August 31, 2018 • Seaside Signal • seasidesignal.com • 5A
Physical education a key to the school experience
With the change in season from
summer to fall, so to comes signifi-
cant change for our community. The
number of guests visiting our com-
munity rapidly diminishes and sub-
sequently so does the flow of traffic.
The days get shorter and the weather
begins to turn, although it never real-
ly felt like we got to the meat of our
summer weather this year.
Another change is the return for
the children and youth of our com-
munity to begin school again. With
just two years left until the new
school buildings are open, each year
and experience will be memorable
as the future of the school district is
beaming with anticipation.
I recall fondly my first days each
year as a student first at Gearhart El-
SKY BOX
SKYLER ARCHIBALD
ementary then on to Broadway Mid-
dle School followed by four years
at Seaside High School. Although it
was some time ago, I can remember
dressing up in my best school clothes
for the big day and then promptly
ruining them during the first oppor-
tunity for recess or outside physical
education time.
When I moved back to this area
four years ago, I was unpleasant-
ly surprised when my kindergarten
daughter told me that she only had
P.E. one day a week. That 30-min-
ute session seemed too short to help
those kindergartners get all their
wiggles out!
That pattern has continued how-
ever both with my daughter and now
my son. They’ve each had terrific
experiences in physical education
working with Mr. Sigler a devoted
and experienced educator.
Now I know little of the require-
ments and restrictions that the school
district experiences with managing
the educational experiences of some
1,500 children so this thought is not
a criticism. Rather, it’s a bemoaning
of the current state of our society
where educators and administrators
must choose between educating chil-
dren for the future or helping them
get their appropriate exercise time
— both are obviously worthwhile
pursuits.
I was thrilled when I heard that
each of the elementary schools in
the Seaside School District would be
getting their own P.E. teachers in the
coming year, with the eventual goal
of returning that important activity
time to the schedule for every stu-
dent every single day!
The legislators in Oregon cer-
tainly had a hand in this change with
House Bill 3141 in 2007 and Sen-
ate Bill 4 in 2017 helping schools
throughout the state with clarifica-
tion and flexibility in phasing in the
change to encourage more activity in
students.
But the main point here is that
students today, perhaps more than
ever, need that activity time found
in physical education settings. Brent
Courtney (D-Salem) said as much
regarding the bill in 2007. “Physical
education helps children maintain
a healthy weight and build strong
bones. It reduces the risk of obesity
and related conditions such as dia-
betes and heart disease. It has even
been shown to reduce anxiety and
depression, leading to better mental
health.”
I echo Mr. Courtney’s thoughts
and urge all of us to make more time
for physical activity in our lives. It
benefits our children and youth yes,
but it also benefits each of us to
move and to play, and the more we
do it, the better our bodies are!
SEAL’S
THE
DEAL
R.J. MARX
Patti’s Wicker Cafe.
Seaside Signal
The best kept
secret in town
I
t is almost impossible to
exaggerate the quality
and charm of Patty’s
Wicker Cafe. There is a
small spiral notebook for
suggestions on each table.
In 10 years and hundreds of
notebooks, no one has ever
made a suggestion. You can’t
improve on perfection.
Patty’s is a romantic’s
gourmet with all the trim-
mings, a quiet place where
she serves hash browns and
eggs, succulent Reuben’s
and a seafood chowder that
would have earned a nod
from Julia Child. Seth, the
maitre d’ and head waiter has
the polish and patience of a
highly paid butler.
There is a whole room
dedicated to Humphrey Bog-
art, Patty’s obsession, posters,
biographies, rare articles, and
a life size replica of the “Mal-
Public Works Director Dale
McDowell captured this photo
of a male California sea lion sun-
ning himself near Quatat Park in
downtown Seaside on Aug. 24.
GUEST COLUMN
BOB DIETSCHE
tese Falcon.” Exotic plants
are everywhere, and some
people come as much for the
view as the cooking. A cou-
ple of cautions: don’t ask for
ketchup, turn down your cell
phones. Patty is a confirmed
Luddite with the old-fash-
ioned belief that people ought
to talk to each other.
If all the above sounds
a bit thick, it’s supposed to,
because: If you haven’t been
to Patty’s, you haven’t been
to Seaside.
Bob Dietsche, author of
“Jumptown: The Golden
Age of Portland Jazz” and
“Tatum’s Town: The early
years of Art Tatum.”
MEETINGS
TUESDAY, Sept. 4
Seaside Community Center Commission, 10 a.m., Bob Chisholm
Community Center,1225 Avenue A.
Seaside Library Board, 4:30 p.m., Seaside Library, 1131 Broadway.
Seaside Planning Commission, 7 p.m., City Hall, 989 Broadway.
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 5
Seaside Improvement Commission, 6 p.m., City Hall, 989 Broad-
way.
MONDAY, Sept. 10
Seaside City Council, 7 p.m., City Hall, 989 Broadway.
DALE MCDOWELL
A simple smile can lift your mood
and bring happiness in return
H
aving lived approximately half
of my adult life amongst other
cultures on other continents,
I became accustomed to greeting
everyone I encountered according
to their respective, varied customs.
However, what these greetings all had
in common was a true and generous
smile. To venture into a shop or to
simply pass one on the street without
extending such a greeting was not only
rude but often insulting!
Not so here in the U.S. Courtesies
of the past appear no longer in vogue,
and people go about their business
without much concern for others. There
are of course, exceptions, and I don’t
believe that individuals are necessar-
ily, purposely, being rude. However,
working with the public on a daily basis
and having read recent, local commen-
tary about declining manners, I feel
compelled to not only reflect the change
I hope to see but to also write a short
commentary to encourage others to do
likewise!
And… if I were to choose one thing
to encourage everyone to practice on
GUEST COLUMN
BARBARA HASSAN
a daily basis, it’s to SMILE! The old
saying proves true; that smiling is con-
tagious! Seriously (no pun intended),
it’s scientifically proven! Research has
also shown that smiling can make you
appear younger, thinner, and actually
increase your lifespan! No kidding!
According to Wayne State University
research (2010), pre-1950 major league
baseball players who didn’t smile in
photos lived and average of 72.9 years;
whereas those who smiled broadly lived
an average of nearly 80 years!
That may be due to the fact that
not only does smiling boost mood by
increasing endorphins in the brain, but
(according to biochemists) smiling re-
leases tension down to the cellular lev-
el! Conversely, stress is a contributing
factor to virtually all physical illness; as
well as viral infections from impaired
immunity, allergies, asthma, and mental
illness… So what’s the downside of do-
pamine and serotonin releases similar to
eating 2,000 bars of chocolate? All-that-
and-a (conjectural) box-of-chocolates
from a simple smile that costs nothing
and is calorie free! Even a forced smile,
detached from fear or anger, can pro-
duce similar health effects.
Studies also suggest that others will
consider you more courteous, com-
petent, and likable when you smile,
and that relationships will prove more
successful. And research supports the
concept of “mood migration”; that your
smile causes a release of mood boost-
ing chemicals in the brains of others,
simultaneously uplifting the mood of
whomever your smile graces! Express-
ing happiness with a simple smile caus-
es others to smile back; scientifically
substantiating that when you smile, the
world smiles with you! …And you have
a beautiful smile!
Barbara Hassan Retired RN/USAF;
currently employed part-time as front
desk staff at Sunset Empire Park and
Recreation District
LETTERS
Sunset Empire
bond would
be a burden
I’m a regular user of the
Seaside Empire Park and Rec-
reation District facilities, and
have heard all of the excite-
ment regarding the expansion.
We are a retired couple, on a
fixed income and another ad-
dition to our taxes is a burden.
Has the commission as-
signed with this expansion ex-
hausted all options of federal
grants before putting this on
the ballot this November? I,
personally, have investigated
grants and found several for
a smaller community such as
Seaside. I think it would be
less expensive to hire a grant
writer, and use the money we
have already paid in taxes,
than make us pay anew.
Lindsey Morrison
Seaside
Second
thoughts?
I have been talking to sev-
eral people who say they wish
they could go back and vote
on the Seaside High School
bond, again. They would vote
no!
It seems that there are sur-
prises frequently popping up.
And, now it is the old devel-
opers’ hat trick, mitigation
again. I have always won-
dered how the fish and wild-
life know how to travel the
many miles, crossing high-
ways, residential areas and
towns to get to where they are
now supposed to live.
Do the developers post maps
on the trees and in the streams
for the wildlife to follow?
It is no wonder there are so
many endangered and extinct
animals with their old habitats
now mitigated many miles
from where they have lived
for centuries.
Claudia Stanton
Seaside
Oppose ruling
at Sunset Lake
The Oregon State Marine
Board wants to restrict towed
water sports on Sunset (Nea-
coxie) Lake. The proposed
amended rule (250-020-0041)
would restrict towed water
sports, on all Clatsop Coun-
ty bodies of water, where
there is currently a 10-mph
speed restriction. The current
rule 250-020-0041 limits the
speed to 10-mph.
I know many of you (like
me) tow tubes on Sunset
(Neacoxie) Lake without
incident. The lake has little
motorized boat activity and
is very well self-regulated.
The south end of the lake has
plenty of room to pull our
kids and grand-kids around
without boater conflict or en-
dangering public safety. We
view the lake every day and
boat traffic is limited to an oc-
casional kayak, fishing boat
or tube being towed.
The restriction removes an
activity that many homeown-
ers in the area have enjoyed
for years. Losing it also re-
moves a valued amenity at-
tached to the homes and prop-
erty in the area.
Please join me in opposi-
tion to this ruling. In the Ore-
gon State Marine Boards own
words “The towed water sport
restriction is needed to sup-
port the current regulations,
enhance safety and assist in
the reduction of boater con-
flict in light of changing boat-
ing use and technology.” We
do not need this restriction on
Sunset (Neacoxie) Lake and I
do not want to lose the valued
activity.
Send written comments by
mail, fax, or email by 30 Sep-
tember to June LeTarte, rules
coordinator, Oregon State
Marine Board
435 Commercial St NE, Sa-
lem, OR 97301; fax, 503-378-
4597; email, osmb.rulemak-
ing@oregon.gov.
Patrick Duhachek
Warrenton
Thank you
to Seaside
My family has been visiting
Seaside and Gearhart from Port-
land for more than a half centu-
ry. We’ve watched the area grow
and change over the decades,
but we still love coming back
as often as possible, in no small
part because it has never lost the
familiar small-town feel of the
communities. This was abun-
dantly clear on a recent week-
end, when an unknown thought-
ful, honest person saved me a
lot of time and trouble. After
dropping my wife off at yoga, I
parked at Broadway and Edge-
wood, on the south side of the
street. I was crossing the street
(confession: Dundee dough-
nut addiction) when I dropped
some papers in the middle of the
street. I knelt down to pick them
up, with my keys still in hand.
Apparently, I later discov-
ered, when I bent down to
pick up the papers, a single
key on a separate chain that
I added to my chain just that
morning — broke.
Much later, back in Gearhart,
I realized the key to our condo
was missing. Frantic searches
turned up nothing. With almost
zero optimism, I drove back to
the intersection and looked un-
der the car that was then parked
there, and found nothing. For
no particular reason, I wandered
across the street to the northeast
corner of the intersection, and
stood there vacantly for a few
seconds, when I glanced at the
garbage can there. The key and
broken link chain were care-
fully placed on top of the can,
waiting for my return. Five
hours had passed since I lost
the key. Someone thoughtfully
placed it “safely” on the can,
and then countless hundreds of
residents and tourists passed it,
leaving it there undisturbed.
Thank you, Seaside.
James C. Greenblatt
Portland
the
Columbia
Sunday, October 14, 2018
10K Run/Walk across the Astoria-Megler Bridge
GreatColumbiaCrossing.com
PRESENTING SPONSOR
Registration: $40 per person.
T-shirt: $15-$17 each.
NEW THIS YEAR:
Chip-timing for all participants.
Full bridge closure to vehicles.