1
INSIDE
Year of Wellness recipe: blueberries Page A3
Summer
STUDENT SPOTLIGHT Shedding light on students striving to achieve more in Tillamook County
SPECIAL SECTION
Summer Student Spotlight
Headlight Herald 2016
Headlight Herald
WEDNESDAY, JULY 13, 2016
TILLAMOOK, OREGON • WWW.TILLAMOOKHEADLIGHTHERALD.COM
VOL. 127, NO. 28 • $1.00
‘Mutt Strutt’ this weekend Water Board Rip tide center of rescue near controversy in Barview The Coast Guard rescued a man near the surf zone in the vicinity of the Tillamook Bay North Jetty, in Garibaldi, Sunday, after he reportedly got caught in a rip current. The 29-year-old male was pulled from the water reportedly exhausted and hypothermic by a 47-foot Motor Lifeboat crew from Station Tillamook Bay located in Garibaldi, and transferred to emergency medical services at the station for further care. Coast Guard Sector Columbia River watchstanders received a request for assistance from the family of the man at 2:21 p.m., when the family reported he had been sucked out by a rip current. The rescue boatcrew rescued the surfer at about 3 p.m., 50 yards past the surf zone. “I got a visual on a person in a black tank top and we made a direct pick up,” said Petty Officer 2nd Class Amber Archer, the coxswain and recently certified Surfman from Station Tillamook Bay. “We got him out of the water and covered him in blankets. The water was about 58 degrees and he was in it for at least 20 to 30 minutes. My crew did a great job keeping him warm and awake.” A Coast Guard 25-foot Response Boat-Small from Station Tillamook Bay, an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station Astoria and Fire Rescue crews from Bay City and Rockaway Beach were also on scene.
INDEX Classified Ads..................... B5-10 Crossword Puzzle.....................B2 Fenceposts........................... B3-4 Letters................................... A5-6 Obituaries................................ A7 Opinions............................... A4-5 Sports................................ A10-11
Pacific City
By Brad Mosher bmosher@countrymedia.net
Courtesy photo/PALACE OF PORTER PHOTOGRAPHY
Participants at last year’s first annual A Cause for Paws Tillamook Mutt Strutt. This year, the free-to-attend event in memory of Sondi Greene that raises money for the Tillamook Animal Shelter begins at 10 a.m. at Goodspeed Park, with a Memorial Walk for Greene set for 11 a.m. The event will feature a photo booth, dog wash and a mutt mall with local vendors. By Jordan Wolfe jwolfe@countrymedia.net The second annual A Cause for Paws Tillamook “Mutt Strutt,” a Sondi Greene memorial event, will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Goodspeed Park on Saturday. All proceeds will benefit the Tillamook Animal Shelter. “Our goal is to raise $15,000,” said Nonda Zwald, executive director of the event and Greene’s mother. The inaugural Mutt Strutt raised over $12,000. “Our goal last year was $10,000 and we thought that was lofty.” The event is free to attend, however, the first 100 registrants who contribute a $20 donation will receive a Mutt Strutt “swag bag” with a t-shirt, voucher for Bennett Milk and other gifts, according to Nonda Zwald. A memorial walk for Greene will begin at 11 a.m. from Goodspeed Park and continue to the field next to Sacred Heart Catholic Church. “You don’t have to have a dog, either,” reminded Kourtnie Zwald, executive administrator for the event. However, for dogs that come, they need to be at
least 16 weeks old, be licensed and current on all vaccinations and be kept on a leash at all times. The Zwalds said many items have been dontatee to be raffled and auctioned during Mutt Strutt, including a $300 Traeger smoker, as well as the food they will be selling. Kourtnie Zwald
said they will be offering hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken burgers, cotton candy and Tillamook Coliseum popcorn. The day will also feature a photo booth, dog washes, a bouncy house and local vendors at the Mutt Mall. “This was a good direction to put our sorrow and energy,” said Nonda Zwald. In June 2013, Greene was killed in a motor vehicle crash. “About a year after the accident, we were thinking
of something to remember her. We didn’t want her to fade.” “Our goal was to put our energy into something really good to celebrate her life,” Kourtnie Zwald added. Greene’s dog, a rescue American bulldog named Pyrat Rum, was in the car when the incident occurred and survived. Pyrat has become the mascot for the event and is featured on the logo for A Cause for Paws. “Sondi and Pyrat were so close and we thought this was a good fit,” said Nonda Green. “We can memorialize her and honor rescue animals.” “This is pretty much an event to celebrate her life. People can put their remembrance into something to help rescue animals,” added Kourtnie Zwald. “I’m excited to see the turnout and what reason they come. Whether people are coming to celebrate Sondi’s life, are animal lovers or want to support the animal shelter.” A Cause for Paws Tillamook “Mutt Strutt” is 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday at Goodspeed Park in Tillamook. For more information, contact Nonda Zwald at 503-801-1607 or Kourtnie Zwald at 503-801-0272.
The Pacific City Joint Water-Sanitary Authority has come under fire, both from some residents and from outside groups. The agency, which is responsible for water and water treatment for the town and the neighboring community of Woods, has also seen its recent meetings become more argumentative. At its most recent meeting, the board meeting turned heated with several members of the audience challenging the Board verbally. According to one of the board members, even attempts to meet and discuss the causes behind the controversy have fallen on deaf ears. “I have gone out of my way to accommodate … the Citizen Oversight Committee,” Sean Carlton recently explained. “I have personally met with them to hear their concerns. I have met with an ex-employee of the PCJWSA at their request. At no point have they ever offered even a shred of evidence that any of their claims hold water,” Carlton added. An Astoria-based group called the Oregon Coast Alliance has become involved in the controversy, sending several letters to the agency claiming that there were serious problems with the PCJWSA. In a June 13 letter to the board, a member of the alliance made several claims of problems with the agency, questioning the local business ties of some board members, the veracity of the data selection and sample reporting, in addition to personnel problems and using erroneous figures to estimate population statistics. Even Tony Owen, the manager for the PCJWSA has come under fire from the group. Meeting turns testy When the board held its meeting July 5, it became vocal. Carlton asked for a response from the audience about recent claims and statements published in the media, he may have gotten more than what was looking for. “I’m kind of curious. The two
n See PCJWSA, Page 7
Pizza dream brings slice of success to Pacific City man By Brad Mosher bmosher@countrymedia.net For Mike McGrath it was simple economics. “I have a dream in life,” he said. “I wanted to open up a pizzeria.” He just couldn’t afford one. Instead, he found a way to get into the business without spending hundreds of thousands of dollars. The Pacific City resident had a custom wood-fired oven placed on a small trailer and Mike’s Ugly Pizza was born. The new business has already made two trips to the Tillamook Farmers Market and is a constant at the Pacific City Farmers Market. McGrath, who works at the Pelican Pub as a brewer, has help running the small business from a co-worker and a friend. There is no conformity to the pizzas. There are no perfect circles. “That one looks like Maui,” he told one of the customers Saturday in Tillamook. With the wood-fired oven heated to about 800 degrees, the pizzas take about two minutes to make. First, they roll out the dough, then put it in the oven. After about a minute, the dough has risen, sometimes into almost a pillow shape, when he takes it out to add the toppings. Once the toppings are added, the
pizza goes back in the oven to cook again, then they will be served to the customers. “When you do the dough first like that, it takes about 60 seconds. It helps set us up for the second part (with toppings).” There is an advantage to his method, McGrath added. “It tastes delicious this way.” McGrath moved to Pacific City four months ago, after spending about a year in Tillamook. “I figured this is step one,” McGrath said. “I can make my mistakes on a small scale. That way, I get my feet in the water and see if it is what I want to do. “If it is something I want to take further than this,” he said, waving at the oven on wheels and his small booth at the farmers market, “then at least I have the knowledge base.” If he decides not to continue, then at least he tried to reach his dream, McGrath added. It has been a dream for several years, until a friend of his told him not to just talk about it. “If you want to do it, do it,” McGrath recalled as the friendly advice that prompted him into action. It was the portability of the wood oven that caught his eye. “This is something I could afford. Going into a restaurant would take a couple of hundred thousand dollars. “This is a great way to start,” McGrath said, noting that his stop
Headlight Herald photo/ Brad Mosher
Mike McGrath of Pacific City is following his dream with a small portable wood-fired pizza oven mounted on a trailer. Mike’s Ugly Pizza is McGrath’s dream of running a pizzeria – just on a small scale – and with wheels. at Tillamook Saturday was just his sixth market. “We’re still making mistakes,” he admitted. “It is a never-ending lesson.”
Already, McGrath has made a mark. His custom-built pizza oven trailer is the only one he knows of in the entire Pacific Northwest.