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About Seaside signal. (Seaside, Or.) 1905-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 16, 2016)
4A • September 16, 2016 • Seaside Signal • seasidesignal.com SignalViewpoints Why fl y cross-country when you can bike? Geese taking fl ight a harbinger of fall season I O f Forrest Gump crossed the country running today, he would have no lack of sponsors. On the fi rst day of summer, Bob Quick, from Roy, Utah stood along the Pacifi c Ocean in Tolovana before mounting his bike for his second cross-coun- try ride. Quick, the only cross-country rider with 16 heart stents and a defi brillator, hopes to raise awareness for health and fi tness. Quick fi rst made the cross-country trip in 2013 in 91 days, starting in San Diego. Last year, Tom SEEN FROM SEASIDE Baltes of Camas, R.J. MARX Washington started in Seaside and cycled an incredible 4,000 miles to Portland, Maine, in less than two months to fi ght rheumatoid arthri- tis and promotes physical fi tness. In Cannon Beach, employees of Bristol-Myers Squibb launched their Cycle Coast 2 Coast 4 Cancer on Sept. 7, for cancer research. They left from Tolovana State Park last week, aiming for Hood River the fi rst day. Eighty riders will pedal a combined total of 2,800 miles. Mindy Ahler and Ryan Hall of the Citizens Climate Lobby launched their ride from Seaside on Aug. 27, desti- nation Washington, D.C., to raise awareness of their orga- nization’s carbon-fee strategy to reduce global warming. A rangy young woman from Edina, Minnesota, Ahler is a veteran of hundreds of long-distance bike rides. She sees climate change as a message worth taking to the road. “My goal on this bike ride is to spread hope and pos- sibility in the face of this daunting problem,” Ahler said. “Oh, and I also have a passion for biking and have set a goal to cross the country before I’ve reached the age of 50. Since I’m 47 now, I fi gured I might as well give it a try.” Mapping the way The Adventure Cycling Association offers route maps for the long-distance cyclist, starting at a mere 250.5 miles from Santa Barbara to Imperial Beach, California to the 4,228-mile TransAmerica Trail from Astoria to Yorktown, Virginia. Ahler and Hall mapped their coast-to-coast based on the association’s Lewis and Clark route. The road from Seaside retraces the expedition route ends in Hartford, Illinois and is described by Adventure Cycling as “made up of paved roads, bike paths, and un- paved rail-trails, with occasional short sections of gravel roads. Conditions vary from rural to urban and include windy stretches lacking in shoulders.” The journey roughly follows the 1804-05 path of explorers Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark along the Missouri and Columbia rivers and Clark’s 1806 eastbound return along the Yellowstone River in Montana. “Occasional rough roads, narrow to nonexistent shoulders, and sparse services make this one of our more challeng- ing routes,” advises the Adventure Cycling Association, a nonprofi t whose mission is to inspire bicycle travel. If a route has historical signifi cance, it is somewhat easier to plot, the association’s communications director Lisa McKinney said in an email. “For example, on the Lewis and Clark Bicycle Trail, we already knew where the route would go,” McKinney said. “We just had to decide which side of the Missouri and Columbia rivers had better bicycling conditions. And we knew where to go once reaching the Rocky Mountains.” ne morning early, I heard a formation of geese go over, honking toward the south. There’s something reassuring about the magic of an instinctive move toward the fall. Every now and then when foraging is easy and weather pleasant, a fl ock will stay put and ignore travel but generally they succumb to nature’s call and hit the high road. SCENE & HEARD It’s wonderful! CLAIRE LOVELL As things always seem more so when one is young, I remem- ber this as geese passing over a lot, not just once in a while. A serendipitous event happened to me the other day. I was gathering a couple of cups from the coffee table to wash. When I raised up, my balance was off a little and I staggered backward a couple of steps. I fully expected to fall on my back and hit my head, having no way to catch myself. Instead, I found I was sitting on the padded, com- fortable footstool beside my rocker. I think it was because of those angels who have charge over me to keep me and to bear me up in their hands. Except for a little bruise on my arm, I was fi ne and able to be thankful for a happy ending. After roasting on our 100-degree day, the Hills took me on my favorite ride — over the Lewis and Clark Road to Astoria. We had lunch at the Wet Dog Café on the water- front — my fi rst experience. The place was full of sum- mertime visitors. The food was good. I especially liked the vegetable soup although I would prefer carrots rather than sweet potatoes for color, but that’s just me. There was one jarring note, in my opinion. The maitre d’ or whatever his job was, sounded like he’d make a good hog caller when he announced the name of the next customers to be seated; and this happened often. It would be much more pleasant if he were to have a hand mic and use a softer modulation for his announcements. After he retired, John Raniero used to reprint old pic- tures for the Seaside Museum. I came across a 30s some- thing view of Broadway among my souvenirs. It showed a time when I was a teenager, needless to say. A great time in my memory book. The building that caught my eye was Frank Kan’s Hangkow Chop Suey Inn on the corner of Broadway and N. Edgewood. It was just a little out-of-plumb cottage then, but how the locals loved it! The tradition after a movie at the Strand was to go to the Hangkow for your favorite Chinese treat. It usually took about an hour before you got your food because Frank was so meticulous, but it was well worth the wait. The customers were always having a good time and for sure, you weren’t hungry an hour later. I could do with a bowl of Frank’s pork chow mein right now. Another fun thing about the Hangkow Inn were the kids in the operation. From the time they were knee high to a Peking duck, they were working at the cash register and taking your money. Warren, Irene, Arnold, Alice and Ellen, some barely able to see over the counter, were fi guring what you owed and counting out the change in your hand. It was fantastic. Frank Kan was a local businessman of great repute and owned lots of real estate. Son Warren followed in his footsteps and became our own local tycoon and a great conversationalist. We miss him. R.J. MARX/SEASIDE SIGNAL “Being involved with Citizens Climate Lobby, we need poli- cy, federal policy that puts a price on carbon,” Mindy Ahler said before she and Ryan Hall began their bike journey from Seaside to Washington, D.C. SUBMITTED PHOTO The Lewis and Clark Trail launches in Seaside and serves as a popular route for those undertaking a long-distance bicycle trip. Adventure Cycling’s staff contacts local cyclists or cycling clubs to “road-truth” alternates. “The philosophy we use as a guide is our routes should be designed to follow ‘corridors of attraction,’ i.e., scen- ery, cultural/historic points of interest, varieties of geogra- phy, terrain, and inhabitants,” McKinney said. Plan on around three months (give or take) for the crossing — more if you want to sightsee. On the road Cyclists Ahler and Hall cycled out of the Nez Perce Clearwater National Forest in Idaho; they were in Mis- soula on Sept. 12. They plan on celebrating their arrival in Washington, D.C., with a bottle of Oregon pinot noir. On Sept. 5, Bob Quick posted photographs of himself along Lake Michigan. He observed 9/11 with fi rst re- sponders in Suttons Bay Michigan. He still has a way to go before he gets to his fi nal destination of New York’s Montauk Point Lighthouse. Tom Baltes, who rode 4,000 miles last year, is planning to do it again this fall. This time he’ll take the southern route. He’ll also be riding in the seven-day Annual Bike Classic Oregon, from Sept. 17-24 , a 363-mile, six-day bicycle tour from Astoria to Brookings. I can make it to Brookings in seven hours, 22 minutes in my 2004 Audi, according to Google maps. But then, I might be missing something. “You are the driver of your own life,” Quick posted. “Don’t let anyone steal your seat.” Laugh Line Q: What did everybody say when Chuck Wagon cooked nothing but one beet for dinner? A: That beet’s all. A summer well spent: Challenging families to read W e may have had the kind of summer if you blinked you missed it, but at the Library in Seaside this summer, we spent the longer summer days the best way possible, by challenging kids, teens, and adults to read! In fact, we also challenged the Astoria Library and Warrenton Library in our fi rst ever Summer Community Reading Challenge. In the challenge Warren- ton Library took the lead throughout the summer and earned fi rst place! Congratulations to the very serious readers in Warrenton! The Seaside Library had a very respectable sec- ond place with a total of 2,267 hours read, and we look forward to the challenge again next summer! Reading logs were available all summer long for kids, teens, and BETWEEN THE COVERS ESTHER MOBERG adults. Yes, you heard that right, even adults get to get in on the fun and turn in reading logs for a chance to win some fun prizes. We expanded our program for kids and teens this year to allow them to turn in multiple reading logs through the end of August, and based on the success, I am sure we will repeat this next year. Kids read a total of 915 hours this summer and teens read 787 hours! Our theme this year was “On your mark, get set, read!” Our focus this summer was on being active through health and fi tness. Many of our summer reading programs had physical activities as well as brain developing skills for all ages. We also looked at nutrition with our local guest farmer Teresa Retzlaff. She was a big hit at story time, and all the kids got to talk about their favorite veggies. We had 39 library programs focused around our theme with over 1,207 attendees. There was always something fun happen- ing at the library all summer long! Puppet shows, Leapin’ Louie, bubble making, and an ‘Olympic’ obstacle course were just a few of the events. Teens got in on the fun too with a series of cooking events including making their own sandwiches, pasta salad, and fruit kabobs. They then held an indoor picnic while discuss- ing their favorite books at the library. One of the highlights of our adult programs this summer was Ruth Wariner, author of “The Sound of Gravel,” the true story of one girl’s coming-of-age in a polygamist family. Ruth Wariner was the thirty-ninth of her father’s 42 children. Growing up on a farm in rural Mexico, Ruth lived in a ramshackle house without indoor plumbing or electricity. At church, preachers taught that women can only ascend to heaven through polygamous marriage and giving birth to as many children as possi- ble. After Ruth’s father—the man who had been the founding prophet of the colony—is murdered by his brother in a bid for church power, her mother remarried, becoming the second wife of another congregant. The family was carted back and forth between Mexico and the U.S. and Ruth came to love the time she spent in the states. She also began to doubt her family’s beliefs but struggled to balance love for her siblings with the determination to forge a better life. At the age of 15, Ruth left Colo- nia LeBaron, and moved to Califor- nia. After earning her GED, she put herself through college, eventually becoming a high school Spanish teacher. She remains close to her siblings and is happily married. Listening to an author relate their life stories and also talk about the book that came from it is just one of the ways the Seaside Library brings books to life through author talks. LETTERS Help still needed The South County Commu- nity Food Bank, a food pantry, continues to need your help. For more than 31 years we have been feeding the hungry and as- sisting the needy in our commu- nities. In recent years, thanks to the assistance of the Bank of the Pacifi c, the Oregon Community Foundation, the Seaside Cham- ber of Commerce and hundreds of residents and friends in south Clatsop County, we have been helping an average of 1,100 people per month. We have a new building. We have new partners, as we serve the needy. The need is great. Summer is ending, which means some employed will lose hours or face layoffs and need more help. The new building is fi nished, but we still have ex- penses to pay for on the build- ing and improvements. We al- ways need fi nancial support and donations of food to continue our mission of hope. You can fi nd us at 2041 N. Roosevelt Drive in Seaside for PUBLISHER EDITOR David F. Pero R.J. Marx food donations or to visit our pantry. The hours are 2 to 4 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thurs- day and Friday. Our mailing ad- dress is P.O. Box 602, Seaside, OR 97138. Please remember us as win- ter approaches. Thank you. James C. Casterline Gearhart Pay down debt Regarding the Seaside school bond, I would like to believe that the majority of our county’s citizens recognize the ADVERTISING MANAGER PRODUCTION MANAGER Betty Smith John D. Bruijn CIRCULATION MANAGER SYSTEMS MANAGER Heather Ramsdell Carl Earl ADVERTISING SALES Brandy Stewart need to not only replace, but to move our schools to high- er ground. As a home owner, I was quite pleased to note that the school district has managed to pare down the previous bond request from $128.8 million to $99.7 million (“Q&A: Dough- erty looks beyond the bond,” The Daily Astorian, Sept. 2). As I read through the article, however, my developing en- thusiasm for becoming an am- bassador — touting to all why they should support the new bond proposal — was defl ated CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Katherine Lacaze Claire Lovell Eve Marx Esther Moberg Jon Rahl Susan Romersa considerably by the superinten- dent’s remarks, which failed to state that the existing schools were going to be sold to pare down the bond indebtedness; rather, he raised the possibility that they might be sold to fund additional expansion of a new campus. While I applaud the school board’s work in reducing the cost of the school moves, it would be tragic if this bond at- tempt were to also fail, simply because there was no commit- ment by the school board to sell Seaside Signal Letter policy The Seaside Signal is published every other week by EO Media Group, 1555 N. Roosevelt, Seaside, OR 97138. 503-738-5561 seasidesignal.com The Seaside Signal welcomes letters to the editor. The deadline is noon Monday prior to publication. Letters must be 400 words or less and must be signed by the author and include a phone number for verifi cation. We also request that submissions be limited to one letter per month. Send to 1555 N. Roosevelt Drive, Seaside, OR 97138, drop them off at 1555 N. Roosevelt Drive or fax to 503-738-9285. Or email rmarx@seasidesignal.com the existing properties to pay down the indebtedness in order to further minimize the property tax burden. Perhaps the school board has persuasive arguments as to why they are choosing not to reduce the property tax burden created by passage of this bond by sell- ing the existing properties for that purpose. I will be listening to hear them, but at the same time worrying that any such ar- guments could distract from the See Letters, Page 5A SUBSCRIPTIONS Annually: $40.50 in county • $58.00 in and out of county • e-Edition: only $30.00 POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Seaside Signal, P.O. Box 210, Astoria, OR 97103. Postage Paid at Seaside, OR 97138 and at additional mailing offi ces. Copyright 2015 © by the Seaside Signal. No portion of this newspaper may be re-produced without written permission. All rights reserved.