October 14, 2016 • Seaside Signal • seasidesignal.com • 5A
It’s time to build a new tsunami-safe school campus
A
nyone considering voting no
on Resolution 4-185 — to
build a new earthquake- and
tsunami-safe school campus serving
the children of Seaside, Cannon
Beach and Gearhart — must not have
seen the photo I saw, in the aftermath
of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami
in Japan, of a drift line of colorful
children’s backpacks in Hello Kitty
and Superman themes, sparkling with
seawater. They were left on the hill-
side in a curving line after the tsuna-
mi that killed those children receded.
At Ookawa Elementary School, the
children had drilled many times about
what to do in an earthquake, but when
10 of the school’s 13 teachers were
killed in the quake, it’s no wonder
the kids didn’t have the leadership to
make it to high enough ground before
the tsunami that killed them struck.
We now know that it’s only a
matter of time before a quake and
tsunami of similar magnitude strikes
the Oregon Coast. The geological ev-
idence, irst discovered only 30 years
ago and a surprise to all of us, is now
very clear. This will not be a tsunami
of the size some coastal residents
remember from 1964, caused by a
quake more than 1,000 miles away in
Alaska. This will be a tsunami gen-
GUEST COLUMN
BONNIE HENDERSON
erated by an earthquake along a fault
line just off the Oregon. It will latten
buildings all over Oregon — on the
coast in particular — including aging
schools throughout the state. Minutes
later, what’s left of the houses and
schools in towns like Seaside and
Gearhart will be washed away by a
tsunami equivalent to the one that
killed thousands of people in Japan
in 2011.
We don’t know if the next such
quake will strike the Oregon coast in
the next few years or in a few hun-
dred years. But geologists tell us there
is a high likelihood of it happening
within the next 50 years. We know
we are in the window. It is time to get
ready.
The Seaside School District is one
of the last two districts on the Oregon
Coast with schools still in the tsunami
inundation zone. Lincoln City has
moved all its schools to high ground.
Waldport has relocated its high school
from the mouth of the river to a near-
by ridgetop. Neahkahnie High School
is in the tsunami zone, but unlike Sea-
side High School, Neahkahnie High
School has a solid rock hillside right
outside the building where students
can evacuate.
The challenges for the Seaside
School District are unique. No other
school district in Oregon — in fact,
in the entire country — has three
schools located in the tsunami inun-
dation zone. Relocating the schools
here is an expensive proposition—
and there’s no getting around it.
The need to relocate the schools
in the Seaside School District cannot
be disputed. It has to happen, and
the sooner the better. The sticking
point, naturally, is the cost, which is
not insigniicant. To be clear, I do not
own property in the Seaside School
District; I will not be affected by a
property tax increase. But I want to
point out some important facts to
those who do.
The district has brought the
price down about as low as it can
go. After the irst attempt at a school
relocation levy failed in 2013, the dis-
trict managed to get the land for the
campus donated by Weyerhaeuser.
They made a plan to hold off building
an auditorium and other “extras”
until the existing school properties
sell. In the process, they brought the
price down by more than one-third.
They’ve also put the District in line
to receive $4 million in state funding
if the levy passes. It is a solid plan,
about as good as it’s going to get,
and it’s time to approve it and start
building.
In an ideal world, the Seaside
School District would get more
funding from the federal and state
government, but it’s clear that’s not
going to happen. The District has
left no stone unturned looking from
inancial help outside the District
itself over the past decade, and it’s
just not forthcoming. Federal emer-
gency response dollars will one day
pour into this region after what will
be the country’s biggest-ever natural
disaster; you would think that some
of that money might be provided in
advance, to help prepare and to save
lives rather than to compensate the
region for its losses after the fact. But
that’s not how government works. It’s
not going to happen.
It’s a lot of money — $99 million
— but if you break it down, it’s
doable. For someone who owns a
$250,000 house, that’s less than $1 a
day. Is there not something you could
give up in exchange for such peace
LETTERS
Vote for Horning
I have worked with Tom
Horning for many years on
various projects where he
demonstrated his consider-
able knowledge of geology
and engineering, as well
as the risk posed by the
Cascadia Subduction Zone
earthquake and tsunami. Few
in the area are better equipped
to plan for the mortal hazard
posed by the “big one”. His
recommendations about
bridge reconstruction should
be a priority for any future
council and the Cascadia
region as a whole. Tom has
also devoted countless hours
to Seaside Parks, the North
Coast Land Conservancy,
and Seaside schools. I urge
Seaside residents to vote for
Tom.
Mike Morgan
Former mayor
City of Cannon Beach
Replace outdated
Gearhart ire station
A Gearhart grassroots
citizens’ committee has been
meeting monthly since Sep-
tember 2015. This committee
was organized at the request
of the Gearhart City Council.
One of the council’s goals is to
replace the outdated Gearhart
Fire Station. The committee
was charged with the task of
assessing whether the existing
ire station and city hall facili-
ties are adequately meeting the
needs of the community.
After months of research,
which included a strong
emphasis on resiliency in terms
of natural disasters, the day-
to-day operations of the ire
department, and the training
and retention of volunteers,
the Firehall Committee agreed
that an investigation into a cost
effective plan was the next
logical step in their research.
In April 2016, the commit-
tee asked the Gearhart City
Council for $10,000 from the
building reserve fund to begin
the next phase of research. The
City Council unanimously vot-
ed to release the funds to the
committee. The advisory com-
mittee has ongoing, monthly
meetings to continue the
process of exploring the many
possibilities for constructing a
public safety building which
will provide staff and volun-
teers the tools to better protect
our community for now and
well into the future.
Sue Lorain
Gearhart
AAUW supports
Seaside school bond
I write today urging every-
one in our Seaside School Dis-
trict to vote YES for the bond
issue for our local schools. As
a retired senior citizen, I have
not had a child in these schools
for many years. My grandchil-
dren have all been educated in
other places where others have
paid the taxes to educate them.
I know it is my turn to step up
to the plate and carry forward
what the members of our com-
munity did for my generation
and me in the 1950s.
Yes, I attended Broadway
Middle School in the early 50s
when it was new and in good
condition. This is no longer
the case. I recently visited
Broadway Middle School as
of mind, knowing that the children of
Arch Cape and Cannon Beach, Sea-
side, and Gearhart will be in the safest
possible spot should the quake strike
during a school day, and knowing
that all of us will have a solid, safe
place to shelter in the days and weeks
after the quake? Could it be done
more cheaply? Maybe a few details
could be downgraded here or there.
But it’s time to stop quibbling over
whether the cost should be 90 cents a
day or 88 cents and put shovels in the
ground.
The location of the schools in the
Seaside School District is one of the
key factors that makes this perhaps
the most vulnerable community on
the Oregon Coast, in terms of quake
and tsunami risk. Moving the schools
is not the only pressing need. Seaside,
in particular, must start rebuilding
some of its bridges to ensure that
citizens leeing the tsunami will be
able to reach high ground. But these
are not competing priorities. They
both need to be done. Right now, the
proposal on the table is to relocate
the schools. I urge you to vote yes on
Resolution 4-185.
Bonnie Henderson is the author
of “The Next Tsunami: Living on a
Restless Coast.”
LOCAL HAPPENINGS
well as Gearhart Elementary
School and the high school,
and was astounded at the
deteriorating walls, rooing and
heating issues. And, I learned
that nearly $500,000 a year is
being spent beyond the normal
maintenance budget to patch
up the most pressing problems.
What a waste to spend this
kind of money and still have
unsafe facilities that no longer
meet the needs of education in
the 21st century.
We are fortunate to be in
a position where the land for
the new buildings have been
donated by Weyerhaeuser and
when we can take advantage
of some of the lowest interest
rates we have ever known. The
State of Oregon will also con-
tribute $4 million as a one-time
contribution if the bond passes
this November. In addition,
Seaside has three of the four
schools in the state that are
in the tsunami zone. And
although it is uncertain when
that could be an issue here, the
probability is very high in the
next 50 years.
These are some of the
reasons that Seaside American
Association of University
Women has chosen to support
this measure this year. Our
children are our investment in
the future. Our organization is
one that values and supports
education as a means to a bet-
ter future. It is our time to step
forward and insure that our
children receive the education
they need to be successful.
They deserve it. Please give
them your support.
Carol Brenneman
Seaside
ID Protection
Day in Seaside
Community Action Region-
al Food Bank, which pro-
vides food for all county
pantries.
An ID protection day fea-
turing free document shred-
ding takes place Saturday,
Oct. 15, from 10 a.m. to 1
p.m. at Seaside High School,
1901 N. Holladay Drive.
Feed the needy by bring-
ing canned food or dona-
tions to beneit the Clatsop
Radio operator
training offered
Seaside Tsunami Amateur
Radio Society is looking for
new members. Training for
the technician class FCC li-
cense will be given free of
change on Friday, Oct. 21,
from 4:30 to 9 p.m., and Sat-
urday, Oct. 22, from 8 a.m. to
4 p.m.
The exam will be given at
4:30 p.m. at the end of class on
Saturday. Exam cost is $14.
The society meets each
month on the second Saturday
of every month at the Seaside
campus of Clatsop Communi-
ty College.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
Gearhart City Council, 7 p.m.,
City Hall, 698 Paciic Way.
Tuesday, Oct. 18
Sunset Empire Parks and
Rec District, 4 p.m., 1225 Ave.
A, Seaside.
Thursday, Nov. 10
Seaside Convention Center
Commission, 10 a.m., 1225
Avenue A.
Seaside Planning Commis-
sion, work session, 7 p.m., City
Hall, 989 Broadway.
Gearhart Planning Com-
mission, 6 p.m., City Hall, 698
Paciic Way.
Wednesday, Oct. 19
Seaside Tourism Advisory
Committee, 3 p.m., City Hall,
989 Broadway.
Monday, Nov. 14
Seaside City Council, 7 p.m.,
City Hall, 989 Broadway.
Thursday, Oct. 20
Seaside Transportation Ad-
visory Commission, 6 p.m.,
City Hall, 989 Broadway.
Tuesday, Nov. 15
Sunset Empire Parks and
Rec District, 4 p.m., 1225 Ave.
A, Seaside.
Monday, Oct. 24
Thursday, Nov. 17
Seaside City Council, 7 p.m.,
City Hall, 989 Broadway.
Tuesday, Nov. 1
Seaside Tree Board, 4 p.m.,
City Hall, 989 Broadway.
Seaside Community Center
Commission, 10 a.m., 1225
Avenue A.
Seaside Transportation Ad-
visory Commission, 6 p.m.,
City Hall, 989 Broadway.
Seaside Planning Commis-
sion, 7 p.m., City Hall, 989
Broadway.
Tuesday, Nov. 22
Wednesday, Nov. 2
Seaside Improvement Com-
mission, 6:30 p.m., City Hall,
989 Broadway.
Tuesday, Dec. 6
Seaside Community Center
Commission, 10 a.m., 1225
Avenue A.
Seaside Planning Commis-
sion, 7 p.m., City Hall, 989
Broadway.
Wednesday, Dec. 7
Seaside Improvement Com-
mission, 7 p.m., City Hall, 989
Broadway.
Gearhart City Council, 7 p.m.,
City Hall, 698 Paciic Way.
Thursday, Dec. 8
Seaside Convention Center
Commission, 10 a.m., 1225
Avenue A.
Gearhart Planning Com-
mission, 6 p.m., City Hall, 698
Paciic Way.
Monday, Dec. 12
Seaside Airport Advisory
Committee, 6 p.m., at the
Seaside Airport.
Seaside City Council, 7 p.m.,
City Hall, 989 Broadway.
Monday, Nov. 28
Seaside Transportation
Advisory Commission, 6
p.m., City
Seaside City Council, 7 p.m.,
City Hall, 989 Broadway.
Thursday, Dec. 15
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