4A • July 10, 2015 • Seaside Signal • seasidesignal.com
Seaside superintendent says schools must be replaced
D
S EEN FROM S EASIDE
espite a crushing defeat in
2013, the Seaside School
District is once again look-
ing at ways to protect students,
faculty and staff from crumbling
schools in low-lying, at-risk areas of
Seaside and Gearhart.
Seaside School District School
Superintendent Doug Dougherty
said prior to the July 4 holiday that
the district was working with con-
sultants to determine “possible time-
lines and scenarios” for replacement
of Broadway Middle School, Gear-
hart Elementary School and Seaside
High School. About 1,550 students
are enrolled in the district.
“There are four schools along
the Oregon coast in the inundation
zone, and we have three of those,”
Dr. Dougherty said. “Our goal is to
have students out of every one of
these schools as soon as possible.”
The “$128.8 Million Question”
in 2013 — a 30-year bond designed
to pay for a single school on a hill-
side east of Seaside Heights Ele-
mentary School — was defeated in
10 of 11school district precincts, 62
percent against and 38 percent in
favor.
Not only is a tsunami likely to
unfold in this region during our
lifetime, according to Dougherty,
each of the Seaside schools needs
major capital improvements and
may not be worth the cost of reha-
bilitation.
Cannon Beach Elementary
School, facing crumbling infrastruc-
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a result of a study process begun in
the 1990s. Broadway Elementary
School was built in 1946 and Gear-
hart Elementary School was built in
1948. Seaside High School was con-
structed in 1958, and Federal Emer-
gency Management Agency lists the
building as having a “greater than
10 percent collapse potential.”
“They were each built well over
50 years ago, some 60 years ago,”
Dougherty said.
He said each school had an “an-
ticipated useful life” of about 40
years. “We’re patching them togeth-
er the best we can,” he said. “Some-
thing’s got to give.”
Seaside Heights Elementary,
built in 1975, does not have the
plumbing, electrical, ventilation is-
sues common to the other schools
have and is located at a much safer
elevation, Dougherty said.
Cannon Beach closing
After tsunami threats became
widely recognized in the 1990s,
Dougherty asked state geologists
at the time if the Cannon Beach
school’s 39-foot elevation was safe
during a potential natural disaster.
According to Dougherty, geolo-
gists told him “they thought so,” but
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eling came in at $30,000, too much
for the schools to bear alone.
Dougherty went to the Cannon
Beach City Council and Fire De-
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nanced the study.
It soon became apparent that the
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Seaside High School was
constructed in 1958, and FEMA
lists the building as having
a “greater than 10 percent
collapse potential.”
original study was going to become
what Dougherty described as “a
much more extensive project.”
The geologists called in the Na-
tional Oceanographic and Atmo-
spheric Administration and other
federal agencies, and at no extra
cost to the local entities, received
an internationally peer reviewed
study that took 3 1/2 years to com-
plete, studying oceanographic pat-
terns going back more than 10,000
years. The study examined risk in
the Cascadia subduction zone, 70
miles off the Oregon coast, an active
geographic region running from just
south of the Oregon border to about
the south end of Vancouver Island.
The study revealed that after an
earthquake, tsunami waves could be
as high as 70 or 80 feet. The study
recommended any school be sited at
least 80 to 100 feet in elevation.
“And all of our schools, Cannon
Beach, Seaside High School, Broad-
way Middle School, and Gearhart,
are all 15 feet or lower in elevation,”
Dougherty said. “It’s a problem for
everyone, and no one had a clue pri-
or to our research.”
Scientists explained the tsunami
events in “T-shirt sizes,” he said.
A small Cascadia event would
be measured as an 8.8 quake; medi-
um, 8.9; large, 9.0. “Nine-point-one
is extra large, and 9.2 is extra-extra
large,” Dougherty said.
He said that the average recur-
rence interval of earthquakes in this
zone is 244 years. “We know it’s
been 315 years since the last one,
and we know we are in the time pe-
riod,” he said.
Cannon Beach Elementary
School was shut down in 2013
for two reasons, Dougherty said.
“It was right on the beach, at the
mouth of a river, and we were told
by geologists and by structural en-
gineers not only would the building
collapse, but there was a 99 percent
certainty the Fir Street bridge would
collapse.”
There was concern that students
would be unable to travel the 1.3
miles to higher ground in the dan-
ger period after a quake. “Even un-
der the best case scenario, we still
wouldn’t get everybody up there in
20 minutes,” Dougherty said.
Today, about 85 Cannon Beach
students are bussed to Seaside. A
proposed charter school in Cannon
Beach is also expected to provide
education for city residents.
Future bond plan awaits
While high costs sunk the 2013
bond vote, Dougherty said he was
optimistic that a new proposal could
be less than the bond issue that went
down in 2013. “We know the price
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people,” he said.
Dougherty said he expects a bond
to be presented within a year and a
half or later, because the economy
here has not fully bounced back. In
addition, the district still has to pass
a local option levy in November to
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that does not pass, we would have
to reduce our staff, because it goes
directly into the classroom,” he said.
While there are no plans or cost
estimates at the moment, Dough-
erty said, he did not expect the cost
of a schools bond to exceed that of
the one presented to voters in 2013.
Grants and partnerships, along with
lower energy or construction costs
in an improving economy could
lead to greater affordability, he said.
Dougherty said he hopes to get
future construction done all at once
rather than piecemeal, because he
said “once you pass a bond, the
odds of passing another bond are
not high.
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ly be addressing this in the future,”
he added Monday.
Between the Covers ESTHER MOBERG
Best bets for summer reading at the Seaside Library
Summer is in full swing
here on the coast. In Sea-
side, that means life speeds
up or slows down depend-
ing on your perspective and
whether you attend every
summer event (a nearly im-
possible feat!) or get really,
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as summer visitors enjoy
our amazing beach and
coastal life! Thinking about
some of the amazing things
that happen in our area, here
are some fun books that tie
in to the themes of our sum-
mer. Some may be a stretch
but still entertaining to read.
If you are interested in
sandcastles, we actually
have a book that can help
you with those building
skills. Thinking of the an-
nual sandcastle competition
each June in Cannon Beach,
the book, “Sandcastles
Made Simple,” by Lucin-
da “sandy feet” Wierenga,
takes you through the best
tips and tricks of working
with sand to make some
very impressive castles on
the beach! For example,
did you know you should
always work from the top
down with sandcastles, in
order to not get sand all
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term for one type of sand-
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Another great book about
the beach that is light-heart-
ed and doesn’t take itself
too seriously is the “Drift-
wood Forts of the Oregon
Coast,” by James Herman.
For those who have always
wondered about all the dif-
ferent types of beach forts
out there, or what is the
correct way to build a ‘true’
driftwood fort, this is the
how-to guide.
We are all about the sand
volleyball here in Seaside
ESTHER MOBERG
in July and August, with
our Seaside Chamber of
Commerce proudly hosting
the largest amateur beach
volleyball tournament each
year, as we try to make sure
everyone gets their bump,
set, and spike on that wants
to! One book by a former
professional sand volley-
ball player that I enjoyed
is, “My Foot is Too Big for
the Glass Slipper: A Guide
to the Less Than Perfect
Life,” by Gabrielle Reece.
This
semi-biographical
book is less about volley-
ball and more about Gabri-
elle’s personal relationships
and her take on marriage.
This extremely frank book
is an entertaining read into
Gabrielle Reece’s life and
her perspective on it. You
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brielle’s take no prisoners,
matter of fact outlook on
life.
For someone who wants
to brush up on their ba-
sic beach volleyball rules,
tricks, and tips, the book
“Beach Volleyball,” by
former Olympian Karch
Kiraly, will help you with
all that. Of course, it can’t
help you to grow a foot or
two for spiking a volley-
ball over the net, but there
are tips for all abilities and
heights, including the un-
derhanded serve, or drills
to improve your volleyball
skills.
Another big beach event
here in Seaside is soccer.
There are at least three dif-
ferent soccer tournaments
held annually in Seaside on
the beach. While my best
efforts at soccer involved
running around on baseball
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ten years ago, with a min-
imum amount of contact
with the actual soccer ball,
I hear beach soccer can be
a blast as well. “Soccer-
nomics” by Simon Kuper
and Stefan Szymanski is an
interesting look at the sta-
tistics of the professional
soccer teams. By looking
at raw data through the lens
of an economist, they try to
explain why certain teams
win and others lose. Some
of the surprising things they
came up with include data
to explain why England
has the most spectators per
population for the sport, yet
consistently loses against
other countries teams. Or
why some players are eas-
ier to sell by agents, sim-
ply because of the country
they come from. Some of
the history may also be sur-
prising. For example, when
a captain of the Secret Ser-
vice during Nazi Germany
was also the club president
for a German football team,
after friendly conversations
with the referees, his soccer
team often won due to pen-
alty kicks!
All of these books are
available at the Seaside
Public Library and we are
open all summer long with
special summer reading for
adults, teens, and kids go-
ing on now through August.
Scene and Heard CLAIRE LOVELL
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What do you require of
your candidates for high
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own part, I think the per-
son should be able to pro-
nounce the word, “nuke-
le-ar!”
I wonder if anyone else
is driven out of his or her
home as I am, by unwant-
ed mail. I should take a
picture and send it to my
correspondents. A lot of it
I have brought on myself
by going after too many
causes. Maybe I’ll mend
my ways when I land in
the poorhouse, ha. If only
these people would share
their donations as readily
as they do your addresses.
With the arrival of
summer, extortionists and
swindlers are coming out
of the woodwork. Over
the phone: “You have
just won $2,000,000 in a
sweepstakes. Your prize
will be on the way after
you send its transport fee
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These offers are more and
more prevalent. With our
new means of commu-
nication, scammers can
learn everything about ev-
erybody and become more
and more sophisticated
CLAIRE LOVELL
about reeling us in, but
the old word of warning
still holds. If it sounds too
good to be true, it proba-
bly is. Hang up.
I’ve had my children
visiting off and on for at
least two weeks. On Rob-
in’s last day, we went for a
great breakfast to the Pig
‘N’ Pancake. There we ran
into Sharon and Scott Lik-
wartz. Scott is home on his
respite time from the job
in Australia. We always
look forward to those days
because Scott is such a
friendly, likeable person to
have around. He’s also an
exceptional hombre who is
kind to old ladies.
Of course you know I’m
often irked by small things.
One that really gets me is
the media habit of adding
“gate” to every scandal
Obituaries
Stephen ‘Clegg’ Rasmusson
Aug. 25, 1948 — June 23, 2015
Stephen “Clegg” Rasmus-
son, 66, of Warrenton, died on
June 23, 2015, in Warrenton,
surrounded by his family.
Clegg was born on Aug.
25, 1948, in Aberdeen, Wash.,
the son of Richard Owen and
Darlene Perkins Rasmusson.
He spent his early life in Ab-
erdeen, and his later youth in
Southern California, before
coming to Oregon in 1980.
He and Katherine were mar-
ried in 1984.
In July of 1968, he entered
the U.S. Army in Los Ange-
les, Calif. During his service
he saw duty in Vietnam and
upon his honorable discharge
in 1970 he was awarded sev-
eral medals, including the
Bronze Star, Air Medal with
Oak Leaf Cluster, Vietnam
Stephen “Clegg” Rasmusson
Service with three bronze
stars, and the Vietnam Cam-
paign Medal.
Mr. Rasmusson was em-
ployed for 29 years with the
Oregon Fish and Wildlife De-
partment. He also served his
community as a reserve depu-
ty with the Astoria Police De-
partment, and was a member
of the Astoria Gun Club.
An avid patriot, he was a
commander of the VFW Fort
Stevens Post No. 10580 of
Warrenton. He enjoyed trav-
eling, cruising, barbecuing
with friends, and appreciating
the great outdoors.
Clegg is survived by his
wife, Katherine Rasmusson
of Warrenton, Ore.; daughter
Jennifer Fremstad of Astoria,
Ore.; daughter Amy Rasmus-
son Radich of Lake Oswego,
Ore.; and grandchildren An-
nik Fremstad of Corvallis,
Ore., Fridtjof Fremstad of
Astoria, Ore., and William
Radich of Lake Oswego, Ore.
He was preceded in death
of the day. In Watergate,
the origin of the exercise,
“gate” is an integral part
of the word. To add “gate”
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is like saying “Watergate-
gate.” I think it’s stupid
— and unimaginative, but
they do like to play follow
the leader.
Sometimes the squeaky
wheel does get the grease.
You should see the nice
job they did on 9th Ave.,
except for the lake by Lin-
coln, which someone trans-
lated as “hole,” everything
is smoothed out with some
new gravel. They even left
the excess in my driveway.
Thank you, thank you. A
Sysco food truck — very
large — drove by on the
22nd, tearing off many of
my tree leaves because
it was just too big for the
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which keeps the road bro-
ken down and full of pot-
holes.
Bruce Jenner may think
he’s a girl now, but his thy-
roid cartilage (Adam’s Ap-
ple to you) gives him away.
Laugh Line
Now that I’m older,
here’s what I’ve discov-
ered: I started out with
nothing and I still have
most of it.
Richard Lee ‘Dick’ Sanseri
Jan. 30, 1936 — June 25, 2015
by his parents and a brother,
John Craig Rasmusson.
A graveside service with
military honors will be held at
11a.m. on Saturday, June 27,
at Ocean View Cemetery in
Warrenton. A memorial ser-
vice will follow at 1 p.m. at
Peace Lutheran Church in As-
toria. Viewing and visitation
hours will be today from 4 to
7 p.m. at Ocean View Funeral
and Cremation Service, 1213
Franklin Ave. in Astoria.
Memorial contributions
may be made to the Fort Ste-
vens Post No. 1580, Veterans
of Foreign Wars, 1376 S.E.
Anchor Ave., Warrenton, OR
97146.
An online guest book may
be signed at www.Ocean-
ViewAstoria.com
The Seaside Police De-
partment of Seaside, Ore.,
acknowledges retired Lieu-
tenant Richard “Dick” Lee
Sanseri, age 79, with over
16 years of law enforce-
ment service, who passed
away in Bend, Ore., Thurs-
day night, June 25, 2015,
from natural causes.
Lt. Sanseri became
employed with Seaside
Police in January 1981,
where he worked as a
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tive until his promotion
to sergeant. He received a
promotion to lieutenant in
August 1995, a position he
held until his retirement in
June 1996.
He is survived by his
wife, Patricia; sons, Brent
and Paul; daughters, Nan-
cy Doyon and Gina Marie
Steffey; and six grandchil-
dren.
A graveside service
was held at Mount Cal-
vary Catholic Cemetery,
333 S.W. Skyline Blvd.,
Portland, Ore., on July 9,
2015.
Condolence cards can
be sent to Springer and
Son Aloha Funeral Home,
P.O. Box 5308, Aloha, OR
97006.
Any questions or com-
ments can be directed to
Seaside Police Depart-
ment, to the attention of
Lt. Steve Barnett at sbar-
nett@cityofseaside.us
or by phone at 503-738-
6311.
