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About Seaside signal. (Seaside, Or.) 1905-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 28, 2020)
OUR 113th Year SEASIDESIGNAL.COM February 28, 2020 $1.00 After reassignment, Natalie Osburn submits resignation District will eliminate middle school principal position By KATHERINE LACAZE For Seaside Signal As the Seaside School District prepares to transi- tion to its new campus at the start of the 2020-21 school year, they have decided to eliminate the middle school principal position and bring grades six through 12 under one principal. As a result of the change, former Broadway Middle School principal Natalie Osburn was reassigned to a position with the district office to assist staff “with several special projects that are related to our very excit- ing transition to the new campus,” Superintendent Sheila Roley said, adding, “We really appreciate that she is willing to step into this role to serve the district.” Seaside High School Principal Jeff Roberts started his dual administration of the middle school Monday, Feb. 10. Before that, Sande Brown stepped in as interim principal for a couple weeks while “we ironed out some details,” Roley said. However, Osburn has already submitted her res- ignation from the special projects position, effective June 30, 2020. Her resig- nation was accepted by the school board during its reg- ular meeting Feb. 18. There was no discussion about the impetus for Osburn’s resig- nation. In regards to several other resignations that were accepted during the meeting, Roley explained there were a variety of reasons given, but did not address Osburn’s specifically. See Osburn, Page A5 City of Seaside photos One dead after late-night South Columbia house fire Investigation is ongoing By R.J. MARX Seaside Signal A Seaside man is dead after an overnight fire at 2164 S. Columbia destroyed a two-story home and threat- ened adjacent properties. According to officials, the Clatsop County Fire Investigation Team worked throughout the morning and early afternoon hours Monday and located the remains of a single victim, Stephen Scott Penwarden, 69. Penwarden was the sole occupant of the single-fam- ily home and the only one inside at the time the blaze occurred. Seaside Police say the investigation remains ongoing. At 1:04 a.m. on Monday night, Seaside Fire and Res- cue responded to a report of the home fully engulfed in flames. Four occupied homes surrounding the structure, including a family of five and two residents with pet dogs, were immediately evacuated with the help of police. No firefighters were injured during the response. Red Cross was notified to assist with placement at the request of at least one resident. Seaside Fire received on-scene mutual aid from Gear- hart, Warrenton, Astoria, Cannon Beach, Hamlet and Lewis and Clark fire departments. Nehalem Bay Fire and Rescue also provided mutual aid support while crews were involved at the fire. Project Manager Jim Henry leads a tour of the high school and middle school building. District determines logistics for summer campus moves By R.J. MARX Seaside Signal How do you move decades worth of storage — books, furniture, supplies — from three school buildings into new schools? The Seaside School Dis- trict is preparing for just that, as the new high school and middle school campus open in September and Gearhart Elementary School moves to a renovated, expanded elementary facility in The Heights. Project Manager Jim Henry provided an update on the schools’ construc- tion schedule to the district’s School Construction Citizen Oversight Meeting Tuesday, Feb. 11, after a site walk at the properties. Fire at 2164 S. Columbia in Seaside. See Campus, Page A5 Strengthening bonds, promoting positive self-achievement International Junior Miss’s 2020 By KATHERINE LACAZE For Seaside Signal During International Junior Miss’s 2020 Wash- ington/Oregon/Pacific Northwest state pageant, held at the Seaside Civic and Convention Center on Feb. 15 and 16, a group of girls and women competed for titles while simultane- ously strengthening bonds and promoting positive self-achievement. “Pageants really encour- age girls to trust their abil- ity to take risks,” said Jen- nifer Law, whose 9-year-old daughter Lauren won the title of Washington Prin- cess in 2019. “Even when it doesn’t pay off, they rec- ognize they took a big risk and that was really hard. ... It gives them a self-confi- dence they didn’t know they had because they really have to trust themselves.” The pageant, which took place in Seaside for the first time this year, includes six distinct divisions for each state based on age: Jr. Prin- cess, for competitors — or delegates — ages 4 to 6; Princess, for 7- to 9-year- olds; Pre-Teen, for 10- to 12-year-olds; Jr. Teen, for 13- to 15-year-olds; Teen, for 16- to 18-year-olds; Miss, for 19- to 24-year- olds; and Ms., for 25- to 45-year-olds. For the Pacific Northwest region, there is also the Petite Princess cate- gory for delegates who are 0 to 3 years old. Awards are given for aca- demic achievement, vol- unteer service and spirit of participation. Mandatory competitions include inter- view, fashion, and gown. Contestants can win addi- tional scholarships in talent, media correspondent, photo shoot, public speaking and other optional categories. A growing family Winners from the state pageant will advance to International Finals, to be held in July in Woodland, Texas. The location of inter- nationals changes each year. Lauren will be heading to her fifth International com- petition this summer, Law said, and in the past they’ve gone to Virginia Beach, Nashville, and Orlando for the competition. See Junior Miss, Page A5 Katherine Lacaze International Junior Miss held its Washington/Oregon/Pacific Northwest State Pageant in Seaside for the first time this year. The pageant includes divisions that allow girls and women up to age 45 to participate.