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About Seaside signal. (Seaside, Or.) 1905-current | View Entire Issue (June 8, 2018)
SEASIDESIGNAL.COM OUR 112th YEAR • June 8, 2018 Center breaks ground in Seaside » SAFETY EVENT DRAWS A CROWD « Shovels hit the dirt as renovation officially begins By R.J. Marx Seaside Signal Back in 1970, no one was sure if the $300,000 construction bond for the Seaside Civic and Convention Center would ever pay off. “It was very controversial back in the day to invest that kind of money,” Mayor Jay Barber said. “People wondered, ‘Who’s going to come to Seaside?’” With the formation of a convention cen- ter committee, the building opened its doors the next fall and has entertained thousands of guests. Over the years, there have been two upgrades, in 1986 and 1991. Without upgrades, the convention cen- ter would be unable to compete with other venues throughout the state and Northwest region, general manager Russ Vandenberg told city councilors last summer. See Launch, Page 6A EVE MARX Ricky Rutkowski, 3½, loves his firefighter gear and spending time with his grandmother at the Seaside firehouse. Heineman tapped as new director of tourism Poised to start in July SEASIDE SAFETY FAIR Child car seat inspections, free smoke alarm program By R.J. Marx Seaside Signal K ids and their families received an inside look at fire safety and prevention on Saturday, June 2, at the Seaside Safety Fair. They also found volunteers ready to inspect child car seats, provide information on free smoke alarm in- stallation and offer a wide net of safety services. “North Coast Safe Kids is a group of agencies throughout Clatsop County that protect the safety of kids and families,” Division Chief Chris Dugan said at the fair. “What we have here is a number of private and public agencies that promote public safety.” This was the 15th year of the event, he added. Volunteers and staff from the Masonic Temple, Medix, Pacific Power, LifeFlight, the Red Cross and the Seaside Fire Department participated in the event, which ran from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Broad- way firehouse. EVE MARX Water rescue equipment on display at the Seaside Safety Fair. By R.J. Marx Seaside Signal Seaside chose Joshua Heineman as di- rector of tourism and marketing May 25. The position is charged with leading and di- recting the city’s tourism promo- tion and manage- ment. Jon Rahl, former director, was named assis- tant city manager in April. “We’re ex- R.J. MARX tremely excit- ed about Josh- Josh Heineman was ua joining our named Seaside’s team,” said Rus- director of tourism sell Vandenberg, marketing among four general manager candidates. for the Seaside Convention Center and Visitors Bureau, in a statement. Vandenberg praised Heineman’s “level of energy, motivation and commitment to community and collaboration that we felt was a perfect fit for both the city and our marketing efforts.” PAID PERMIT NO. 97 ASTORIA, OR PRSRT STD US POSTAGE See Heineman, Page 6A Rising star of Seaside’s interior design scene Interior designer and architect makes her mark By Eve Marx For Seaside Signal EVE MARX Amanda Laird provides a tour of a home she recently renovated. She was only in third grade when Amanda Laird knew what she wanted to do when she grew up. “Design was what intrigued me,” she said. “It stuck with me like noth- ing else.” Amanda Michelle Laird is a born- and-bred Seasider. She grew up in Sun- set Hills and graduated from Seaside High School with the Class of 2005. She graduated from the University of Oregon with a degree in architecture. While still a student, she bought and renovated a house in Eugene, which was her first major project. Returning to the coast in 2011, Laird was first was employed by To- lavana Architects in Cannon Beach where she was hired to work on the Mo’s renovation. It was a rough time for architects and instead of hiring, most firms were laying off. Undaunt- ed, she next found work as a designer for Sesame & Lilies. “I did kitchens, staging, we did a house in Cannon Beach,” Laird said. In 2014 Laird began doing her own thing. Her first company, which is still going strong, became Brass & Ink, a luxury tags and label business. She also started two other businesses, Amanda Laird Design and Pacific Lux Homes. “Brass & Ink was my focus,: Laird said. “I threw myself into building that business.” An opportunity arose to purchase and renovate an antique home in Seaside on Ninth Street. Although she started out with a contracting partner, Laird soon de- termined she’d be doing a lot of the work herself. “I laid tile. I caulked. I did all the interior painting,” she said. She was no stranger to physical work having done so much of it on the Eugene house. HGTV flew out in 2010 to film her working on the Eugene house, Laird said. She got the idea to purchase and renovate a house because she had her college costs covered by scholar- ships. “Obama was offering that first time homeowner tax credit,” she said. “I missed the deadline by three days, so I wasn’t able to take advantage.” Undaunted, she got her father to co-sign a loan; not long after she caught the attention of producers for a DIY Network show called “Ren- ovation Realities,” an HGTV sister network, who gave her $3,000 which she used to pay for a wood floor. The production company filmed an ep- isode of her working on the kitchen. See Laird, Page 7A