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About Seaside signal. (Seaside, Or.) 1905-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 30, 2016)
6A • September 30, 2016 • Seaside Signal • seasidesignal.com Seaside K-12 design on table Grant requires expansion of preschool program Grant from Page 1A “It’s really exciting that we’re getting this off the ground,” she said, adding if the program is successful, the district can re-apply for sustaining grants. Part of this initiative will entail monthly profession- al meetings involving the preschool and kindergarten teachers so they can col- laborate and “try to build a very smooth transition from preschool into kindergarten, so the preschools are aligned with what kindergarten read- iness requires,” Roley said. The board unanimously approved a memorandum of understanding to work with the recreation district on this program. “The funds are channeled through us; they’re doing most of the labor,” Roley said. Candidate forum at City Hall SUBMITTED DRAWING New Seaside School District campus as rendered by architects Dull Olson Weekes. Tsunami threat drives $99.7 million bond By R.J. Marx Seaside Signal The Seaside School Dis- trict has unveiled a site con- cept for a proposed $99.7 mil- lion K-12 campus plan. Drawings by the archi- tects Dull Olson Weekes il- lustrate the existing Seaside Heights Elementary School, which would be enhanced with a classroom addition. New buildings to the south include a high school, middle school, gymnasium and cafe- teria. Main entryways for the middle and high schools are shown, as well as roadways, bus drop-off areas, parking and athletic ields. If approved by district vot- ers on in November, the cam- pus would be built on portions of the 80 acres east of Sea- side Heights Elementary School donated by Weyer- haeuser Co. “It shows the current Seaside Heights Elemen- tary School and new addi- tion, middle school and high school complexes, the roads,” Seaside School District Su- perintendent-emeritus Doug Dougherty said Wednesday. “Other than that, the actual work that goes into drawings of classrooms or interior piec- es won’t be done until after the bond because they are so expensive to purchase from the architect.” Buildings will be either two or three stories, Dough- erty said. Utilities and other infrastructure details will not be developed until after the bond is decided. Seaside School District serves 1,550 students from communities across south Clatsop County. Gearhart El- ementary School, Broadway Middle School and Seaside High School are located near sea level, endangering all stu- dents and school staff in the event of a tsunami. The build- ings are rated by the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries as having a high probability of cata- strophic collapse in an earth- quake. The new campus could be used for the general public as well as students in an emer- gency, Dougherty said. Be- cause of the slope, $2.75 mil- lion of the total budget must cover the cost of engineered pier foundations. In a fact sheet presented by Vote Yes for Local Schools, supporters of the bond said the major areas removed from the 2013 bond include re- placement of Seaside Heights Elementary School, an audi- torium, varsity football ield, varsity boys and girls soccer ields, varsity baseball ields, a covered bleachers and lock- er room complex and all but the emergency shelter compo- nents that are required by law. Will there be add-ons? “We have no other plans at this point,” Dougherty said. “That’s all we can af- ford, unfortunately.” District seeks grant money for safer sidewalks for schoolchildren Sidewalks essential to student safety By Katherine Lacaze For Seaside Signal It’s dificult to encourage students to bike and walk to school if they don’t have access to a comprehensive system of safe sidewalks and trails. To rectify the situation in Seaside, which lacks side- walks along many streets, the Public Works Department is leading an effort to start a local Safe Routes to School program. Safe Routes to School, a national organization that currently isn’t represented in Clatsop County, supports op- portunities to make walking and bicycling to school safer and more accessible for chil- dren through a collaboration of local governments, schools and communities. “This program also pro- vides for cities to obtain grant money to put in sidewalks and make improvements so we do have safer streets,” Pub- lic Works Director Dale Mc- Dowell said during a presen- tation at the Seaside School District’s Board of Directors meeting Sept. 20. “I don’t want children out walking in the middle of the street or even between cars to get to school.” To apply for funding, the community irst must cre- ate an action plan through a team-based process. Drawing conclusions from collected information, “the team will be able to recommend pri- ority projects and activities that the school, municipality and community can advance to promote safe walking and bicycling,” according to in- formation from Safe Routes to School. McDowell approached former Seaside Superinten- dent Doug Dougherty with the idea of pursuing funding three years ago. While Dougherty was on board, they realized it was premature, as the school district is working to move three of its four school cam- puses out of the tsunami inun- dation zone. The district hopes to use Shasia Fry, the transportation options specialist for North West Transportation Options, who shared with the school board how the Safe Routes to School program promotes healthy lifestyles, environ- mental awareness, safety and trafic relief. More parents today ‘drive their students to school, creating more congestion and not allowing kids to walk safely in that traic around the school.’ Shasia Fry, transportation options specialist the Seaside Heights Elemen- tary School site as a starting point to create campuses for the other grades. The Novem- ber General Election ballot will include a bond measure to fund that endeavor. With the potential move in mind, McDowell said he would use the funding to in- stall more sidewalks near Sea- side Heights, or within a one- mile radius, according to the program criteria. “I can’t get the whole town, but I want to get as much as I can,” McDowell said. McDowell told the school board he is not oficially re- questing anything from the district at this time, but he eventually will need a school representative to be on the ac- tion plan development team. The representative can help identify “where our real prob- lem issues are” and what areas should be the irst to receive sidewalks, McDowell said. The team also will include In 1969, substantially more students were walking or bik- ing to school than were being driven; now the situation has lip-lopped, she said. Parents identiied distance and fear of trafic as the two main issues. “Then they drive their stu- dents to school, creating more congestion and not allowing kids to walk safely in that trafic around the school,” Fry said. She and McDowell are encouraging Seaside to par- ticipate in the international Walk and Bike to School Day on Oct. 5. This will be a way for them to “gauge the interest from the parents in this idea … to see if the Safe Routes to School program would be vi- able here,” Fry said. As the program’s funding comes from federal tax dol- lars that are received by each state’s Department of Trans- portation, Seaside has contrib- uted over the years to putting in more sidewalks in Hood River, Portland, Eugene, Red- mond, Bend and Corvallis, to name a few, McDowell said. “We’ve provided mon- ey for them to put sidewalks in their towns,” he added. “I think it’s time we put some sidewalks in our town.” Candidates for public of- ice in Seaside and Gearhart will be featured at a public forum Monday, Oct. 3, at 7 p.m. at Seaside City Hall. All are invited to this meet and greet with an opportuni- ty for community members to question those running for public ofice. Sponsored by Sea- side AAUW, this is one of continuing public service events held each year to help inform our communi- ty about candidates seeking ofice. Gearhart council candi- dates who are running for re-election are Sue Lorain and Dan Jesse, both unop- posed. Matt Brown and Bob Shortman are in contention for the mayoral position and will be present to address questions. Seaside council mem- bers Randy Frank, Seth Morrisey, and Don John- son are seeking re-election. Frank and Morrisey are unopposed. Tom Horning will be facing Don Johnson for the position representing Ward 3. All candidates have indi- cated they will be participat- ing in the community event. City Hall is located at 989 Broadway. DINING on the NORTH COAST Great Restaurants in: GEARHART SEASIDE CANNON BEACH NATIONALLY FAMOUS CLAM CHOWDER • FRESH OREGON SEAFOOD R E STAU R A N T S CANNON BEACH 503-436-1111 Ocean Front at Tolovana Park www.moschowder.com Excellence in family dining found from a family that has been serving the North Coast for the past 52 years Great Great Great Homemade pasta, Clam Breakfast, lunch and but that’s dinner steaks & Chowder, not all... menu,too! seafood! Salads! Th e Bridge Morning Show With Mark Evans 6 am to 10 am Spend Aft ernoons With Skye 2 pm to 8 pm www.949thebridge.com ANNUAL SEASIDE KIDS PANCAKE & SAUSAGE FEED th Tuesday, October 11 , 2016 from 5 to 7 PM Seaside Civic & Convention Center 415 1 st Ave., Seaside Adults - $ 7 Seniors & Children (under 12) - $ 5 Family - $ 20 All proceeds benefi t Seaside Kids and their programs Seaside • 323 Broadway • 738-7234 (Open 7 Days) Cannon Beach • 223 S. Hemlock 436-2851 (7am-3pm Daily) Astoria • 146 W. Bond • 325-3144 WANNA KNOW WHERE THE LOCALS GO? • Breakfast • Lunch • Dinner BEST BREAKFAST IN TOWN! • Lighter appetite menu • Junior Something for Everyone menu 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 MAZATLAN M E X I C A N R E S TA U R A N T Phone 503-738-9678 1445 S. Roosevelt Drive • Seaside