May 25, 2018 • Seaside Signal • seasidesignal.com • 5A
A crystal ball for the library’s future
S
pring is in the air and in my
current position as president
elect of the Oregon Library
Association, this month I am
heading off to see the cherry
blossoms on Capitol Hill. I will be
in Washington, D.C., as part of the
National Library Legislative Day
to talk to legislators about Oregon
libraries. When I say that I am
talking to legislators about libraries,
the first thing people ask me is if
libraries are in trouble. The good
news is, the answer is no. Most
libraries in Oregon and across the
United States are not in trouble.
In fact, the most ill-informed, fake
news these days is that libraries are
going away. Libraries are here to
stay because libraries are so much
more than just a book on a shelf.
They are community centers for
information and resources both
printed and digital.
Many people visit their library
for resources from A-to-Zed.
Job seekers, food handlers cards,
computer use, free Wi-Fi, DMV
manuals, photocopies, printing out
travel boarding passes, these are
just a few of the zillions of reasons
people visit the library. I’ve had
people come to us for books when
they are going through a divorce,
books on self-help, learning a new
skill or hobby, travel, whatever it is
you are doing in life, chances are we
have a resource or book you need, or
BETWEEN
THE COVERS
ESTHER MOBERG
at the very least can point you in the
right direction. So, while the reason
I am going to our nation’s capital is
very important, but it doesn’t mean
libraries are in crisis.
I will be one of four librarians
from Oregon representing at the
national legislative day for libraries,
along with other librarians from
across the United States. At this
two day event, one day for training,
and one day for meeting with the
legislators, we plan to talk to all of
our Oregon representatives about
two things. The first is the Institute
of Museum and Library Services
federal grant. The Institute of
Museum and Library Services is the
primary source of federal support for
the nation’s libraries and museums.
Their goal is to advance, support,
and empower America’s museums,
libraries, and related organizations
through grant making, research, and
policy development. Their vision is a
nation where museums and libraries
work together to transform the lives
of individuals and communities. You
can visit them for more information
at www.imls.org.
Many libraries receive a small
amount of money through the
institute grant annually in Oregon
(typically between $1,000 to $5,000
per library based on population
served) as an annual grant called
the Ready to Read grant. The goal
of this Ready to Read grant is
focused on early literacy readiness
for all children in Oregon. For small
libraries in our state, this is often
the only budget they have for their
library programs and especially for
their summer reading. The Seaside
Library uses this grant every year
for our summer reading programs
to help keep children engaged in
reading all summer long.
Other grants in our area that the
institute grant has supported includes
the start of the libraries reading out-
reach program. Through this grant we
were able to help offset the gaps in
library services in our community by
providing free library cards for kids
throughout our entire county. The
entire program for Libraries ROCC
started with this grant back in 2009
and is still going strong today with
a very sustainable model, thanks to
the first few years supported by this
grant. Because of this, children who
are nine years old have had access to
a free library card in this county every
year they have been alive.
The other talking point we feel
is very important is inexpensive
broadband Internet access through
libraries. By making sure this access
SEASIDE SIGNAL
Esther Moberg, president of the Oregon Library Association and director
of the Seaside Library.
is affordable through libraries,
we will reduce the digital divide
gaps through services provided by
libraries throughout Oregon. Our
library is fortunate in that we have
fiber optic which is very high speed
internet service. However, for many
rural libraries they often have slow
or even dial up internet access. This
may be the only internet access for
folks in some areas across Oregon.
Douglas County and Jackson County
have had the least amount of access
with lack of funding even to keep
their libraries open.
Librarians believe we should con-
tinue to break down barriers between
those who have access or not and
broadband access within the library
is one of those ways. Every day,
people walk in the Seaside Library
with little to no understanding of
how to use a computer for the most
basic of searches or job applications
because every new option can be
confusing if you are not constantly
using a computer. We would hope
that someday through more advoca-
cy and training, along with afford-
able access to broadband internet,
this will be a thing of the past and
proficiency online won’t be based on
how much money you have or where
you live.
Remembering Victor the lobster
Remembering
the life of the
aquarium’s
mascot, Victor the
lobster
By Rebecca Herren
Seaside Signal
FIRE MOUNTAIN SCHOOL
Kids at Fire Mountain School around the May pole.
Engaging students,
engaged in community
By Liz Beckman
Fire Mountain School
Imagine this: first- and
second-graders
studying
their local watershed and
visiting the local water de-
partment so that they can
understand where the water
they drink comes from and
why we have a responsibil-
ity to keep our streams and
rivers clean. Or this: third-
and fourth-graders survey-
ing the number of visitors
for the local state park to de-
termine if needs of the visi-
tors are being met. These are
hands-on experiences for el-
ementary students, but they
are also examples of democ-
racy in action, an effort to
educate young citizens who
will understand the impor-
tance of being actively en-
gaged in their communities.
In place-based education
schools and local organiza-
tions become partners with
students. The authenticity
of each project they create
together guides students to
feel like citizens who are
participating in their com-
munity.
Place-based education
is a style of schooling that
immerses students in local
history, cultures, environ-
ment, economy, literature,
and art, using these as a
foundation for the study of
language arts, mathematics,
social studies, science and
other subjects across the
curriculum. PBE emphasiz-
es learning through partici-
pation in service projects in
the immediate schoolyard,
neighborhood, town or
community.
Many parents focus on
exposing their children to
the big wide world and have
them take in the magnitude
to enlighten and enrich
them. But children tend to
focus on their immediate
surroundings. While the vis-
ta may be spectacular, the
rocks underfoot or the moss
growing on the bark of a
tree are closer and often of
more interest in their world.
Encouraging curiosity helps
children build confidence to
explore a bigger world.
The goal of place-based
education is for children
to learn about and love
the place where they live
enough to want to become
actively engaged in caring
for their community. When
students are engaged in proj-
ects that satisfy some levels
of their curiosity, they be-
come interested in acquiring
the core academic skill of
reading, writing, and math.
These subjects become tools
to explore the world rather
than simply assignments.
They begin to see that learn-
ing is not something that
you just do at school — it is
part of everyday life.
More than 100 years ago,
John Dewey wrote about the
value of teaching hands-on
democracy. He wrote, ”ed-
ucation is the preparation
for the social position of
life, the preparation of the
individual to play his prop-
er part in the community or
state of which he is a mem-
ber.”
For more information
visit FireMountainSchool.
org or email firemountain-
school@gmail.com.
It was early in 1993 when
the Seaside Aquarium became
the new owners of one very
large lobster. The lobster orig-
inally was caught off the coast
of Maine by commercial fish-
ermen for Safeway and had
been placed in the holding
tank ready to be sold. Howev-
er, it was a large lobster and,
as any lobster devotee knows,
lobsters are sold by the pound.
At April’s History and Hops
lecture presented by the Seaside
Museum and Historical Society
at Seaside Brewing Co., Keith
Chandler, general manager of
the Seaside Aquarium, recalled
the story of the much-admired
lobster named Victor.
Safeway store manager at
the time Vickie Forney removed
the lobster from the confines of
the tank and donated it to the
aquarium. Chandler said they
held a name-the-lobster contest
and Victor as in “victory over
death” suggested by a local nun
was chosen. “She was a nun
and I wasn’t going to go against
the church,” Chandler quipped,
adding the name was also to
honor Forney who was kind
enough to rescue Victor from
the tank and an ignoble death.
At the aquarium, Victor was
placed in a shallow tank for all
to admire. Much like many
firsts for the aquarium, Victor
became headline news. It was
Sunday, Sept. 4, 1994, of La-
bor Day weekend, Chandler
recalled, and Becky Bierly was
taking tickets when she noticed
a man walking out with Victor
under his arm. Frantically, Bier-
ly called Chandler who, with a
baseball bat in hand, gave chase.
Chandler spotted the thief
with Victor under his arm run-
ning down the Prom. Chandler
is in quick pursuit and eventual-
ly confronts the man who drops
the lobster and retreats. Though
it appeared to be in good shape,
SEASIDE AQUARIUM
The aquarium’s Tom Thies examined Victor the lobster after it was stolen and dropped by a
hungry thief in September 1994.
Victor landed on a curb and had
cracked his shell. Unfortunate-
ly, there was no happy ending
for Victor the lobster. He died
four days later, succumbing to
internal injuries.
Police found Terry Lutz,
35, of Estacada and arrested
him on a theft charge. The case
was handed over to a newly
sworn-in Clatsop County Dis-
trict Attorney Josh Marquis.
One of Marquis’ passions he
said, during a phone interview,
is animal rights. Unfortunately,
animal rights laws in the 1990s
were not what they are now,
Marquis pointed out.
“I couldn’t get (Lutz) him
for cruelty to animals because
you can boil lobster when
they’re alive. [Victor] he was
a priceless lobster that’s only
worth so much per pound ac-
cording to the law,” Marquis
explained. “No one knew how
to care for a lobster that the law
considers a giant insect,” noting
that no local veterinarian was
trained to care for crustaceans.
The best Marquis could do
was to charge Lutz with theft II,
a misdemeanor. Lutz pleaded
guilty to second-degree theft,
received 18 months of proba-
tion, ordered to perform 120
hours of community service,
and pay $800 to the aquarium.
Lobsters are known to live
over 120 years, Chandler said.
powered by
At the time of Victor’s death,
he weighed 28 pounds and was
estimated to be 80 years old.
When asked why Lutz stole
the lobster, Marquis answered,
“He was hungry.”
Marquis said he is not a
vegetarian and enjoys eating
lobster, but, as he continued,
“anyone knows you don’t want
to eat a lobster that old.”
The news about the ab-
duction, capture and death
of Victor the lobster traveled
worldwide. “It was staggering
that the news traveled all the
way to Australia,” Marquis
said. “It’s hilarious. It was so
bizarre that (this story) has
gotten more publicity than any
other case I worked on.”
True, the news went glob-
al. Paul Harvey, a well-known
radio broadcaster reported the
theft to his audiences. Marquis
received a call from Susan
Orlean, a writer for The New
Yorker, to fact check the story.
Orlean mentions the case in a
2002 article titled, “The Lady
and the Tigers” as well as in
her book, “My Kind of Place.”
There’s also a paragraph men-
tioned in “The Mammoth
Book of Weird News.”
As for Terry Lutz, more
trouble followed. It seems he
has a long history of violence
and a very long criminal record.
Before the abduction of Victor,
Lutz was convicted of animal
abuse in 1988 when he shot
an officer’s canine partner. He
received jail time in 1982 for
child neglect, and in 1996, Lutz
received 30 years for attempt-
ed murder, and is currently in
Snake River prison until 2022.
Victor is fondly remem-
bered. After his death, Victor
was sent to Kent Israel Taxi-
dermy and is on full display
inside a closed case for all to,
once again, admire.
LEWIS & CLARK
TIMBERLANDS
Recreational Access
Permit Public Notice
All recreational
activities on Lewis
& Clark Timberlands
Oregon will require
a no fee recreational
permit effective
June 1, 2018
To acquire a permit (available 5/21/18): Go
online to greenwoodresources.com and click
on Recreation Access, or Scan the QR code
using your smartphone at one of our access
gate signs. Call 503.755.6655 for recorded
information.
music fi rst
Our goal is to provide a quality recreational
experience while improving communications
with our timberland visitors.