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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 24, 2019)
A4 THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, AUGUST 24, 2019 OPINION editor@dailyastorian.com KARI BORGEN Publisher JIM VAN NOSTRAND Editor Founded in 1873 JEREMY FELDMAN Circulation Manager JOHN D. BRUIJN Production Manager CARL EARL Systems Manager WRITER’S NOTEBOOK Naming the new Seaside schools P erhaps the most unheralded local election is the one scheduled for Nov. 5 at the Seaside elementary and middle schools. That day, students will decide on the names of their new schools after reloca- tion in 2020. Gearhart Elementary will join The Heights and the middle school will com- prise one wing of the new high school and mid- dle school structure at the new campus site in the Southeast Hills. The purpose for a new name, Seaside School District board committee R.J. members said in May, is MARX to represent “a merge and true new start.” Broadway Middle School is named after the street where it has stood since it was built in 1949. In preparation for the transition, the Bringing Our Elementary Schools Together, or BEST, committee wants to guide the community through a process of selecting a new name, mascot, and school colors to encompass elementary students starting in the 2020-21 school year. Mid- dle-schoolers will vote on a name for their new campus, which, although under the same roof as Seaside High School, will seek its own identity. The committee started developing the idea of a name and branding change during the summer of 2018. They attended a workshop on school culture and climate hosted by the North- west Regional ESD and gathered ideas for blending staff and student bodies together. Next, they distributed a survey to staff members to gather their opinions on the pros and cons of the transition to the new campus and subsequently held two joint staff meetings. The decision will be up to students. “We wanted to tie it in with election day in November so our students could experience and learn about the voting pro- cess as well,” Heights principal Juliann Wozniak said. The website nearbymountains.com offers some lovely examples of local names in those hills, and any of those could give birth to a new name. Consider “Twin Peaks Elementary School,” the mountain near Klootchy Creek — with apologies to fi lmmaker David Lynch. Klootchy High has a cool ring to it, even if it does sound slightly vulgar. More euphonious mountain areas include Davis Point, Rippet Mountain and Clark’s Mountain. Saddle Mountain School has a nice ring to it. Seaside might choose to honor a found- ing father (or mother), or a historical fi g- ure. The Lewis and Clark brand is spread thin, but what about naming a school in honor of Robert Gray, the commercial seaman who completed the fi rst Ameri- can circumnavigation of the world in 1790 before coming on and naming the Colum- bia River on his second voyage two years later. How about Washington Irving, whose “Astoria, or Anecdotes of an Enterprise Home of the Sharks! Lessons learned from the Texas City Stingarees. SCHOOL NAMING TIMELINE LEFT: Logo of the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, a member of minor league baseball’s Southern League. MIDDLE: Author Washington Irving introduced America to the Pacifi c Northwest in the 19th century. Could he be an inspiration for the name of the middle school or elementary school? RIGHT: The Seabreeze Sandcrabs of Seabreeze High School in Del Ray, Florida. beyond the Rocky Mountains,” published in 1836, introduced more readers to the Pacifi c Northwest than any single book up to that time? And of course, the author of “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” Other historical footnote favor- ites include Willard and Weiser, immor- tal members of the 1805-06 salt making expedition in Seaside, immortalized in a historical marker at the south end of the Prom at Avenue U. These guys were mak- ing salt before the Morton’s girl carried an umbrella. From the Clatsop and Chinook tribes, there are chiefs Concomly, Coboway and Cuscular, who welcomed the Corps of Discovery to the Coast, and Tsin-is-tum, also known as Jenny Michel, remembered as a source of folklore of the Clatsop peo- ple. Imagine naming the school after a Clatsop tribe member — and a woman at that. Tsin-is-tum married the last chief of the Nehalem people, Wah-tat-kum — a rather unwieldy name at that for an ele- mentary school. The committee could also turn to con- temporary fi gures for inspiration. I am told that the Dooley Bridge on 101 is named after a former Department of Transportation offi cial — perhaps a building offi cial would be appropriate for naming. My hat’s off to these guys who are putting pyramids on our precarious hillside. Perhaps students and staff would like to pay tribute to a person who made an overall contribution to the community? The Bob Chisholm Community Center is an example, named after a former public works employee and fi refi ghter who died trying to save a drowning victim. So is the Don Larson Building, named in 2017 after the former mayor who was infl uential in the construction of the library in 2008. Sgt. Jason Goodding, the police offi cer killed in the line of duty in February 2016, could prove a fi ne choice. Raise your hand if you know all the local school nicknames. They’re the Gear- hart Eagles, The Heights Beavers and the Broadway Middle School Sharks. I love the name the Seagulls, a name shared with Seaside by the San Francisco collegiate baseball Seagulls, the Salis- bury (Maryland) Seagulls, and the for- mer Mobile (Alabama) Seagulls, a pro- fessional indoor football team that went defunct in 2001. (If anyone suggested changing that name, I’d imagine they’d best leave town.) Maybe the elemen- tary school should be known as the “Lit- tle Gulls.” But of course other nearby birds — puffi ns, osprey and plover — all carry a certain cachet. And once you turn to the sea, well you’ve got the Whales, the Seals — and maybe even the Razor Clams, Sand Crabs or Jumbo Shrimp. Students, staff and community mem- bers will submit their ideas, Wozniak said, before a committee of teachers, parents, school board members and community members narrow the choices. “Then students will get to ‘vote’ on At Gearhart Elementary School registra- tion on Aug. 21 and Aug. 22, proposal forms will be available. Proposal forms will also be available at the elementary schools, the Seaside Farmers Market, football games and online. In October, the B.E.S.T. Team, Parent/Community Members will narrow down suggestions. Oct. 18 will be the fi nal date for com- munity input, and on Oct. 22, members will create the ballot for student voting. Votes will be tallied after Election Day, and the information will be delivered to the board on Nov. 12, with presentations to follow at both schools. The middle school will deliver name survey forms during registration and open house, at the Seaside Farmers Market information booth, at school and online. Oct. 18 will be the fi nal date for completing surveys; from Oct. 21-25, the name review committee will narrow choices. On Oct. 28, the school will create a stu- dent ballot for a naming vote on Nov. 5. election day for their favorite,” she said. “Then we will bring the new name, mas- cot and colors to the board for fi nal approval.” A website will be up for input. Forms will be made available at the Seaside Farmer’s Market, fall conferences, registration, and online. The committee — with the inclusion of a community mem- ber and board member — will narrow down the suggestions to two choices. Throughout December through June 2020, the committee will work to develop branding and new T-shirts for the students. So pick carefully. R.J. Marx is editor of the Seaside Signal. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Hatred the new norm? I s hatred becoming our new norm? Pres- idential candidate Marianne Williamson provoked jeers and taunts as she articulated her spiritual manifesto — urging Americans to turn politics from hate into an instru- ment of love. Makes me wonder why so many Americans fi nd loving one another so inconvenient. President Donald Trump’s director of citizenship and immigration services, Ken Cuccinelli, recently proposed a revision to Emma Lazarus’ famous poem inscribed on the Statue of Liberty. Cuccinelli believes that the tired and poor should be immigrants “who can stand on their own two feet and who will not become a public charge.” How calloused. I’m wondering whether Americans can recall Richard Rodgers’ lyrics for the 1949 “South Pacifi c” song, “You’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught.” ”You’ve got to be carefully taught to hate and fear / You’ve got to be taught from year to year / It’s got to be drummed in your dear little ear / You’ve got to be carefully taught ”You’ve got to be taught to be afraid / Of people whose eyes are oddly made / And people whose skin is a diff’rent shade / You’ve got to be carefully taught” I’m wondering why eight-term U.S. Rep. Steve King and President Trump receive mere wrist-slaps for their ugly, divisive rac- ist rants. For some slight relief, I’m tempted to cue up the Three Dog Night hit, “Joy to the World” — ”Joy to the world / All the boys and girls / Joy to the fi shes in the deep blue sea / Joy to you and me.” Perhaps my heartfelt concerns may prompt others to urge me to move to another country — whose residents are more love-inspired. ROBERT BRAKE Ocean Park, Washington Renters’ tax credits I happened upon the letter regarding a per- vasive concern (“Help the homeless,” The Astorian, June 10). No city in Amer- ica has enough emergency beds to meet the needs of all its homeless citizens (national- homeless.org). According to Harvard researchers, U.S. rents have risen by 61 percent since 1960, but renters’ median earnings have risen only 5 percent. There are several proposals (that are similar) in Congress to help alleviate the nation’s housing crisis. These proposals involve a renters’ tax credit. The tax credit would serve as a cap on the amount of rent and utilities a low-in- come household would pay (about 30 per- cent of their income). And it would provide a tax credit for the balance above that to local fair market value. We can call or email our members of Congress and urge them to support enact- ing a renters’ tax credit in any new tax legislation. DONNA SCHINDLER MUNRO Bremerton, Washington Put the two together just fi nished reading two articles, one on the impacts of earthquake and tsunami on the infrastructure (“Research studies tsu- nami impact on infrastructure,” The Asto- rian, Aug. 20), and one on the impact and benefi t of estuary restoration (“New maps chart possible course for estuary resto- ration,” The Astorian, Aug. 20). Put the two together — developments in estuarine environments are, by defi nition, subject to earthquake and tsunami dam- age. They are at or near sea level and are on fi lls. If we return those environments “to the I tides,” and eliminate developments in those areas, rather than expend money and effort on protecting them, we will address both issues. The estuary will be restored to its more natural condition and be able to support diverse wildlife habitat, and there won’t be money or effort expended to make inher- ently unstable areas stable during a disaster. There will have to be money expended to provide suitable development areas in locations not prone to damage during major disasters, and that won’t be trivial. ROGER OAKES Seaside
