6A • May 26, 2017 • Seaside Signal • seasidesignal.com
Lum, Stelson elected; fi re levy passes
The Seaside School District
Board of Directors showed two
competitive board races May
16. In fi nal unoffi cial results,
in Gearhart’s Zone 3, Position
1, Lori Lum took 75 percent of
the vote over A.J. Wahl, with
1,425 votes to Wahl’s 527 in
fi lling the seat vacated by Lynn
Ulbricht. Director Zone 6, Po-
sition 2, the other contested
race, showed incumbent Hugh
Stelson taking 57 percent of the
votes, with 1,063, votes to Kar-
en Custer’s 775.
Two other seats were un-
contested. Michelle Wunder-
lich received 1,517 votes in
Zone 7, Position 1 in running
Lori
Hugh Stelson
Lum-Toyooka
Brian Taylor
for the vacated at-large seat of
Tom Maltman. Brian Taylor
received 1,520 votes in Cannon
Beach’s Zone 2, Position 2.
Three seats, held by Chair-
man Steve Phillips, Vice-chair-
man Mark Truax and Patrick
Nofi eld of Cannon Beach were
not up for election on the sev-
Michelle
Wunderlich
en-person board.
“I appreciate the chance to
keep working with the other
board members and the district
staff to improve educational
opportunities and outcomes
for all our kids,” Stelson said
Wednesday. “The next few
years are very exciting for new
facilities, but a bit treacherous
from the state funding and
PERS perspective. As usual I
expect we will try to make the
best of wherever we fi nd our-
selves.”
“I’m so thankful and thrilled
to be elected to the Seaside
School District Board,” Lori
Lum said. “I feel fortunate to
be able to work with the ad-
ministrators, teachers and par-
ents to ensure the growth and
development of our children.
These kids are our future.”
Directors will begin their
four-year terms in August, Su-
perintendent Sheila Roley said
at Tuesday’s board meeting, as
Seaside author ponders the question:
‘Where is the body buried?’
Ousley unveils new
paranormal thriller
novel at Beach Books
was doing academic research, which re-
quired a lot of work with numbers, data
and analysis.
“It was interesting, but my brain
needed something else to think about,”
she said. “I love to write. It’s what I do
for fun. I could escape through writing.”
Eskue Ousley started out writing
short stories in college. Later, she was
inspired by a writers’ workshop in Can-
non Beach. She also serendipitously
met a woman from Portland — a “book
shepherd,” which is similar to a book
agent but one who focuses on a specifi c
book or job.
Together, they created some propos-
als, which culminated in the opportunity
to publish her work with a small Pacifi c
Northwest press. Her fi rst book, “Sign
of the Throne,” became the fi rst book in
the Solas Beir Trilogy, a series that won
several awards.
Her last book, “Sunset Empire,” is
a fantasy set in Astoria that blends his-
tory with local legends and features
prominent Astoria locations. The book
debuted in a young-adult boxed set that
became a bestseller in the UK. The nov-
el was later released as a single volume.
By Heather Douglas
For EO Media Group
One thing becomes clear after spend-
ing time with local author Melissa Eskue
Ousley: She is a very productive woman.
In addition to being a full-time academic
adviser at Clatsop Community College,
she is a mom, a freelance editor and an
award-winning novelist.
Eskue Ousley unveiled her fi fth novel
at a Lunch in the Loft event May 17 at
Beach Books in Seaside. Her new book,
“Pitcher Plant,” a novel set in Seaside that,
like many of the author’s other works,
centers around the paranormal.
Though Eskue Ousley and her family
are Seaside residents, “Pitcher Plant” is in
no way autobiographical.
The inspiration came when she and her
husband, Chris Ousley, were looking at a
fi xer-upper in Seaside.
“The book is based on an actual house
in Seaside, although I don’t want to reveal
the location to protect the new owners’
privacy,” Eskue Ousley said.
When they checked out the house, the
fi rst thing they saw was a dead rat in the
kitchen sink.
“I thought, ‘Wow, that is really bi-
zarre,’” she said. “There was a story be-
hind the rat and this house; there are lit-
tle things that people leave behind. You
wonder: Who lived there? What was their
story? Because I’m a horror fan, I think,
‘Where is the body buried?’”
Delving into darkness
“Pitcher Plant” tells the story of Taw-
ny Ellis, a woman who spots a fi xer-up-
per in Seaside, and, with her husband,
jump at the chance to own a house at
the beach. The couple moves in, along
with their daughter, who begins to see
an imaginary friend that bears a striking
resemblance to the daughter of a drug-ad-
dicted woman who squatted in the house
when it was vacant. Both former inhabi-
tants have gone missing.
While Eskue Ousley enjoys delving
into darkness, she has compassion for
people who have experienced real-life
horrors such as drug addiction and home-
lessness. In fact, she has a master’s de-
gree in counseling.
“One of the characters is schizophren-
ic, but there is a supernatural piece within
the plot of ‘Pitcher Plant’: There’s a ghost,
but I also wanted the reader to question
which parts are supernatural and which
‘Risk-taker’
COLIN MURPHEY/EO MEDIA GROUP
Seaside author Melissa Eskue Ousley’s
new book comes out this month.
“
‘Each job is a chance
for me to improve my
craft, and I feel that
I’ve developed as a
writer. It was the fi rst
time that I wrote a full
novel in fi rst person,
and it was a personal
challenge for me.’
Melissa Eskue Ousley
are psychological. It was important to
leave that somewhat open-ended.”
‘Escape through writing’
Eskue Ousley’s path to writing be-
gan during a previous career while she
“Each job is a chance for me to im-
prove my craft,” she said. “Pitcher
Plant” is her fi fth book, “and I feel that
I’ve developed as a writer. It was the
fi rst time that I wrote a full novel in fi rst
person, and it was a personal challenge
for me.”
Asked if she found writing her fi rst
novel intimidating, she said, “I’ve al-
ways been a risk-taker, and if I want to
do something, I go for it. I don’t think
too much about it. The fi rst book I was
writing for myself, just to see if I could.
That sort of writer’s high was driving me
— ‘Oh this is fun.’ I thought it would be
cool to be published, but it wasn’t my
main motivator.”
Eskue Ousley teaches writing work-
shops and classes, and believes in giving
back to the community. For each copy
of “Pitcher Plant” sold the week after its
release, she will donate $1 of profi t per
book to the community college’s Lives
in Transition program, which promotes
a supportive academic environment for
students overcoming life barriers.
Despite her positive attitude and can-
do work ethic, Eskue Ousley doesn’t
mince words about the challenging side
of writing.
“Rejection: It’s half the job, really,”
she said. “You have to just keep putting
yourself out there, keep improving and
stay persistent. I’d rather put myself out
there and take the risk than never try.”
there is no July meeting sched-
uled.
Seaside Fire
Seaside voters endorsed
Local Option 4-186, approving
$2.018 million over fi ve years
for fi re equipment and person-
nel, to be split three ways: for
self-contained breathing appa-
ratus; a new ladder truck; and
funding for the department’s
training and safety offi cer. The
measure passed by 72 percent.
SEPRD
In Seaside’s Sunset Empire
Park and Recreation District,
Veronica Russell defeated
MEETINGS
Thursday, June 1
Wednesday, June 7
Seaside Parks Advisory
Committee, 7 p.m., City Hall,
City Hall, 989 Broadway.
Seaside Improvement Com-
mission, 6:30 p.m., City Hall,
989 Broadway.
Tuesday, June 6
Gearhart City Council, 7
p.m., City Hall, 698 Pacifi c Way.
Seaside Community and
Senior Commission, 10 a.m.,
1225 Avenue A.
Seaside Library Board, 4:30
p.m., 1131 Broadway.
Seaside Planning Commis-
sion, 6 p.m., City Hall, 989
Broadway.
By R.J. Marx
Seaside Signal
As some residents and
property owners seek to “re-
peal and replace” Gearhart’s
short-term rental rules, others,
including Mayor Matt Brown
and former Mayor Dianne
Widdop, came to the defense
of the city’s regulations.
They strongly disagree
with the concept of repeal, as
well as the way the rules are
characterized.
“We are in full support of
the current ordinance and are
looking to make sure people
keep it in place,” Jeanne Mark
of Keep Gearhart Residential
said.
A summary of a ballot
initiative
to
“repeal and re-
place” the leg-
islation under-
went changes
as a result of
Mayor Matt a decision is-
Brown
sued by Circuit
Court Judge
Dawn McIntosh earlier this
month. The ballot measure
would repeal special regu-
lations on vacation rentals
related to off-street parking,
residential appearance, gar-
bage service, septic capacity
inspections and cesspool re-
quirements not required of
other Gearhart residents.
Proponents of a repeal
called it a “huge win.”
“The judge agreed with
us, that they were 99 per-
cent wrong,” property owner
David Townsend said in an-
nouncing the result.
Widdop said Townsend’s
statement was a “gross exag-
geration.”
“If you go down word for
word, there are so few chang-
es it’s unbelievable,” Widdop
said. “We like the way the or-
dinance has been written. It’s
a wonderful compromise.”
powered by
Thursday, June 8
Seaside Convention Center
Commission, 5 p.m., Conven-
tion Center, 415 First Ave.
Monday, June 12
Seaside City Council, 7 p.m.,
City Hall, 989 Broadway.
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Mayor, former mayor back
Gearhart short-term rental rules
Residents
divided over
regulations
Kindwyn Hoge with 74 per-
cent of the vote for Position 1.
Hoge had said before the elec-
tion she would decline the role
if elected due to a threatening
letter sent to her opponent.
Other directors in the dis-
trict, Michael Hinton in Po-
sition 3, Jeremy Mills in Po-
sition 2; Edward Hassan in
Position 4 and Alan Evans in
Position 5 all won seats unop-
posed.
District board members
serve four-year terms. Has-
san and Evans, who fi lled
unexpired terms, will serve
two years and could run for
re-election in 2019.
Seaside • 323 Broadway • 738-7234 (Open 7 Days)
Cannon Beach • 223 S. Hemlock 436-2851 (7am-3pm Daily)
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