWW.TILLAMOOKHEADLIGHTHERALD.COM
VOL. 134, NO. 47 • $1.50
State Bound ... Shepard to remain as Rockaway Beach City Manager
Curt Shelley
Shelley resigns from school district after outside investigation C
Will Chappell Headlight Reporter
urt Shelley resigned as superintendent of the Tillamook School District, effective Monday, November 14; he will receive his salary through October 31, 2023. The school board unanimously accepted Shelley’s resignation at its regular meeting on November 14, reading a brief statement before voting to accept the resignation just before adjourning the meeting. “Superintendent Shelley and the Board have agreed that now is the time to make a change at the helm,” the board said in the statement. “Therefore, effective today, November 14, 2022, Curt will no longer serve as our Superintendent.” Board members refused to comment further on the matter and directed questions to district staff. The separation agreement released to the Herald revealed that Shelley will be paid his full salary of $158,656, and will receive medical, dental and vision insurance coverage through the district until October 31, 2023. The agreement also contains a clause that neither Shelley nor the board “shall release any information from the investigation including the investigation report by Ussery Consultants, Inc.,” as well as a nondisparagement clause. The board did not name an interim superintendent when accepting Shelley’s resignation, saying, “soon the Board will commence a search for a new superintendent.” It was not clear who had taken control of day-to-day operations following Shelley’s departure and he was still listed as superintendent on the district’s website as of Sunday, November 20. On Saturday, November 19, the board announced a special meeting to be held Monday, November 21, with the first agenda item being the appointment of Bruce Rhodes to serve as interim superintendent. Rhodes is the Grants and Foundation Director at Tillamook High School and would hold the position through January 13, 2023, if his appointment is approved. Shelley and the board had reached a new contract agreement in March 2021 that would have seen Shelley remain in charge of the district through 2025. The contract called for Shelley to give 60 day’s advance notice of his intended resignation and stated that he would be paid for “days actually worked, accrued vacation, and holidays that occur prior to the termination of the agreement.” Per the terms of the contract,
n See SHELLEY, Page A3
The Tillamook Cheesemakers gather with coaches and fans after the semifinal win against La Grande sending the Mooks to the State Championship game next Saturday. It will be the Cheesemakers first State Championship bid since 1977. See page 10. Photos by Holly Werner.
Salmonberry Trail Intergovernmental board updates plans and progress T
Will Chappell Headlight Reporter
he Salmonberry Trail Intergovernmental Agency Board met November 14 in Tillamook for the first time since before the pandemic to update the public on progress. A trip to visit a section of proposed trail that lies next to the Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad north of Garibaldi highlighted the days activities. The railroad’s Chief Engineer Simon Aldridge guided the visit and told the assembled board and members of the public that the railroad was interested in participating in developing the trail. As the railroad is a federally recognized, class 3 short-line railroad, their involvement could bring several advantages to the trail’s continued development. The railroad controls the right of way for 50 feet on either side of the center of the tracks, meaning that they can permit the trail’s construction within that zone. Additionally, the railroad is eligible for grant programs that could provide funding to help move the project forward. The Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements grant gives $1.2 billion annually to short-line railroads across the country and has a stated focus of promoting “rails and trails” projects, like the Salmonberry. The railroad’s assistance and access to funding will both be crucial for the project, which faces difficult construction as it looks to move ahead. No section demonstrates the challenges facing the trail better than the one visited by the group on Monday. Lying between Garibaldi and
The railroad’s Chief Engineer Simon Aldridge guided the visit and told the assembled board and members of the public that the railroad was interested in participating in developing the trail. Headlight photos by Will Chappell Barview Jetty, the curve around the hillside and rocky point just south of the Three Graces rock outcroppings in Tillamook Bay poses a logistical hurdle to completing the trail. At the point, Highway 101 is cut into face of a large hill and runs above the railway with narrow shoulders on both sides. The railway is also tightly squeezed onto its bed at the point, with less than 15 feet on each side. There is a historic rock wall from the 1930s towards the road and an embankment dropping to the beach on the other. Aldridge said that in many places accommodating the path by moving the railway would be relatively easy, but that in sections like this the challenge would be greater. Federal regulations mandate that pedestrians be separated from the rails by at least eight feet and early plans for the trail called for it to be 12 feet wide. At pinch points, these consid-
erations will necessitate building a bridge or expanding the riprap along the shore to support the trail. The difficulty of building on this section and others like it reflect the necessity of the trail that will separate pedestrians and cyclists from the busy scenic byway, making travel safer for all modes of transport. Aldridge said that in addition to the railroad’s support, the other good news was that the train’s path was shared by the waterline to Barview and the fiberoptic cable bringing internet to the county. Owing to this, the Army Corps of Engineers, which is responsible for maintaining the riprap around the bay, is likely to prioritize the security of those critical infrastructure links, adding to the trail’s prospects. After visiting the site, the group returned to the Oregon Department of Forestry’s Tillamook office for a business meeting. Many organizations from both Tillamook and Washington Counties as well as the state government and other non-governmental organizations were in attendance. In the meeting, the board gave a brief update about progress happening on different portions of the trail. Several different sections are currently seeking funding to begin planning, including a section from Rockaway to Neahkahnie and another from Bay City to Idaville. The group then adjourned for the day. It will meet again in December and on a monthly basis going forward.
The railroad is a federally recognized, class 3 short-line railroad, their involvement could bring several advantages to the trail’s continued development.
Please send any comments to headlightreporter@countrymedia. net.
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Will Chappell Headlight Reporter
uke Shepard has once again returned to Rockaway Beach as City Manager following the city council’s unanimous vote to reappoint him last Thursday evening. The vote came at a special council meeting that was called to discuss the city’s options for filling the position following Shepard’s resignation, which had taken effect on November 8. Shepard initially tendered his resignation on October 25, before withdrawing it on October 31, only to resubmit it on the evening of November 7. Following Shepard’s departure, the council seemed poised to hire former Tillamook City Manager Paul Wyntergreen to function as interim city manager, discussing hiring his company at their November 9 meeting. However, between that meeting and last Thursday, Wyntergreen lost council support and Shepard let it be known that he was still available and once again interested in the position. At the meeting, the council considered hiring Wyntergreen, reappointing Shepard or continuing with to use city staff to continue filling the vacancy. They chose to reappoint Shepard. “I truly believe that Mr. Shepard feels supported and equipped to guide us,” Councilwoman Kristine Hayes said in a statement. Shepard was not immediately available for comment but at the meeting said that he had felt overwhelmed and burnt out in the lead up to his resignation. Please send any comments to headlightreporter@countrymedia.net.
Wheeler City Council eyes vision plan W
Will Chappell Headlight Reporter
heeler has begun preparatory steps to renew its vision plan, which was last updated in 2012. The city council approved interim City Manager Mary Johnson’s request to begin work on the project in a brief meeting on Tuesday, November 15. Johnson will now begin looking into the best way for the city to develop a new vision plan, researching grants and the possibility of hiring an expert to help with the process. Johnson said that the process of developing a new plan will be long and involve feedback from both the public and city council. Wheeler’s last vision plan was developed in 2012 for a five-to-ten-year time frame. The only other piece of business the council voted on was passing the appointment of Peggy Schumann to the Wheeler Emergency Team. In her monthly report to the council, Johnson told the councilors that the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals had upheld the council’s decision denying an application for a 23-room, mixed-use development in downtown Wheeler. She also said that city staff had attended a grant writing workshop put on by the Tillamook Creamery and was also attending an ongoing, online seminar, courtesy of Columbia
n See VISION, Page A3