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About Seaside signal. (Seaside, Or.) 1905-current | View Entire Issue (March 20, 2015)
March 20, 2015 • Seaside Signal • seasidesignal.com • 11A New playgrounds installed in Gearhart Committee meets goal to have structure installed by spring break 2015 By Katherine Lacaze Seaside Signal Gearhart Elementary School has two new play- grounds. They arrived March 14, delivered by truck to the school, where a large group of community members waited, eager to install them despite chilly wind and rain. The shiny blue play- grounds are made possi- ble by the efforts of the 10-member Gearhart Play- ground Project Committee and local donations of time, money, labor and materials. “This really is a com- munity project,” said Erin Jackson, a member of the playground committee, a subgroup of the school’s Parent-Teacher-Student Organization. Without vol- unteers, the project never would have materialized, she said. When Gearhart’s only existing playgrounds, locat- ed outside the school, start- ed deteriorating last spring, the idea to replace them was born. Two slides broke on one of the structures, which were nearly 30 years old, third-grade teacher Suzi Regan said. “The kids said, ‘we should do something about that,’ and I said, ‘you’re right,’” she said. The playground commit- tee was formed to address the problem. The group, which includes teachers, parents and Principal Juli Wozniak, set a goal to have the play sets ready for use by spring break 2015. That KATHERINE LACAZE PHOTO Dozens of community members showed up at Gearhart Elementary School March 14 to help install two new play- grounds on the school’s campus. The playgrounds were pur- chased with funds raised by the Gearhart Playground Project Committee, a subgroup of the Parent-Teacher Organization. KATHERINE LACAZE PHOTO Lori Toyooka, left, and Erin Jackson, members of the Gear- hart Playground Project Committee, help unload parts for Gearhart’s new playground March 14. Dozens of people from the community showed up over the weekend to help put up two new playgrounds at Gearhart Elementary School. The Gearhart playground project has been an ongoing effort for about a year. Gearhart Elementary School replaced its two existing playgrounds, which were about 30 years old, with new structures. Community members started installing the play sets last weekend, and the work was completed this week. The Gearhart Playground Project Commit- tee’s goal was to have the structures installed by spring break 2015. goal was accomplished last weekend with the help of several dozen communi- ty members who showed up on a rainy morning and worked long hours to install the equipment. The North Coast Build- ing Industry Association rounded up about 10 build- input from the elementary students, are environmen- tally friendly, handicap-ac- cessible and able to with- stand the coastal weather. Both are designated for NLQGHUJDUWHQ WKURXJK ¿IWK grade students. The play- grounds aren’t exclusively for elementary students, ers and construction work- ers to do the specialized labor; the association also obtained donations of ma- chinery and materials for the project. Warrenton’s A-1 Ready Mix poured concrete for the playground sites. The playground sets, which were selected with KATHERINE LACAZE PHOTO however: The public can use them year-round. “We hope it gets used throughout the summer,” Jackson said. The playground equip- ment cost about $70,000. A majority of those funds were raised through a din- ner and auction at the Asto- ria Golf and Country Club in November. The rest came from a Turkey Trot Fun Run the week before Thanks- giving; a family night-out fundraiser at McMenamins Gearhart Hotel and Sand Trap Pub last fall; and indi- vidual donations from citi- zens and businesses. In the chess club, there’s always something new to learn Gearhart’s second year Dan King is leading Gearhart Elementary School’s chess club into its second year, but the pro- gram still is gaining traction. King started a chess club at Sea- side Heights Elementary School in 1980. The club lasted about 20 years and took part in the state chess tournament about a dozen of those years. King took a hiatus until about six years ago, when a former chess club member approached him at Costco and told him the im- pact the club had on him. “At that point, I knew in my heart, even though I was burned out from going to state tourna- ments, I could still do chess club, so I started up again,” he said. He left Seaside Heights about a year and a half ago and went to Gearhart, where he reignited the chess club that had been there in the 1980s. The club started its second season in early November with Friday afternoon meetings. In addition to about 15 student participants, King has help from several parent volunteers, some of whom were on his team at Sea- side Heights. The club is targeted WRZDUG IRXUWK DQG ¿IWKJUDGHUV but King is open to having younger students participate, as well. KATHERINE LACAZE PHOTO The Gearhart Elementary School chess club started its second year a few weeks ago, under the guidance of Dan King. The club, which is open to all students, has garnered the interest about 15 students and a few parent volunteers so far this year. for him to overcome,” he said. “But, we will try again next year.” The goal is to spread the word about chess in the community, give students the opportunity to play and, eventually, start a com- petition team. Another aspect of the club will be interacting with elementary and middle school students. S H O U R • 2 4 • • O P there is not a chess club at Seaside Heights Elementary School. The Knappa and Jewell school districts don’t have chess clubs, either. If students had more opportuni- ties to play during or after school, King believes their interest in the game would increase in turn. In- struction at home also can affect the activity’s presence in the com- munity. The players Students probably are not as Sometimes people underesti- exposed to chess in their homes as mate the ability of children to grasp they used to be, he suggested. the technical nuances of chess, but “There were a lot more kids Opportunity for HYHQ ¿UVWJUDGHUV RU \RXQJHU VWX- playing chess with their parents in dents can start learning the game, the 1980s and 1990s than there are advancement King said. today,” he said, adding that, in his At Seaside High School, senior He and David Rouse believe the experience, “the kids who were re- Kris Booth tried to get a chess pro- EHQH¿WV RI SOD\LQJ DUH QXPHURXV ally successful were also playing at gram started this year for his Paci- improved problem-solving skills, home.” ¿FD3URMHFWEXWKHZDVQRWDEOHWR VWUDWHJLF WKLQNLQJ FRQ¿GHQFH For instance, Sage Park has garner the attention and interest he work ethic and creativity. been playing since she was 4 needed, said Booth’s mentor Eddie Despite what the activity has to years old under her grandfa- Park, Sage Park’s grandfather. offer, scholastic chess is not wide- ther’s guidance. Now she is one “The inertia was just too great ly promoted in the school district; of the only local students indi- E N E K W E • 7 D A Y S A By participating in tournaments, he said, competitors become “very aware of the consequences of their actions” in a controlled setting. “You know, at the end of the game, how well you do and wheth- er you win or lose is really up to you and the choices you made,” he said. In the future They also have the opportunity Eddie Park hopes the clubs’ to meet and play against people long-term goal is to help students from all over the state who share a qualify for the Oregon Scholastic common interest. The federation’s state tourna- Chess Federation State Tourna- ment in April. To attend, students ment is not a qualifying event for PXVW¿UVWFRPSHWHLQWZRTXDOLI\- a national competition, but the ing events and establish a North- winners of the high school and west Scholastic Rating System or middle school divisions are nom- United States Chess Federation rat- inated to represent the state at the ing. Even though the state tourna- national Denker Tournament of ment is held in Seaside, Sage Park High School Champions and the ZLOOEHWKH¿UVWVWXGHQWIURP&ODW- Dewain Barber Tournament of sop County to participate when she K–8 Champions tournaments, re- spectively. The top-rated girls also attends the tournament this April. Park also wants to make Seaside are nominated to play in national the site of qualifying tournaments women-only events. David Rouse said he is waiting in the future, which is a possibility, according to Jeff Dobbins, an Or- to see if attending tournaments egon Scholastic Chess Federation will be feasible for the club. For now, he wants to focus on in- board member. “The great thing about the Ore- struction and practice, and he gon Scholastic Chess Federation is believes eventually the program WKDW ZH¶UH YHU\ ÀH[LEOH´ KH VDLG will attract students who want to adding a parent volunteer or teach- compete. Gearhart Elementary School’s er can put on a qualifying tourna- ment. “The goal of the organiza- program is strictly recreational at tion was to get more people to set this point, King said, and he pre- up tournaments and run them on fers to keep it that way. He said he wants “students to be proud that their own.” The state tournament is open they know how to play chess, and for students ages 5 through 19, or to continue to play chess through kindergartners through high school their adult lives.” He has taught more than 1,000 seniors. It also offers a separate section, called the Friends and people to play chess in his life, and Family Section, for adults and oth- some of his proudest moments are HUVWXGHQWVZKRKDYHQ¶WTXDOL¿HG when those people tell him they The students in that section get to still play the game. “That’s what will melt my play four games and get a sense of heart,” he said. the event, Dobbins said. vidually seeking out competi- tions to attend. Crystal Rouse said she’d be in- terested in competing, as well, but VKH ¿UVW ZDQWV WR JHW ³ZD\ PRUH practice.” Luckily for her, her fa- ther and grandfather are available to give her that practice. Chess from Page 1A COMING SOON TO SEASIDE! eeds- n n o i t a t r o p s n a r t C all us for your appy! w e w ill m ake you h Astoria, Warrenton, Seaside 503-325-5818 Long Beach, WA 360-665-3500 R O Y A L C AB L.L.C. Locally Owned & Operated by Travis Weichal, since 1996 L.L.C. • SMOKE FREE • BIKE RACKS ON ALL VEHICLES ww w . royalcab . net