Friday, May 24, 2019 | Seaside Signal | SeasideSignal.com • A5
Remembering Bob Chisholm, inspiration for the center
T
he Bob Chisholm Community
Center has been a hub of com-
munity activity for well over
30 years now. The building was orig-
inally part of the local Catholic Par-
ish and later became the property of
the city of Seaside. The exact dates
of that transaction vary depending
on who you ask, but it seems that the
facts in the matter are, for the time
being, lost to our communal memory.
The original building, known
then as the Seaside Community
Center, reminded me of a sal-
‘THE BOB’
DARREN GOOCH
tine cracker box laid on its side.
What we know today as the “main
hall” was the totality of the build-
ing. It was a multi-purpose space
that was a gymnasium with a
small kitchen, offi ce, and a bath-
room. The building functioned as a
meeting and small event space for
things like weddings, birthday par-
ties, family reunions, and a variety
of city department functions.
The year 1994 was a turning
point for the center. It was that year
when then Public Works Director,
Bob Chisholm, pressed City Coun-
cil members to allocate the needed
dollars to renovate and expand the
building. By the following year
the construction concluded and the
center had easily doubled in size,
adding a commercial kitchen, two
meeting rooms, a day room, and a
good sized offi ce. Two years later,
in August of 1997, Bob Chisholm
died attempting to save a man
drowning in the surf just off of the
Seaside beach. It was shortly after
that event that the City Council
voted to approve the dedication of
the building in Bob’s memory.
Fast forward to today and the
center has just completed a sub-
stantial renovation of the Main
Hall. The hall received only the
most modest treatment during the
1994 expansion and was in need of
a complete refresh. The acoustics
have improved dramatically and
the lighting is amazing. The new
fl ooring materials and wall treat-
ments have all come together to
create a dramatic space, perfect for
special occasions. If you haven’t
visited in a while, stop by and see
how beautiful the new space is.
Every month, The BOB will
bring you information on current
events and items of interest here at
the center. See you next month!
Finding a sense of harmony and balance in our coastal communities
S
pring is here, edging into
summer. Birds and blossoms
abound. Time to celebrate.
Celebrate Marni Beemer’s 99th
birthday later this week. I want to
become Marnie Beemer when I
grow up; don’t you? She inspires
with her wicked sense of humor,
strong intelligence, and clear speak-
ing. And style? Marnie has style
until the end of time. She always
looks fabulous and teaches me
something whenever I spend time
with her.
Thanks for being here among us,
Marnie. Happiest of birthdays, and
keep them coming.
Another cause for celebration is
the proposed Arch Cape Forest. The
Arch Cape Domestic Water Supply
TUNNEL ECHOES
LIANNE THOMPSON
District has approached the Clatsop
County Commissioners and the rest
of the County Budget Committee
to describe their vision and funding
request.
Right now, they’re asking for
$250,000 to be budgeted in the
2019-2020 fi scal year. That amount
would be part of the purchase price
of the two thousand-plus acres of
forestland that’s adjacent to Arch
Cape and provides its watershed.
What’s exciting to me is the
multipurpose benefi ts it provides.
Not only is water quality protected,
it promises to offer recreational
opportunities as it continues to be a
working community forest. That is,
trees will be harvested to generate
revenue.
Managing forests requires
thoughtful effort, and it costs
money. Without thinning of
one kind or another, timberland
becomes tinderland. Tinderland
means increased fi re danger to lives
and property because of the under-
brush and closely packed vegetation
that feeds fi erce fi res.
When I fi rst came to live perma-
nently here, I had an urban person’s
appreciation of the forest. I thought
every forest was my private park-
land, that I was entitled to a views-
hed of mature and lush forest at no
cost to me. I didn’t understand that
forests and parks were different.
For the people who own the for-
estland, most expect to generate
revenue to offset the cost of manag-
ing their land, and more. For land-
owners, it is the source of fam-
ily income, corporate income for
shareholders, or part of the tax base
to provide community services we
all need.
How do we deal with an ailing
planet, its climate change, species
extinction, and degraded quality
of life, balanced with the neces-
sity of generating revenue to live?
Communities need an adequate and
stable tax base to provide public
health, mental health, public safety,
education, roads, and other public
services.
Families need adequate and sta-
ble income to pay for housing, food,
health services, and education.
Businesses need to generate a
profi t over and above operating and
capital costs in order to stay in busi-
ness, pay employees, and pay taxes.
How do we do all of this, in har-
mony and balance? By treating
ourselves with the same affection,
respect, and curiosity that we’d like
to receive from others. The way we
treat ourselves is the way we treat
others. It’s also the way we treat the
planet. All of it is the same fl avor.
I hope the fl avor is both sweet and
nourishing.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Schultz responds to
DOGAMI tsunami analysis
The piece “In Gearhart,
what’s an acceptable level
of risk?” (Signal, May 17) is
unfortunate in that it fails to
address the main points of
my letters to the city, which I
will repeat here:
1. The city of Gearhart’s
statement a Large-1 tsu-
nami would leave the Gear-
hart Park station dry is incor-
rect and contradicted by
DOGAMI.
Gearhart stated that the
Park location would be high
and dry during a Large-1,
DOGAMI indicates it would
be fl ooded by a 60-foot high
velocity wave.
2. The city of Gearhart’s
statement that a Large-1 tsu-
nami would be 50 feet high
at the Gearhart Park station
is incorrect and contradicted
by DOGAMI. DOGAMI
indicates that the Large-1
tsunami would reach 60 feet
at the Park station, not 50
feet.
3. The city of Gearhart’s
statement that a Large-1 tsu-
nami would be 50 feet high
at the Pacifi c Way Station is
incorrect and contradicted by
DOGAMI. DOGAMI indi-
cates that the Large-1 tsu-
nami would reach 40 feet at
the Pacifi c Way station, not
50 feet.
4. The city of Gearhart
ignored Horning Geosci-
ences 2016 report that stated
that a Large-1 tsunami would
fl ood the Gearhart Park loca-
tion to 10 feet above its foun-
dation. Instead, Gearhart has
spread the misinformation to
its residents that the Park sta-
tion would be dry during a
Large-1, which directly con-
tradicts its own contracted
geological report.
I also spoke personally to
Jon Allan in February to ver-
ify my main points before
writing the letters to the city.
In that phone call, I specif-
ically asked Allan whether
50 feet was the Large-1 tsu-
nami height at the shoreline
in Gearhart, and he told me
no, that was incorrect, the
Large-1 height at shoreline
in Gearhart is 60 feet, per the
DOGAMI map.
It is unfortunate that none
of these four points, made
clear in my letters to the city,
were made in this piece.
One fi nal point: Jon Allan
made a misstatement, or
R.J. Marx incorrectly tran-
scribed his words, in this
interview: he states that
“the water levels reach 62
feet for an extra-large sce-
nario at the 10th Street site.”
This is incorrect. He is refer-
ring here to the Large-1 sce-
nario, not the extra-large sce-
nario, which he correctly
states later would fl ood this
site. The Signal should cor-
rect this error, and state pos-
itively that the Large-1 sce-
nario would reach 62 feet at
this location.
So in summary: None of
my four points above were
contradicted by this piece.
Stewart Schultz
Zadar, Croatia
Encore dance presentations in Seaside
donfrankphotography.com
Seaside Signal
T
hree dance showcase take
place on Friday, June 14, at
5 p.m. as a group of perform-
ers from a new contemporary dance
company called “The Company”
perform, along with soloist mem-
bers of the Encore Performance
Team. The event is free.
On Saturday, June 15, Encore
presents two dance studio show-
cases featuring Gearhart and War-
renton students performing tap, jazz,
ballet, all with a fun ’90s theme.
Online presale tickets are $12, tick-
HAPPENINGS IN BRIEF
Gearhart ArtWalk
The Gearhart ArtWalk
takes place Saturday, June
1, 2-5 p.m. Wander through
the town and enjoy refresh-
ments and art from partici-
pating merchants.
The Natural Nook at 738
Pacifi c Way represents 20
talented consignment artists.
A Great Gallery at 576
Pacifi c Way introduces a
new piece, “The Gearhart
Hotel,” an original pastel
by Susan Thomas. Refresh-
ments and of course choco-
late will be served.
Trails End Art Associa-
tion at 656 “A” Street will
open a new show featuring
feature the Trail’s End Gal-
lery’s fi ne pastel group of
eight which meet weekly
at the gallery. A reception
will be held in their honor
from 2-5pm. Other Trail’s
End artists will be display-
ing their work around the
gallery.
The pastel group is
made up of intermediate
and advanced pastel art-
ists. It was started by Kathy
Moberg and has been meet-
ing for at least 15 years. All
are professional artists and
most have won awards over
the years from their pres-
ence in various shows and
competitions. Along with
Kathy are long-time paint-
ers, Lynda Campbell, Mary
Ann Gantenbein, Jan Claw-
son, Deanne Johnson and
Susan Thomas. Newer to the
group are Claire McIntyre
and Linda Rook. Come May
this group will be moving to
the outdoors weekly, paint-
ing in various scenic spots
along the coast in Washing-
ton and Oregon.
Sou’wester Garden
Sale on Saturday
The Seaside Sou’Wester
Garden Club holds its 24th
annual plant sale on Satur-
day, May 25, from 9 a.m.
to noon at the Seaside Civic
and Convention Center.
Proceeds from the sale
of all goods are used to sup-
port community initiatives
in keeping with the mission
of the nonprofi t club.
Financial and in-kind
Victoria Fuller
Raffl e items at the Sou’wester
Garden Sale, coming to the
convention center May 25.
support is given to the
Downtown Seaside Hanging
Flower Basket Project, the
Seaside High School Gar-
den, the Butterfi eld Cottage
garden and grounds mainte-
nance, in addition to the gar-
den club members’ “down
to earth-hands on knees gar-
dening” there.
Three
raffl e
items
include: “Show Stopper”
hydrangea and hostas, “Vic-
torian Elegance” and “Tran-
quility” that will create a
focal point in your gardens.
Tickets are available for
$1 each or six for $5. The
raffl e drawing will be held at
11:30 am on the day of the
sale, May 25. Ticket-hold-
ers do not need to be pres-
ent to win.
Shoppers will need to use
the new west entry of the
convention center since the
First Street lobby is closed
for construction.
The Sou’wester Gar-
den Club meets the fourth
Wednesday of every month
at the Bob Chisholm Com-
munity Center. For further
information call 971-221-
4680 or email gardenclub.
sw@yahoo.com.
ets at the door are $15. Gearhart
show at 11 a.m.; Warrenton show at
3 p.m.
All shows at Seaside Conven-
tion Center, 415 First Ave. Visit
www.getyoudancing.com for ticket
information.