February 20, 2015 • Seaside Signal • seasidesignal.com • 3A
Lights, camera ... cue the elk
I
t never ceases to amaze me
how much attention elk get
around here.
They even have their own tele-
vision segment.
Not only do they stop cars on
the highway, they have the power
to curtail meetings.
Last week — on the night they
were about to star on TV — Sea-
side Public Works Director Neal
Wallace told the Seaside Parks
Advisory Committee that its
meeting would be swift.
He had to get home to watch
the elk.
Never mind that the committee
was about to discuss a proposal to
develop pathways and bird blinds
around the Mill Pond on the
south end of Seaside. The project,
which has taken years to get to
this point, just didn’t muster the
attraction that a 10-minute seg-
ment on Oregon Field Guide did.
Lured by tales of an elk herd
routinely roaming through Gear-
hart, an Oregon Public Broad-
casting producer spent a few days
in South Clatsop County to see
for herself what all the fuss was
about.
6KH WDONHG WR ORFDO ¿OPPDNHU
Howard Shippey, nature photog-
rapher and biologist Neal Maine,
Gearhart Mayor Dianne Widdop
and Oregon Department of Fish
and Wildlife biologist Herman
Biederbeck.
The OPB video crew shot foot-
age of 100 elk traipsing through
town, past City Hall, down Pa-
FL¿F :D\ WKURXJK ORFDO IURQW
yards and loping onto the smart-
ly trimmed lawn of the Gearhart
Golf Links.
It was like they owned the
place.
Gearhart City Administrator
Chad Sweet said it was more of
a “people problem” than an elk
problem; his comments acted as
a voice over of a scene of an elk
being shooed off by a local res-
ident who yelled, “Quit eating
my plants.”
Adam Woods, from the High-
lands Golf Course, likened the
frequent invasion of frolicking
elk to 3-year-olds weighing
1,500 pounds ruining the golf
course. Employees have to work
an extra 20 to 30 hours a week
repairing damage caused by the
elk, Woods said.
But Shippey, who had stun-
ning shots of elk wading into the
Necanicum Estuary, turning to-
ward the camera and galloping
in the water, had a different take
on the elk.
“It almost looks like they’re
smiling,” Shippey said. “They
were, I think, obviously hav-
ing fun. Having fun just wasn’t
something I ever expected to see
elk doing.”
Well, who wouldn’t have fun
when you’re with your friends
and you can throw your weight
around, and no one — certainly
not these silly humans with their
cameras — can stop you?
It reminds me of that cliché:
If you can’t beat them, join
them. Widdop seems to agree.
“They have become quite a
part of Gearhart,” she told the
OPB crew.
The elk even attracted enough
attention that a town meeting
was called just to talk about
Impressions
B Y
NANCY
McCARTHY
Instead of trying to shoo
the elk away, perhaps
we should embrace them
as tourist attractions
them — or rather, how to reduce
their numbers. Contraception?
Relocation? Hunting?
Maine suggested attaching a
GPS locater on them so people
could go to their computers to
check where the herd happened
to be that day.
None of the ideas seemed ef-
fective, or, in the case of hunting
in the middle of town, appropri-
ate.
In the end, educating the
community about the elk was
about all people could come up
with. Signs are going up now,
but I’m wondering how effec-
tive they will be if a herd gets
too close and knocks them over.
I guess that will teach some sort
of lesson.
Despite some negative reac-
tion toward the elk, Shippey and
Maine saw the positive side.
“We’re living in a high-qual-
ity place with enough open
space to have elk,” said Maine,
who spends much of his days
trekking through the local
backwoods to gather fabulous
photos of wildlife we all take
for granted.
“That’s kind of a blessing you
don’t want to mess up by having
a community battle,” he added.
As Shippey watched a young
bull elk lock horns with a larg-
er bull in the dune grass on the
beach, he called the elk an “op-
portunity.”
If we on the North Coast
want “clean, nonpolluting” at-
tractions that bring in temporary
tourists and permanent dollars
to the community, then “elk are
a perfect vehicle,” Shippey said.
Goodness knows, they stop
enough vehicles on the road, I
responded snarkily as I watched
the end of the Oregon Field
Guide segment.
But no sooner had Shippey
made his comment than it was
confirmed by a beachgoer who
encountered elk on his path to
the ocean.
“I was in Jacksonville,
Wyo., and I didn’t see this
kind of action,” the beachgoer
said. “And that’s why I went
there.”
Hmm…. Maybe we need to
rethink our response. Instead
of trying to shoo the elk away,
perhaps we should embrace
them as tourist attractions,
take the bull by the horns (so
to speak) and take a meeting
with their publicist.
There must be someone
around here who can polish
their image. And who’s going
to do their hair and make-up?
Nancy McCarthy covers
South Clatsop County for The
Daily Astorian and is the ed-
itor of the Seaside Signal and
the Cannon Beach Gazette.
JEFF TER HAR — FOR THE DAILY ASTORIAN
Making their way from the Gearhart Golf Links over to Gearhart Palisades,
a herd of elk fi nd food in residents’ yards last April.
You
Visit us online at
PUBLISHER
Steve Forrester
Tube
www.seasidesignal.com
EDITOR
Nancy McCarthy
REPORTER
Fa m ily. Frien d s . Com m u n ity.
Katherine Lacaze
ADVERTISING MANAGER
W e’re a ll in th is togeth er.
Betty Smith
PRODUCTION MANAGER
Seaside Signal
John D. Bruijn
The Seaside Signal is
published every other week
by EO Media Group, 1555
N. Roosevelt, Seaside
Oregon 97138. 503-738-
5561. www.seasidesignal.
com
CIRCULATION MANAGER
Samantha McLaren
SYSTEMS MANAGER
Carl Earl
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Letter policy
Claire Lovell
John Rahl
Darren Gooch
Esther Moberg
The
Seaside
Signal
welcomes letters to the
editor. The deadline is
noon Monday prior to
publication. Letters must be
400 words or less and must
ADVERTISING SALES
Laura Kaim
Wendy Richardson
be signed by the author and
include a phone number
Ior veri¿ cation. :e also
request that submissions
be limited to one letter per
month. Send to 1555 N.
Roosevelt Drive, Seaside,
OR 97138, drop them off
at 1555 N. Roosevelt Drive
or fax to 503-738-9285.
Or email nmccarthy@
seasidesignal.com
SUBSCRIPTIONS
Annually: $39.00 in
county • $55.00 in and
out of county • e-Edition:
only $30.00
State Farm ® has a long trad ition of being there.
T hat’s one reason w hy I’m a prou d to su pport Seasid e schools.
POSTMASTER:
Send
address
changes
to
Seaside Signal, P.O. Box
210, Astoria, OR 97103.
Postage Paid at Seaside,
OR 97138 and at additional
mailing of¿ ces. &opyright
2015 © by the Seaside
Signal. No portion of this
newspaper may be re-
produced without written
permission. All rights
reserved.
Jerem y M ills, A g en t • 503-738-6100
815 S. H ollad ay St., Seasid e
Jerem y@ jm illsinsu rance.com
w w w .jm illsinsu rance.com
G et to a better State®
W e are prou d to be able to h elp w ith you r in su ran ce n eed s in both O reg on an d W ash in g ton
7 FAMOUS FOOTWEAR 7 GNC 7 KITCHEN COLLECTION 7 L’EGGS HANES BALI PLAYTEX EXPRESS 7 NIKE 7
Because of the incredible generosity of our community
WE DID IT - WE MET THE CHALLENGE!
Our community not only met,
but went beyond the $50,000 challenge -
raising $51,455 for a grand total of $101,455!
2014 Seaside Scholarship Recipients
Thank you to all those who donated:
Al & Cathy Peinhardt
Albert & Alice Wood Trust
Allen E. Feringa & Pennye J. Hart
Alvis Porter
American Legion Post 168
Ann Morgan
Barb Knop
Barbara A. Wascher
Bayview Transit Mix
Beach Books
Ben & Tamara Olson
Betsy Ayres
Betty & Ed Rippet
Bob McEwan Construction
Boone Construction
Bruce's Candy Kitchen
By the Way
Campbell & Popkin
Cannon Beach Hardware
Carol Riley
Carolyn & Zac Ramey
Charlene Larsen
Cheri & Del Folk Trustee
Chris & Liz Beckman
Cindy Daly
Collette & Jeffrey Maltman
Damarkom
Dan & Melody Strite
David & Danene Lethin
David & Kim Chesnut
Deborah & John Mersereau
Deborah Kamali
Dennis James Murphy
Diane & Michael Somers
Diane & Rex Amos
Donald & Joan Hill
Doug & Laurie Dougherty
Duncan & Catherine Wallace
Dwayne & M. Huddleston
Eliza Murray Davis
Emily Merrill
Emma Beckman & Geoff Phillips
Englund Marine & Industrial Supply
Fairweather House & Garden
Gann Fisheries
Garry & Janice Smith
Gayle Spear
Gearhart Ironwerks
Gene & Bev Gilbertson
Geraldine Chisholm
Hallmark Resort
Hilary Baker
Horning Geosciences
Hugh Stelson
Inn at Cannon Beach
J. Thomas Ayres, Architect
Jan Matthews & Lucille Matthews
Summerfield
Jane & Jack Cartwright
Janet & Ralph Todd
Janet Clawson
Janice Absher
Jay Douglas Hauger
Jeannette Tudor
Jerry & Charlotte Westerholm
Jesse Stewart
Jo Ellingson
Joanne Raitanen Erickson
John & Diana McLoughlin
John & Terry Ward
Judy & Doug Wood
Kamali Sotheby's Int’l Realty
Kara Anderson
Karen J. Hoyt
Kelly Ayres
Kevin & Sally LaCoste
Kirk & Linda Anderson
Larry & Patricia Elliott
Laurel E. Adelman &
Deborah L. Vail
Lektro
Lisa & Eric Huddleston
Lowell Cook/Evergreen
Masonic Lodge
LowellCook/Seaside
American Legion
Lynn Potter
Maggie and Henry
Malinda Austin
Marilyn Walter
Mark & Rebecca Mizell
Martin Hospitality Inc.
Charitable Fund
Mary Jean & Jon Englund
Meadow Davis, LLC
Melissa Cadwallader
Mike & Sande Brown
Motel 6
Neil Branson
Nicole Bailey
Nicole Landwehr
Ocean Lodge
Patricia R. Johns
Ramona L. Hunter
Randy & Darleen Frank
Rebecca Olson
Regina & Hobart Kytr
Robert & Dianne Widdop
Robert C. Moberg
Robert L. Landwehr
Russ & Nancy Taggard
Sam's Seaside Cafe
Seaside Rotary
Sharee Lyons
Sleepy Monk Coffee Co.
Steven & Lynda Campbell
Steven D. Wascher
Susan K. Jones &
Christopher Monck
Suzanne Lorain
T D & M Enterprises
The Autzen Foundation
The Natural Nook
Thomas & Annaliese Briggs
US Bank
S e as i d e S chol ar s hi ps • P. O. Box 332, S eas i de , OR 97138
7 BOOK WAREHOUSE 7 BRUCE’S CANDY KITCHEN 7 CARTER’S T CLAIRE’S 7 DAISY MAY’S SANDWICH SHOP 7 DRESS BARN 7 EDDIE BAUER 7
THANKS YOU!
£Ó/Ê6°ÊEÊ79°Ê£ä£ÊUÊ--]Ê",ÊUÊxäΰǣǰ£ÈäÎ
--"1//-°
"
7RS%UDQGV
)DFWRU\'LUHFW3ULFHV
)UHH&RXSRQ%RRNDW
:LQH%HHU+DXVRURQOLQH
4UPSFTt6144IJQQJOH$FOUFSt#FBVUZ4BMPOt&BUFSJFT
#SVDFT$BOEZ,JUDIFOt(JGUTGPSUIF,JUDIFOt4IPFTt#PPLT.VTJD
$BTVBM4QPSUT6QTDBMF'BTIJPOt#PVODF)PVTFGPSUIF,JET
8JOF5BTUJOH#BS#FFSPO5BQ'JOF8JOFT#FFST
WINTER HOURS (JANUARY-MARCH):
SUNDAY-THURSDAY 10-6, FRIDAY-SATURDAY 10-8
7 TOKYO TERIYAKI 7 TOYS”R”US 7 TREE OF LIFE CHRISTIAN OUTLET 7 VAN HEUSEN ZUMIEZ 7
7 OSH KOSH B’GOSH 7 PENDLETON 7 PERFECT LOOK 7 RACK ROOM SHOES 7 RUE21 7 SEASIDE SHIPPING CENTER 7THE WINE AND BEER HAUS 7
SEASIDE FACTORY
OUTLET CENTER