Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Seaside signal. (Seaside, Or.) 1905-current | View Entire Issue (June 9, 2017)
June 9, 2017 • Seaside Signal • seasidesignal.com • 7A Gearhart will reconsider video poker machines at brew pub City Council had voted against gambling By Katie Frankowicz Seaside Signal The Gearhart City Council will take a second look at its decision to deny a permit that would have allowed video poker machines at a new brew pub in a neighborhood down the road from City Hall. At an emergency meeting Wednesday night, the council voted unanimously to recon- sider its denial of a permit ap- plication submitted by Terry Lowenberg, owner of Gear- hart Crossing. The Planning Commission denied the permit in January and the council upheld the denial in April, citing con- cerns about maintaining the neighborhood character and saying there was no proven need for the machines at the pub. Lowenberg, who had ap- pealed the Planning Commis- sion’s decision, appealed the council’s decision to the state Land Use Board of Appeals. The city then had the op- tion to let the appeal go for- ward or to bring the applica- tion back for reconsideration. City Attorney Peter Watts recommended the council reconsider the permit appli- cation. While the council and the Planning Commission came to the same conclusion R.J. MARX/SEASIDE SIGNAL The new look at the Gearhart Crossing Pub & Deli. to not allow video pok- er machines at Gearhart Crossing, city coun- cilors had slightly dif- Terry ferent reasons Lowenberg for their “no” votes, Watts said. Currently, the findings the state would see only reflect the Planning Commission’s reasoning. If the council brought the permit back, this would give them a chance to make sure the offi- cial findings represented the opinions and conclusions of both groups. In reconsidering the per- mit, “obviously the City Council could come to a dif- ferent conclusion (about the permit),” Watts said. “They could come to the same con- clusion. I’m not sure what will happen. It would be a reconsideration but whatever conclusion the City Council comes to we would make sure that the findings (reflect) that conclusion.” “I still question why we’re expending so much political capital, if you will, fighting this,” said City Councilor Dan Jesse. He was the only one to vote in the permit’s favor in April. “Well I think the good news is it’s for reconsideration,” Mayor Matt Brown said. “So we have a lot of choices de- pending on what happens in the reconsideration.” The five councilors voted unanimously to bring the per- mit back and review it a sec- ond time. The city is now required to hold another public hearing, something it plans to do as soon as possible — likely in late June or early July. Any- one who testified at the pre- vious hearing, whether for or against the lottery machines, can speak again. Lowenberg and his law- yers believe the city’s denial of the permit ignores state law and that Lowenberg does not need the city’s approval to in- stall the lottery machines. “The denial does not ap- pear to be based on any rele- vant fact, but rather on a prej- udice against gaming and the people that participate gam- ing,” Lowenberg wrote in his appeal. At this shop, ‘all fish stories are welcome’ Fishy from Page 1A Customers for his lures are fishing for salmon and steel- head, Brien said. The best fishing, he said, is behind the water treatment plant up to the Avenue G Bridge. “You have to walk the riv- er find the fish,” he said. “You have to learn how to cast.” Fishermen, he said, are se- cretive. They don’t want any- body to know their best spots. “I’d just as soon lose the fish than let another fisherman know where I caught it,” Brien said with a laugh. Lightning Strike Lures are immensely colorful. Why is that? Aren’t fish color blind? “People will tell you they can’t see colors,” Brien said. “But that’s not my experi- ence.” He said they always seem to notice something red on the line. Which is probably why his “Shark Attack” lure is one of his most popular. It really does look like a spray of blood, but in an attractive way. He said Chinook salm- on favor lures that are green, while Coho tend to like pink. “The #5 Hula Girl lure is one of my top sellers, too,” Photos from Page 1A she could see herself being a photographer some day, though if given the option to take a picture of anything world would still “take more photos of the beach.” The idea for this exhibit came out of an idea Paino had when she needed a project to get her Masters degree. The focus of her degree was in the arts, and at the time, she thought photography would be easier to teach young chil- dren than more than painting or cut-and-paste type proj- ects. “I was wrong,” she laughed. “I forgot we had to mat these things!” While cutting and past- ing couldn’t be avoided, she found teaching kids photog- raphy helped teach a multi- tude of other skills, like look- ing at things from a different angles and perspectives. So Paino applied for a $500 grant to pay for the cameras, and recreated the project for Seaside kids. EVE MARX/FOR SEASIDE SIGNAL Jim Brien in front of his new bait and tackle shop on Avenue S. Brien said. C’mon. Who or what wouldn’t be lured by a hula girl? Brien acknowledges there is an art to fly tying. And knowing what works best for a particular species of fish and knowing which lure is the right one to troll. He also sells salmon and steelhead fish bait, which means night crawlers, salmon eggs, and sand shrimp. “I also sell crab bait,” he said, wrin- kling his nose. Crab bait is stinky. Not his favorite smell. Jim Brien’s Bait & Tackle is open Thursday, Friday, and Sat- Novel brings history of World War II to life By Rebecca Herren Seaside Signal SUBMITTED PHOTO/FOR SEASIDE SIGNAL Local author Brian Ratty signs books for fans and history enthusiasts. bold characters and powerful story lines,” he said, adding that he believes “good his- torical fiction entertains and enlightens.” He says the char- acters within the story — real or imagined — are the glue that holds the storyline togeth- er, moving the plot forward; whereas it is the role of the events to tie the story together and provide an exciting, mem- orable read of history. “This method of writing is not a genre, but a technique of storytelling that dates back to the earliest forms of verbal and written communications,” says Ratty, noting that native petroglyphs were a way of documenting some of the ear- liest historical fiction. Ratty imagines his readers being surrounded by adven- ture; being whisked “away to another time, another place and another frame of mind,” resulting in an exciting jour- ney through history. “Voyage of Atonement” is compiled of three stories. When Ratty decided to write the book, he wanted to chal- lenge himself. “I wanted to try to write three stories all taking place at the same time: one in 1963, one in 1944 and one in 1945,” he says. Ratty is a retired media executive and a graduate of Brooks Institute of Photogra- phy. He lives on the Oregon coast with his wife Tess and when he is not writing, he is out exploring and photograph- ing the region. He served in the Oregon International Guard as an ae- rial photo recon airman. Some of this experience can be read about in his upcoming book “Over the Next Horizon” due out this fall. It is filled with personal adventures, little tid- bits and short stories. urday. The location is 766 Ave- nue S, just a short way east of Highway 101. It’ll be on your left. Super neat little building. You can’t miss it. The hours of operation are 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. The phone is 503-738-2983. “All fish stories are wel- come,” he said. BRENNA VISSER/SEASIDE SIGNAL Suri Morales stands by her work in the photography exhibit constructed by Sea- side Heights’ third-grade students. “You cannot believe these were taken with dis- posable camera,” Paino said. “I like this project because it also get parents involved. A lot of them took kids out to the water and the forest, and a lot of the pictures include family.” School district takes bids Schools from Page 1A The target budget is ex- pected to exceed $112.5 million, of which more than $82 million is expected to fund construction. Of the total cost, an additional $8.2 million is targeted for design costs and engineering ser- vices. Bids were requested April 10 and three proposals received on May 9. Hoffman Construction, which built the Portland State University Research and Teaching Center and the Sandy High School, had “an excellent written pro- posal and presentation and we were really impressed by their qualifications,” Ro- ley said. “They have built some excellent schools al- ready in the state of Oregon and they have a lot of coast experience. Overall, we feel they’re a great team to go with the team we already have going.” Logging underway Author shares ‘Voyage of Atonement’ When history meets fic- tion, you get Brian Ratty. He is an award-winning author who writes adventure stories surrounded with historical backdrops. “Voyage of Atonement” is Ratty’s latest book and one of the subjects during his pre- sentation at the Seaside Public Library on June 1. He began with background of his early life, explained why he writes and discussed the process of historical fiction. Ratty refers to his books as “powerful stories of our past that gave birth to our future.” He writes 90 percent histori- cal and 10 percent fiction, and considers himself a storyteller, following the example of his favorite writer Jack London. “I write what I like to read — historical fiction rich with Photo project teaches children many skills In a letter last week, Su- perintendent-emeritus Doug Dougherty said Weyerhae- user Co. will start on the far east end of the South- east Hill property and move west. After tree and stump removal, site development will begin. Logging at the top of the hill began this week, Ro- ley said, with material go- ing through main logging roads. Logging will not be- gin in the vicinity of Seaside Heights Elementary School until after the school year. Weyerhaeuser, which do- nated 80 acres to the district to house the campus, will receive profits from the har- vest of the wood, part of the agreement’s terms. Architect, project manag- er and construction manage- ment teams plan to meet next week at the district office, Roley said. Concurrently, the dis- trict will appear before the city seeking an expansion of the urban growth bound- ary, she said, referring to the process of linking school property to city services. Along with the Weyerhae- user timber removal, the district plans to contract out logging of an additional 12 acres adjacent to Seaside Heights, part of a 19-acre parcel, Roley said. AKS En- gineering and Forestry is the logging contractor. The district anticipates paying out $22.5 million next year toward the proj- ect, endorsed by voters in approval of a $99.7 million construction bond last No- vember, Business Manager Justine Hill said in April. The budget number swelled with the addition of $4 million from the state, along with favorable bond sales and rates, Hill said. According to the district’s project timeline, heavy site work is scheduled to begin in the first and second quarters of 2018. “We are right where we want to be,” Roley said. “We don’t anticipate any actual construction until the sum- mer of 2018 but we will be very busy with the prepara- tion up until that time.” Completion of campus construction and opening for classes is anticipated by fall 2020. : D E T N WA E V I T A E ! R r C e v l So m e l b o Pr Want to join us? The Daily Astorian is seeking an OUTSIDE SALESPERSON who is passionate about helping local businesses be successful. Must demonstrate excellence in person-to-person sales and customer service, work well with a support team and be proficient with technology while managing time and required paperwork efficiently. This is a full-time position, working Monday through Friday with evenings and weekends off, plus paid holidays! Base wage plus commission and mileage reimbursement make this a great opportunity for an aggressive sales professional. Benefits include paid time off (PTO), insurances and a 401(k)/ Roth 401(k) retirement plan. Send resume and letter of interest to: EO Media Group PO Box 2048 Salem, OR 97308-2048 or e-mail hr@eomediagroup.com