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INSIDE
INSIDE
Cape Kiwanda Master Plan
Tillamook Troubadours
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Headlight Herald
WEDNESDAY, JULY 6, 2016
Freedom Drumming up July 4th Fun... Festival finishes with a bang By Brad Mosher bmosher@countrymedia.net
Wind gusts cut short the second annual Freedom Festival Sunday in Tillamook. Held on the property of the Blue Heron French Cheese Company, the festival was cut short by almost 90 minutes Sunday when wind gusts hit approximately 30 miles per hour. The two-day event had almost doubled in size, with almost 40 vendors set up over the weekend, but it was safety that prompted the festival organizers to announce an early closure. According to Richard Esterman of the Central Oregon Shows, it was when they got too much wind, it had to be shut down. “It becomes a safety issue, that is why I called the show,” he said. “Actually, there was a lot of people walking around when we started breaking it down. It was probably more yesterday (Saturday), we didn’t have much traffic, but today (Sunday) we had more traffic,” he said. But the winds forced Esterman to call the show over 90 minutes earlier than its scheduled 4 p.m. end. Wind has been a problem before for the organizers. In August 2015, there were extreme wind condition which wreaked havoc on the festival. “Last year, it was 70 to 80 mile per hour winds when we were here at the end of August. We got blown away. When it becomes a safety issue, I
n See FESTIVAL, Page A7
INDEX Classified Ads..................... B5-10 Crossword Puzzle.....................B2 Fenceposts........................... B3-4 Letters................................... A4-5 Obituaries................................ A6 Opinions............................... A4-5 Sports................................ A11-12
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Riprap controversy still washing over Rockaway Beach Staff Report The continuing saga of whether a riprap wall can be constructed to save a threatened vacation rental building may be back in front of the Rockaway Beach City Council again. It was recently denied an appeal by the planning commission because it was considered an incomplete application, according to Ryan Crater, the city manager. “The applicant failed to carry his burden to establish that all the applicable approval criteria were met. The applicant didn’t offer any evidence to support their position,” he added. But, even with the denial, the appeal is apparently still alive, Crater said. “Prior to (the commission) signing the papers, they (Mr. Tang’s lawyers) sent in an early appeal.” That has Crater unsure right now of the status of the case. “It currently in our in-box,” the city planner said in June. “It may take more than a month to get go before the city council. “I don’t know if we are going to hear that or it is just a dead issue at this point,” Crater said. “They (Tang’s lawyers) are trying to say that they can appeal it to the city council. The city council could then remand it back to the planning commission. If that happened, then we’d hold another hearing and take another vote. “More than likely, that would probably result in another denial,” Crater added. “We are still waiting on how we are going to handle that appeal.” Crater said that while it was too late to make it on the June agenda, the city council may be hearing the issue in its July 13 meeting. The property at 211 South Sixth Street has gone through a series of hearings and determinations. In fact, the recent decision by the planning commission was not the first time that an appeal by property owner Tai Dang of Hillsboro was ruled incomplete. According to former City Planner
Headlight Herald/Brad Mosher
Oceanside’s Fourth of July Parade had more than a little drummer boy going for it (top photo), it also filled up the small town’s main thoroughfare with spectators and participants (right photo). Meanwhile, at Cape Meares, there were patriotic pedalers (above left) and (above right) celebrating the Fourth of July Monday in a parade. Tillamook got an early fireworks display (above center) Sunday night after the conclusion of the Freedom Festival in town.
n See RIPRAP, Page 7
Local ham operators ride radio waves for 24 hours By Brad Mosher bmosher@countrymedia.net It may have been a field day – literally – but it was also practice for when Tillamook County is hit by a largescale disaster. Local Ham radio operators pulled a 24-hour practice run from their location just west of the Tillamook Airport Saturday in the Tillamook Airport RV Park. It was open to the public and more than 30 people showed up to find out just what Ham radio operators can do without being connected by telephone or the internet. The operators also learned something after a problem with the generators shut them down late Saturday night and early Sunday morning. According to Steve Croak, the exercise was a success. “I think it went extremely well. We had a good turnout. It is an annual event that we do to test our communications for an emergency,” he said. The group also had the Tillamook County Emergency Communication trailer onsite along with Mountain Wave Emergency Communications, a group of ham radio operators from Clackamas who have assisted law enforcement throughout the state. “We had a company ship us a special antenna,” he said. “We made a lot of contacts from long distance on the radios overnight. We did pretty good, so I’m pleased.” One obstacle that the group didn’t
plan on was having two generators quit overnight, he explained. It was another lesson that helped to prepare the group for a real-life disaster in the future. “In a real emergency, we’d always have battery backup. Fortunately, it wasn’t a real emergency.” “Next time, we’ll bring more than two generators,” he added, with a smile. “That was our only hitch, the problem with the generators. The radios worked well.” The radio array has the ability to use a variety of power sources, including solar and wind, along with the generators. However, the event was set up for generator use and the group had to stay with the generators as a power source in order to pick up points, Croak said. “We could have switched to battery power and run everything on 12 volts. But we listed our event with A.R.R.L. (American Radio Relay League) as 2-Alpha. The two means two radios and the Alpha means generator power,” he said. “We chose just generators, but next year, what we’ll do to anticipate this, we’ll have battery backup.” The batteries can run the radios for eight to 10 hours,” he said. “We had a lot of people that were curious come here. Children came out to see what it was like, making contact on the radio.” Actually, because there were licensed operators staffing the radios,
the visitors could do much more that just show off the equipment. “The general public can make contact at that time,” he said. “The children and adults got on the radio and could talk to Tennessee. They could talk to Florida or California. It was neat.” The local amateur radio group were not the only ones setting up a field day, he added. “There were thousands and thousands and thousands of ham radio operators who do this every year. For the amount of people that came, I think we did pretty well. We had between 30 and 40 people come out here who wouldn’t normally have Steve Croak. been here,” Croak explained. The group will be setting up in August for a similar exercise in Cape Meares. “All the lighthouses will be trying to connect with each other,” he explained. Amateur radio is part of the
county’s emergency communications plan with the operators coordinating with other communities. The amateur operators can provide communication between shelters, assembly sites and work with emergency personnel during disasters.