OUR 113th Year
September 4, 2020
SEASIDESIGNAL.COM
$1.00
Horse rescue
By R.J. MARX
Seaside Signal
While Div. Chief
David Rankin is well-
known for his many water
rescues in Seaside, this
was his first large animal
rescue.
After a horse wandered
into a ditch, Seaside Fire
and Rescue responded to a
call from the Knappa Fire
District to bring the ani-
mal to safety.
Early last Friday morn-
ing the horse wandered
to a pasture that was sup-
posed to be closed and
fell into a drainage ditch,
Rankin said. “It got in the
ditch, walked forward,
got stuck and couldn’t get
out.”
Knappa Fire received
the call from the horse’s
owner in John Day at
7 a.m., and Seaside Fire
and Rescue responded to
a request for assistance,
joining the effort at about
9:30 a.m. Friday, Rankin
said. A large animal veter-
inarian was also on scene.
“We ended up using a
tractor and some straps,
dug down a little bit and
we were able to pull it
out.”
She was tired, but
healthy. “Once we got her
out, all the way clear, she
was fine,” he said. “They
started feeding her right
away.”
He praised the work of
both Knappa and Seaside
firefighters.
“Even though Knap-
pa’s an hour drive away
from us, we all work
together for fires. It only
makes sense they called
us. Our mutual aid system
works well.”
R.J. Marx
Seaside Police patrol Broadway on Aug. 8 at the scene of
two political rallies.
Safety advised
as rally targets
Seaside business
Open-carry event
pulled from
Facebook
By R.J .MARX
Seaside Signal
Seaside Fire and Rescue
ABOVE: Seaside firefighter Div. Chief David Rankin as he helps pull the horse to safety.
BELOW: The horse is reunited with family after the ordeal.
See Rally, Page A5
Signal, AAUW to
hold election forum
Seaside Signal
Billy Mac’s is headed to Seaside
By R.J. MARX
Seaside Signal
A pending change in
ownership will bring a new
bar and grill to Seaside.
Michael Bauske went
before the Seaside City
Council last Monday to
seek a full on-premises
commercial sale liquor
sales license for Billy
Mac’s Bar and Grill, now
operating as the U Street
Grill, a familiar spot to
locals and tourists alike at
the corner of U Street and
Columbia.
The name honors a for-
mer surfer, construction
worker and fisherman, Wil-
liam D. McIntyre — aka
“Billy Mac,” who died in
January 2019 at age 67.
The city has encouraged
far-right organizers of an
open carry march on Sun-
day to apply for a permit.
A Facebook event page
invited people to gather at
3 p.m. at Seaside Brewing
Co. for a march through
the city. Jimmy Griffin, the
owner of the brewery, said
he believes his business is
being targeted because he
was publicly critical of a
far-right demonstration in
early August where some
of the participants dis-
played weapons.
“Not only does a per-
mit form help the city and
police department staff
accordingly, but it also
provides a key contact
for open communication
before and during events
R.J. Marx
New owner Michael Bauske
at the Aug. 25 City Council
meeting.
The
council
approved a liquor license for
his restaurant, Billy Mac’s.
“Billy Mac was a good
friend and surfing was his
ideal thing,” Bauske said.
“I always told him, ‘I’m
going to buy a bar and
name it after you.’ It was
our personal inside joke.”
When the U Street Pub
went on the market, Bauske
and his daughter, Danelle
Allen, thought “this was
the perfect place.”
“I’m going to do what
I said what I was going to
do,” Bauske said.
U Street Pub owner Teri
Carpenter opened the eat-
ery in 2011, with a casual
dining menu of burgers,
seafood and an ever-wid-
ening selection of beers. A
dog-friendly patio added to
the ambiance and expan-
sion in the aftermath of the
coronavirus. The pub main-
tains a rating of 4 out of 5
stars on Yelp!, with review-
ers praising the shrimp po’
boy, clam chowder and
beer-batter shrimp, among
entrees.
Staffing decisions are
still ahead, but Bauske said
he plans to expand the bar,
modify the menu and add
video poker. “Teri’s done a
great job but we’ve got to
bring our own stuff as well
in there too,” Bauske said.
The spirit of Billy Mac
will guide the new bar and
grill, Bauske said. “Never
a person he couldn’t meet
and be friendly to, he was
that type of guy. Didn’t
really have a bad word to
say about anybody. He was
just cool.”
Bauske said hours will
be 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. and he
will be adding video poker
and serving breakfast.
The City Council unani-
mously approved his liquor
license application.
Local and state can-
didates will join the Sea-
side Signal for an election
forum on Oct. 8.
The event, cosponsored
by the Signal and the Sea-
side chapter of the Ameri-
can Association of Univer-
sity Women, will feature
candidates in a livestream
broadcast. Due to space
limitations because of
coronavirus restrictions,
in-person attendees will be
limited to the candidates
only.
At the state level,
Suzanne Weber and Deb-
bie Boothe-Schmidt are
running for state House
District 32 and will share
their platforms after state
Rep. Tiffiny Mitchell
chose not to run for a sec-
ond term.
Three City Council
seats are up for reelection
in Seaside in November,
with incumbents Randy
Frank and Tom Horning
running unopposed.
Candidates David Pos-
alski, Kathy Kleczek and
Adam Wood are vying
for the Ward 4 seat after
incumbent Seth Morrisey
said he would not seek
another term.
In Gearhart, City Coun-
cilor Paulina Cockrum
is the sole mayoral can-
didate after Mayor Matt
Brown decided not to seek
reelection.
Gearhart’s
Position
3 seat will be filled by
appointment after the
election.
Position 2 incumbent
Reita Fackerell will face
opposition from former
mayoral candidate Bob
Shortman.
Position 4 City Coun-
cilor Dan Jesse will be
making his third City
Council bid after defeat-
ing his opponent in 2012
and running unopposed in
2016.
He is challenged by
Jack Zimmerman, who ran
for City Council against
Kerry Smith in 2018.
A link to the event will
be posted prior to the event.
Those who wish to submit
questions in advance for
the candidates may do so
by emailing editor@sea-
sidesignal.com.
Registration underway as students choose from two learning options
Penrod shares
learning plan
for Seaside
By R.J. MARX
Seaside Signal
“What a year to choose
to become the new super-
intendent,” Brian Owen
said in his introduction of
Susan Penrod to members
of the Seaside Chamber of
Commerce.
It was the group’s first
in-person meeting since the
pandemic, held at the Sea-
side Civic and Convention
Center last Wednesday.
Penrod picked up on the
theme, describing this as
“a wild ride of a year.”
A native Oregonian,
Penrod lives in Gear-
hart with her husband,
Curt. She came to Seaside
from Eugene, after attend-
ing Salem Public Schools,
Willamette University and
Portland State University.
Penrod described her-
self as a first-generation
college graduate, growing
up in a family that strug-
gled financially.
That provides her a
connection to many of
her students, she said. “I
see myself in all of them.
That’s what brought me
to education and that’s
what continues to drive my
work, which is what is best
for my students.”
Seaside families will
choose
two
learning
options this year, based on
feedback from parents, stu-
dents, staff and members
of the community.
“We heard loud and
clear, if we open with an
online distance learning,
‘We want a couple of dif-
ferent options,’” Penrod
said. “We would like to
have a program where stu-
dents could be completely
online and work at their
own pace as well as some
delivered instruction from
teachers, and of course
we’d like to reopen as soon
as we can.”
R.J. Marx
See Penrod, Page A5
Seaside School District Superintendent Susan Penrod and
Seaside Chamber of Commerce CEO Brian Owen.