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About Seaside signal. (Seaside, Or.) 1905-current | View Entire Issue (March 30, 2018)
SEASIDESIGNAL.COM OUR 112th YEAR • March 30, 2018 Construction impacts concern commissioners Truck traffic could strain local roadways By R.J. Marx Seaside Signal COLIN MURPHEY/EO MEDIA GROUP Logs were removed from the site in 2017. Planning commissioners fear future construction traffic could have an impact on city roads. Round two of Seaside School District’s presentation to the city’s Planning Com- mission saw construction traffic and site access as key discussion items. Heavy truck traffic could rupture or damage city roads with thousands of trucks carrying rock and concrete expected during the con- struction process, commissioners said on March 20. The city could see “alligator” effects to the asphalt from the many trips during the construction process. The district’s conditional use permit request includes plans for expansion of Seaside Heights Elementary School and construction of middle- and high-school facilities on 89 acres to the east of the ele- mentary school, approved by voters in No- vember 2016. Based on the projected trip generation of the campus after relocation of Gearhart Elementary School, Broadway Middle School, and Seaside High School, district traffic consultants estimated that Spruce Drive will carry a total of almost 4,000 dai- ly trips. “This amount of traffic is not con- sidered unreasonable, for roadways clas- sified as major collectors in urban areas, which can carry upwards of 7,000 average daily,” according to the Lancaster Engi- neering Traffic Impact Study submitted by the school district. But along with traffic to and from school, construction traffic concerned Seaside plan- ning commissioners, especially the 25,000 truck trips expected up and down local streets. The more trips, the more damage, and the heavier vehicles, the more the dam- age, Commissioner Bill Carpenter said. “A tractor-trailer weighing 80,000 pounds is expected to do 7,800 more times damage to a road than a passenger car.” See School, Page 3A Hood to Coast inks five-year deal in Seaside After past acrimony, city welcomes iconic race By R.J. Marx Seaside Signal s d i k for Oregon Ghost Conference brings almost 1,000 to Seaside By Brenna Visser Seaside Signal A bout 1,000 people came to explore all things paranormal and unexplainable at the Oregon Ghost Conference on Friday, March 23, to Sun- day, March 25, at the Seaside Civic and Convention Center. The event features dozens of classes related to the spirits, as well as a ghoulish walk through down- town Seaside that showcased the town’s most haunted spots. This year, however, some of the participants were more junior than in years past. Children came to explore See Ghosts, Page 5A Top: Aaron Collins, an investigator with NW Paranormal, shows Oregon Ghost Conference participants a laser he uses to detect ghosts. Above: Jade Cubbage of Beaverton looks at a toy, a part of the “Haunted Toys” show-and-tell held at the Oregon Ghost Conference. BRENNA VISSER/SEASIDE SIGNAL Nearly three years ago, residents packed City Hall and called for an end to Seaside’s relationship with the Hood to Coast Relay. Residents and businesses complained about unruly behavior and traffic during one of the summer’s busiest weekends. On Monday night, the City Council inked a five-year deal with relay officials to keep Seaside as the final destination of the 198-mile team run from Mount Hood’s Timberline Lodge. Dan Floyd, chief operating officer of Hood to Coast, attributed efforts by City Councilor Randy Frank and Mayor Jay Bar- ber in bringing the city and race organizers to the table. “Once everybody was able to discuss both sides, we really became one side,” Floyd said. “There was more of an understanding what the city wanted from us, and for the city, what we did for 200 miles. We got to make each other aware of what’s going on and how we can improve. This is a huge turnaround.” Frank, a former critic of the race, called recent meetings between the city and Hood to Coast “very productive” and praised the contract as “doing more than what we’ve asked for.” “I think you’ve answered not only the concerns of the people of Seaside, but all along the race course,” Frank said. The city currently receives $18,000 plus $3,000 for expenses, according to City Manager Mark Winstanley. The new con- tract starts at $25,000 this year and increas- es 5 percent a year through 2022, when Hood to Coast will pay the city more than $30,000. In addition to the payment, Hood to Coast agreed to cover the city’s costs di- rectly attributable to the event, including staffing and equipment for police, fire and public works. Hood to Coast indemnifies the city from liability and provides a toll-free phone number as a means of communications the week before and after the event. Organizers agreed to cooperate with the city for event public relations and promotion. “This allows the city to put our best foot forward and allows them to put their best foot forward, and this gives us opportunities PAID PERMIT NO. 97 ASTORIA, OR PRSRT STD US POSTAGE See Hood to Coast, Page 6A Knitting is her passion, and it’s one she shares Mary Peterson uses knitting to help community By Katherine Lacaze For Seaside Signal For Seaside resident Mary Peterson, knit- ting is a passion she’s developed since she was about 8 years old. Now, she’s found a new pur- pose for the craft to give it more meaning to herself and others. Since 2016, Peterson has created and sold numerous knitted products to raise money for Alzheimer’s research through Frontier Man- agement, the managing company of Neawanna by the Sea where she currently resides. When Peterson discovered Alzheimer’s re- search was part of Frontier’s charitable giving, “I decided that was something I could do, and feel comfortable doing, and be happy doing,” she said. Since then, she’s raised more than $500 per year through selling her products at organized sales, as well as on request. The cause is dear to her heart, she explained, as her late husband was diagnosed with Alzhei- mer’s but passed away before the disease got severe. One of her grandmothers also had Alz- heimer’s and an uncle suffered from dementia. “I’m so happy I can use knitting to further the health and welfare of the community,” she said. Adopting a lifelong passion As a young girl growing up in Minneso- ta, Peterson’s mother was busy caring for her own mother, and so Peterson was frequently left in the care of her paternal grandmother. A self-described “problem child,” Peterson said her grandmother taught her to knit because she “was trying just anything she could to keep me quiet and from climbing the walls.” “I’ve been knitting off and on ever since, and it’s been very much ‘on’ ever since I re- tired,” she said. “I find great joy in the feeling See Peterson, Page 5A KATHERINE LACAZE/FOR SEASIDE SIGNAL Mary Peterson, a resident at Neawanna by the Sea, has turned her passion for knitting in a way to raise money for Alzheimer’s research.