OPINION
4A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2015
Founded in 1873
STEPHEN A. FORRESTER, Editor & Publisher
LAURA SELLERS, Managing Editor
BETTY SMITH, Advertising Manager
CARL EARL, Systems Manager
JOHN D. BRUIJN, Production Manager
DEBRA BLOOM, Business Manager
HEATHER RAMSDELL, Circulation Manager
Seaside’s Dougherty
was resilient, candid
O
ne of the toughest public sector jobs is running a school
district. Seaside and Astoria have been fortunate in hav-
ing two school superintendents of long tenure and high quality.
Seaside’s schools leader
Doug Dougherty announced his
retirement last week. Happily,
Dougherty recently won renew-
al of Seaside’s local option levy.
Seaside has a remarkable ar-
ray of assets, apart from its eco-
nomic base as a tourist town.
The school district is one of the
town’s strengths. Dougherty al-
luded to that in his announce-
ment at last Tuesday’s school
board meeting. He attributed
his long employment with the
Seaside district (35 years) to its
excellence. Another way to de-
scribe that value would be the
stability of the district’s leader-
ship.
During his 19 years as super-
intendent, Dougherty dealt with
consolidation of administra-
tive positions and schools. He
also took an unsuccessful run
at passing a schools relocation
bond.
Both Dougherty and his
Astoria counterpart Craig
Hoppes excel in communica-
tions — with their communi-
ties and with the news media.
Dougherty was especially artic-
ulate in explaining the nuances
of educational policy and rules.
Even in the darkest moment
of losing the school relocation
bond vote, Dougherty gave us
candor.
The product of all this is a
district that has played at a lev-
el of excellence well above its
size.
R.J. Marx/The Daily Astorian
Seaside High School students practice walking the tsunami evacuation route this fall.
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hat makes a guy year-in,
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the tide — pun intended — and
take a look at our city’s most
sensitive topic: a tsunami that
could kill thousands and leave
thousands more homeless?
Bringing up the subject of the
Cascadia Subduction Zone
megaquake and subsequent
tsunami in Seaside is about as
popular as a long bathroom
line.
Yet geologist Tom Horning
manages to sound the alarm while
proposing sensible solutions that
could save thousands of lives. He
almost makes it sound easy: “Your
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tion, choose a scenario, set your
goals and get going.”
SOUTHERN
EXPOSURE
B Y
R.J.
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All the
warning signs
put together
won’t make up
for one failed
bridge.
Tom Horning
minutes to get to safety before the
tsunami. “They’ve got to be to the
hills before the water gets them,”
Horning said.
How they get there is another
story. All the warning signs put to-
gether won’t make up for one failed
bridge.
aja Estes is a Naselle, stepped up, winning two deci-
I had read about the Seaside na-
A few years back, getting mon-
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ey
to repair bridges was relatively
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Wash., student whose ded- VLYH SRLQWV ZLWK WKH FRQ¿GHQFH
portant book, The Next Tsunami.
ing said. “Death rates for people easy, Horning said. Seaside pe-
ication to her high school is ev- of a veteran.
Among emergency preparedness FDXJKWZLWKLQWKHÀRRGHGDUHDZLOO titioned the Federal Emergency
ident in her words and actions.
At those same district games, RI¿FLDOV DQG VHLVPLF VOHXWKV WKLV range from 15 to 99 percent.”
Management Agency and received
If there are 25,000 visitors in IHGHUDO PRQH\ WR ¿[ IRXU EULGJHV
In coverage of her team’s trip Muessig and two other girls JHRORJLVWLVWKH¿UVWVWRS
If you want to know exactly Seaside for the Fourth of July, the But when other Oregon communi-
to the WIAA volleyball champi- played a key role, too, even
ties saw dollars repeatedly going
when the big one will hit, Horning’s numbers could be harrowing.
onships last week, she was quot- though they never stepped on answer is an unsatisfying, “No one
The city could be expected to to Seaside, politicians vied for the
ed reminding everyone to focus the court. When the entire squad knows.”
care for survivors for at least 20 funds and despite the need, FEMA
money dried up. It was up to Sea-
Maybe his own guess is as good days.
on the positive.
was upset at the injury to starter
side to get in line for Department of
as
anyone’s.
After
all,
it’s
Horning
“For
a
while
the
city
had
a
com-
“We made it to state, we won Tayler Ford, they began to fal-
who in 1995 held a séance at the mittee, but they were convention- Transportation funds, or worse, to
league and we were district ter and lost a set to Three Rivers 3DFL¿F :D\ LQ *HDUKDUW DQG FDPH al,” Horning said. “They said the foot the bill themselves.
champions,” she said. “We are Christian School. Momentum is up with a date the tsunami would things we need to worry about were
“ODOT has a backlog of 6,400
winners, in my opinion.”
everything in volleyball, and as it strike. “I said it was going to hit in IRUHVW ¿UHV ZLQGVWRUPV RU +HOO¶V bridges,” Horning said. “And every-
summer of 2025,” Horning said. Angels coming through town. No ERG\ZDQWVPRQH\WR¿[WKHEULGJH
Her comments came after she started to swing the wrong way, the
“July 23, 2025. I’ve done this meth- one was really geared to handling outside their town. Now we have
had dried her tears from losing it was Muessig on the bench, od to try to get the lottery numbers, earthquakes and tsunamis.”
to raise the money through ODOT,
After abandoning that commit- so we have to raise the money our-
two tough matches and being with Kelly Langston and Lily but it doesn’t work.”
It’s the very randomness of the tee, the city has seen “short period selves. Or maybe the state will turn
eliminated from the state tour- Harman, all applauding and con-
earth beneath our feet that makes of progress surrounded by long pe- over some money through their
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stantly offering words of encour- exact predictions impossible, Horn- riods of nothing,” Horning said.
resiliency plan, which should be
Such a mature outlook from a agement to their teammates, who ing said. Add to that new geologic
7KH ¿UVW VWHS KH VDLG LV WR DV funded to the tune of $200 or $300
evidence that there is not necessari- sume the worst-case scenario and million every year.”
shy junior is a credit to the dedi- made the crucial difference.
Horning said the city isn’t doing
cated coaches and caring school
Naselle won. Both teams ly a correlation between the size of so plan for it. “The thing Seaside
the quake and the size of the tsuna- hasn’t done is undertaken this with enough to reach out for those funds,
district staff who inspire such went to state, but the Comets mi.
the gravity of the disaster that’s go- and the money the city does have is
commendable qualities in their advanced as District IV cham-
“Short durations can result in ing to hit,” he said. “They’ve been being spent on costly non disaster
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students.
pions. Their perceptive head large tsunamis,” he said, “We have ignoring this.”
bothers me is they don’t
to assume a large tsunami, at least
Horning looks to Japan and their
The team’s quartet of seniors, coach, Kim Eaton, credited the a 55-foot wave, could strike at any “culture of preparedness” as a mod- have “What
bridge replacement as part of
and especially their inspirational trio on the bench with a huge time, and that’s what we should pre- el.
the city’s hazard mitigation strate-
“I’ve got numbers from Japanese gies,” he said. “That’s a stupid phi-
captains, deservedly have been share in that evening’s success. pare for. We don’t have any patterns
getting good press for their pos-
Despite not playing in to tell us when. It might be a long studies that suggest for this kind of losophy. Bridges are the one thing
time in the future, it might be a short water depth —about 35 feet in Sea- that will save thousands of lives. If
itive example of leadership. But Tumwater, Muessig did savor time.”
side — you can expect 50 to 99 per- you’re not talking about replacing
LW ZDV ¿WWLQJ WKDW RI¿FLDOV LQ her individual moment of glo-
bridges, you can’t get that money.”
The very complexity of the prob- cent fatality rates,” he said.
Horning is speaking to every-
If Japan hadn’t prepared, he said,
Yakima should award sportsman- ry in Yakima — a superb kill to lem can be paralyzing.
body
who lives here, visits or passes
“When
people
are
confronted
their
fatality
rates
in
2011
after
the
ship medals to two other girls, earn a point against Neah Bay .
with disaster scenarios, they stick Tohoku quake would have been through.
freshman Taylor Gudmundsen
It is often said “there is no I their heads in the sand and deny,” 10 to 20 times worse. “They could
“It’s about saving lives,” he said.
and junior Ashley Muessig.
in team.” Naselle’s volleyball he said. “They just can’t handle have lost half a million people,” he “If the big one hits, we can’t do
7KH\ZRXOGEHWKH¿UVWWRDG girls exemplify that. It has been LW<RXKDYHWR¿JXUHRXWDZD\WR said. “They lost 23,000. Two-hun- much about our real estate. It will
them out of the denial phase dred thousand to 400,000 people be lost. You’ll still own a parcel of
mit that neither went into post- a pleasure to showcase their break
and into action.”
could have died, but they got a lot land, but no one will be able to build
season play as the most expe- success this season.
on it. We’ll all be broke. We won’t
Seaside is functioning well as a of them out of there.”
have a tax base. You can’t just in-
rienced members of the squad.
The school which beat them “normal” city, Horning said.
Bridge repair
stantly go in and replace broken
But there’s nothing normal about
But Gudmundsen distinguished in Yakima won the 1B state
vital for survival
sewer and water lines. How do you
the quake and tsunami threat.
herself at junior varsity level championship.
Once a group — Horning calls rebuild a town that took a century
“This is an extraordinary thing,”
and when her varsity chance
But there are champions of he said. “Judging by the fact noth- for a “blue-ribbon panel” — is to build in a year? You can’t. The
came — at the district cham- D QRWHZRUWK\ NLQG LQ 3DFL¿F ing’s happened tells me it’s too formed to address the serious issues primary thing is to save lives. The
complicated an issue for the way posed by the tsunami threat, atten- things that are going to cause people
pionships in Tumwater — she County, too.
the city’s structured. We need to tion should be drawn to the city’s to die are impediments to their safe
evacuation.
change the way the city does busi- water crossings.
“You ask me why am I still
“The thing that I think is most
ness. Probably the most important
thing is to create a disaster pre- important by far is that the city working at this?” he continued.
paredness committee that prepares should immediately begin replacing “Because I’m the guy with more
• U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici 3753. Web: www.merkley.senate.gov goals for the city that become per- old bridges,” Horning said. “Much information than anybody, there-
(D): 2338 Rayburn HOB, Washington,
• U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden (D): manent goals. And it needs to be of the other stuff is relatively incon- fore the responsibility lies more on
D.C., 20515. Phone: 202- 225-0855. 'LUNVHQ 6HQDWH 2I¿FH %XLOGLQJ done soon.”
sequential compared to it. It’s that my shoulders than anyone else. So
)D[ 'LVWULFW RI¿FH Washington, D.C., 20510. Phone:
important. Bridges are 95 percent of I’m trying to convey that informa-
Committee must
12725 SW Millikan Way, Suite 220, 202-224-5244. Web: www.wyden.
tion. That’s been my role for the
the story.”
address risk
Beaverton, OR 97005. Phone: 503- senate.gov
The quake, which will strike longest time: to bridge science and
Previous Seaside city adminis- without warning, will lead to wave society.”
469-6010. Fax 503-326-5066. Web:
• State Rep. Brad Witt (D): State
R.J. Marx is The Daily Astori-
bonamici.house. gov/
Capitol, 900 Court Street N.E., H-373, trations failed to address the tsuna- heights of 30 to 45 feet and high-
• U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D): 313 Salem, OR 97301. Phone: 503-986- mi risk, Horning said.
er. Seven out of 11 bridges will fall an’s South County reporter and ed-
“Most of the lower part of the down in a tsunami, Horning said.
itor of the Seaside Signal and Can-
+DUW 6HQDWH 2I¿FH %XLOGLQJ :DVK 1431. Web: www.leg.state.or.us/witt/
city will be demolished or exten-
ington, D.C. 20510. Phone: 202-224- Email: rep.bradwitt@state.or.us
After the shaking people have 15 non Beach Gazette.
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teaches good values
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Where to write