SEASIDESIGNAL.COM • COMPLIMENTARY COPY
OUR 111th YEAR • April 14, 2017
A Seaside slam dunk at City Council
Gulls receive accolades
from city of Seaside
By R.J. Marx
out the years, along with the many parents,
students and of course the coaches.”
The proclamation was read by the coun-
cil’s Seaside High School student represen-
tative, Lizzy Barnes.
Seaside Signal
Best seasons
The Seaside City Council rolled out the
red carpet for Seaside’s boys and girls bas-
ketball teams Monday night. They celebrat-
ed the Gulls first-ever state boys basketball
championship and the best girls season
ever.
Players from the boys and girls teams —
along with coaches and supporters — heard
councilors celebrate the season’s success in
a civic proclamation.
Mayor Jay Barber applauded the “doz-
ens of businesses and community members
who have helped support the team through-
The Gulls closed out their season with
only one loss, finishing the season with five
wins in a row under coach Bill Westerholm.
Their 71-63 win over Valley Catholic at
Forest Grove High School in March gave
the boys the Class 4A title.
Girls coach Mike Hawes led the team to
their highest finish in the program’s history,
beating Marshfield 53-40 to finish third and
compiling an overall record of 20-5.
“The community support for boys and
girls was overwhelming,” Hawes said.
“We’re really proud of both teams.”
“I’m always just honored with the sup-
port that our community gives to our kids,”
Westerholm said.
Player of the Year
Jackson Januik, who sparked the boys
throughout the year, was among the student
athletes honored by the proclamation.
“It’s really great to see the city recognize
us,” Januik said after the meeting. “We’re
all very thankful for all the fans and every-
one that was with us the whole season.”
What’s next for the Cowapa League’s
Player of the Year?
“I’m heading off to college next fall,”
Januik said. “I’m not sure where I’m going,
but I’m planning to play basketball.”
Are the Gulls here to stay?
“Definitely,” Januik said. “They’ll be
pretty good next season.”
DANNY MILLER/EO MEDIA GROUP
The Seaside girls and boys basketball teams are
recognized by the Seaside City Council on Monday at
Seaside City Hall.
Accurate and clear
R.J. MARX/SEASIDE SIGNAL
The front of Inn at the Prom. The building
would be replaced with the Pearl Ocean-
front Resort.
Going up on
the Prom
Expanded hotel on the
Prom wins city OK
By R.J. Marx
Top grade
mammography
machine first
of its kind for
North Coast
Seaside Signal
An eleventh-hour submission from prop-
erty owners Dan and Susan Calef wasn’t
enough to turn the tide as the Seaside City
Council rejected an appeal of a Planning
Commission decision granting a height vari-
ance to the proposed Pearl Oceanfront Resort.
The hearing came following a year-and-a-
half process in which the proposal won two
variances from the Planning Commission.
One of those, a setback variance, was rejected
by the City Council.
Pearl owner Antoine Simmons and archi-
tect David Vonada returned to the Planning
Commission with a new plan dropping the
request for a setback variance, but continuing
to seek a height variance to compensate for an
8-foot grade difference from the front to the
back of the property.
The height of the western portion of the
building from the adjacent grade would be 52
feet due to a below-grade story, City Planner
Kevin Cupples wrote in a summary. The re-
sort residential zone limits building height to
45 feet, necessitating the variance.
“A number of pre-existing buildings in the
surrounding area are close to or exceed the re-
quested building height,” Cupples wrote.
‘Dwarf our house’
The Planning Commission granted the
height variance in January, a decision ap-
pealed to the City Council by the Calefs, own-
ers of a duplex at 25 Avenue A.
By Brenna Visser
Seaside Signal
About 60 people milled
in the lobby of Providence
Seaside Hospital with
T-shirts and tote bags all
emboldened with three,
bright pink words.
What is tomo?
The answer to that ques-
tion was presented by the
Seaside Providence Hospi-
tal Foundation in an April
5 ribbon-cutting ceremo-
ny for the arrival of a new,
state-of-the-art 3D mam-
mography machine. It de-
tects breast cancer with a
clearer, more accurate scan
in comparison to older 2D
technology.
The ribbon cutting cel-
ebrated a yearlong fund-
raising effort to afford the
$374,000 machine, mostly
procured by fundraising
events, like the Festival of
Trees gala, as well as em-
ployee contributions and
See Tomo, Page 6A
BRENNA VISSER/SEASIDE SIGNAL
Lead mammographer Sherrie Chojnacki talks with her coworkers about the new mammography
machine, which uses tomosynthesis to provide more accurate scans of breast tissue.
PAID
PERMIT NO. 97
ASTORIA, OR
PRSRT STD
US POSTAGE
See Prom, Page 6A
From near extinction to a place in art
Beaver Tales art
exhibition opens in
Seaside May 6
ciplines at its February Oregon State
University debut, asking the question,
“How many ways can you see a bea-
ver?”
The exhibit inspired a month of lo-
cal beaver-related events in Seaside.
Fairweather artists Paul Brent,
Mike Brown, Susan Curington, Ag-
nes Field, Jo Pomeroy Crockett, Neal
Maine and Denise Joy McFadden cre-
ated new original work for this show.
By Eve Marx
Defender of wildlife
The beaver is a natural ally in con-
serving Oregon’s wetlands and restor-
ing natural systems, Vickerman said.
Beavers play a central role in resusci-
tating stream habitats and are worthy
of a statewide beaver conservation
vision. The Oregon beaver was nearly
exterminated by trappers by 1900.
Art exhibits, Vickerman said, are
a way to raise the profile of the bea-
ver and wetlands and Oregon artists.
“There is limited art depicting beaver
and their wetlands and stream hab-
itats,” Vickerman said. The artwork
exhibited in the traveling show in-
cludes photographs, paintings, prints,
For Seaside Signal
Named the “state animal” in 1969,
the American beaver builds the dams
and wetlands that serve as habitat for
Oregon salmon, steelhead, birds, am-
phibians and insects.
Beavers are nature’s hydrologists,
“Beaver Tales: A Celebration of Bea-
ver Art” curator Sara Vickerman, a
Gearhart resident, said.
Beaver Tales originated as a travel-
ing art show featuring beaver-themed
images and art. Presentations and
workshops highlighted relevant re-
search from multiple academic dis-
Vickerman retired after 37 years
from Defenders of Wildlife, where her
job was the conservation of wild an-
imals in functioning ecosystems. She
holds degrees in art, anthropology, bi-
ology, geography and education.
Denise Fairweather of Fairweath-
er House and Gallery in Seaside said
Vickerman is a gallery patron.
“She visited a lot during our art
walk events for several years,” Fair-
weather said. “Little by little she
shared with me what her work is. She
asked if I had artists who paint beavers
and I said yes.”
Back from brink
SUBMITTED PHOTO
“Chewy,” beaver sculpted from pine
needles, by Sue Kramer.
cards, and quilts. Some of the work is
realistic, some abstract, some of it is
whimsical, three-dimensional, wood,
See Beaver, Page 8A