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Kilchis River Pumpkin Patch & Corn Maze opens in Oct.

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Headlight Herald The Chief

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The Chronicle

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The Chronicle

Published by Country Media, Inc.

Published by Country Media, Inc.

The Chronicle

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Published by Country Media, Inc.

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A guide to preparing The Chronicle The Chief Published by by Country Country Media, Media, Inc. Inc. for disastersPublished

Published Published by by Country Country Media, Media, Inc. Inc.

Published by Country Media, Inc.

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2020

VOL. 133, NO. 40 • $1.50

TILLAMOOK, OREGON • WWW.TILLAMOOKHEADLIGHTHERALD.COM

County approves Facebook’s restrictive covenant Legislature listens to testimony over cable project

T

Hilary Dorsey Staff Writer

he Tillamook County Board of Commissioners approved during a meeting Wednesday, Sept. 23, a restrictive covenant with Edge Cable Holdings, LLC, a subcontractor for Facebook, for certain restricted property located in Tillamook County. The commissioners had approved on Jan. 15 a request from Edge Cable to install a subsea cable and landing site on a residential site in Tierra Del Mar. As part of the approval, the board of commissioners imposed a number of conditions of approval, including a restrictive cov-

enant. This prohibits the installation of future subsea cables on the residential site. Commissioner David Yamamoto said he appreciates Facebook understanding that only one cable can be installed. In addition, the House Interim Committee on Energy and Environment of the Oregon State Legislature invited testimony at an informational meeting Thursday, Sept. 24, on Facebook’s abandoned drilling equipment. Also in attendance was Rep. David Gomberg, who said when the cable was scheduled for work, it required three separate permits. “I think the question before us is ‘what do we do when things go wrong and how do we plan

ahead?’ In this case, a couple of things went wrong,” Gomberg said. Tierra Del Mar resident Lynnae Ruttledge said many of her neighbors in Tierra Del Mar are retired. Her husband, Ed, provided photos to the committee of the site during construction. “We chose Tierra Del Mar for its remote, natural setting,” Ruttledge said. Facebook has failed to engage with the community, Ruttledge added. The project’s drill bit broke on April 28. In July, the citizens learned that drilling equipment and fluid were left under the seafloor. Surfrider Foundation Oregon Policy Director Charlie Plybon

said the horizontal drilling accident had raised concerns for the foundation’s members. Horizontal drilling has been a safer way to not disrupt things but there were a lot of problems with this particular accident. Cameron LaFollette, Oregon Coast Alliance, said new legislation should provide fines and a strict need for the installation of a submarine cable. The state retains power to decide where a cable lands, she added. Rep. David Bonham said if there were a better process within the process, he would be interested in that. He added that there has been some action taken on Facebook’s part. Oregon Coast Alliance is not

Getting off track EXCLUSIVE

ORIGINAL

Railroad cancels contract with Rail Riders over ‘safety violation’ T

Joe Warren Publisher

he board of directors of the Oregon Coast Scenic Rail Road (OCSR) canceled their contract the organization had with Oregon Coast Rail Riders (OCRR) due to a safety violation according to the rail road’s attorney. General council for the rail road told the Headlight Herald via email, the reason for canceling the contract immediately, was for a safety concern and conduct of management of the OCRR toward OCSR staff. “It was the violation of the track bulletin coupled with their subsequent conduct towards our staff on Sept. 9, that is the reason for the termination of the agreement,” Martin E. Hansen, attorney for the rail road said in an email.

INDEX Classified Ads...................... 11-14 Crossword Puzzle..................... 13 Fenceposts................................. 7 Letters...................................... 4-5 Obituaries................................... 8 Opinions.................................. 4-5

On Sept. 8, the rail road staff put out a track bulletin halting all operation on the rails beginning on Sept. 9, due to fire danger in the area. But, according to rail rider owner Anita Metlen, with the power outages and spotty cell service due to the wildfires, they didn’t receive the bulletin halting rail use in time for the next day’s operation. “It was not expected, we feel unjustified,” said Metlen. “We have some delicate stuff happening, we are in negotiations with our attorney to see what can be done because we have not been able to talk to them (OCSR).” OCRR had less than a month to operate their summer season when the contract cancelation came. “Your company’s failure to abide by the track bulletin issued on Sept.

8, 2020, coupled with your conduct towards OCSR’s management staff, triggers OCSR’s right to terminate the agreement pursuant to the terms of the agreement …” the termination letter states. “As the agreement is terminated you shall have no further operation of any kind on OCSR’s property, you have 30 days within which to vacate OCSR’s property with any equipment you have brought on.” According to Michelle Bradley, executive director with the Port of Tillamook Bay, the organization who owns the rail road, but turned over management to the OCSR board, all property that houses the rail riders equipment and parking areas are owned by the port and they will honor the lease agreement with the rail riders until it is up for renewal sometime in the Spring of 2021.

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County approves library reopening plan T

Oregon Coast Rail Riders were shut down by the Oregon Coast Scenic Rail Road, the organization who manages the rails on Sept. 9 due to what the rail road attorney is calling a safety violation. Headlight Herald file photo, Katherine Mace

in support of the project moving forward. LaFollette said they are very concerned regarding the lack of safeguards. Facebook will host a public meeting from 5-6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 2, to update the Tierra Del Mar community on the project. People can attend the meeting virtually by calling (855) 7567520, ext. 66691# or by video at http://cast.teletownhall.us/ web_client/?id=Facebook You can also register for the virtual event at https://dashboard. teletownhall.us/registration/ CNP687KYFJHL

Hilary Dorsey Staff Writer

he Tillamook County Board of Commissioners approved a reopening plan of the Tillamook County Libraries during a meeting Wednesday, Sept. 23. They will vote on reopening Tillamook County Libraries during their meeting at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 30. Beginning Oct. 5, the Tillamook County Library would be open to the public, with COVID-19 procedures in place, from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday, based on staff availability. Other library branches will be open to the public noon to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, depending on staff availability. Library Director Sara Charlton said people would be in the library for a time limit of 15 minutes to select their items. Book drops would be open for people to return items 24 hours per day, seven days a week. Items will stay on the patron’s account for five days while in quarantine. Computers will not be available for use during this express library phase, Charlton added. People can use self-checkout for their items. The library is not taking fines right now. “This is a process,” Charlton said. Commissioner Mary Faith Bell said based off COVID-19 cases, the county is qualified to reopen its libraries, while other counties are not. The library had shown the reopening plan to incident command and the health center for approval. People are eager to browse for their own books. “I think it’s a good step moving forward for our county,” Bell said. Gordon McCraw, incident command, said the library continues to hand out masks to small businesses on their behalf. “They’re doing a great job, we continue to hand them out, and it’s working seamlessly,” McCraw said. Commissioner David Yamamoto said he is a little concerned about the reopening because there is a possibility of a resurgence of COVID-19 cases this fall. The courthouse and other county buildings are

n See LIBRARY, Page 2

Fatal hiking incident reported in Tillamook County O

regon State Police (OSP) Troopers and emergency personnel responded to a person who fell from a cliff, into the ocean, at 1:48 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 27, at Devil’s Cauldron trail in Oswald West State Park. According to OSP, preliminary investigation revealed two people walked down the Devil’s Cauldron trail to take a photograph at a cliff side viewpoint. Steven Gastelum (43) of Seaside, climbed a tree on

the cliff’s edge to pose for a photograph. A limb broke, on the tree, causing him to fall approximately 100 feet into the ocean. US Coast Guard helicopter and Nehalem Bay Fire Department jet skis assisted in locating Gastelum and bringing him to shore. Gastelum was transported to Tillamook Regional Medical Center by ambulance where he was pronounced deceased.

Emergency responders including the Coast Guard responded to the hiker who fell to his death. Photo by Hal McMahan


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