April 27, 2018 • Seaside Signal • seasidesignal.com • 5A
Grants help fund Skippers, Music Fest and more
D
id you hear or see anything
a little different in Seaside
this past weekend? Two
events, the Seaside Music Fest
and Oregon Coast Classic Jump
Rope Competition, were busy
entertaining locals and visitors
April 20 and April 21 with a push
towards driving more shoulder-
season activity in Seaside.
Seaside Music Fest, in its inau-
gural year and developed by the
Seaside Downtown Development
Association, brought 15 bands to
town for hour-long sets on Friday
evening and throughout the day on
Saturday. The two-day music mara-
thon was created by the association
to provide a welcoming, communi-
ty event and platform on the North
Oregon Coast to promote a variety
SIDE RAIL
JON RAHL
of premier original live music for
visitors and locals alike.
While Music Fest was new to
the area, the Oregon Coast Classic
— organized by longtime resident
and Tsunami Skippers coach Stacey
Dundas — held its fifth annual
event in Seaside. The Classic is a
jump rope competition that fea-
tured local and visiting kids from
Oregon, Washington, Montana and
Arizona.
What these two events shared is
that they were both recipients of the
city of Seaside Visitors Bureau’s
annual tourism grant program for
the 2017-18 fiscal year. The grant
program is designed to help provide
seed money for events and pro-
grams aimed at doing exactly what
the association and Dundas created
this past weekend — a fun, enter-
taining environment that brings
visitors to our area and gives the
opportunity for new development
and economic stimulation.
Although the Oregon Coast
Classic wasn’t a new event, it was
something that Dundas and her
jump rope aficionados wanted to
see grow. They’d seen success the
first few four years of existence
but needed a way to drive greater
awareness. The tourism grant pro-
gram allowed them to bring in new
dollars to help promote their event
and do things in a way they had not
done before.
On the other end of the spec-
trum, the Seaside Music Fest was
not an established event and needed
the funds to help get its feet off the
ground. Both are prime examples of
the types of things the city of Sea-
side’s Tourism Advisory Committee
looks at when selecting annual
recipients. This year’s deadline is
fast approaching but there’s still
time. Applicants can ask for up to
$5,000 and have the option of using
their funds during an 18-month
window between July 1, 2018 and
Dec. 31, 2019. Perhaps you have
an idea in mind for a fall activity
or event but feel like the fall of
2018 is too soon? This may be the
right time to request funds. You’ll
still have a full year to plan but
won’t have to rush as your funding
is available through the time your
event happens.
The deadline is Friday, May 11
at 5 p.m. and guidelines, applica-
tion and details are available online
at seasideor.com/industry. Just click
“Tourism Grant Program” and learn
more about how to get your funding
request in before the deadline.
Have a thought or a question
about tourism in Seaside, or maybe
an idea for a future column? Drop
me an email at jrahl@cityofsea-
side.us. Jon Rahl is the Director
of Tourism for the Seaside Visitors
Bureau and Assistant General
Manager of the Seaside Civic and
Convention Center.
How many of these Seaside library programs can you name?
W
olves, soul food, and
literacy. These are all
subjects of programs here
at your local library! While these
are things you might not expect
at your library, unique ‘out of the
box’ programming is what we pride
ourselves on here in Seaside. Our
goal is to try and provide something
for everyone at the Seaside Public
Library. The rich variety of
programming at the library helps
keep folks entertained while learning
new things right here in Seaside.
The Seaside Public Library
has a rich history of programming
stretching back to its days in the
previous location at 60 N. Roos-
evelt in what is now Cleanline Surf.
Back in the old library, baby chicks
and librarians dressed as Beavers
leading reading programs outside on
the lawn were normal, and we have
the pictures to prove it. Nowadays,
you will still find librarians dress-
ing up but it might be as Obi-Wan
Kenobi leading story time, or with
“a bad case of the stripes,” when
our children’s librarian dressed up
BETWEEN
THE COVERS
ESTHER MOBERG
like a picture book with that same
title. Over the past five years we
have hosted miniature horses, the
234th Army Band, turkey bowling,
giant lawn games, movies, jewelry
making, and countless other events
right here at the library. Our goal is
always educational, literacy based
entertainment that educates or
brings arts and culture to our library.
This includes library art shows that
showcase local artists, including
Seaside High school students, and
we host eight different artist shows
every year thanks to the library’s
volunteer art committee. One thing
the library continues to do over the
years is develop more programs
than ever before. In 2017, the library
hosted over 252 programs for kids,
teens, and adults. Many of the adult
programs were author talks or trivia
events but we also had cooking
classes, the most recent of which
was on soul food, drawing classes,
and many other events.
Coming up this summer, “Librar-
ies Rock!” will be the summer read-
ing theme for all ages so expect a lot
of fun and engaging music themed
programs all summer long.
Preschool story times and other
early literacy programs will always
be a staple here at the library and
there is a very good reason why.
Brain development for little kids
from a very early age is incredibly
important. Studies have shown
that the best way to develop brain
function in babies and toddlers
is through interactive vocabulary
building. Parenting classes constant-
ly encourage parents to interact with
infants and toddlers to increase the
words of the child. The more input
in, the more output. Each child’s
brain starts growing and developing
long before they are in kindergarten
and this early development sets the
child up for success in school and
life. Perhaps you have heard of the
32 million word gap. A study done
by psychologists Betty Hart and
Todd Risely in the 1980s demon-
strated that children who are raised
in poorer homes are exposed to far
fewer vocabulary words, approxi-
mately 32 million words of “gap”
between poor children and their
peers, and by the ages 3- to 4-years-
old these children are already at a
clear disadvantage to their peers.
Further studies have confirmed this
and shown the importance of the
parent and child interaction. The
more children are exposed to words
the better, and story time is a prime
example of helping this vocabulary
building process. We want all young
toddlers to have success in future
years both at school and in life.
Story time also typically incor-
porates six early literacy skills. Four
of these skills are: first, children
enjoying the feel of books and
being surrounded by books, second,
children starting to realize words are
all around them, everywhere they
go, third, seeing the letters that make
up a word, and fourth, the ability to
sound out words which helps with
reading skills later on.
Children also have social inter-
action with their peers at story time
since most story times have a build
in play time. This is in addition to
interaction with parents while being
surrounded by millions of words for
vocabulary building right at their fin-
gertips. Seeing children leave story
time with stacks of picture books is
the best thing a children’s librarian
can experience, knowing parents
will be reading books at home with
their child and building their brains
for future success.
Programs at the library, while
they may seem fun and fluffy, actu-
ally have a not-so-hidden agenda.
We want kids and adults in Seaside
to enjoy their library and reading
and we also want to educate folks
while entertaining them. We are in
the business of growing brains both
young and old. Perhaps the best part
of all to most, is that every program
here at the library is free thanks to
the support of the Friends of the
Seaside Public Library.
LETTERS
Letters from Page 4A
shortfall in the 2019-21 bud-
get that will cause even more
tough decisions to be made
on the part of the legislature.
Those decisions will be made
by the governor within the
governor’s budget and in the
legislative budget that will be
made by the members of the
Ways and Means committees,
not by a single member of the
legislature acting alone.
Whoever wins the seat will
need to be an independent
thinker/actor who will rep-
resent all the constituents in
this diverse district, not just
a select few. (Constituents in
House District 32 range from
very conservative to very lib-
eral with a substantial mod-
erate middle.) They will need
to vote for their constituents
and not just their financial
backers and for what is best
for the state. A good way for
voters who are not familiar
with the candidates to know
who is funding the campaigns
is to look at the Secretary of
State site under elections. A
good guideline is to look for
a diverse group of funders and
local citizens.
In my opinion, the candi-
date who is best prepared is
Tim Josi. I have known him
for more than 30 years and I
trust him. He has served four
terms as a state representative
so we know he knows what the
job entails and was re-elected
several times indicating his
constituents thought he was
doing a good job. When term
limits ended his time in Salem
he went home to Tillamook
County and won a seat on the
county commission which he
has held for five terms, again
proving his electability and
the satisfaction of his constitu-
ents and proving a good fit for
the district. He understands
how things work in Salem.
His financial contributions,
including individuals who
live in the district, come from
many sectors including health
care, agriculture, business, la-
bor, housing, building trades,
forestry, retail businesses and
many members of the current
legislature. Dozens of advo-
cacy groups endorse him. He
is intelligent, ethical and he
has the experience necessary
to get things done for House
District 32.
Deborah Boone
State Representative House
District 32
North Coast
awakens
It is with great pleasure that
we should applaud the many
candidates who are seeking
elected office. There are two
major issues for candidates to
get their arms around. First, by
any measure, is the area’s pre-
paredness for a Cascadia event.
With Federal Emergency Man-
agement Agency projections of
several thousand area deaths,
most of them in Seaside, War-
renton, and Gearhart, elected
leaders should start to discuss
midtown tsunami escape shel-
ters. While evacuation maps
draw escape routes, none of
them point out that evacuation
into the hills is just not physi-
cally possible for most by foot.
Unless they are an Olympic
sprinter, the time available be-
tween the earthquake and the
tsunami is not sufficient for
many residents and visitors.
State, county, and city govern-
ments seem to be aware that
many existing bridges will be
destroyed by the earthquake,
rendering many of the desig-
nated escape routes unfeasible,
but instead, spend their time
and treasure on planning new
rec centers, better jails, and big-
ger convention centers. There
appears to be little appetite for
planning for the period after a
Cascadia event by any agency
of government. “Well I sur-
vived and I still have a house,”
but Pacific Power is three to six
months away from providing
you any power. Welcome to
Puerto Rico West.
The second major issue is
affordable housing. The North
Coast has been the beneficia-
ry of the growth that has tak-
en place in the northwest and
therefore the increased demand
for beach recreation. Many say
that there are plenty of jobs in
that sector but tourist industry
jobs can be seasonal. Industrial
developers, who could provide
a more stable job base for the
area, have gotten the message
that our local government and
institutions are programmed
to tune out anything that looks
like growth, change, or fami-
ly wage jobs. Hopefully these
elections will start to make a
positive difference in these at-
titudes.
There would not be a work-
force housing issue if local
tourist businesses would reach
out to our senior communi-
ty to fill its need for seasonal
help. Many seniors need extra
income and are experienced re-
liable assets who already have
housing. Clatsop Econom-
ic Development Resources,
instead of crying the “sky is
falling,” should develop busi-
ness training on how best for
businesses to solve its own per-
sonnel problems and not rely
on government to subsidize its
needs. If you are a young person
how can you pay a mortgage or
a rent payment unless you have
a steady job? How can you af-
ford inflated housing property
taxes when the Seaside School
District unnecessarily spends
$100,000 per student for school
facilities when the rest of the
state is spending $40,000? How
can you afford a house or apart-
ment when construction labor
costs on the north coast are 50
percent higher than in other ru-
ral areas of the State? How can
you afford to pay for a house if
it can’t be built on affordable,
properly zoned property be-
cause the neighbors complain
it will create “unbearable”
traffic increases? How can you
build affordable housing when
the bulk of suitable underde-
veloped property is zoned for
commercial use and is sitting
idle because of consumer pur-
chasing changes made by the
internet? How can government
provide a safe community with
a more efficient cost-effective
structure for its police and fire?
The list goes on and can
only be solved by electing bet-
ter leadership.
John Dunzer
Seaside
The time is now
The North Coast is growing
and with it, the need to main-
tain, repair and improve our
bridges, roads, highways, and
municipal water systems. These
efforts require large amounts of
capital. Our state is now rated
near America’s bottom among
the 50 states for infrastructure.
This is bad for business. Due
to tax cutting initiatives, the
ability of state and local gov-
ernments to meet demand for
these capital investments has
fallen behind. Our roads will
need to accommodate greater
numbers of travelers and keep
commercial haulers moving ef-
ficiently in and out of our com-
munities. The cost of delay will
only increase. We must act be-
fore disaster or tragedy strikes.
It’s time to invest in our future.
As a candidate for the Or-
egon House in this district, I
have been listening to your
concerns. Dale McDowell,
Seaside public works director,
recently told me of Seaside’s
most pressing infrastructure
concern: The Avenue U Bridge.
Upgrade work is shovel ready
but lacking $6 million fund-
ing. The upgrade is necessary
to avoid likely destruction in
an earthquake. Even were the
funding available, the Oregon
Department of Transporta-
tion lacks the funding to hire
necessary project managers.
Another example: bicyclists,
pedestrians and public safety
would be well served by a pe-
destrian overpass in Gearhart
across highway 101. Yet such
a project lacks funding despite
obvious need and benefit. The
State must be more responsive
to local infrastructure needs on
the North Coast. If I am elected,
I will do my best to see that it is.
John F. Orr
Astoria
Vote Tiffiny for
affordable housing
My name in Cindy Whitten.
I have lived in Astoria for 25
years and have made this won-
derful community my home. In
my time here, I have witnessed
firsthand many of the trials As-
torians face.
One of my closest family
members has been working the
same service job for years with
stagnant wages and struggles
to ensure their basic needs are
being met. It is heartbreaking
when young, hard-working As-
torians don’t make enough to
pay their rent and utilities. No-
body should have to choose be-
tween having a roof over their
head or paying their power bill.
I didn’t believe things could
change until I met Tiffiny. For
those of you out of the loop,
Tiffiny is running as a demo-
crat to be our representative in
Salem. Tiffiny is eager, ready to
work on our behalf, and has the
values to fight for folks in our
community that need help. For
years, Salem has been dragging
their feet on passing legislation
to help create affordable hous-
ing. I know Tiffiny will bring
the fight for affordable housing
to Salem and be the champion
we need. That’s why I plan on
voting for her in this upcoming
democratic primary and in the
general election.
Cindy Whitten
Astoria
Vote Mitchell to
lead North Coast
I first met Tiffiny Mitchell
through North Coast Indivis-
ible. Like me, Tiffiny joined
because she knows we need
to stand up for progressive
policies that work for all. She
always brings her passion, her
smarts and her fearlessness to
the table as part of the leader-
ship of Indivisible.
When Zinke talks about try-
ing to drill for oil off our beau-
tiful Oregon I know Tiffiny
will fight in Salem to protect
our coastline. When ICE comes
into our communities and pulls
apart families, I know Tiffiny
will stand up for those most
vulnerable. And when the fed-
eral government strips away
funding for services that so
many people here depend on,
I know Tiffiny will ensure that
Salem picks up the slack.
I plan on voting for Tiffiny
Mitchell for representative of
District 32 in the Democratic
primary this month and you
should, too.
Maridee Faber
Warrenton
National Safe
Digging Month
Residents of the Pacific
Northwest are eager for sun-
shine and yard and garden
projects. Unfortunately, more
outdoor work can also mean
damage to underground utility
lines.
April is National Safe Dig-
ging Month, and NW Natural
reminds anyone who plans to
dig to call 811 to have under-
ground utilities located first.
Reaching utility notification
centers in Oregon and Wash-
ington is simple and free. Two
days before the start of a proj-
ect call 811, register online or
use NW Natural’s new safety
app to have underground lines
marked. Read more at www.
nwnatural.com or www.dig-
safelyoregon.com.
Always report line dam-
ages — no matter how small
— even a nick or gouge could
affect a pipeline. If a natural
gas line is accidentally hit and
there’s a smell of rotten eggs,
or the sound of gas escaping,
be sure to leave the area imme-
diately and then call NW Natu-
ral’s 24-hour emergency line at
800-882-3377.
Enjoy the sunshine and
spring flowers and remember
to call 811.
Teresa Brownlie
NW Natural Gas, Astoria
NORTHWEST
PRAYER
BREAKFAST
Unity-Pray for America
Thursday, May 3 rd , 2018
Doogers Seafood & Grill
505 Broadway, Seaside
Make every effort
to keep the unity
of the Spirit
through the bond
of peace. ~ Eph.4.3
Breakfast Buffet - $ 5 00
7:30 to 8:00 am
(Please pay upon arrival if eating)
Prayer and Song Program
8:00 to 9:00 am