May 15, 2015 • Seaside Signal • seasidesignal.com • 5A
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On community hiring panel, we looked for passion, concern, eagerness
W
hen Mary Blake, interim
executive director of the
Sunset Empire Park and
Recreation District, asked me to be
on the community panel that would
interview candidates for the per-
manent director, I eagerly agreed.
As a reporter, I have covered
the hiring of many top executives
in myriad companies and organiza-
tions. But, as someone who’s more
curious about what goes on behind
the curtain than onstage, I’ve al-
ways been interested in how and
why the hires were made.
I wouldn’t imagine it was dif-
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cants for the recreation district di-
rector’s job. Who wouldn’t want
to live on the North Coast, near the
ocean, mountains and forests and
be challenged every day to provide
recreation opportunities for South
County residents?
I’ve done my own share of hir-
ing for newspapers, talking to ea-
ger applicants, reading between the
lines on resumes, asking probing
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been asked to participate in hiring
for a public agency. As a holder
of a year-round pass and a fairly
frequent user of the district’s fa-
cilities, and as a former editor and
reporter who regularly attended
district board meetings, I was
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be on the community panel.
And so were the other four pan-
el members, who regularly used
the district pool or participated in
the district’s foundation. We were
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As expected, each had their
own strengths. Darren Gooch, the
district’s information technology
and marketing manager who has
worked in a variety of district po-
sitions, is as familiar with district
operations as anyone could be.
He’s also active and well-liked in
the community. Another applicant
had many years’ experience run-
ning recreation districts elsewhere.
The third applicant, Skyler Ar-
chibald, had both the experience
of running a university recreation
center and growing up in Seaside.
On interview day, the ap-
plicants toured the facility on
Broadway. Then, they spent time
answering questions posed by the
technical committee, composed
I MPRESSIONS
B Y
NANCY
McCARTHY
We take our health seriously
here on the North Coast.
of folks who know something
about how a pool, gym and com-
munity center are supposed to
run. Eventually, each applicant
made his way to our panel.
We had a list of seven questions,
all written out for us. We asked
about the applicant’s background,
the district’s role in helping the un-
derserved in the community, what
it should take to maintain a good
staff and keep the district’s $2.5
million budget on an even keel.
We listened closely to their an-
swers, but we looked more at what
was behind those answers. Be-
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has been close to their hearts, and
not just because Election Day hap-
pened to be Valentine’s Day.
In the limited time we had and
within the interview boundaries
imposed on us, we attempted to
discover the true applicant. We
searched for his passion to help
residents lead a healthy lifestyle;
his concern for those who cannot
afford to pay for a meal or a daily
swim, let alone a yearly pass; his
eagerness to become involved in
the community for the commu-
nity’s sake and not just because
it will further the recreation dis-
trict’s mission.
In both Archibald and Gooch
we found those qualities.
The technical and community
panels forwarded their names to the
district board, and by the board’s
3-2 decision, it is obvious that the
board members had a tough choice.
Archibald will be the district’s
next executive director, and he
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qualities necessary to lead the
district into the future and a com-
passion for the community that
compelled him to offer his family
the experiences he enjoyed while
growing up here.
But the board’s decision put
the district’s patrons in the best
possible position.
With Archibald coming on
board and Gooch already there, as
well as other trained staff mem-
bers, the district’s leadership is in
good shape.
Now, it’s up to the commu-
nity to work with the district to
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by those voters 38 years ago. We
take our health seriously here on
the North Coast, and what better
way to offer the possibility of
healthier lives for all than through
an existing facility that provides
a variety of opportunities to be
active? Let the district’s leaders
know how you would like them
to reach out to the community.
Then, let’s all go out and play!
Nancy McCarthy retired recently
as editor of the Seaside Signal and
Cannon Beach Gazette and as the
South County reporter for The Dai-
ly Astorian. She is enjoying retire-
ment and lives in Cannon Beach.
Letters to the Editor
Expansion should
consider tsunami risk
To the Editor:
I believe it is important to expand the
economic stability that wintertime use of
the Seaside Civic and Convention Center
has brought to Seaside. The center’s man-
agement has determined that this can be
done by redesigning the existing building
and expanding its facilities to serve larger
conventions. It would appear from news-
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ing this project impossible.
Bringing more residents into the Sea-
side tsunami inundation zone is simply
not responsible. Bringing more tourists
and visitors into this zone is a problem,
but one that can be easily mitigated if the
City of Seaside would develop suitable
planning. Regardless of convention cen-
ter expansion, the city should be working
with its elected state legislators and state
emergency preparedness agencies to pro-
vide a tsunami shelter in the downtown
area of Seaside. The federal government
(FEMA) has already designed shelters
that are tsunami safe because they are el-
evated by reinforced parking structures.
Phase 1 of any downtown expansion
must be the construction of this type of
structure over the Edgewood right-of-
way. Local match funding of approxi-
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savings by contracting out Seaside’s po-
licing needs to the Clatsop County Sher-
iff’s department. Communities through-
out Oregon are executing these types of
contracts and are experiencing not only
savings but also better protection as well
as getting the support of all of those who
are in law enforcement.
Phase 2 should be the revision and
expansion of the convention center.
Requirements for expansion should be
much smaller because, with proper de-
sign, the evacuation facilities could be
used as additional convention space. Fi-
nancing for this smaller project can be
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percent.
John Dunzer
Seaside
Dog owners: Please
clean up after your pet!
To the Editor:
I am a resident of Seaside and am a
proud dog owner. Since the weather is
getting warmer, more dog owners out
walking their dogs, which is awesome.
But come on people, the city provides
doggie poop bags all along the prom and
in its parks, can you please use them! I
use them if I am out of mine or out of
the plastic grocery bags that work just as
nicely. Oh, and just because you happen
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can leave it on the sidewalk either. They
also have garbage cans all along there as
well as in the parks.
On a daily basis I see people letting
their dogs do their business in others’
yards, but turn away like they can’t see
them doing it, then walk away leaving
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riously? I went out to walk my dog this
morning, and when I got home, someone
had let their dog use my yard and didn’t
clean it up! Not only is this disrespectful,
but as a dog owner who keeps up to date
on my dogs health, I don’t know if your
dog is. Please do not expose my dog.
I am pretty sure if someone let their
dog use your yard, and did not clean it
up you would be unhappy, why be that
person? Please just be respectful to others
and our city, keep it cleaned up for all us.
Tammy Wayne
Seaside
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