OUR 113th Year
SEASIDESIGNAL.COM
September 25, 2020
$1.00
Residents concerned
over traffic plan
near school campus
By R.J. MARX
Seaside Signal
Is congestion the best
traffic control?
Reaction to a proposed
traffic safety plan to prohibit
parking on the north side of
Spruce Drive brought safety
concerns to the fore last
Monday night. The proposal
would allow buses to pass
without slowing or stop-
ping back and forth to the
new Seaside School District
campus.
Sidewalks measuring 5
feet wide on the north side
of the street will be com-
pleted to ensure accessi-
bility to comply with the
Americans with Disabilities
Act.
The school district hopes
to open for in-person learn-
ing Oct. 26.
“My concern is that you
guys are going to open that
street up and the speed at
which people go is going
to increase 10-fold,” Pat-
rick Major, a Spruce Drive
resident, said. “You’ll kill
someone with this idea.”
Construction is almost
complete on the high school
and middle school campus,
approved by voters to move
schools out of the tsunami
zone.
Residents on the road
that leads to the schools
have already survived what
planners estimated in 2018
would be the equivalent of
75 million passenger car
trips on Spruce Drive during
the 14-month period of
heavy construction.
In a proposal developed
by the Transportation Advi-
sory Commission, Seaside’s
public works director Dale
McDowell offered the plan
to restrict parking to the
south side.
A proposed crosswalk
See Parking, Page A5
R.J. Marx
Gearhart firefighters on their return from fighting state wildfires. From left, Ron Britton, Randy Como, Josh Lair,
Lindsey Wolfe, Josh Lair with Larkyn Lair, Stephanie Jaworski, Josh Como, James Hutchinson, Angels Vargas and
James Schneider.
Firefighters describe a ‘humbling
experience’ on their return
By R.J. MARX
Seaside Signal
Communities on the
North Coast welcomed fire-
fighters returning from state
wildfires. As of last Sat-
urday, all Clatsop County
returned home safely.
“I want to thank every-
one again for sending appa-
ratus out and also cov-
ering the county,” Joey
Daniels, Seaside fire and
Sunset Empire Park and Recreation District
Batting facility receives
$50,000 donation
Opening expected
by mid-October
By R.J. MARX
Seaside Signal
Batter up!
The Sunset Park and
Recreation Foundation, in
partnership with Seaside
Kids Inc. last week received
a $50,000 donation from the
Herche family for the indoor
training facility project.
The donation will also
allow completion of work
to outfit the concession
stand that was not originally
budgeted for the $244,000
project.
The donation will help
complete construction, pay
for the nets and turf, as well
as equipment to outfit the
facility to have it ready for
athletes, Scott White of Sea-
side Kids Inc. said.
The facility is expected
to be completed in mid-Oc-
tober, with a grand opening
in early November.
Mary Herche delivered
the check to White, Skyler
Archibald, executive direc-
tor of the Sunset Empire
Park and Recreation Dis-
trict, and project manager
Chris Corder.
“This donation will
ensure that we are able to
complete the building con-
struction and outfit the
See Batting, Page A5
Clatsop County defense
board chief, said.
A water tender from
Warrenton and an engine
from Seaside remain in
Lane County, Daniels
added, both possibly com-
ing home this weekend.
In Gearhart, balloons
outside the Pacific Way fire
station celebrated the return
of three trucks and person-
nel from the Powerline fire
by Hagg Lake and the Riv-
erside fire near Estacada.
Chief Bill Eddy and fire-
fighters worked outside
cleaning and getting equip-
ment ready to return to
service.
Among them, fire-
fighter Josh Lair described
his team’s experience at the
Beachie Creek fire.
“We were there the day
after it exploded,” Lair said.
“We were one of the first
task forces on scene and
we got to do some pretty
heavy work. The first cou-
ple of days we saw was
a lot of devastation. A lot
of fire. A lot of people lost
homes. We were put on
some rescue operations to
clear trees so they could get
out. It was a pretty intense
experience.”Along with
Lair, Angels Vargas, James
Hutchinson and Stepha-
nie Jaworski were among
Gearhart firefighters join-
ing efforts at the Power-
See Firefighters, Page A5
Schools face the unknown as year begins
Spike in local
virus cases
By KATHERINE LACAZE
For Seaside Signal
School’s
officially
in session in Seaside,
although the campuses sit
mostly empty while stu-
dents participate in their
education from a distance
because of the coronavirus.
“We entered this week
with a tremendous amount
of anxiety and trepidation
and fear of the unknown,”
Seaside High School and
Middle School Principal
Jeff Roberts said during the
virtual school board meet-
ing last Tuesday. “Kudos to
our community and to our
staff and to everybody that
has just been so patient, tually morph into a hybrid
graceful and, frankly, model of in-classroom and
online education.
pretty amazing.”
At the middle- and high-
According
to
data
shared by Superintendent school level, about 20%
Susan Penrod, there are of students also opted for
1,545 students enrolled in Online Thrive, although
Seaside School District Roberts said with school
under-
for the 2020-
way, they
21
school
are seeing
year.
Can-
ENROLLMENT
non
Beach
a trend of
NUMBERS
Academy has
students
372 children are enrolled
47 students
wanting to
at Seaside Middle School
enrolled.
transition
and 478 at Seaside High
Pacific Ridge
to
com-
School.
prehensive
Elemen -
tary has 648
distance
enrolled, with
learning in
roughly 20%, or 130 chil- order to have some inter-
dren, signed up for the action — even virtually
Online Thrive option and — with their teachers and
the rest participating in peers.
“I’ve been pleasantly
comprehensive
distance
learning, which will even- surprised and very happy
to consistently move those
students into our CDL pro-
gram as requested,” he
said.
Overall, 372 children are
enrolled at Seaside Middle
School and 478 enrolled at
Seaside High School.
“We are down a little
bit from last year,” Penrod
said, adding, “these num-
bers, of course, will see
a little movement as con-
tinue to experience some
additional enrollment or
students who drop.”
The school district is
still eyeing late October to
potentially reopen the cam-
pus for hybrid learning. In
order to do so, they must
meet certain metrics estab-
lished by the state for the
See Schools, Page A5
U.S. 26 designated POW/MIA memorial highway
By R.J. MARX
Seaside Signal
“He was a pretty fair
scrapper himself when
he attended Washington
State college, but Darwin
passes his admirations to
the Marines who were sta-
tioned at Wake Island,”
read a newspaper report in
the days prior to World War
II.
The son of a Pullman,
Washington, drug store
owner, Darwin Meiners was
a civilian contractor work-
ing with the U.S. Marines
on Wake Island when the
Japanese struck the island,
hours after the Pearl Harbor
attack on Dec. 7, 1941.
Forty-nine Americans
and islanders were killed,
and many more rounded
up and captured, including
Meiners. Meiners served
44 months in a Japanese
prison camp in Shanghai,
China, before his release
and return.
His nephews, John
Meiners, of Astoria, and
Darwin Meiners, of Lewis
and Clark, were among the
notables at Seaside Ameri-
can Legion Post 99 to des-
ignate U.S. Highway 26 as
the POW/MIA Highway.
R.J. Marx
See Highway, Page A5
District commander Lou Neubecker of Legion Post 99, John Meiners, Darwin Meiners and Veterans of Foreign Wars District
Commander Albert Little.