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About Seaside signal. (Seaside, Or.) 1905-current | View Entire Issue (March 30, 2018)
4A • March 30, 2018 • Seaside Signal • seasidesignal.com SignalViewpoints Wedding draws guests, ghosts Rec district faces tough challenge in Cannon Beach, Gearhart G SEPRD Annexation rejected f course my son and his fiancée would get married on Ghost Conference Weekend, I said casually to a friend. I was feeling a little sad I wasn’t going to the conference, which took place at the Seaside Civic and Convention Center this past weekend. The conference is in its seventh year; in the past I’d written preview pieces about the conference and made a point of attending for at least a few hours. In case you missed it, the Oregon Ghost Conference features mediums, past- life regression practitioners, VIEW FROM spirit experts, THE PORCH animal communicators, EVE MARX psychics and vendors specializing in paranormal-related wares. The Oregon Ghost Conference is the largest paranormal convention in the Northwest, attracting thousands of visitors. In preparation for the wedding ceremony, which took place in Seaside on a semi-secret beach, I went through boxes of old photographs — real photographs, not the digital variety. Around the house I scattered pictures of our combined families’ deceased; my mother, my father, my favorite stepdad; my husband’s mother; a couple of much loved pets, and deceased close family friends who had known our son since he was just a lad. I imagined their pictures would serve as an invitation to their pres- ence at the wedding, just in case if in their ghostly capac- ities they cared to attend. My son and his fiancée were oblivious to the Ore- gon Ghost Conference as they planned their nuptials at the beach. To be honest, I’ve never heard either one of them indicate in any way whatsoever they are believers in ghosts and spirits. They were officially married at a rather rocky and imposing location not far from the Cove. We warned them there could be gawkers, but it was raining (what else?) and OUR FAMILY save for two passersby who stepped away when IS BY ANY they divined a wedding STANDARD was about to happen, we had tranquility and peace. VERY SMALL, Back at the house as my husband cracked BUT IF YOU open a couple of bottle of COUNT THE champagne, I found my- self glancing a few times GHOSTS WITH at those old photographs. I thought what it would be US AT THE like if our old dear friend, WEDDING the Montreal-based sing- er Tony Roman, could CEREMONY, I have been there; or Bill, whose life was taken THINK WE HAD from him in a homicide QUITE THE by an unknown assailant when he was only in his CROWD. early 40s. The really cra- zy thing is Bill’s case has been a cold case for 28 years. A few months ago Bill’s case was reopened by a New York Police Department de- tective who specializes in cold cases. Was it a coincidence that just hours before the wedding, the detective called me with a bit of news? What he said was less important to me than the simple fact of the timing of his call, which I read to be a message from Bill, letting me know he was with us in spirit for the nuptials. Bill loved a party. The bride wore a diamond that had belonged to my mom. It was the diamond my father gave her when they became engaged. I felt my mother’s approval of the beautiful new setting for that diamond my son’s bride commissioned. My son never met my mother; she died a few months before he was born, but since she was so attached to the ring, I felt her spirit hovering approvingly nearby during the vows. My mother-in-law was famous for scowling in almost every photo, but as I was going through those old photos, I found one where she’s smil- ing. In it she is beaming at our son when he was newborn. Our family is by any standard very small, but if you count the ghosts with us at the wedding ceremony, I think we had quite the crowd. O earhart is out of the district; Surf Pines is in, as is Cullaby Lake and anything north of the Highlands in the Seaside School District. Boundaries include residents near U.S. Highway 26 and U.S. Highway 101 junction and extend past the Oregon Route 53 junction near Saddle Mountain Road. Cannon Beach is out. Hamlet is in. Users come from as far as Astoria and Nehalem, which are out of the district. The logic of the Sunset Empire Park and Recreation District is a little mystifying, even to those in the know. The independent taxing district provides fitness and commu- nity events in their Seaside locations, but not all residents enjoy their benefits. With a relatively small population and few public recreation facilities, it might make sense to bring the community together. The district, formed in 1969, will cel- ebrate its 50th anniversary next year, Ex- ecutive Director Skyler Archibald told the Gearhart City Council in March. The goal, he said, was to provide swim and aquatic education to those living on the coast and along the county’s many waterways. The Sunset Pool opened to fanfare in 1978. Since that time, programming has expanded to a fitness center, community center, senior lunch program, preschool and playing fields, for starters. The district employs seven full-time staff, with an an- nual budget of $2.8 million. Gearhart residents may use the pool and facilities, but must pay out-of-district rates. Boundary map of the Sunset Empire Park and Recreation District. Since the pool’s inception, efforts at bringing Gearhart and Cannon Beach into the rec district have been beset by politics, disinterest or a little bit of both. SEEN FROM SEASIDE Not that residents don’t use the district; R.J. MARX they do. Almost 40 percent of Gearhart residents are members or previous mem- bers, Archibald said. About 650 Gearhart residents have signed up for district pro- grams since 2013, he said. ceived a letter from Archibald in 2017 ask- “When we do analyze our program ing the council to consider a partnership participants, particularly for programs like with the SEPRD, McCarthy added, but the swim lessons, preschool, after school pro- matter has yet to be discussed. gramming, we find that typically around With board members and Archibald one-third of the participants are Gearhart considering building expansion, this might residents,” Archibald said this week. seem a likely time to revisit the notion of In 2009, Mary Blake, the district’s exec- growing the rec district’s boundaries, to ex- utive director at the time, brought an annex- pand user base, expand recreation options ation proposal to the city of Gearhart. and cut costs for individuals and families. “I think this particular council seems to “For 40 years the district has provided recognizes the dynamics of Gearhart and an amazing facility with the Sunset Pool, there are a lot of young families here, and but we’re under-serving our need,” Ar- people who could benefit,” she said at the chibald said. He walked Gearhart council- ors through expansion plans, including a time. Blake suggested Gearhart put the ques- second floor to the athletic facility, with a tion on the fall ballot. But after nearly an gym and possible remodeling to Broadway hour of discussion, members decided the School for fitness programs. time wasn’t right. Cost for the base plan is estimated at In 2011, Blake went to Cannon Beach $15 million to $18 million. Bringing the with a partnership proposal. Her goal was middle school into the mix could include a to bring new services to Cannon Beach: 4,000-square-foot community room, kitch- trails in the Ecola Creek Forest Reserve, a en, three preschool rooms, teen room and community garden, outdoor education and outdoor courtyard, at an additional cost of between $7 million and $9 million. summer camps. The effort stalled and the measure never made it to the ballot recalled Nancy Mc- Taxpayer burnout? Carthy, the former editor of the Signal and Archibald left Gearhart City Hall early Gazette and now a member of the Cannon this month without a decision, but the city Beach City Council recalled. City officials were “pretty noncom- could decide to take up the matter again. mital” at the time, McCarthy said this “There would have to be a request from month, although the district did provide SEPRD or some of the councilors to be- some funding for Cannon Beach park pro- gin having conversations about what that grams. would like,” Gearhart City Administrator The Cannon Beach City Council re- Chad Sweet said after the March meeting. The Sunset Empire Park and Recreation District is holding a board workshop on the expansion project, Monday, April 2, at 4 p.m. at the Bob Chisholm Communi- ty Center, 1225 Avenue A, in Seaside. “I think it’s a wonderful organization, but we’ve got a lot of big projects too,” Sweet said. In the meantime, Gearhart voters are readying to finance a new firehouse, which could run into the millions and will most likely be borne by taxpayer dollars. In Cannon Beach, the fire district opted to forgo a vote on adding two professional firefighters. Residents are still feeling the pinch of the 2015 school bond and an in- crease in water rates. Even in Seaside, funding for a rec center addition faces a tough path: lodging taxes rose 2 percent to pay for upgrades to the Seaside Civic and Convention Center and taxpayers are looking ahead to three years of school construction. The county wants a new jail and upgrades at the airport. The Clatsop County Health District announced a $3 million tax levy this week, intended for service and facility upgrades. When she stepped down as executive director, Blake said in 2012, the hardest thing about her job was dealing with two cities and communities that are “putting their taxes first and not understanding that those taxes can go to the quality of life. … Unfortunately, the people that live in those out-of-district areas will continue to find they have to pay more for our services.” Meanwhile, Archibald is holding out hope. “I really want to see if I can help ex- pand the district in a positive way and bring our services to those communities who don’t have them.” LETTERS Need to enforce Seaside leash law I moved to Seaside July 2017. I am a manager at a local motel. We are pet friendly plus I have two small dogs. My issue is this… I run three days a week along the prom- enade. Every time I run my three miles, I encounter a dog off leash and it’s usually the same people with the same dogs. I know there is a leash law in Seaside, but I guess they think the law does not apply to them. I say, “leash law” as I run past them every time. They still do not leash their dogs. I never see anyone patrolling, policing or enforcing the leash law. I am stating my case because I took my dogs out for a walk, both on leashes. I was in a neighborhood in a residential area, and suddenly, a dog came out of nowhere and grabbed one of my dogs with its teeth and would not let go. Had I not had my dog leashed, I would not have been able to pull it away PUBLISHER EDITOR Kari Borgen R.J. Marx from the attacking dog. You never know which dogs are friendly and which ones are not, and unfortu- nately, there are some people who don’t care to follow rules and ruin it for the rest of us. I’m asking that Seaside post signs along the promenade remind- ing everyone of the law to leash their dogs. I would also like to see someone policing the promenade regularly. Sandra Garvin Seaside Jail bonds are a risky investment Why would anyone want to buy the county’s jail bonds? Yes, Clatsop County needs better jail facilities. The county plans to seek voter approval to issue bonds for new jail facilities that will be repaid by future property tax rev- enues. It all sounds pretty normal, right? CIRCULATION MANAGER PRODUCTION MANAGER Jeremy Feldman John D. Bruijn ADVERTISING SALES SYSTEMS MANAGER April Olsen Carl Earl CLASSIFIED SALES Danielle Fisher Nestled behind their podium up in Astoria, our county’s elected leaders and paid staff are hoping that this time jail improvements will be successful. They really don’t want to acknowledge that the investment community rates bonds for buyers by the risk that they will not be repaid. Property taxes are based on property valuation and Clatsop County has just over $6 billion dollars of property that is taxed. The narrow Pacific coastal strip of the county from Arch Cape to the mouth of the Columbia River contains 70 percent of this prop- erty valuation. Using state-issued tsunami inundation maps, about 80 percent of the value of these properties will be destroyed by a mid-size Cascadia event. Event Astoria with about 13 percent of the county’s assessed valuation will be hard hit by the earthquake portion of a Cascadia event because of the age of its downtown structures. The state puts the probability of such a STAFF WRITER Brenna Visser CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Skyler Archibald Rebecca Herren Katherine Lacaze Eve Marx Esther Moberg Jon Rahl Cascadia event as 1 in 3 over the next 50 years. As an investor would you want to fund your children’s educa- tion and your retirement on a “junk bond” like this? But wait, didn’t Seaside School District just successfully issue $100 million in school bonds? Yes, but under duress from Sen. Betsy Johnson, the state treasurer guaranteed these bonds. There is no one to guarantee these jail bonds nor many of these other proposed non-school bond issues presently being proposed by local agencies. John Dunzer Seaside John Orr, our best choice As a former Republican, I would like to share why I believe candi- date John Orr should be our next State House Representative for District 32. Even though he is running for political office for the first time, he is certainly no “newcomer” to politics. Orr’s progressive views on finance reform, housing and the environment as well as his 25 years representing his community and helping others, have always been distinct and have never wavered. His approach has always been to fight hard, balanced with a pragmat- ic sensibility born out of experience with our justice system. In a time of political turmoil, John Orr maintains a perspective of calm, but resolute leadership that Oregonians need in their lawmak- ers. Someone who cannot only represent their concerns, but has the mind and heart and experience to actually accomplish these goals. I encourage everyone to vote, but I especially encourage you to vote for those who truly care about the future of Oregon — John Orr is for Oregon. Phil Hall Warrenton Seaside Signal Letter policy Subscriptions The Seaside Signal is published every other week by EO Media Group, 1555 N. Roosevelt, Seaside, OR 97138. 503-738-5561 seasidesignal.com Copyright 2018 © Seaside Signal. Nothing can be reprinted or copied without consent of the owners. The Seaside Signal welcomes letters to the editor. The deadline is noon Monday prior to publication. Letters must be 400 words or less and must be signed by the author and include a phone number for verification. We also request that submissions be limited to one letter per month. Send to 1555 N. Roosevelt Drive, Seaside, OR 97138, drop them off at 1555 N. 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