February 17, 2017 • Seaside Signal • seasidesignal.com • 5A
Partnerships encourage tourism along the coast
I
t’s quite common for towns and
cities to forge friendly — or
sometimes not so friendly —
rivalries against nearby commu-
nity neighbors. This can be most
common in sports, especially when
each community has its own high
school and sports teams. The Clatsop
Clash — where Astoria and Seaside
compete for athletic bragging rights
is a perfect example of this. But ri-
valries can of course also extend off
the diamond, court or sports fi eld.
In tourism, it might be a com-
petition of restaurants, attractions
and hotels. Many make the claim
of having the best of this or the best
of that. Marketers constantly point
to top 10 lists that show an edge
they may have over someone else.
But sometimes neighbors and rivals
come together to do more, and be
SIDE RAIL
JON RAHL
stronger as one.
More than fi ve years ago, the
Seaside Visitors Bureau and As-
toria-Warrenton Area Chamber of
Commerce forged a relationship to
use part of its individual funding to
also promote this area as Oregon’s
North Coast. We’d still promote
ourselves as individual communities,
but we would also leverage some
of our budget together, meaning
we could stretch our dollars a little
bit further. This was in the fall of
2011. The Cannon Beach Chamber
of Commerce joined the coalition
in 2012, and the ONC has shown
strong growth over the last fi ve
years, while continuing to show tan-
gible results for North Coast tourism.
The ONC partnership has allowed
the four communities to leverage
more advertising dollars than they
could have individually, and to ad-
vertise in areas they otherwise would
not have been able to reach success-
fully. Since 2011, the partnership has
yielded close to $350,000 in coop-
erative dollars to promote travel and
tourism to the region. During that
same time period, hotel occupancy
has increased in Clatsop County
from 54.7 percent in 2011 to 62.8
percent in 2016. Total hotel spending
during those fi ve years has increased
from just under $60 million in 2011
to more than $70 million fi ve years
later.
As growth has occurred, the
ONC has also sought out ways to be
stronger and do things better. Grant
dollars from the Oregon Tourism
Commission helped us kick this co-
alition off in 2011. So when Clatsop
County awarded the ONC a grant of
$16,800 in December, it meant we
could continue our growth. One of
the purposes of the new grant will
be to help develop the ONC’s social
media presence. The group is look-
ing to hire a local subcontractor to
help boost its visibility on platforms
such as Instagram, Facebook, and
YouTube.
The Clatsop County grant was
made possible by transient room tax
dollars collected in the unincorpo-
rated areas of Clatsop County. Per
Oregon regulations, 70 percent of
dollars collected in municipalities or
Job seekers, employers
invited to county job fair
OBITUARIES
Trevor Gene Secord
Sept. 20, 2001 — Jan. 26, 2017
Trevor Gene Secord, 15,
of Warrenton, was born in
Seaside, Oregon, on Sept. 20,
2001, and went home to be
with our H eavenly F ather on
January 26, 2017.
A Warrenton resident since
age 4, he attended Warren-
ton p ublic s chools and was a
freshman at Warrenton High
School.
He was full of life and loved
by many. He was an amazing
athlete, brother, son, nephew,
grandson and friend. He was
also a lover of animals, foot-
ball, baseball, wrestling and
had a protective warrior spirit
and was a protector of many.
Trevor is survived by his
parents, Christina and Ben Se-
cord; brothers Tyson, Trey and
Tripp; sisters Tianna, Teagan
and Taylynn. Also surviving
are his grandparents, Brenda
The Clatsop County Ca-
reer and Job Fair takes place
Wednesday, Feb. 22, from 9
a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Clatsop
County Fairgrounds.
CEDR and WorkSource
Northwest Oregon are
spearheading the third an-
nual fair. The format has
been enhanced this year to
TREVOR SECORD
and Lewis McKune, Pam, Dan
and Marsha Secord, uncles
Cliff and Brandon Williams,
Jeremiah Secord, Matt and
Josh Beatty; aunts Heather
McKune and Talia Secord. He
is also survived by m any cous-
ins, great-aunts and uncles and
a community of friends.
counties with transient room tax in
place are restricted for use in funding
tourism promotion or tourism related
facilities.
Tourism is a vital part of our
north coast economy, throughout
Clatsop County. Tourism shows no
borders, especially to those that are
visiting here. Visitors are simply
seeking a retreat from daily life, and
tourism across Oregon’s North Coast
allows for just that. Proof positive
that when we all work together, we
all win.
Have a thought or a question
about tourism in Seaside, or maybe
an idea for a future column? Drop
me an email at jrahl@cityofseaside.
us. Jon Rahl is the director of tour-
ism for the Seaside Visitors Bureau
and assistant general manager of the
Seaside Civic & Convention Center.
He was preceded in death
by his uncle Daniel Williams,
grandfather Darwin Secord,
and aunt Janet Hollyfi eld. He
is truly loved and will be se-
verely missed by all who knew
him.
A celebration of Trevor’s
life, followed by a potluck fel-
lowship, was held at Warrior
Hall at Camp Rilea in Warren-
ton on Wednesday, Feb. 8.
Memorial contributions in
his memory may be made to
your favorite charity.
Please sign our online
guestbook at www.Ocean-
ViewAstoria.Com
include adult job seekers in
the afternoon.
To register as an employ-
er to participate in the career
and job fair, call Linda Wyss
at WorkSource Northwest
Oregon offi ce at 503-325-
4821 ext. 234, or email Linda
at linda.l.wyss@oregon.gov,
or visit clatsopjobfair.com.
BUSINESS
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Timothy Dee Emmons
34154 HIGHWAY 26
SEASIDE, OR
Jan. 11, 1944 — Jan. 28, 2017
Tim died the morning of
Jan. 28, 2017. He was born Jan.
11, 1944, to Clifford and Eu-
genia Emmons in Cheyenne,
Wyoming.
Surviving are brothers Den-
nis S. of Clackamas, Oregon,
and David M. of Aurora, Ore-
gon; his wife, Sandy, of Coro-
na, California; a daughter, Leah
Kendal of Los Angeles; and a
son, Richard Milan, his wife,
Jessica, and two grandchildren,
Lyle and Molly, of Sonora, Cal-
ifornia.
Tim’s early years were spent
in Pasco, Washington, where
he excelled in sports. His fam-
ily moved to Seaside, Oregon,
where he played football and
basketball, graduating in 1962.
He played football and
graduated from Lewis & Clark
College in 1966. He completed
a master’s degree and received
a Ph.D. in psychology at Van-
derbilt University.
He was a psychologist
during his career, retiring in
2007 from Long Beach State
University.
Tim was a good son, broth-
er, uncle, father, grandfather
and husband. He worked hard,
did his best and loved his fam-
ily.
Also mourning his passing
are Adele Spellacy, along with
many friends made during his
life.
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LETTERS
Letters from Page 4A
uncharacteristically “ghetto.”
With a broken heart eclips-
ing his good sense, the boy of
barely age 18 erupted in indig-
nation, and dug in his heels for
real.
Today, he is serving a fi ve-
year prison term. When the boy
of barely age 18 gets out, he
will be hobbled for life by a fel-
ony conviction. The preponder-
ance of state and federal assis-
tance programs will deny him
aid. Only defi cient housing will
accept him. Too many employ-
ers of merit won’t hire him. As
a result, he will work harder to
earn less over a lifetime. And,
no matter how hard he works,
the station of even middle-class
is likely to elude him.
Still worse, kept from cast-
ing a political vote, his very
voice will have been silenced.
America’s promise of power to
the people will no longer apply
to him. One youthful episode of
stuck-on-stupid will have ren-
dered him politically impotent
for life.
For both America and its
criminal justice system, this
begs the question: “Precisely
who is it that’s stuck on stu-
pid?”
Arizona police exacted re-
venge on an above-board but
stuck-on-stupid kid still en
route to full maturity. In effect,
the overwhelming police force
with which he scuffl ed had ri-
valed that of a street gang esca-
lating its violence. By the kid’s
relatable account, police held
him hostage, characterized his
skateboard as a weapon, put
him in a chokehold, beat him
and threatened him with loaded
guns.
Seemingly police, them-
selves, had been caught up in
escalating gang mentality. For
them, the kid’s comeuppance
was both justifi able “payback”
and “all in a days work.” By
contrast, what was “all in a days
work” for Arizona police, was
apocalypse for the boy now
strapped with a felony convic-
tion.
Thus this humble homily
to police, criminal defenders,
prosecutors, judges, and all
other residents of the village it
takes to raise a child:
Don’t “felonize” our youth
because we can. As a country,
we already boast the largest
prison population in the world.
Clearly, it’s needless overkill to
extract from our inexhaustible
supply of stuck-on-stupid kids
to seed the prison population
even more.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
Tuesday, Feb. 21
City Hall, 698 Pacifi c Way.
Sunset Empire Parks and Rec
District, 4 p.m., 1225 Ave. A,
Seaside.
Thursday, March 2
Seaside School District, 6
p.m., 1810 S. Franklin, Seaside.
Wednesday, March 1
Seaside Planning Commis-
sion, 7 p.m., City Hall, 989
Broadway.
Gearhart City Council, 7 p.m.,
Commission made
wrong decision
Last month, Seaside and
Gearhart’s county commis-
sioner Sarah Nebeker cast the
deciding vote against Clatsop
County participating in a class
action lawsuit. The lawsuit
claims that Oregon did not
live up to its contractual ob-
ligation to generate required
revenue from our forestland
that was given them to man-
age by Clatsop County. Clat-
sop County might have re-
ceived $262 million from the
state under this suit.
Over time the state, under
pressure from those through-
out the state who prefer our
forested lands remain unhar-
vested, has cut back the orig-
inal contractually required
plans to generate revenue.
This revenue is needed to
help operate Clatsop County
schools and local government.
The County Commission
by a 3-to-2 vote said that the
state is doing a good enough
job. Our county commissioner
evidently wants the forest to be
a state park with a lesser need
for our schools and roads. In
July, commissioner Nebeker
was enthusiastic about the
county’s plan for improving
the Lewis and Clark main-
line road to provide a disaster
evacuation route behind Gear-
hart and Seaside. There is no
funding plan for this $15 mil-
lion project; just 5 percent of
the potential judgment would
meet the funding needs for
this life and death project.
Our area needs these types
of projects so it can survive
and continue to fl ourish in
the event of a disaster. The
County Commission needs to
enforce our contract. If they
don’t like the contract then
renegotiate it to get the state
to provide the revenue from
another source.
John Dunzer
Seaside
Seaside Library Board, 4:30
p.m., 1131 Broadway.
34154 Hwy 26, Seaside, OR
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Tuesday, March 7
Seaside Planning Commis-
sion, 6 p.m., City Hall, 989
Broadway.
Seaside Improvement Com-
mission, 6 p.m., City Hall, 989
Broadway.
In plain speak, it’s time
we grownups act the adult.
Whatever role we play in law
enforcement, we must remain
mindful that a sensible rather
than stuck-on-stupid generation
can’t be legislated. Rather, if
must be incubated and reared
by an adult village — one child
at a time.
Anna Ryan
Seaside
Seaside Parks Advisory Com-
mittee, 7 p.m., City Hall, City
Hall, 989 Broadway.
Seaside Community and
Senior Commission, 10 a.m.,
1225 Avenue A.
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