January 19, 2018 • Seaside Signal • seasidesignal.com • 5A
Building bonds between fathers and daughters
T
his April my daughter Hayley
will celebrate her ninth
birthday and there is truly
nothing that makes you feel older
than seeing your children age.
She was born while my wife
and I lived in Portland and life was
much different back then. She was
our first but has been a blessing to
our family and to my life in every
way.
Shortly after her birth, a good
friend told me that the most im-
portant thing in establishing a good
father-daughter relationship with her
would be time. Time can be accu-
mulated in dozens of ways. Family
trips, games, hikes, reading together
are some of our favorite but there
are many others.
Research conducted over the
last 20 years has drawn some
strong conclusions regarding father
involvement. Children who feel a
closeness to their father are twice as
likely to enter college or find stable
employment after high school and
80 percent less likely to spend time
in jail.
High levels of father involve-
ment have shown correlation with
positive outcomes like sociability,
confidence and self-control in chil-
SKY BOX
SKYLER ARCHIBALD
dren. Children with involved fathers
are less likely to act out in school
or engage in risky behaviors during
those important adolescent times.
In particular, the role of a father
in the life of a daughter is not to
be overstated. Michael Austin,
professor and author says, “A dad’s
involvement in his daughter’s
life is a crucial ingredient in the
development of a young woman’s
self-esteem. Verbal encouragement,
being consistently present in her
life, being alert and sensitive to her
feelings, taking time to listen to
her thoughts and taking an active
interest in her hobbies will help
increase a girl’s confidence in her
own abilities.”
As each family unit and relation-
ship therein is unique, sometimes
we program into our minds the way
that those relationships feel and
look. I’m of the opinion that a lov-
ing relationship can be formed even
in difficult circumstances and that
SUNSET EMPIRE PARK AND RECREATION DISTRICT
The Daddy-Daughter dance is coming to Seaside.
relationship may be formed with a
young girl by her father, but could
also come from a grandfather, uncle,
older brother or close family friend.
One of the reasons why I love
my job is because I get to work
for an organization that has noble
values when decisions are made.
With each programming or facility
choice, we truly seek to make the
best decision for our entire com-
munity. We program activities and
special events, with the hopes of
bringing people together in happi-
ness and health!
Speaking from my own personal
experience, one-on-one opportuni-
ties with my daughter is one of the
most valuable uses of my time. In a
busy world where workplace, avo-
cation, service and family demands
occupy much of our time we may
HISTORY AND HOPS
Looking back on building of jetties
SEASIDE MUSEUM AND HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Historian Gary Kobes discusses the history of area jetties.
“Rails in the Surf: Reshap-
ing the Mouth of the Colum-
bia River,” the story of the
construction of the jetties — a
story of pile drivers and rail-
road cars, of tugs and barges
and of locomotives and ship-
wreck — will be recounted by
Gary Kobes at Seaside Muse-
um and Historical Society’s
monthly History and Hops at
6 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 25, at
the Seaside Brewing Co.
The immense structures
that define the mouth of the
Columbia River took more
than 50 years to build with
the best turn-of-the-century
technology. For the North Jet-
ty alone, steamships and lo-
comotives moved and placed
over 3 million tons of stone.
Their construction has had a
profound effect on both the
people and the landscape of
our region.
Kobes, a Chinook resident
and self-described “history
addict,” is manager of the
Astoria-Warrenton Region-
al Airport and volunteers on
the boards of the Columbia
Pacific Heritage Museum in
Ilwaco as well as the Colum-
bia River Maritime Museum.
He is a founding member of
the Nahcotta railroad passen-
ger car preservation commit-
tee and has a deep affinity for
the history of railroads and
engineering. Kobes is known
among researchers and histo-
rians of the area as “the go-to
expert” for information about
the jetties on both sides of the
Columbia River.
History and Hops is a se-
ries of local history discus-
sions hosted by the Seaside
Museum on the last Thurs-
day of each month, Septem-
ber through May, at Seaside
Brewing Co., 861 Broadway.
Preserving Seaside’s His-
tory since 1974, the Seaside
Museum and Historical Soci-
ety is a nonprofit educational
institution with the mission to
collect, preserve and interpret
materials illustrative of the
history of Seaside and the sur-
rounding area. The museum
is located at 570 Necanicum
Dr., Seaside and is open Mon-
day through Saturday from 10
a.m. to 3 p.m. More informa-
tion can be found at www.sea-
sideoregonuseum.com.
miss some of these opportunities
to truly cherish and further the
relationships. Sadly, when we have
those opportunities sometimes we
spend those moments engaged, but
rather than engaged with our child
or other meaningful human rela-
tionship, we are engaged with our
devices.
The upcoming Daddy-Daughter
Dance is an opportunity for fathers
and father figures to have a tru-
ly magical night. Music, a photo
booth, refreshments and a special
experience will make for a memo-
rable night for the little gals in our
community. The district has been
fortunate to have the event hosted at
the Seaside Civic and Convention
Center and between the accommo-
dations, setup and excitement, it
truly feels like a special experience.
This will be the fourth annual
Daddy-Daughter Dance and each
one has grown in participation so
we encourage you to set your plans
early to attend.
The event is scheduled for
Saturday, Jan. 27, from 6 to 8 p.m.
Tickets are $25 per couple and $5
for each additional child and can be
purchased at the Sunset Pool or the
Bob Chisholm Community Center.
Go West with folksinger,
storyteller Adam Miller
Friends of the Seaside
Library will welcome folk-
singer, storyteller and auto-
harp virtuoso Adam Miller
at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Jan.
25, at Seaside Brewing Co.
The concert will take place
in the Community Room.
In the program “Going
to the West,” Miller will tell
the story of westward mi-
gration, the Oregon Trail,
pioneers, Native Ameri-
cans and the opening of
the American West. Miller
will chronicle our coun-
try’s westward expansion
through song and the spo-
ken word, and the audience
is encouraged to sing along
to American classics.
Miller is among the
world’s premier autoharp-
ists. An accomplished folk-
lorist, historian, musicolo-
gist and song collector, he
has amassed a repertoire
of more than 5,000 songs.
Miller accompanies his
baritone voice with lively
acoustic guitar and autoharp
melodies. His time-honored
traditional folk songs and
ballads will have everyone
singing along, interweaving
stories that evoke a bygone
time when entertainment
was homemade.
Traveling 70,000 miles
each year, this 21st-century
troubadour has performed
from the Everglades to the
COURTESY SEASIDE PUBLIC LIBRARY
Adam Miller, a folksinger,
storyteller and autoharpist.
Arctic Circle. Using the ex-
periences of the road, Mill-
er points out connections
between events in history
and the songs that survived
them. And, like radio’s Paul
Harvey, he manages to give
you “the rest of the story”
about some of our nation’s
richest musical treasures.
Miller has performed at
the Walnut Valley Bluegrass
Festival, the Tumbleweed
Music Festival and the Ken-
tucky Music Weekend. When
he is not on the road, Miller
calls Drain, Oregon, home.
The Seaside Public Li-
brary is located at 1131
Broadway St. For more infor-
mation, call 503-738-6742 or
visit seasidelibrary.org.
Audit: Delays in air quality inspections, permits could pose health risks
By Claire Withycombe
Capital Bureau
SALEM — State auditors
say that a backlogs in per-
mits and inspections at the
Oregon Department of Envi-
ronmental Quality “endanger
the state’s air quality and the
health of Oregonians.”
DEQ is responsible for
monitoring and regulating
emissions from industrial
sources and enforcing vi-
olations. The department
also oversees land and water
quality.
But nearly a quarter of
air quality permit renewals
were behind schedule in the
past decade, according to the
audit. Overall, about 5.8 per-
cent of all permits were be-
hind as of July 2017.
But some types of permits
have more severe backlogs
than others, with 43.1 per-
cent of the agency’s larger
and more complex permits in
“backlog status.”
And there’s also a delay
in inspections of industrial
sources of pollution. This
could mean that those busi-
nesses are out of compli-
ance and potentially emitting
harmful levels of pollutants.
But auditors weren’t able
to identify the size of the total
inspection backlog because
DEQ, which is divided into
three regions, doesn’t track
inspections agency-wide.
Those delays could pose
serious risks to environmen-
tal and human health in Ore-
gon, auditors said.
Air quality permits speci-
fy how much and what types
of emissions a business is al-
lowed to emit in accordance
with state and federal laws
and rules.
Certain air pollutants can
have severe negative health
effects, and have been found
to cause cancer, lung dis-
ease, respiratory illness, birth
defects and developmental
disorders, according to the
Secretary of State’s audit re-
leased Wednesday.
The delays also “frustrate”
the business community and
put the agency’s credibility
in danger, auditors said.
Auditors said many fac-
tors slow down the permit-
ting process, including more
than 100 vacant positions at
the agency, lack of succes-
sion planning, guidance and
support for employees, and
a “poorly documented and
inconsistent” permit process.
Additionally, Cleaner Air
Oregon, a recent project of
the governor to use health-
based standards to reduce
air toxics, has required addi-
tional work that reduces the
amount of time regulators
have to issue permits and do
compliance inspections.
DEQ Director Richard
Whitman said in a response
to the audit that he agrees
with auditors’ recommenda-
tions and the agency is work-
ing to put them into action.
The issue of air pollution
has been a topic of interest in
the Portland area recently, in
the wake of a scandal around
elevated levels of toxins de-
tected near Bullseye Glass
Co.’s stained-glass factory in
Southeast Portland.
The latest development
in the saga is Bullseye’s $30
million lawsuit against Gov.
Kate Brown and the DEQ, al-
leging that state government
unfairly targeted the compa-
ny after the U.S. Forest Ser-
vice found elevated lead lev-
els in moss near the factory
in 2015.
While Oregon has a rep-
utation as a sylvan wonder-
land, the state has the high-
est ranking of all U.S. states
for non-cancer health risks
caused by “hazardous air
pollutants,” according to the
National Air Toxic Assess-
ment.
That assessment is cited
in the audit, although audi-
tors noted that the “overall
quality of data submitted by
states varies” in the assess-
ment, and that the EPA indi-
cates that the results should
be interpreted cautiously.
According to that same
assessment, Oregon’s cancer
risk is 24th out of U.S. states;
Multnomah County ranks
third for non-cancer hazards
and 56th for cancer risk out
of all U.S. counties.
MEETINGS
MONDAY, Jan. 22
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 7
Seaside City Council, 7 p.m.,
City Hall, 989 Broadway.
Seaside Improvement Com-
mission, 6 p.m., City Hall, 989
Broadway.
TUESDAY, Jan. 23
Seaside Airport Advisory
Committee, 6 p.m., City Hall,
989 Broadway.
Gearhart City Council, 7
p.m., 698 Pacific Way, Gear-
hart.
TUESDAY, Feb. 6
THURSDAY, Feb. 8
Community Center Commis-
sion, 10:30 a.m., 1225 Avenue A.,
Seaside.
Seaside Convention Center
Commission, 5 p.m., 415 First
Avenue.
Seaside Library Board, 4:30
p.m., 1131 Broadway, Seaside.
Cannon Beach Academy,
5:30 p.m. 3718 S. Hemlock St.,
Cannon Beach.
Seaside Planning Commission,
7 p.m., City Hall, 989 Broadway.
Gearhart Planning Commis-
sion, 6 p.m., 698 Pacific Way,
Gearhart.
MONDAY, Feb. 12
Seaside City Council, 7 p.m., City
Hall, 989 Broadway.
THURSDAY, Feb. 15
Seaside Tree Board, 4 p.m., City
Hall, 989 Broadway.
Seaside Transportation Adviso-
ry Commission, 6 p.m., City Hall,
989 Broadway.
Franklin, Seaside.
powered by
Seaside Planning Commission,
work session, 7 p.m., City Hall, 989
Broadway.
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 21
Seaside Tourism Advisory Com-
mittee, 3 p.m., 989 Broadway.
MONDAY, Feb. 26
Seaside City Council, 7 p.m., City
Hall, 989 Broadway.
THURSDAY, March 1
TUESDAY, Feb. 20
Seaside School District Board
of Directors, 6 p.m., 1801 S.
Seaside Parks Advisory Com-
mittee, 7 p.m., City Hall, 989
Broadway.
music fi rst