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About Seaside signal. (Seaside, Or.) 1905-current | View Entire Issue (July 10, 2015)
July 10, 2015 • Seaside Signal • seasidesignal.com • 7A Rec district hires new aquatics head rector Mary Blake said. In- coming executive director Skyler Archibald played a The Sunset Empire Park ELJ UROH LQ PDNLQJ WKH ¿QDO & Recreation District hired selection, since the two will Justin Smith to be the agen- work together in the future. cy’s new aquatics manager. Smith currently serves as He started June 29. For- aquatics manager at the Paul mer aquatics manager Rus- Henson Family YMCA in sell Cleveland resigned in Prairie Village, Kan. The fa- March, and Mike Kadi, head cility is part of the YMCA of coach of the Seaside Swim Greater Kansas City, based Team, has been serving as out of Kansas City, Mo. interim aquatics manager. Smith began working there Smith, who is from Kansas, in August 2012. Prior to that, was offered the job May 28, he worked with the YMCA and he accepted shortly after. Trout Lodge in Potosi, Mo., The recreation district for about three years. His originally advertised through experience there included the National Recreation and lifeguard, waterfront direc- Parks Association and re- tor and program operations ceived 13 applicants, which manager. ZHUH VFUHHQHG GRZQ WR ¿YH Smith originally is from for phone interviews. Two Sydney, Australia, and at- were invited for in-person in- tended went to trade school terviews with a seven-mem- there before moving to the ber panel, which included a United States and discover- practical, hands-on compo- ing his real passion was for nent, and to meet the district water recreation. staff. The decision between When the Sunset Empire WKH WZR ¿QDOLVWV ZDV YHU\ Park & Recreation District’s close, interim executive di- aquatics manager position By Katherine Lacaze Seaside Signal became vacant after the de- parture of Genessee Dennis in late summer, Smith ap- plied for the job. He was one RI WKH WZR ¿QDO FDQGLGDWHV along with Cleveland, who ultimately was hired. Smith was very interest- ed in moving to the Seaside area and becoming involved in the community, which he believed “would really just EH D JUHDW ¿W´ IRU KLP VR he applied for the position again. The recreation district’s aquatics facility size is sim- ilar to the one he oversees now, Smith said, and he’s very familiar with managing employees and programs in this capacity. “I think the transition will be kind of smooth since I do a lot of this stuff already,” he said. Smith’s greatest passion, when it comes to aquatics, is teaching water safety to chil- dren and young adults. He looks forward to continuing to provide the district’s key aquatics programs, such as the Seaside Swim Team and swim lessons. During his time at the YMCA Trout Lodge, Smith JRWKLV¿UVWSURIHVVLRQDOH[- perience managing others, as well as giving instruc- tion and leading programs. At the Paul Henson Family YMCA, he helped build a robust swim team. “Now I’m hopefully go- ing to take (both experienc- es) and bring them there (to Seaside),” Smith said. He said he looks forward to working with others at the Sunset Empire Park & Rec- reation District, which he be- lieves to have a strong back- ing from the community. Smith’s personality, en- thusiasm and proclivity to team-building and public relations made him a good candidate, Blake said. The YMCA is very focused on youth development and risk management, so Smith’s background in that area will EHQH¿WWKHGLVWULFWVKHDGGHG Duane Larson is Vice Principal of the Year 2014-15 Mayor’s son honored at school administrators conference in Seaside By Katherine Lacaze Seaside Signal Duane Larson, the son of Seaside Mayor Don Larson, was selected as Oregon’s Vice Principal of the Year for 2014-15 and honored during the 2015 Confederation of Oregon School Administrators Conference in Seaside. The Oregon Associa- tion of Secondary School Administrators select- ed Larson for the honor, which was open to all high school and middle school vice principals in the state. Larson was an- nounced as the winner in fall 2014. Larson serves as vice principal of Alice Ott Middle School in Port- land, a position he has held since 2002. He at- tended the COSA Confer- ence, and June 19, he was recognized, along with those who were given oth- er honors. Larson’s wife, Elizabeth; daughter, Ra- chel; and parents, Don and Lois, were in attendance. “Having the award pre- sented to me in Seaside, with my parents there, was very special to me,” he said. Under Larson and Prin- cipal James Johnston, Alice Ott Middle School achieved Model School status, designated by the Oregon Department of Ed- ucation, for the past three years. In his nomination letter, Johnston described Larson as “a cornerstone to what we have been able to accomplish with stu- dent achievement.” Larson attended Cherry Park Elementary School, Floyd Light Middle School and David Doug- las High School. After obtaining degrees from George Fox College and Portland State Univer- sity, he did his student teaching at Alice Ott. In 1991, he joined the David Douglas School District as a sixth-grade teacher at West Powellhurst Ele- mentary School. He also taught math at Floyd Light for three years, served as an administrative intern and was the Community Sports Coordinator before being appointed as vice principal of Alice Ott. While being recognized individually is nice, Lar- son said, “success really is a team effort.” “Alice Ott Middle School has been recog- nized several times re- cently in the state, and na- tionally, and that’s due to strong effort from all staff and students,” he added. Last year, Johnston was named Oregon’s Middle School Principal of the Year. Larson is passionate about middle school stu- dents and helping them be successful, he said. “I think this award con- ¿UPVWKDWP\HIIRUWVKDYH been successful and en- courages me to continue working hard,” he said. Students come to the school as 11-year-olds and “leave as high-school- ready teenagers,” so they do a lot of growing up, physically and emotional- ly, during middle school, Larson said. “It’s rewarding and enjoyable to help them during this transition in their lives. It can also be frustrating, as we deal with a tough population,” Larson said, adding the school has more than 70 percent of students who are on free or reduced-cost lunch and there are more than 30 languages spoken in the students’ homes. “That being said, we are regularly compliment- ed for how well behaved Alice Ott student are,” he said. SUBMITTED PHOTO COURTESY A IS A PHOTOGRAPHY Duane Larson, the son of Seaside Mayor Don Larson and the vice principal of Alice Ott Middle School in Portland, was honored as Or- egon’s Assistant Principal of the Year for 2014-15 during the Confederation of Oregon School Administrators con- ference in Seaside June 19. Dining on the Seaside high schoolers help adorn cast of local music festival production Sewing Club members participate in costume apprenticeship By Katherine Lacaze Seaside Signal Three students from Seaside High School’s Sewing Club took part in the Astoria Music Festival’s ¿UVWFRVWXPHDSSUHQWLFHVKLS program in late June. The festival, which held its 13th season this year, traditionally incorporates a Vocal and Instrumental Ap- prentice Program. The pro- gram’s production for 2015 was the comedic opera “The Magic Flute,” or “Die =DXEHUÀ|WH´ E\ :ROIJDQJ Amadeus Mozart. The pro- duction used Astoria as its setting. In general, the two- week apprentice program provides advanced training to pre-professional singers and instrumentalists. It also incorporates local young dancers. A new addition to this year’s program was a cos- tume apprenticeship, over- seen by Costume Manager Cynthia Harber, a local teacher at Astoria Middle School. When Managing Di- rector Carol Shepherd heard about Seaside High School’s Sewing Club, she saw an opportunity to pro- vide another venue to in- struct and develop young people through the appren- tice program. Three stu- dents from the sewing club — Brooke Laws, Max Mc- Neill and Chastity Cozzi- torto — participated in the costume apprenticeship, DQG WKH SURJUDP EHQH¿WHG from their participation, Harber said. The program also bene- ¿WHGIURPDEXGJHWIRU costumes, which gave the team the ability to create more elaborate attire. They KDGWRFUDIWRXW¿WVDQGRWKHU costume pieces for the near- ly 20-member cast, as well as about 18 dancers from Maddox Dance Studio and the Astoria School of Ballet. Because “The Magic Flute” was set in Astoria — with references to the U.S. Coast Guard, a pirate and Columbia River Bar Pilots — the costumes followed a nautical theme. Characters included spirits, a queen of the night, priests and a bird-catcher. “Thank God we had a budget this time,” Harber said. She devoted about 14 hours per day to the pro- duction through the dura- tion of the program, and the sewing club students each devoted about four to six hours per day. Besides the students, Harber also re- ceived help from Astoria’s Englund Marine and In- dustrial Supplies, who will- ingly let the group borrow costume parts. Harber taught her ap- prentices techniques and skills they could take with them and teach to others in the sewing club when it reconvenes for the 2015-16 school year. “It’s going to help them the next time they have to do this for a perfor- mance at their school,” she said. Shepherd agreed it went well. “The students have had a great time, and it’s been a very good experience for them, and a great way for us to involve more students in the festival,” she said. Harber’s goal is to build the apprentice program to include apprentices in all areas, such as direction, stage management, costum- ing, props, lighting sound, video and more. In return for the Sea- side students’ help making costumes for “The Magic Flute,” the Astoria Music )HVWLYDOGRQDWHGWRWKH high school’s sewing club. North Coast pow ered b y Grea t res ta ura nts in: G EAR H AR T | S EAS ID E | C AN N ON BEAC H D iscover Patty’s Wicker Cafe on the B ea utiful N eca n icum R iver B R E A K F A ST & L U N C H M O N D A Y th ru F R ID A Y 6 A M to 2 P M m u s ic firs t G rea t A tm osphere • G rea t Food • G rea t P rices 600 B road w ay Su ite 7 & 8 • 503.717.1272 NATIONALLY FAMOUS CLAM CHOWDER • FRESH OREGON SEAFOOD Got up ea rly a nd w orked ha rd a ll w eek? Not interes ted in getting up ea rly on the w eekend s ? R E ST A U R A N T S CANNON BEACH Pho n e 5 03 -73 8-96 78 14 4 5 S. Ro o sevelt D rive • Sea sid e WANNA KNOW WHERE THE LOCALS GO? • Lighter appetite menu • Junior Something for Everyone menu BEST BREAKFAST IN TOWN! O cean Fron t at T olovan a Park w w w .m osch ow der.com Saturday at 7 PM & Wednesday at 7 PM Corner of Ave A & Hwy 101 Across from McDonalds in Seaside M E X IC A N R E S T A U R A N T • Breakfast • Lunch • Dinner 503-436-1111 Saturday Night Church @ Seaside Calvary Church M A Z AT L A N Excellence in family dining found from a family that has been serving the North Coast for the past 52 years Great Great Great Homemade Breakfast, lunch and pasta, Clam ★ ★ ★ but that’s dinner steaks & Chowder, not all... menu,too! seafood! Salads! Seaside • 323 Broadway • 738-7234 (Open 7 Days) Cannon Beach • 223 S. Hemlock 436-2851 (7am-3pm Daily) Astoria • 146 W. Bond • 325-3144 Fish ‘n Chips • Burgers • Seafood & Steak Friday & Saturday - Prime Rib Lounge Open Daily 9-Midnight All Oregon Lottery products available 1104 S Holladay • 503-738-9701 • Open Daily at 8am O U TD O O R S EATIN G Bes t Brea kfa s t • Fres h S ea food 18 15 S . Ro o s evelt Dr. S ea s id e 503-738 -9 048 a c ros s the s treet from Bell Buoy