October 30, 2015 • Seaside Signal • seasidesignal.com • 5A
Let’s PLAY DARREN GOOCH
Staying young by working out in the Sunset pool
“Great things are not
done by impulse, but by
a series of small things
brought together.” This
quote from George Eliot
is a reminder of just how
important the little things
are in life and how they
add up over time to help
one achieve greatness. This
quote also reminds me of
one of our regular swim-
mers at Sunset Pool, Sue
Calnek-Morris.
Sue is a pretty amazing
character, of whom I know
very little about. What I do
know is this: she was once a
life guard and swim instruc-
tor at Shattuck Hall Pool in
Portland, she has two very
cuddly long haired dachs-
hunds, she is a fantastic vol-
unteer, and she is a veteran
master swimmer. As a mat-
ter of fact she, along with
our swim team coach Mike
Kadi, recently participated
in the Gil Young Memorial
LCM championship meet
at Mount Hood Community
College in Gresham.
At age 72, Sue is one of
the fastest women in her
age group, coming in over
seven and a half seconds
ahead of her competition
in the women’s 50-me-
ter freestyle. In the wom-
en’s 200-meter freestyle,
she posted times over four
seconds faster than other
swimmers in nearly every
heat. In all, Sue competed
in six freestyle events over
the course of that weekend.
DARREN GOOCH
I stopped to congratulate
Sue a couple of weeks ago
as I was walking through
the natatorium. I happened
to mention that I was writ-
ing a column and would
like to mention her and her
accomplishments. In a spir-
it that is truly Sue, she told
me that it’s not about her
and her accomplishments,
instead she has a message
that she wants to get out to
people: Pools and the op-
portunities those pools pro-
vide are valuable beyond
measure to the communi-
ties they serve. Sue was
very emphatic about mak-
ing sure that it was the key
message of the column.
Also important to her
was how valuable the
scholarship program is to a
great many district patrons.
I have lost count of the
number of people who have
thanked me for the support
they have received through
Letters
Can someone please
answer this question?
No one at the City of
Seaside can seem to answer
a very simple question. The
city requires anyone who
rents their home to post spe-
ci¿c tsunami evacuation in-
structions and maps as well
as to provide guests with a
NOAA (National Oceanic
Atmospheric Administra-
tion) emergency radio. Ho-
tels in Seaside have access
to key card envelopes and
in-room table displays of
tsunami evacuation informa-
tion paid for with tax dollars
but most hotels do not use
them because its use — as
described by the city coun-
cil — is optional. Most ho-
tel employees have no idea
of what to do. Why the dif-
ference? This is not rational
thinking.
Why does the council
spend its time on chickens,
begging, pot and merchant
greed when they can’t seem
to ¿nd the gumption to ad-
dress issues that could en-
danger people’s lives? They
sit there and read a procla-
mation on preparedness and
them promptly go back to re-
laxing in their swivel chairs
for 20 minutes. Where is the
state guru who was hired to
coordinate
preparedness?
Where are Deb Boone and
Betsy Johnson? How will we
approach supporting several
thousand visitors for an ex-
tended period of time after
any emergency? How will
we get power?
All that seems to be talked
about is for residents to have
a small kit and there will be
barrels that are located in
the hills where most of these
uninformed visitors have
little chance to reach them
on foot in 15 minutes. The
city’s convention commis-
sion knows how to address
these problems, yet they fail
to even think about anything
more complicated than a
teenage sex conference.
Cannon
Beach,
the
self-proclaimed king of pre-
paredness, doesn’t seem to
have any program for visitor
support except sponsoring a
race to the hills where there
are some barrels for resi-
dents who have their own
locks. The school district
had planned a program to re-
spond but when the commu-
nity said it was too expensive
they went into their shell to
pout instead of pursuing a
known alternative program,
which the community could
afford. Gearhart appears to
have given up. Up the coast,
in Long Beach, Washington
has a program. Warrenton
wants to build an LNG plant
and the Seaside Planning
Commission want to locate
future growth in inundation
zones.
Is it any wonder that por-
tions of the electorate have
to turn to the Trumps and
Saunders of the world so
that they might ¿nd anyone
who might take appropriate
action?
John Dunzer
Seaside
Vote yes for Seaside kids
I believe in Ballot Mea-
sure 4-177 and strongly be-
lieve that a yes vote for our
kids will bene¿t the school
district. The future of our
community depends on the
students of today. We need to
prepare and educate all ages
for the years to come. Many
programs and extra tools that
are supplied and used to cre-
ate a well-rounded education
count on this small tax.
Each student needs indi-
vidual attention and a chance
to succeed. If we vote yes
on the measure, we will be
able to have the comfort in
knowing that every student
is getting the study tools and
guidance to move forward
in life. My children belong
to Seaside Heights Elemen-
tary and I have seen the vast
progress from math tutoring
and speech development
classes; both of which are
extra programs provided by
the school to improve their
life skills and test scores.
Vote YES!
Rachael Anderson
Seaside
Vote yes to support
our children
wake of budget cuts and re-
duced funding.
Furthermore, extracur-
ricular athletic opportunities
for children may also face
cuts, as funds for staf¿ng and
transportation are susceptible
to reductions when funds are
reduced. The impact of the
loss of these funds would be
devastating for the children
in this community.
I urge everyone to vote
YES for kids on Nov. 3.
Peggy Taylor
Gearhart
Let’s keep supporting
our school district
I am writing to thank The
Daily Astorian’s Katherine
Lacaze for writing a thought-
fully detailed article on the
Seaside school levy on Oct.
16, 2015.
Everyone’s ¿rst response
to hearing about any new
tax or renewed tax is gen-
erally to cringe. Ms. Lacaze
did a great job of clarifying
this levy. I will be voting yes
for kids because renewal of
a tax that I’ve already been
paying towards isn’t going
to hurt my wallet any more
than saving for my children’s
future.
We are investing and
maintaining what we already
have and all will bene¿t from
it in the end. Renewing this
levy is about investing into
the future of this community.
We need to grow a commu-
nity that makes people want
to be a part of it and stay and
invest in its growth.
By voting yes we will con-
tinue to enrich and improve
all four of our schools. We
will continue to retain quali-
ty teachers and programs that
will grow young smart adults
that will contribute to society
in a positive way.
Amy Goodding
Seaside
district’s ability to continue
providing a quality educa-
tion for our children.
As the parent of three
children who have attend-
ed Seaside schools and now
graduated from the high
school, I have been continu-
ally impressed with the depth
of knowledge and the level
of education our kids are re-
ceiving even after the storm
of budget cuts the district has
already had to face. I cannot
imagine what will happen to
our educational system if we
fail to renew this commit-
ment.
As the husband of a Sea-
side educator, I understand
the challenges our teachers
face with growing class siz-
es. In some cases, classes are
close to 40 students in size,
almost double what they
were when I was in school,
and they seemed nearly un-
manageable back then.
By voting YES on this
ballot measure, you and I
will be renewing the local
tax option, providing close
to $1.3 million per year in
operational funding for the
district, which is essentially
equal to 18 licensed teach-
ing staff. It’s also important
to remember that this is not
increasing taxes or creating a
new tax, it is simply a renew-
al of the currently retiring tax
option.
With all of the recent dis-
cussion around raising min-
imum wage to help those in
poverty earn a better living, I
think we tend to overlook the
single most important way
to combat poverty: EDUCA-
TION. I encourage everyone
to join me in voting YES on
Ballot Measure 4-177 and
renew our support of the
Seaside School District.
Darren Gooch
Warrenton
the program and how they
would not be able to swim
without it, not because the
prices are high, but be-
cause they live on such a
limited income. Our schol-
arship program eligibility
follows the income guide-
lines for the USDA’s free
and reduced meals program
and scholarship discounts
range from 25 percent to
75 percent depending on a
patron’s level of need. The
only requirement is volun-
teering four hours of your
time at one of our special
events. Getting an applica-
tion is easy, call or visit the
front desk of Sunset Pool.
If you happen to see
Sue out walking her two
dachshunds over by the
library some afternoon,
take the time to say hello
and ask her how her swim
was that day. She has been
a swimmer since she was
very young and every lap in
the pool has added up to a
very amazing woman with
a distinguished competitive
record.
Darren Gooch is the IT
& Marketing Manager for
the Sunset Empire Park &
Recreation District. Dis-
trict information is always
available at sunsetempire.
com or by calling 503-738-
3311. If you have questions
for Darren or would like to
suggest future topics, feel
free to drop him an email
at dgooch@sunsetempire.
com.
Calvary Episcopal
Church to hold
holiday bazaar
SUBMITTED PHOTO/SEASIDE SIGNAL
This Christmas tree wall hanging raffle, made by Judy
Woodmansee and Gretchen Honea and quilted by Judy
Carder, will be raffled at the Calvary Episcopal Church’s
annual bazaar.
Join Calvary Episco-
pal Church, 503 N Holl-
aday Dr., Seaside, for the
church’s annual holiday
bazaar. The doors will
be open Friday, Nov. 13,
from 4 to 6 p.m. Dessert
and beverages will be
available.
The doors will reopen
Saturday, Nov. 14, from 10
a.m. to 3 p.m. Enjoy lunch
for purchase from 11:30
a.m. to 2 p.m., including
shrimp chowder or hearty
soup with bread; there will
also be hot dogs and a va-
riety of pies and beverages
available for lunch.
Featured food items
include gourmet foods,
baked goods, unique
kitchen items, new Christ-
mas designs, and other
miscellaneous items. In
addition, there will be vin-
tage linens, collectibles,
and a “gently used” table.
RafÀe tickets may be
purchased at $1 each for
a Christmas wall hanging;
the winner need not be
present for the drawing.
Proceeds from the ba-
zaar bene¿t local charities
and special church proj-
ects. For more informa-
tion, call 503-738-5773.
Levy renewal
I am writing to express is essential
my support for Measure
4-177.
The passage of this con-
tinuing levy will ensure that
students receive vital pro-
grams such as music, band
and physical education.
These programs are often
the ¿rst to be reduced in the
A very important vote is
coming up in the next cou-
ple of weeks and in fact, for
most of us, it is the only item
on the ballot. Ballot Measure
4-177 is a renewal of the re-
tiring operating levy for the
Seaside School District that
is absolutely essential to the
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