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Headlight Herald
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2022
Commissioners purchase land with hopes of increasing potential housing stock
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TILLAMOOK, OREGON • WWW.TILLAMOOKHEADLIGHTHERALD.COM
Santa Sighting ...
Will Chappell Headlight Reporter
illamook County will be purchasing a 46-acre parcel of land from Joyce Lamb for $725,000, following approval from the board of county commissioners at their December 7 meeting. The deal for the lot between Marolf Loop Road and McCormick Loop Road has a closing date set for January 31, 2023. County Commissioner Erin Skaar led the effort to purchase the property with hopes that it will someday be used to expand Tillamook’s housing stock. The property lies within Tillamook’s urban growth boundary and is suitable for the purpose, although water and sewer lines need to be added and rezoning achieved before any development could begin. After sitting on the market for several years, a recent price drop on the property caught the commissioners’ attention. Worried that the price decrease would attract attention from a buyer uninterested in developing the land, the commissioners decided to make an offer, which was accepted. Funding for the purchase will come from the county’s investment fund and with an assessed value over $1 million, commissioners believe the property represents a relatively safe investment for the county. They said that they hope Tillamook’s city government will work with them to ready the property for housing development. Elsewhere in the meeting, commissioners agreed to a contract retaining Peck, Rubanoff and Hatfield as labor attorneys for the county. The board also gave the go ahead for Solid Waste Program Manager David McCall to apply for a loan from the state for improvement works at transfer stations in Manzanita and Pacific City. McCall told commissioners that work is already underway in Manzanita, but that the additional funds would allow completion of upgrades that will otherwise be deferred due to recent supply cost increases. The money would come from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality Clean Water State Revolving Fund and half of the funds used for improvements related to storm water safety would be forgiven. The Manzanita project has a total budget of just over $1 million and the new funding would cover just over $760,000 that has not already been completed or paid for. Of that, half would be eligible for forgiveness with the rest incurring 1% interest over 30 years, which the public works department can cover with its existing budget. The Pacific City transfer station project is more extensive and has a projected $2 million budget. McCall told commissioners that the facilities in the south county were in desperate need of expansion and enhanced environmental safety protections. Only $1.75 million of the work in Pacific City is eligible for the Department of Environmental Quality’s loan and just $500,000 would be forgivable. Nestucca, Neskowin and Sand Lake Watersheds Executive Director Dave Shively delivered his an-
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VOL. 134, NO. 50 • $1.50
Zweifel makes deal to purchase Alderbrook Golf Course Closing date set for Jan. 31
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Santa Claus visits with Theo Hilby as mom and dad, Jada Donaldson and Nathan Hilby listen in during the visit. Tillamook Revitalization Association (TRA) Hosted the Santa’s visit during their annual Santa Land promotion in Downtown Tillamook. Headlight Herald photo by Joe Warren
After long career with Les Schwab, Willhite to retire from the tire business Joe Warren jwarren@countrymedia.net
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lbert Willhite has been a fixture at the Tillamook Les Schwab tire store since he graduated from Tillamook High School in 1988. After a successful thirty-four-and-a-half year career, Willhite is hanging up his tire irons and trading them in for his rifle and fishing pole. Willhite is officially retiring on Dec. 31. After high school, Willhite worked around the clock, pumping gas, he also worked for Burdens Towing and milked cows for the Bennetts. His hard work didn’t go unnoticed. The Les Schwab manager at the time, John Olson, took notice of the young Willhite and took him out to lunch one day to see if there was a possibility Willhite would want to come to work at the tire store. “I was a workaholic,” Willhite remembers. “I started out entrylevel in sales and service, I think I made about $3.75 per hour, so I quit all my other jobs to focus on my new career.” He proposed to his wife of Albert and his wife Patsy Willhite pause for a photo in the 32-years, Patsy, the day before Tillamook Les Schwab store. Photo by Joe Warren she graduated Tillamook High School, and the couple was maremployees fully trained and since lamook, I could never leave.” ried in 1990. Patsy and Albert He explained that he knows Les Schwab is a very good place have have two boys, Blake, 26, everyone, has great customers, to work, many coming behind and Jake, 16. and loves it here, so moving was Albert have several years of “I was young and crazy, I had out of the question. experience in their jobs. a new wife and it was time to “I would miss my customers “We have a very good crew settle down and make my catoo much to leave,” he said. “Afwith many on our team with a lot reer,” Albert said. “Les Schwab ter 34 plus years you make a lot of years of tenure,” Albert said. was a great choice, looking back, of connections, I still it was a good decision, hear ‘Albert, line-one, it’s been a great company in my sleep.”’ to work for.” That’s what Albert Albert has always loves the most and will overseen the commercial miss as he goes onto end of the business, but the next stage of his in 2000 he was promoted life, helping people to Assistant Manager. with their tire needs The same year he and and keeping them on Patsy built their dream the road. home on 16.5 acres, “I believe I’ll miss where they live today. helping people the Patsy will still works most,” he said. “Serfull-time as a nail-tech. She joked vicing my customers, helping Albert has worked as interim that one of Albert’s retirement people everyday, taking care of manager of the store, usually duties will be to bring her lunch people, it’s different everyday, I when they were between manageveryday. have so many great customer and ers and Les Schwab was willing “I plan to work on our that part I will miss.” to give him his own store to run, property, fish and hunt, we are Albert’s love for his custombut that would mean moving, very into everything outdoors,” ers, his lifework and Tillamook is and with his dream home in Albert said. “If I get bored, our apparent, he also loved to mentor Tillamook, his kids here and still manager, Dane (Lawrence) said his staff while doing business the in school, his extended family I could come back to run the Les Schwab way. and his wife with a good career commercial end, but I don’t see locally, he passed on advancing “I’m going to take it easy for a that happening with everything further than Assistant Manager. while,” Albert said. After thirtyI have planned around our home “Les Schwab likes to move four-and-a-half years and most and property.” you to a new store if you want to weeks working 12-hour days Albert is quick to point out, make General Manager,” Albert six days per week, Albert, you that he’s leaving the store in said. “I have too much tied to Til- deserve it. very good shape, with all of the
Will Chappell Headlight Reporter
atrick Zweifel and his partners have completed a deal to purchase the Alderbrook Golf Course from Dan and Coco LaViolette, signing a letter of intent to purchase the property on December 6, with a closing date set for January 31, 2023. Zweifel, who owns Oregon Coastal Flowers, plans to upgrade the course and its facilities into an iconic property in Tillamook County. “My vision is creating a destination place for families and visitors to walk through beautiful gardens, golf and share social events together,” Zweifel said. Now, Zweifel and a group of volunteers will begin working on the course with an opening planned for April 1, 2023. Although final terms have been reached, Zweifel is still counting on community members to step up to make the project a success. After reaching initial terms with the LaViolettes in late October, Zweifel partnered with a group of local investors to finalize the deal. But his plans always included a healthy share of funding generated by membership sales and community donations and Zweifel needs to generate a further $1 million for the project to succeed. “The community wanted a golf course, I bought a golf course,” Zweifel said. “Now, we need the community’s support.” Memberships are officially on sale, with both annual and lifetime memberships available for individuals and families. Purchases can be made on the Alderbrook Golf Course section of the Hydrangea Ranch website and discounts are being offered to those who purchase before Christmas. All who purchase memberships before March 31, 2023, will be considered “Founding Members,” with a brick on a wall or pathway at the facility at the facility, which will commemorate their support for keeping golf in Tillamook. Zweifel has partnered with the Tillamook YMCA to give locals an opportunity to give tax deductible donations to the course and support a new youth golf program for Tillamook. The YMCA’s new program will offer hundreds of local kids the chance to experience golf and the course’s reopening means the high school’s golf team will no longer travel to Banks to practice. “When we met with Pat and he shared his vision, we were eager to help,” Tillamook YMCA CEO and Executive Director Kaylan Sisco said. “The more opportunities the Y has to allow for impactful experiences the better.” Alderbrook Golf Course opened in 1924 and is one of the oldest courses on the Oregon coast. It closed on October 31, 2021, and was listed for sale in June 2022, with an initial asking price of $4.9 million. The listing advertised the property’s development potential, leading local golfers to worry about the course’s future and form an ad hoc committee to find a way to keep it devoted to golf. Hopes that the county government might purchase the course were quickly dashed and Zweifel emerged as golf’s best shot in Tillamook County. Zweifel doesn’t play much golf and is better known for his enthusiasm for cross-country running, but something about Alderbrook appealed
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