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About Cannon Beach gazette. (Cannon Beach, Or.) 1977-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 11, 2017)
August 11, 2017 | Cannon Beach Gazette | cannonbeachgazette.com • 7A Seaside campus plan clears first hurdle Planning Commission sends recommendation to council By R.J. Marx Cannon Beach Gazette The Seaside School Dis- trict cleared a major hurdle Aug. 1. Members of the city’s Planning Commission pro- vided a recommendation that could lead to the building of a new school campus outside of the tsunami inundation zone. By voting to recommend approval of the district’s re- quest for an expansion of the urban growth boundary, the commission paved the way for rezoning 40 acres of the property and annexing an ad- ditional 49-acre portion of the property, located at Seaside Heights Elementary School, 2000 Spruce Drive. “This is one of the key pieces in moving the schools up onto the new property,” former superintendent and member of the district’s construction oversight com- mittee Doug Dougherty said after the meeting. “This is a major step.” Planning goals Although a conceptual plan for the site was included in the district’s submission, this was not a request to ap- prove a development plan for the site, according to a city staff report. The request, headed to the City Council, would make amendments to the comprehensive plan, zoning ordinance and zoning map necessary for the school dis- trict to prepare a conditional use request for an institution- al development plan for the campus. Consultant Greg Winte- rowd of Winterbrook Plan- ning said the school’s request addresses relevant criteria of statewide planning goals, the Seaside comprehensive plan and the Clatsop County com- prehensive plan. The proposed location is the only site that meets all seven city criteria, he said, and the only site with access to a major collector street, South Wahanna Road. “Once we get approval, we know we have the proper zoning, the intent is to finish the development plan, show them what this development plan is and then really focus on impacts,” Winterowd said. Supporters Educators, school board members, government of- ficials, former students and others stressed the urgency of the commission’s decision, the result of what Dougherty said was a result of more than 25 years of research into the Cascadia Subduction Zone. Dougherty said studies could not tell exactly when a Cascadia would occur, but it’s “highly likely to occur by 2060. It’s very important this get done as quickly as possi- ble.” Patrick Wingard of the Department of Land Conser- vation and Development and Oregon Coastal Management Program evaluated the pro- posal in terms of statewide planning goals, particularly those relating to tsunami in- undation zones and urban and rural uses. “We support the proposal because they’ve shown the proper rationale and justifi- cation to show the locational and need requirements laid out in statewide planning goals,” Wingard said. Seaside High School Prin- cipal Jeff Roberts called the school the “hub of the com- munity,” and encouraged commissioners to “do what is best for kids” by approving the application. Recent Seaside grad Brad Rzewnicki said he saw no other option than moving the schools to the new campus. “I think this new school will promote even greater learn- ing for the staff as well as other students,” he said. Gearhart’s Mayor Matt Brown, speaking as a district resident, said he was support- ive of the zone change. Brown called the move an “investment” into the com- munities of Gearhart, Seaside and Cannon Beach fitting into the criteria outlined for the urban growth boundary amendment. Chairman of the school district’s board of directors Steve Phillips said the cam- pus would provide an emer- gency, higher elevation ref- uge if a tsunami or natural disasters. “There are a lot of posi- tives to this and I encourage you to move forward and al- low us to continue our plan- ning,” Phillips said. Concerns Issues raised during public testimony included concerns about traffic on Spruce Drive, Wahanna and Cooper Road, a side street occasionally used as a cut-through. Wingard asked for as- surances that future devel- opment of existing school properties — Gearhart El- ementary School, Seaside High School and Broadway Middle School — would not be rezoned for higher density uses. Coordinator of the Necan- icum Watershed Council Me- lyssa Graeper asked that any new road consider waterways and wetlands. District bus driver Allan Erickson drew attention to potential traffic bottlenecks of Avenue S and Wahanna Road, as well vulnerability of the city’s bus barn and main- tenance facility in the case of a catastrophic event. Commissioners told dis- trict officials they would like to see traffic measures — including stop signs, lower speed limits and limits on left-hand turns in some loca- tions — discussed in future applications. Unanimous vote Commissioners consid- ered holding the hearing open for another month, but ultimately decided to take an immediate vote. “I don’t see any testimony coming that would change my mind as to how I’m going to vote here,” Commissioner Richard Ridout said in asking for a vote. “The concerns are valid, but that will be taken care of at a later date,” Commission- er Lou Neubecker said. THE COASTER THEATRE PLAYHOUSE PRESENTS PHOTOS BY KATHERINE LACAZE/FOR CANNON BEACH GAZETTE Sixth-grader Desi Ramirez (left) and eighth-grader Kolyn Lachica work on creating a water infiltration system during a free two-day STEM-related summer camp held at the Heights Elementary School in Seaside on July 12 and 13. The camp was one in a series along the coast put on by Oregon State University in partnership with the Oregon Coast STEM Hub and local site hosts. Camp builds students’ STEM skills By Katherine Lacaze For Cannon Beach Gazette Science, technology, en- gineering and mathematics are more than just classroom subjects. They are areas of study, primarily rooted in problem-solving, that pervade everyday life. For some young students, however, those naturally in- terconnected disciplines, es- pecially engineering, can be intimidating, dull or inacces- sible. That’s why the Oregon Coast STEM Hub and Ore- gon State University approach them through a series of mo- bile science and engineering summer camps, offered to middle schoolers along the coast. The Seaside School Dis- trict played host to one such day camp, held July 12 and 13 at The Heights Elementary School. More than a dozen lo- cal students who are entering sixth to ninth grade this fall explored science and engi- neering through several hands- on activities, such as develop- ing water infiltration systems, creating wind turbines and building handmade speakers. “In a lot of small, rural communities, they’re not go- ing to have classes with many of these activities,” said Ra- chel Johnson, a senior bioen- gineering major at OSU. Johnson was one of four OSU students facilitating Sea- side’s Center for Outreach in Science and Engineering for Youth Mobile Science and Engineering Camp, operated by the Precollege Programs at OSU in partnership with the Oregon Coast STEM Hub. Gearhart Elementary School fifth-grade teacher Erica Acton served as the lo- cal host. Students from the Seaside School District could participate in the camp, which included lunch and materials, at no cost. Stress-free environment The mobile summer camps — which so far have been held in Tillamook, Lincoln Rachel Johnson, a camp leader and bio engineering major at Oregon State University, talks with local students while they worked on building a water infiltration system during a STEM-related summer camp. City, Astoria and Seaside, and next will travel to Coquille and Brookings — offer sever- al benefits, according to John- son. The campers are in a com- fortable, familiar environment with their friends and peers from school. Additionally, the camp is an outlet where they can learn STEM-related infor- mation without the pressure of impending tests or homework assignments. Sometimes, Johnson said, students will show up feel- ing reluctant about the idea of doing “more school,” so to speak. During the two days of camp, however, the instructors have the pleasure of showing the campers how enjoyable it can be to engage the STEM topics by providing hands-on application. When it comes to building and retaining children’s inter- est in STEM topics at the mid- dle-school age, that’s “a big step in the right direction,” said camp instructor Apoorva Ayyagari, another senior bio- engineering major at OSU. “It’s an easier way to piece together information that’s be- ing thrown at you,” she said. ‘Just problem-solving’ Most students are exposed to science, math and technolo- gy by the time they are entering ninth grade, but engineering can be a more elusive subject NORTH COAST DOOR CO. 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Acton felt the camp was especially success- ful in exposing the students to what engineering entails and making the topic accessible to them. “It’s really just prob- lem-solving,” she said. Johnson agreed most of the activities they do with the campers put a heavy focus on critical thinking and prob- lem-solving. Each project involves multiple variables, which allows the students to play around with changing one or two and seeing how that af- fects the outcome. If changing one variable doesn’t accom- plish what they hope, they can address another. What strikes the instructors as particularly interesting is how creativity varies consid- erably from school to school, and even from student to stu- dent. During the first activity, stu- dents were put into teams, and each team had to use plastic pipe and connectors to build a freestanding dog sculpture. This activity helped them warm up to the idea of engi- neering as problem-solving, as well as group work and sharing and listening to others’ ideas. One group chose to have their dog sitting, instead of standing on all fours. Although unconventional and surpris- ing compared to the struc- tures made by other groups, it wasn’t “a wrong answer within the specifications of the problem,” Acton said. Simi- larly, when the students build solar-powered cars from kits, “not a single car looks the same,” Ayyagari said. In general, the young stu- dents seem more apt to ex- ercise creative thinking and personalized approaches than adults, Johnson said, adding, “They don’t see the obstacles we see.” In another activity, held on the second day of camp, the instructors talked to the stu- dents about college admissions and the professions available in the STEM disciplines. 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