Seaside chamber hands out awards

Individuals and businesses were honored Jan. 31 at the Seaside Area Chamber of Commerce annual awards ahow.

The Fairweather House and Gallery, an interior design and decorating company, won the Retail Excellence Award.

The Necanicum Watershed Council received the Community Impact Award for its work advocating for the Necanicum Basin.

The Rising Star/New Business Award was presented to Chalkboard Cafe, opened by Angela Dobbins and her partner, Kenneth Zittenfield in 2023.

Linda and Bruce Smith received the Legacy Award, while Pat Love received the “Barker” Volunteer of the Year Award.

The Business of the Year Award went to Grocery Outlet.

Darren Gooch, the director of operations at the Sunset Empire Parks and Recreation District, won the Byron Award.

Car goes off cliff, driver rescued

The Cannon Beach Rural Fire District rescued a person in a vehicle that had gone over the side of a cliff on U.S. Highway 101 Feb. 1.

At 5:30 p.m., emergency crews responded to a report of a vehicle off the road near Hug Point. After searching, they located the vehicle and the victim, trapped inside, about 100 feet below the highway.

Firefighters set up a rope rescue system while another team rappelled down the hillside to stabilize the vehicle, assess for injuries and extricate the victim from the car.

Once back on the highway, the victim was assessed by paramedics from Medix Ambulance and transported to a local hospital, where injuries were found to be mild.

Oregon State Police is investigating the incident. The name of the victim has not been released.

Bonamici resolution supports schools

U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, who represents the North Coast, has introduced a resolution expressing support for the nation’s local public K-12 schools and condemning efforts to defund public education or weaken or dismantle the Department of Education.

The resolution comes in response to executive orders by the Trump administration and counters ideas outlined in Project 2025, a conservative political initiative authored by former Trump administration officials in partnership with The Heritage Foundation.

“The overwhelming majority of students in Oregon and across the country attend public schools,” the Democrat said in a press release. “Local schools enrich communities, open doors to new opportunities, spark creativity, and prepare students to contribute to the economy and democracy. Our work in Congress should be to strengthen local public schools, not berate, defund, or privatize them. I would not be where I am today without a public education, and neither would millions of Americans.”

— Seaside Signal