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About Seaside signal. (Seaside, Or.) 1905-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 13, 2017)
GULLS CRUSH FISHERMEN IN CLATSOP CLASH SPORTS • PAGE 10A SEASIDESIGNAL.COM • COMPLIMENTARY COPY OUR 111th YEAR • October 13, 2017 Hood to Coast and city plan for future ‘A GREAT GUY TO BE AROUND’ Discord from 2015 a thing of past By R.J. Marx Seaside Signal After the event, students and staff will share their experiences. Broadway Middle School and Heights Elementary will also par- ticipate on Oct. 19. According to the state Offi ce of Emergency Management, surviv- ing and recovering from a major earthquake is a matter of being prepared and practicing how to fi nd protection during earthquakes. This year’s theme is “two weeks readiness,” encouraging people to be prepared to be on their own Two years ago it was unclear if Hood to Coast would return to Seaside. The iconic 198- mile relay starting at Timberline Lodge and ending at the Seaside Prom fi rst arrived R.J. MARX/SEASIDE SIGNAL here in the 1980s. But Hood to Coast mounting complaints Chief Operating from residents and Offi cer Dan Floyd businesses about un- spoke at Mon- ruly behavior, traffi c day’s City Council and poor organization meeting. brought angry crowds to City Council meetings and threatened to end the relationship. The 2015 relay may have been the low point: with high winds and downpours, crowds fi lled Broadway and tensions soared. Business owners said organizers ar- bitrarily closed streets, tapped into private power sources and illegally sold wares on the street. After the 2015 run, the City Council threatened to sever ties to the event. Dozens of local business owners signed a letter ex- pressing discontent “that the overall impact of hosting this massive event during the busy summer tourist season is negative.” At the time, some councilors called the event “overrated” and sought greater re- sponsiveness from organizers. On Monday night, evidence of the new bond between the city and Hood to Coast organizers was on full display. Hood to Coast Chief Operating Offi cer Dan Floyd appeared before the City Council looking to lock in the race for 2018 and be- gin discussions for a possible multiyear deal. “We want to come back and we want to come back for many more years,” Floyd told councilors. “Rather than asking for one year, we want to look for a long-term com- mitment to be a very long time.” Councilors praised the organization and its role in the community. “This is an incredible event and I’m very proud to have it in Seaside,” Councilor Dana Phillips said. Floyd attributed the improved relation- ship to city leadership and personnel chang- es at the Hood to Coast organization. “We were not without sin in this case,” Floyd said. “In the last fi ve years there has been a pretty signifi cant change in staff and the way we’ve trained volunteers.” Runners from 43 countries and 50 states participated in this year’s race. The race brings in about 18,000 runners, Floyd said, and the city generally collects about $1 per head. Funds from Hood to Coast raised more than $730,000 for Providence Cancer Cen- ter in 2017. The Seaside Chamber of Commerce nets about another $30,000 by staffi ng and oper- ating the event’s beer garden. See Shakeout, Page 6A See Deal, Page 6A Makeshift memorial at the spot of a crash Saturday, Sept. 30, that took the life of Robert Miles. R.J. MARX/SEASIDE SIGNAL Seaside crash victim remembered By R.J. Marx Seaside Signal Outside Gorilla Gas on U.S. Highway 101, a sign reads: “We will miss you Rob- ert.” Robert Miles, 42, of Hammond, was killed in late September when an SUV crashed into a bus stop shelter near Mc- Donald’s restaurant in Seaside. Abdirisak Mohamed, 41, of Longview, Washington, was critically injured. Gorilla Gas a ttendant Jesse Jones re- membered Miles as “one of our regular customers at our store here.” “He would always meet me fi rst thing in the morning when I came in to open,” Jones recalled. “He was almost a fi xture around here.” Miles worked in the concrete business, Jones said, and walked or took buses most of the time. “He was always smiling,” Jones said. “He was always in a good mood. He was just a great guy to be around.” Jones let out a long sigh. “We are going to miss him around here.” Outside McDonald’s, the bus shelter is gone, shattered by the impact of the crash. Only a pole with a timetable marks its location. Flowers are carefully placed along the grass in memoriam . Corrissa Barnett, 38, the alleged driver of the SUV, has been charged with man- slaughter and other felonies and misde- meanor drunken driving. See DRIVER IN FATAL SEASIDE CRASH FACES MORE CHARGES • Page 3A Disaster drills to mark Great Oregon Shakeout Day Annual event seeks to raise earthquake awareness By R.J. Marx Seaside Signal PAID PERMIT NO. 97 ASTORIA, OR PRSRT STD US POSTAGE It was appropriate that City Councilor Tom Horning read the proclamation naming Oct. 19 as Great Oregon Shakeout Day. Horning won election last fall on a platform of tsunami aware- ness. On Sept. 26, delivered the proclamation at a meeting of the Seaside City Council. The proclamation recogniz- es earthquake safety as a serious concern, with much of the state at risk to seismic shaking and tsuna- mi hazards. A preparedness plan is the best way to survive a natural di- saster, including preparations for self-suffi ciency for two weeks after a natural disaster, states the proclamation, and everyone is in- vited to participate. Seaside High School took part in the Great Oregon Shakeout Day for the fi rst time in 2016 after Associated Student Body leaders suggested the statewide event. The high school will conduct an earthquake and tsunami drill, Principal Jeff Roberts said. Students will learn “drop, cov- er, and hold on,” described by or- ganizers as a quake-safe action de- signed to protect lives and prevent injuries from falling furniture and fl ying objects than can become projectiles during ground shaking. Teachers and students will then evacuate the building and walk to high ground. ‘Oh give me a poem, where the buffalo roam’ Seaside teacher launches artisan market fundraiser for traveling students By Eve Marx For Seaside Signal Mark Mizell has been teaching English at Sea- side High School for 34 years. For 20 years, every 3 years, he’s taken 20 to 25 high school students to the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, Nevada. The Gathering highlights special guests and pro- gramming honoring the contemporary heritage of Basques and Buckaroos. In years past, this fi eld trip was paid for through money allocated through the school budget or education grants such as the Mey- er Memorial Trust. Without those funds available, Mizell opted to take a different approach this year. To fi nance the trip, Mizell and his wife Becky are sponsoring the Harvest Moon Artisan Market the weekend of Oct. 28 and Oct. 29 to take place at the Broadway Middle School gym. Featured will be ven- dors from the North Coast and the southwest coast of Washington. Becky Mizell is an artist working in poly- mer clay who sells her work through her busi- ness, Becky Sue Cre- ations. You may have seen her booth at the Astoria Sunday Mar- ket and the market in Ilwaco. The Mizells EVE MARX/FOR SEASIDE SIGNAL reached out to other vendors including Les- Mark Mizell lie McCray’s “Sweater Heads,” and watercolor artist Dave Bartholet, whose work is displayed at his Gilbert Gallery in Seaside. Mizell expects 25 to 30 vendors to be involved. Each vendor pays a $70 entry fee. “Every penny of that money will go to offset stu- dent travel expenses to the Cowboy Poetry Gather- ing,” Mizell said. The Gathering takes place in Elko from Jan. 29 through Feb. 3. It’s sponsored by the Western Folk- life Center. Prior to the trip, students will put in hours distributing fl iers for the Harvest Moon Market and the Tillamook Head Gathering which takes place in mid-January. Other activities include making signs, manning a food booth at the Harvest Moon Market; helping vendors and practicing for the presentation of a mini-traveling show they’re calling the “Let ’er Buck Chili Feed Revue.” “They’ll be performing that prior to the trip and during the trip as we travel down the tracks by train, and at the Gathering in Elko,” Mizell said. The trip to Elko is in itself quite an adventure. “The afternoon of Wednesday, Jan. 31, we’ll take a beautiful yellow school bus from the high school to the train station in Portland,” Mizell said. “From there, we’ll ride the train from Portland to Sacra- mento; switch trains, and travel through the Sier- ra Mountains and across the Great Basin to Elko, which is in eastern Nevada.” At the Gathering, the students will perform their show. They may participate at the teen poetry and music See Poet, Page 7A