Friday, February 15, 2019 | Seaside Signal | SeasideSignal.com • A7
Enrollment increases in Seaside,
Warrenton pace county growth
Phillips: Board president
steps down in aftermath
of settlement
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
Continued from Page A1
School enrollment in
Clatsop County has grown
nearly twice as fast as the
state over the past fi ve years,
driven mainly by increases
in Warrenton and Sea-
side, while Astoria slowly
shrinks.
Enrollment, reported at
5,226 students in the fall,
has increased by 5 percent
over the past fi ve years. The
state has expanded from
567,100 students fi ve years
ago to 581,700 this fall, a 2.6
percent growth rate.
After surpassing 1,900
students for the fi rst time
since 2013, Astoria shrank
by nearly 2 percent to 1,881
students this fall. The school
district’s enrollment has
fallen nearly 3 percent since
its last high point of 1,937 in
2010.
Craig Hoppes, the school
superintendent in Asto-
ria, sees the lack of hous-
ing and living-wage jobs as
some of the biggest factors
in enrollment, along with
yearly infl ux and departure
of Coast Guard families.
“I can tell you from a
staff standpoint, based on
now versus how it was 15
years ago, we have more
staff that live outside Asto-
ria than in Astoria,” he said.
The school district’s
10-year projections call for
fairly steady enrollment,
Hoppes said, although edu-
cators are seeing a sustained
Vacancy on
school board
Seaside Signal
Edward Stratton/The Daily Astorian
Enrollment growth in Clatsop County has been nearly twice
as fast as the state, driven by increases in Warrenton and
Seaside.
increase in at-risk students
based on the number of free
and reduced-price lunches.
“I would assume that
it’s the nature of the type of
jobs that are available right
now,” he said of the growth
in lower-paying service sec-
tor positions. “I don’t think
Walmart’s paying $35 an
hour.”
Warrenton was at 1,041
students this fall, up slightly
from the previous year. The
school district has grown by
more than 22 percent since
2011, when it reported 849
students after several years
of shrinking enrollment.
Enrollment has stayed above
1,000 since 2015, but has
plateaued. The district esti-
mates enrollment will even-
tually peak at 1,159 students
in the 2024-25 school year.
Close on the heels of
Warrenton has been Seaside.
At 1,650 students this fall,
Seaside has grown by 4 per-
cent from last year, nearly
7.8 percent over the past fi ve
years and more than 12 per-
cent since 2011.
Knappa reported 499
students this fall, almost
unchanged from fi ve years
ago. Jewell School, a small,
rural, K-12 campus that
averages around 150 stu-
dents, reported 155 students.
The Seaside School
Board seeks candidates
for a vacancy left by the
resignation of Steve Phil-
lips. Phillips vacates
Zone 5, Position 1, which
is one of two Seaside
positions.
School board candi-
dates must be registered
voters who have lived
within the district for at
least one year. They may
not be employees of the
school district.
Community
mem-
bers wishing to be con-
sidered should sub-
mit a letter of interest to
the Seaside School Dis-
trict offi ce at 1801 South
Franklin Street, Seaside,
OR 97138. Applications
are due by noon Feb. 15.
Phillips’ replacement will
serve out his term through
June 30, and would have
to run for election this
May to continue serving.
For more information,
call 503-738-5591.
Growth in student enroll-
ment has slowed down state-
wide. After growing by more
than 2.2 percent between
2012 and 2015, enrollment
has grown by less than 1
percent over the past three
years.
Dance: Seaside families put on their dancing shoes
Continued from Page A1
The event, held Feb. 9 at
the Seaside Civic and Con-
vention Center, continues to
grow in popularity. The rea-
son for that was summed up
concisely by young partici-
pants as they identifi ed their
favorite part of the dance:
getting to spend time with
their dads.
The organizers do not
enforce that the attend-
ees only be father-daughter
duos or trios, though, and
open the event to grandfa-
thers, step-dads, uncles, and
other important adult fi gures
with whom the girls share a
meaningful relationship.
“It’s just a really spe-
cial evening of bonding,”
recreation program man-
ager Grace Lee said, adding,
“The main focus is to make
the girls feel special.”
The success in accom-
plishing that goal was evi-
dent as the young partic-
ipants twirled, leapt, and
glided across the dance
fl oor, laughing and talking
with their guardians and
friends as DJ Bruce Smith
presented an eclectic array
of pop music, oldies, and
Disney songs. The event,
sponsored by TLC Federal
Credit Union and Lum’s
Auto Center, also featured
face-painting,
drawings
with prizes, a photo booth,
dessert, and a candy buffet
provided by Bruce’s Candy
Kitchen.
Katherine Lacaze/For Seaside Signal
Dale Malvaney and his 10-year-old daughter Lily were
frequently on the dance fl oor during the Daddy Daughter
Dance held Feb. 9 at the Seaside Civic and Convention Center.
Although the Daddy
Daughter Dance is a highly
anticipated event for many
families in the community,
others were only introduced
to it this year.
Robert Spurgeon, whose
family has been in the area
about three years, said he
was not aware of the event
until his daughters, 9-year-
old Lilyan and 7-year-old
Isabella, received notices
at school that they brought
home — along with
excitement.
“They’ve talked about it
every second since they got
the fl yer,” he said.
A new addition
During the evening, a
group of father-daughter
duos danced a routine they
had learned earlier that day
at a special dance class put
on for members of Encore
Dance Studio. Instructors
from the studio also attended
the inaugural Mother Son
Dance, held Feb. 8, to teach
a few dance moves.
Because of the popular-
ity of the Daddy Daughter
Dance, many community
members requested the rec-
reation district add a paral-
lel event for moms and their
sons.
“We’ve been talking to
different moms in the com-
munity and it seemed they
were excited about the idea,”
Lee said. “We decided to go
ahead with it and try it out.”
As a pilot program, the
event received a positive
response, reportedly draw-
ing a packed house every
bit as energetic as the crowd
that attended the Daddy
Daughter Dance. Both
events were formatted simi-
larly, incorporating not only
dancing and refreshments
but also other activities to
keep attendees busy, includ-
ing an airplane-making con-
test, a scavenger hunt, and
dance contests.
The organizers’ inten-
tion, Lee said, is to make
the events not only fun and
exciting, but also an avenue
for parents and other guard-
ians to focus on and nurture
their relationships with their
children.
“You can see at the dance
the energy and if the kids
are interested,” she said. “If
the kids are having fun, the
(adults) are having fun, as
well.”
Newcomers: Club celebrates its fi rst year
Continued from Page A1
Newcomers club in Janu-
ary 2017. The club, which
six months ago changed its
name to North Coast New-
comers and Social Club
is celebrating its one year
anniversary.
“We had 15 people at our
fi rst meeting here at Sweet
Shop,” Ludy said. “We
now have 85 members. Not
everybody is a newcomer.”
Some members have lived
in the area for some time, but
for one reason or another
weren’t making new friends
or strong connections. “Our
club is unique; we don’t have
regular meetings. There are
no dues. There’s no politics.
We just have fun.”
The fun so far has been
wine tastings, painting
classes, garden events, walk-
ing. There is a Facebook
page (search for North Coast
Newcomers and Social Club)
where members post things
they are going to or want
to do, including movie out-
ings, conversations and cof-
fee, bicycle rides, and check-
ing out new restaurants.
Last spring, Ludy hosted at
her home a very successful
pot-luck Italian dinner night
she called “Mangia,” which
drew a substantial Italian
food loving crowd.
Kathy
Zimmerman
moved to Gearhart in
November 2017.
“I’d been coming to the
coast for years as a visitor,”
she said. “I met Ellie on the
beach with her dog and then
we met for coffee at Sweet
Shop.” Zimmerman attended
the club’s fi rst meeting and
has been an active member
from day one.
Members, Ludy said,
tend to be age 55 and up.
So far the club has attracted
mostly females, but it’s
never been Ludy’s intention
it be a women’s club.
“One of the goals for
2019 moving forward is to
make the club more inclu-
sive to families and part-
ners,” she said.
Members come from
as far away as Hillsboro
although the majority reside
from Astoria to Manzanita.
There’s always room for
new members.
“Our goal is to make
the experience of being in
the club richer,” Ludy said.
“More food related events,
more outdoor activities,
more walking, more hiking.”
Traci Williams, Sweet
Shop’s owner, is a member
of the club. Sweet Shop, in
fact, has become an infor-
mal hub.
“Traci’s always been a
supportive member,” Ludy
said. “Her living room style
lounge area in the shop is a
natural meeting point.”
After being a newcomer
club member for a year,
Zimmerman said she feels
she’s found a nurturing
community.
“We’ve bonded,” Zim-
merman said. “The people
who are active members are
actually here for each other.”
“I feel I have a richness
now,” Ludy said. “I feel like
the area is not just a place I
live, but a place I call home,
a place where I belong.”
two positions representing
Cannon Beach, stepped
down in January.
The district will appoint
replacements for both posi-
tions, Roley said. The seats
will then be up for election
in May, along with that
of vice-chairman Truax,
who conducted Thursday’s
meeting.
The district also approved
a time frame to look for an
assistant
superintendent.
Candidates will be selected
by board members for inter-
views next week. The posi-
tion is anticipated to suc-
ceed as superintendent after
Roley’s retirement.
An offer of employment
for the selected assistant
superintendent candidate is
expected on March 8.
Treatment center:
Opioid recovery clinic
heading to Seaside
Continued from Page A1
The Columbia Pacifi c
Coordinated Care Orga-
nization, which oversees
the Oregon Health Plan
in Clatsop, Columbia and
Tillamook counties, has
sought a local methadone
treatment option because
of the high cost of paying
for people to get help in
the Portland metro area.
Andy Mendenhall, the
chief medical offi cer at
Central City Concern,
which works on home-
less, poverty and addic-
tion issues in Portland,
said there is a lack of
treatment in rural areas.
Hospitalizations associ-
ated with opioid abuse
in the three counties are
well above the statewide
average.
“Part of the oppor-
tunity presented by the
CODA continuum here
in the Seaside community
is to provide a hub for
patients to receive treat-
ment,” he said.
“I see an opportunity
to close the treatment
gap, and allow people to
get treatment locally, and
that’s good for those indi-
viduals, their families and
the community.”
When the prospect for
a methadone clinic on
the North Coast surfaced
last summer, city leaders
in Astoria and Warrenton
recognized the need but
were cool to the idea of a
location in their cities.
The new clinic in
Seaside does not need
approval from the City
Council, Mayor Jay Bar-
ber said.
City Councilor Dana
Phillips said she is “proud
of CODA” and the work
they do. The provider has
40 years of experience in
treating opioid abuse.
But some in the city
are concerned the clinic
might be unwelcome and
add to public safety needs.
Brian Owen, the exec-
utive director of the Sea-
side Chamber of Com-
merce, said he anticipated
“a lot of questions and
misstatements and infor-
mation that is not read
completely through” from
people in the community.
Fire Chief Joey Dan-
iels asked if the clinic will
lead to an increase in call
loads. “We’re already lim-
ited in capabilities with
our resource and any call
is a taxing call already,”
he said.
Seaside Police Lt.
Bruce Holt called CODA’s
plan “intriguing,” but
sought more informa-
tion on how law enforce-
ment would work with the
clinic “to get help for peo-
ple we come across.”
Hartnett said emer-
gency calls from the
clinic would be more than
offset by fewer drug over-
doses and other drug-re-
lated emergencies.
DINING
on the
NORTH COAST
Great Restaurants in:
GEARHART • SEASIDE
CANNON BEACH
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from a family that has been serving
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Breakfast, lunch and
pasta,
Clam
dinner steaks & Chowder,
but that’s
not all...
menu,too!
seafood!
Salads!
Seaside • 323 Broadway • 738-7234 (Open 7 Days)
Cannon Beach • 223 S. Hemlock 436-2851 (7am-3pm Daily)
Astoria • 146 W. Bond • 325-3144
MAZATLAN
M E X I C A N R E S TA U R A N T
Phone 503-738-9678
1445 S. Roosevelt Drive • Seaside
WANNA KNOW WHERE THE LOCALS GO?
• Breakfast
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BEST
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Friday & Saturday - Prime Rib
Lounge Open Daily 9-Midnight
All Oregon Lottery products available
1104 S Holladay • 503-738-9701 • Open Daily at 8am