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About Seaside signal. (Seaside, Or.) 1905-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 25, 2016)
4A • November 25, 2016 • Seaside Signal • seasidesignal.com SignalViewpoints I’m a great- grandmother! W ould you believe I’ve lived all this time without being a great-grandmother? But someone fi nally did it to me! Lauren’s stepdaughter Elena had a baby girl on Oct. 2. Her name is Emory. I have no other statistics except that all are happy she’s here — grandma or no. Emory, Elena and Lauren are all October babies. The second presidential debate occu- pied my whole SCENE & HEARD evening. I was CLAIRE LOVELL surprised to see in the audience of Hannity’s post-debate show, the “My Pillow” maker Mike Lindell. He was a handsome guy, dressed in suit and tie and seemed like an old friend. Somehow a swallow got into my house last Satur- day. Somebody must have left a door open. I was on the living room sofa when I noted some fl uttering wings in the kitchen with a little “cheep.” I tried to catch the creature but he eluded me and disappeared, so I went to bed. On Sunday afternoon, I was again relaxing when I saw the bird sleeping by my shoe in the kitchen. He was near the warm furnace and easy to catch in that state, although he did bite when I picked him up. Pecked at my hand, that is. His talons were full of sticky lint and Scotch tape that I had dropped earlier. (It was a tempo- rary cover for a perfume bottle.) After a lengthy job of carefully removing all the lint from his feet, I took the little bird outside and released him into the camellia bush where he quickly disappeared out of sight. Ron Wyden was on TV lately, touting the advantages of vote by mail. I hate vote by mail. Ever since Norma Paulus pushed it way back, it’s been no fun to vote. Why do we have Election Day anyway if every one has voted by the time it arrives? Another corruption of our system when we celebrate on a different day. It’s disgusting. On the subject of housing, why don’t we go back to a boarding house or two for seasonal workers? Just a big house with several sleeping rooms, a communal kitchen, a “public” bathroom and individual rentals? How about resident hotels? What is the future of the old Beacon Hotel? The reason no one can fi nd housing in Clatsop County is that too many people have two homes, the second one of which they use perhaps a month out of the year. I live in a neighborhood where there aren’t any people in some houses for a long time. There should be some requirements for occupancy if they’re going to hog the real estate. I like to see lights on all around me to feel safe. And, indeed, one empty house was robbed earlier. A couple now has more per- manent residents, albeit they are in the high rent district. It’s no recipe for a small town. Laugh Line Old is when you feel like the morning after and you didn’t go any place the night before. Everybody can bless you, some by coming and some by going. R.J. MARX Gayle Spear and Marcia Hartill at the PEO Holiday Treasures event. Event chairwoman Marion Benke is at right. Holiday giving comes in many different forms T he sound of coins rattling in a washing machine slot and the spinning of a dryer are hardly what you think of when it comes to charity. In Seaside, however, volunteers and supporters of Laundry Love are helping provide those in need with clean bed- ding, clothes and outerwear. And once a month, they head down to the Seaside Laundromat, where donations provide up to two loads of laundry free per family — no strings attached. SEEN FROM SEASIDE R.J. MARX SUBMITTED PHOTO Butterfi eld Cottage hosts its annual Gingerbread Tea. The Nov. 12 event was described by organizer Shirley Yates as the largest one in the four years of the program’s existence. “We ended up using all our funding within two hours,” Yates said. “It was so huge there was a line of people waiting to do their laundry an hour early. We usually go from 11 to 2. We had to shut it down at noon because we had used up all our funding at that point.” Two seniors from Seaside High School, Marysol Alcantar and Channene Prendergast, helped with the clothing drive as part of their Pacifi ca Project. Friends and supporters — including Victoria Daniels, Adrienne Alexander, Nevaeh Hazen and Carl Yates — found themselves busy fi lling and refi lling the coin slots, handing out hot dogs and cof- fee and coloring pages to the kids. Jeremy Mills of State Farm Insurance in Seaside donated use of his garage to store and sort clothes. More than 30 families participated in the event, receiving two loads of laundry per family, including detergent and dryer sheets. Refreshments, games and coloring books for kids were served to an appre- ciative audience. “They are so thankful, so receptive,” Yates said. “We feel so blessed. You guys have been so amazing in giving to people in our community.” Laundry Love takes place every second Saturday of the month at 1223 South Roosevelt Drive; the next event is scheduled for Dec. 10, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Holiday treasures Before I went over to the Holiday Treasures Boutique last Thursday, PEO education chairwoman Diane Somers told me the event would exceed my expectations. She was right. I wasn’t prepared for the line that greeted the Holiday Treasures event of the Seaside PEO organization, the stacks of cakes, cookies and hand-crafted gifts. It took the PEO a couple of years to fi nd the right type of occasion to share their fundraising mission, Somers said. First they tried a strawberry short- cake affair, then a garage sale during the R.J. MARX Shirley Yates shares the message of Laundry Love at Seaside’s Chamber of Commerce breakfast Friday, Nov. 18. annual Hood to Coast relay weekend. That was the year of the big storms and a power outage. In the aftermath, PEO changed course and conceived Holiday Treasures. Several PEO chapter members are also members of the Sou’Wester Garden Club, which maintains the cottage gar- dens through the spring plant sale fund- raiser and hiring landscaping services to supplement members’ “hands-and-knees” gardening efforts. Using Butterfi eld Cottage for a holi- day fundraiser made sense. “It is not the typical craft sale venue and presentation, Somers said. “Butter- fi eld Cottage is a special place to us. It was such a success we didn’t need to reinvent the wheel, and struggle out to fi gure out a new idea each year.” At last Thursday’s event, Marcia Hartill and Gayle Spear greeted guests in their most becoming holiday garb: garish Christmas sweater and reindeer antlers. Marion Benke — described by Somers as described Benke as “fi nance chair, visionary and chair of the fundraiser” — presided over new arrivals. Benke told me she retired to Seaside after “living all over” and managing a retail business in Beaverton. She’s been with PEO since 2006 and with the fund- raiser for the past two years. “We support ladies who really need to go back to college,” Benke said. “Some are adults, some are not quite adults yet.” Education is their mission — PEO, with chapters in the U.S., Canada and England — stands for Philanthropic Education Organization. ADVERTISING MANAGER PRODUCTION MANAGER CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Betty Smith John D. Bruijn Katherine Lacaze Claire Lovell Eve Marx Esther Moberg Jon Rahl Susan Romersa SYSTEMS MANAGER Carl Earl PUBLISHER EDITOR David F. Pero R.J. Marx Scholarships are awarded to graduat- ing seniors college students and women reentering the workforce. Local PEO organizations submit can- didates to the state chapter, which awards the scholarship funds annually. “We always we look for goals and if they have focus in what they want to do,” PEO’s chapter president and former education chairwoman Jan Kenny said. “Most of the women who are return- ing are very committed and dedicated to getting their degrees and to doing really good community things,” she said. “They have a good future and are generally very successful.” Scholarship recipients study for de- grees at all levels, and “lots getting their Ph.D.’s,” she added. “All our girls are success stories.” The Cannon Beach Chapter sponsors two local women through scholarships or low-interest loans: Alanna Kieffer, a junior majoring in biology and marine sciences and Raedetta Castle, manager of the Seaside High Start Program. Castle was selected to receive a low-interest loan, enabling her to pursue her MBA through Marylhurst University in Port- land. “It’s a very rigorous process, so if you get a scholarship from us, you’re very deserving,” Kenny said. “I think it’s wonderful.” Meanwhile, outside Butterfi eld Cottage at 10:55 the morning of Antique Treasures, the line was three deep and fi lled the parking lot. Holiday cheer was just fi ve minutes away. “This was successful, we really enjoyed putting it together,” Somers said. “It’s fun for us to see people come and enjoy what we do. I love working on events because you really get to know the people you’re working with.” While this year’s Holiday Treasures was a one-day affair, guests will still have time to visit Butterfi eld Cottage for the Gingerbread Tea. The Butterfi eld Cottage will be decorated in Victorian holiday style and open from 1 to 4 p.m. on Satur- days, Nov. 26, Dec. 3, 10 and 17. The museum and cottage are located at 570 Necanicum Drive in Seaside, four blocks north of the convention center. ADVERTISING SALES Brandy Stewart LETTERS More solutions Regarding the tsunami situation: In Seaside, we are all worried about such a disaster, because we know a tsunami would certainly be one. We are planning to move our schools to much higher ground. All the adults would be killed, but the children would survive. Please. If we were really worried about such a hap- pening, would we still be selling and renting property in the danger zone? What does such a potential disaster do to property prices and business interests? If we are real- ly interested, how about publishing in the area news- papers a map, detailed and easily read, showing the elevations and danger zones of a tsunami occurrence, and start preparing good usable escape routes now, none of which already exist. On the homeless situation: We do need to help these folks. In Clatsop County, there are any number of buildings standing vacant, and not likely to be fi lled in the foreseeable future. Why not use eminent domain and build (remodel) an acceptable shelter? It would help those in need and provide a number of area jobs. That is, if we are really interested in helping. Tiny houses seems more like a small slum building if not run well. And as for free college, not without answers to a lot of questions. Ed Garrity Seaside The sins of our fathers Yes, I voted for the school measure but begrudgingly. In the years gone by, the school system would have spent the entire amount of the prior years budget, if they didn’t, they would have a problem justifying the next year’s budget. This was accomplished by buying property and saying it was necessary for future investments. This money should have been used to upgrade the buildings and equipment instead of buying properties and thereby removing them from the property tax roles. A good example is south of the bus barns. You can repair a lot of furnaces for the price of a 100 x 100 foot lot with river frontage. I’d like to see the list of separate properties owned by our school district. By the way John Dunzer, the new area will be used for many years rather than $100,000 per student. Bob Cook Seaside 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 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.