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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • MONDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2018
editor@dailyastorian.com
KARI BORGEN
Publisher
JIM VAN NOSTRAND
Editor
Founded in 1873
JEREMY FELDMAN
Circulation Manager
DEBRA BLOOM
Business Manager
JOHN D. BRUIJN
Production Manager
CARL EARL
Systems Manager
SOUTHERN EXPOSURE
Friday night lights in Seaside
he Gulls’ side of the football field is
a sea of red; Astoria’s purple colors
are more sparsely seen at the south
T
end.
The high school band jams a sizzling
medley of pregame tunes — bass drums
pounding, snares tat-tatting and brass
shouting.
Nearby lines form for snacks and
for the single port-a-potty on the path to
Broadway School.
But on this Friday night in September,
the press box is the place
to be.
The three-story
structure is almost
hidden, tucked between
the bleachers, disguised
by a storage area on the
main floor.
R.J. MARX
Once you find the
secret entrance and con-
vince yourself it’s OK to stride the stairs,
you arrive at a sportswriter’s hallowed
ground.
A group of regulars scarcely looks up
as a steady procession of visitors comes
and goes — and through the course of
the game, there are many, from former
superintendent Doug Dougherty to assis-
tant principal Jason Boyd. Outside, as the
wind picks up and the skies open, others
come for shelter or a run up to the third
floor for a birds-eye view of the game.
Chairs are at a premium.
Upstairs are Tim Wunderlich —
“Wundy” — and his Radio Clatsop broad-
cast partner John “Chappy” Chapman.
Each huddles over a large-print score-
card listing the players’ vital statistics. On
the plywood counter is enough candy and
cakes to make a Trick-or-Treater consider
it a good night: Franz fruit pies, Hostess
chocolate cupcakes, Peppermint Patties
and more.
“They just don’t make Hostess cup-
cakes like they used to,” Chappy says.
“There’s not enough frosting.”
“No Ding-Dongs?” Wundy gripes,
scanning the hillocks of sweets.
Seaside High School math teacher Jim
Poetsch — also the high school golf coach
— operates the scoreboard and history
teacher Mike Hawes the public address
system.
At the end of the line is The Daily
Astorian’s Gary Henley, so silent that I
don’t see him at first, wearing an Oregon
Ducks cap and diligently writing notes for
Monday’s paper.
Photos by R.J. Marx/The Daily Astorian
The Seaside High School band provides a soundtrack for the Gulls’ winning ways.
The Clatsop Clash
The Clatsop Clash is bigger than any
trophy or award.
The battle of the Astoria Fishermen
and the Seaside Seagulls represents a
century of gridiron competition, pitting
the two largest cities in a county where
there is no pro or college ball. For the
denizens of Clatsop, the greatest thrill is to
watch young athletes brave the elements
while cheerleaders implore the crowd to
even greater heights of fervor, undeterred
by lashing torrents of rain that would deter
most mere mortals.
On the field this Friday night, it is all
Gulls from the opening kickoff.
A series of Seaside stars — No. 3,
Brayden Johnson, at wide receiver and
defensive back; No. 25, Gio Ramirez,
running back and linebacker; No. 2,
Alexander Teubner, running back and
safety; No. 6, Payton Westerholm,
quarterback and defensive back; No. 8,
Duncan Thompson, running back and
linebacker — smother the Astoria offense
and take the offensive stage with run after
run, racking up 10, 15 and 20 yards and
more.
Athletes play both offense and defense,
a challenge that would quickly exhaust
anyone older than 18.
Tim Wunderlich and John Chapman broadcast from the Broadway Field press booth.
The Signal’s Jeff Ter Har braves the el-
ements to bring you the game shots.
confronts pelting rain and fogged lenses
streaked by windswept pellets.
Before the game is done, the “mercy
rule” is invoked, a recent addition to
the Oregon State Athletic Association
handbook, in which games of 45 points
or more difference are either called or
allowed to play without timeouts between
plays.
The clock stops only after injury, heat
or “unusual circumstances, such as a
dog on field, etc.” For the Fisherman, the
fourth quarter would have been the time
to unleash the hounds. As someone once
said, it’s easy to win, but it’s hard to lose.
Despite a few kerfuffles — 13 penal-
ties for the Gulls, costing them 125 yards
— the score piles up on Seaside’s behalf.
Thompson scores with a 35-yard run and
Westerholm surpasses even that with a
38-yard sprint.
The clock ticks down, and upstairs,
when 0:00 hits, snacks are scooped up,
chairs folded (or not) and the press box
clears out, stories to be filed — just like at
CenturyLink Field.
R.J. Marx is The Daily Astorian’s South
County reporter and editor of the Seaside
Signal and Cannon Beach Gazette.
The Broadway Field press box, when
not in use for a game.
Just when one weapon is utilized,
another piece of the Gulls artillery enters,
with backs batting away passes, tacklers
stopping runners cold and ballhandlers
dragging opponents for hard-earned extra
yardage.
Gulls’ kicker Kaleb Bartel is so accu-
rate he hits seven points-after kicks, and
at one point prepares to kick a 40-yard
field goal, although the attempt is whistled
dead after a penalty sends them back.
And penalties may be the weak spot
of the Gulls this night, as a few sparkling
runs are negated by holding calls behind
the line of scrimmage; a face mask nulli-
fies another play.
If the Gulls hadn’t drawn so many
whistles, who knows, the score might
have been even more lopsided.
Seaside players ignore the elements
until the rain starts to hurt and the ball
spills out of players’ hands like a squirm-
ing pig.
In the stands, plastic tarpaulins and rain
slickers blanket the crowd.
Signal photographer Jeff Ter Har
roams the sidelines with an umbrella the
size of a pup tent, pitching a tripod in
the mud; the Astorian’s Colin Murphey
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Thanks for support
of Astoria Column
n the midst of political chaos and a busy
election season, I wanted to take a moment
and express my sincere gratitude to this com-
munity and the patrons of the Astoria Column.
As we wrap up another summer of high
traffic volume and peak tourism, I felt the
need to say thank you to the local patrons who
live alongside the chaos that our beautiful des-
tination town tends to experience in the sum-
mer months. Our local patrons who visit us
year round, and assist in coordinating events
at the column and bringing tourists here, are
our unsung heroes.
I would like to especially thank the city
of Astoria Parks and Recreation Department
for their support. We hope that the Column
remains the beautiful and well-kept historical
landmark that it is today, and continues to rep-
resent all that Astoria is; history, beauty and a
I
safe place to harbor. The Column represents
our community as a whole, and we should all
be proud. So again, thank you, and we hope to
see you here soon.
FRED PYNES
Astoria Column park host
Vote Brown for governor
’m voting for Kate Brown for governor
because she understands that we all do bet-
ter when we invest in clean energy jobs. The
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
report presented to the United Nations makes
clear that we must face changes to our cli-
mate now, and find the opportunity within it
to change how we create and use our energy
sources. New technologies and innovation
mean new, good jobs for Oregonians.
Meanwhile, her opponent does not support
the proposed Clean Energy Jobs Bill, and he
has received more than $850,000 from corpo-
I
rations and special interest lobbyists working
to undermine environmental protections. He
doesn’t get it. We need Kate Brown and her
leadership to help Oregonians thrive in these
challenging times.
I support Kate Brown because she supports
Clean Energy Jobs. Join me in voting for Kate
Brown for governor.
BEBE MICHEL
Gearhart
Vote ‘no’ on
recreation district bond
ote “no” on the Sunset Empire Park &
Recreation District bond measure 4-196.
Property taxes were recently raised 15 percent
for the $100 million-plus school bond mea-
sure. This bond measure would nearly double
(75 percent increase) your property tax levy
for the recreation district. Renters would also
V
feel the effect.
Properties in the Sunset Empire district are
already heavily burdened with a tax levy that
Gearhart and Cannon Beach are unencum-
bered by. The bond would make our district
tax levy the fourth-highest in the entire state
of Oregon. It would take $58 million in tax
dollars out of our community over the next 20
years.
The project has not been vetted by the city
of Seaside, or the Seaside School District,
with regard to additional land required for
parking requirements.
We cannot afford another drain on our tax
dollars for a $20 million gym. The recreation
district is the 15th largest park and recreation
district in the state of Oregon, but is funded
as the seventh-largest. The district is already
grossly overfunded for a community of our
size.
PATRICK DUHACHEK
Warrenton