4A • May 25, 2018 • Seaside Signal • seasidesignal.com
SignalViewpoints
A too-timely presentation
S
afety plans were already in place in
Santa Fe, Texas, when on Friday,
May 18, a shooter killed 10 and
injured 13, including an armed student
resource officer.
According to the Washington Post,
the school district had an active-shoot-
er plan and two armed police officers
walked the halls of the high school.
School district leaders had even agreed
last fall to eventually arm teachers and
staff under the state’s school marshal
program.
Policies and procedures worked, J.R.
“Rusty” Norman, the president of the
Santa Fe school district’s board of trust-
ees, told reporters. “Having said that, the
way things are, if someone wants to get
into a school to create havoc, they can
do it.”
The timing, for Seaside, is chilling.
EVE MARX
Maxwell and Sam in Los Angeles, circa 1990.
SEASIDE HIGH SCHOOL
Student protocol for a “lockdown” scenario.
I
‘Locks, lights, out of sight’
Three days earlier I listened to Sea-
side High School principal Jeff Roberts
present the district’s new safety plan
to members of the district’s board of
directors.
“The fact that we have to have a con-
versation like this is incredibly unfortu-
nate,” Roberts said.
“Seaside High School’s Safety Plan
and What Students, Staff and Parents
Need to Know” offers four respons-
es to emergency situations: lockout,
lockdown, evacuate and shelter. The
plan, developed in conjunction with law
enforcement and emergency planners,
presents a “plain language response for
any given scenario.”
With years of preparation for the Big
One — a Cascadia Subduction Zone
earthquake and tsunami — Seaside kids
are well-versed in evacuation and shelter
aspects of the plan. Students’ “You can’t
stop this wave” campaign helped raise
tsunami awareness throughout the com-
munity and spurred passage of the 2015
bond for a new campus in the Southeast
Hills out of the inundation zone.
Drills for school lockdown and lock-
out scenarios are not as common.
Dangerous events in the community,
or even a vicious dog on the playground,
would be examples of incidents calling
for a lockout response. Officials secure
the perimeter, while students and staff
“get inside and lock outside doors.” For
the most part, classes proceed as usual.
Students may be required to remain in
the building until the threat is mitigated.
The lockdown protocol is used
when there is a threat inside the school
building.
In a lockdown, “locks, lights, out
of sight” is the mantra. Exterior doors
remain open to allow access by first
responders. Students are advised to
move out of sight, maintain silence, keep
interior doors shut and take attendance to
account for anyone missing.
Communications are kept at a
minimum. Cellphone ringers are silent,
although students may text updates and
information to parents or first respond-
ers. Inside doors are locked; outside
doors remain open to allow entry for first
responders.
If students can safely exit the build-
ing, they are advised to run.
If they cannot remove themselves
from the situation, they should “fight any
threat as a last resort,” according to the
SEASIDE HIGH SCHOOL
Protocol for a “lockout” scenario.
SEEN FROM SEASIDE
R.J. MARX
protocol.
“That sounds pretty awful for us to
even have to talk about,” Roberts said.
“But we want them to know they have to
do that.”
Security built-in
Significant changes in daily campus
life are already well underway. “It’s a
little inconvenience now, but it’s worth
it,” school board member Michelle Wun-
derlich said at the presentation.
High school doors formerly open
are now locked; visitors are directed to
the main west entrance to check into
the main office. Staff or students are
empowered to stop visitors and ask what
they are doing in school.
New radios increase communication
among the leadership team and main
office personnel. All staff wear name
badges. Emergency response information
is posted in every classroom.
Seaside’s new campus debuts in
September 2020. Security is built into
the design.
Each school will have a secure entry
vestibule, according to project manager
Jim Henry.
Visitors will be stopped, then buzzed
into the office area to be assessed.
Staff will use card keys for entry and
push-button locks installed in the entries.
Entry vestibules will be fitted with
either bullet-resistant ballistic glass or
ballistic laminate.
MICHAEL CIAGLO/HOUSTON CHRONICLE VIA AP
A woman prays in the grass outside
the Alamo Gym where parents wait
to reunite with their kids following
a shooting at Santa Fe High School
Friday, May 18, in Santa Fe, Texas.
For parents, visitors
This conversation goes well beyond
students and staff. Parents and visitors
can make a difference by discarding their
preconceptions about what school was
like when “they were growing up.” It’s
changed.
Here are some other ways to keep our
schools safer:
• When visiting the high school,
use the main west entrance and sign in
promptly.
• Familiarize yourself with the safety
plan’s four emergency protocols.
• Widen the conversation — look at
how much this community has accom-
plished in drawing attention to tsunami
awareness.
• Don’t lose hope. Every student lost
to a shooting is a human being — some-
one’s child.
Confidential tip line
SafeOregon, a program created for Oregon
students, parents, school staff, community mem-
bers and law enforcement officers, offers a way
to report safety threats. An anonymous system
allows anyone in the community to provide a tip
for anything ranging from bullying to a threat of
violence against the school. Tips are promptly
analyzed and forwarded to designated person-
nel who can provide further assistance in resolv-
ing reported incidents.
Two tips have come in since September, high
school principal Jeff Roberts said, both involving
conflicts between students and subsequently
peacefully resolved.
MEETINGS
MONDAY, May 28
Seaside City Council, 7 p.m.,
City Hall, 989 Broadway.
TUESDAY, June 5
Community and Senior Cen-
ter Commission, 10:30 a.m.,
1225 Avenue A., Seaside.
Seaside Library Board, 4:30
p.m., 1131 Broadway, Seaside.
mission, 6 p.m., City Hall, 989
Broadway.
Commission, 5 p.m., 415 First
Avenue.
of Directors, 6 p.m., 1801 S.
Franklin, Seaside.
Gearhart City Council, 7 p.m.,
698 Pacific Way, Gearhart.
Cannon Beach Academy,
5:30 p.m. 3718 S. Hemlock St.,
Cannon Beach.
Seaside Planning Commis-
sion, work session, 7 p.m., City
Hall, 989 Broadway.
Gearhart Planning Commis-
sion, 6 p.m., 698 Pacific Way,
Gearhart.
WEDNESDAY, June 20
THURSDAY, June 7
Seaside Parks Advisory Com-
mittee, 7 p.m., City Hall, 989
Broadway.
TUESDAY, June 19
Seaside Planning Commis-
sion, 7 p.m., City Hall, 989
Broadway.
MONDAY, June 11
WEDNESDAY, June 6
THURSDAY, June 14
Seaside Improvement Com-
Seaside Convention Center
Seaside City Council, 7 p.m.,
City Hall, 989 Broadway.
PUBLISHER
EDITOR
Kari Borgen
R.J. Marx
The sound of
children laughing
Sunset Empire Park and Rec-
reation District, Bob Chisholm
Community Center, 5:15 p.m.,
1225 Avenue A., Seaside.
Seaside School District Board
CIRCULATION
MANAGER
PRODUCTION
MANAGER
Jeremy Feldman
John D. Bruijn
ADVERTISING
SALES
SYSTEMS
MANAGER
April Olsen
Carl Earl
CLASSIFIED
SALES
Danielle Fisher
STAFF WRITER
Brenna Visser
CONTRIBUTING
WRITERS
Skyler Archibald
Rebecca Herren
Katherine Lacaze
Eve Marx
Esther Moberg
Jon Rahl
Seaside Tourism Advisory
Committee, 3 p.m., 989 Broad-
way.
THURSDAY, June 21
Seaside Transportation Advi-
sory Commission, 6 p.m., City
Hall, 989 Broadway.
recently remarked to a friend the pleasure I get living in
a neighborhood where there are young kids.
“Not just kids on vacation, “ I said, “but kids who
live here.” Given the state of the world, it’s easy enough to
feel grim. So I look for bits of joy where I can. It’s joyful
to me to hear and see children playing. I’m a great candi-
date to live next door to a playground. True, young voices
can be shrill. They can be loud. But hey, my husband plays
the saxophone, which, depending on your mood, is noise
or a joyful sound.
Prior to moving
to the Pacific
VIEW FROM
Northwest, for
THE PORCH
20-plus years we
EVE MARX
lived in a family
neighborhood. It
was a great town
to raise kids. On our street, the kids ranged in age from
newborn infants to kids heading off to college. A great
thing was there was always a responsible teenager around
available for babysitting.
Some people object to living in close proximity to kids.
That’s why retirement communities were created. Some
people don’t care for the sound of raucous laughter, joyful
screaming, or balls bounced into their yard. They say these
sounds interrupt their reading or their peaceful gardening.
They regard these sounds as noise.
Our first home in L.A. was an adorable, tiny cottage
in Venice Beach with a fenced-in yard. The house had a
second rental unit, an apartment over a detached garage. A
guy in his 30s lived in it; he had to pass through the yard
to get to the shared laundry, otherwise we were assured of
the yard’s exclusive use. So I was none too pleased within
24 hours of moving in, the man came over to tell me to
keep my son indoors. “I cannot stand the sound of children
laughing,” he said warningly. I crossed my arms over my
chest and said, “Not happening. ”
A few weeks later, my son asked if a little girl he liked
at his preschool could come over. They played in the back
yard which had grass and a little shaded area where I’d
set up a child sized table and chairs for their snack. I’d
just handed them juice boxes and oatmeal cookies before
stepping inside to get dinner going. From the kitchen win-
dow, I could see the backyard. I wasn’t inside two minutes
when my son and his little friend appeared at the kitchen
door. They were very excited.
“Mommy that man says he has a gun and he’ll shoot us
if we don’t stop laughing,” my son said.
I dropped the potato I was peeling and rushed outside.
There was our neighbor, brandishing a pistol.
“I told you I cannot stand the sound of children
laughing, “ he said again. I pulled the children inside and
called the police who showed up a remarkable four hours
later. After a brief conversation, they said the man would
probably continue to make threats and there was no way
of predicting if he would shoot a kid. They advised me to
move, which we did.
Years later as I write this in my Seaside backyard,
over the back fence the father of three kids admonished
his daughter to be quiet. The girl, who is about 10, and
the boy, who is about 7, were playing a game. They were
laughing uproariously. “Nobody wants to hear that noise,”
he said.
I know they have a toddler who probably takes after-
noon naps, and that is probably why he shushed her. Still,
it took all my self-control not to call out to him, “Please
don’t tell her to be quiet on my behalf.”
LETTERS
Irresponsible leadership
Beware Seaside; SEPRD board and executive director
want to raise your taxes by $250 to $450 per year!
These amounts were announced at the recent board meet-
ing on May 15. Perhaps more taxpayers should attend!
The SEPRD board has already spent many thousands of
your tax dollars on consultants and others in an attempt to
develop support for a larger aquatic center and mixed use
buildings. As one who has used the aquatic facility for at least
seven years, I can tell you that it isn’t needed or wanted by
the users.
I have watched the gradual decline of the pool since the
arrival of Skylar Archibald as executive director of SEPRD.
Skylar apparently had no experience in facility management
and it shows in what has happened since he came here.
The pools have “crud” on the stainless steel that surrounds
them. They used to be shiny and bright. The men’s locker
room was destroyed by what was supposed to be a renovation
last year. To date, nothing has been done to fix the very obvi-
ous problems created. Please stop by and look for yourself.
These are just two examples of a complete lack of stew-
ardship on the part of the board and executive director. Are
you going to let these people have more of your tax dollars?
John Huismann
Cannon Beach
Seaside Signal
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