Friday, July 26, 2019 | Seaside Signal | SeasideSignal.com • A5
Getting ready for the next phase of refresh project
I
walked into the building
one morning a couple of
weeks ago, letting the door
close silently behind me. All of
the lights were still off, but lit-
tle beams of sunlight streamed
in through the windows, illumi-
nating little patches of the carpet.
I stopped short for a moment in
the quiet of the morning, refl ect-
ing on the many times I have
done this in the past and all of the
changes that have occurred since
the fi rst day I walked into this
building almost 16 years ago.
I stared into the main hall for a
few moments, in awe at what my
Community Center Commission
members have accomplished.
Nine people from very differ-
ent backgrounds who have come
together to rally around a com-
‘THE BOB’
DARREN GOOCH
mon cause: to leave a lasting leg-
acy for their community. Over the
years we have lost a few mem-
bers, notably Doris Snodgrass
and more recently Greta Passetti.
It always hurts to lose such great
people and that little bit of com-
munity center history.
Invariably, as one door closes,
another one opens and we have
moved forward, adding some
younger visionaries to our com-
mission. Our current chairper-
son, Kristin Kabanuk, joined us
in 2017 and has brought with her
a high level of enthusiasm and
thoughtfulness. Jordan Virding
and Julia Weinberg are our most
recent additions, fi lling vacan-
cies left by Greta’s passing and
Lou Neubecker’s departure from
the commission several months
ago. Lou was a driving force in
our fundraising campaign for the
Main Hall Refresh Project com-
pleted earlier this year.
As I stood refl ecting on all
that has passed, I thought too of
all that is yet to come. The main
hall refresh isn’t a stopping point
in the work to be done here at
the center, but a step toward big-
ger and better things. The com-
mission spent some time in a spe-
cial work session this past spring,
looking at a bigger picture and
establishing a next step for the
Bob Chisholm Community Cen-
ter. The main hall project was
only Phase I of a much larger
master plan.
Phase II, as envisioned by the
commission members, encom-
passes the exterior of the building
and addresses the much disdained
stucco facade. Stucco on the
coast, really? Our commissioners
looked at many different design
ideas and have developed some
thoughts as to what materials will
provide the best look and longev-
ity to our fantastic facility.
As the next phase is rolled out
over the next couple of years,
commission members will look
to community members for their
support. Supporters who donate
$500 or more to any of our proj-
ects are forever memorialized
with a bronze leaf on our donor
tree. The tree is being designed
by local artist Jeremy Furnish and
slated to be installed sometime in
September.
The Community Center Com-
mission is always open to feed-
back and the community is
invited to attend commission
meetings, at 10 a.m. the fi rst
Tuesday of every month in the
conference room at the Bob.
Every month, The BOB will
bring you information on cur-
rent events and items of interest
here at the center. See you next
month!
Darren Gooch is the market-
ing and IT manager for the Sun-
set Empire Park and Recreation
District.
A fearful dog is not the same thing as an aggressive dog
wo clarifi cations on behalf of
fearful and feral dogs:
ONE. Fear does not equal
aggression. Fear does not imply
aggression. Fear does not even
mean that aggression is likely. The
internet is a Wild Wild West of bad
advice and misinformation, includ-
ing such horrifying declarations as
the dangerously inaccurate claim
that “fear is the fi rst sign of aggres-
sion,” which I recently stumbled
upon via a social media link.
Ironically, the claim was part
of an article about mistakes in dog
training. I’m thankful I found it
though, because it needed to be
corrected. Because that kind of
false statement too easily leads to
needless euthanasia of perfectly
innocent dogs.
So here’s the truth: Fearful
dogs are dogs who do not feel
safe, who feel threatened. Aggres-
sive dogs, on the other hand, are
dogs who seek to eliminate com-
petition for resources; they do this
using a range of behaviors includ-
ing warning, scaring, threatening,
and/or attacking the opponent. It
would make no sense for a fearful
dog to behave in such ways, since
a fearful dog seeks to avoid threats
and dangers, not instigate them.
T
Dr. Roger Abrantes of Ethol-
ogy Institute Cambridge explains
beautifully that “Fear does not
elicit aggressive behavior. It
would have been a lethal strategy
that natural selection would have
eradicated swiftly once and for all.
A cornered animal does not show
aggressive behavior because it is
fearful. It does so because its nat-
animal knows — or self-defend.
TWO. Feral dogs brought into
human living situations should
not be hand-fed. Sometimes
well-meaning individuals, whether
in sanctuaries, rescues, shelters
or private homes may fi nd them-
selves in possession of a feral dog
whom they hope to “rehabilitate”
into a fear-free companion animal.
‘FEARFUL DOGS ARE DOGS WHO
DO NOT FEEL SAFE, WHO FEEL
THREATENED. AGGRESSIVE DOGS
ARE DOGS WHO SEEK TO ELIMINATE
COMPETITION FOR RESOURCES.’
ural responses to a fear-eliciting
stimulus (pacifying, submission,
fl ight) don’t work.”
In other words, when an animal
is threatened by another, and that
other ignores or rejects the animal’s
peaceful attempts to resolve the
problem, it is the other who is, in
reality, acting as an aggressor, and
furthermore, that other’s aggressive
behavior in that moment pushes the
animal to either shut down com-
pletely — accept death, for all the
A feral dog — or a “semi-feral”
dog — suddenly placed in captiv-
ity is not going to be happy about
that and will be afraid. A feral dog
will want to stay as far away as
possible from the humans holding
him captive. Even reaching toward
a terrifi ed pet dog without fi rst
accomplishing a series of prepara-
tory desensitization steps is a terri-
ble idea that is likely to traumatize,
so imagine how much worse to
reach toward a terrifi ed feral dog.
But insistence upon hand-feed-
ing a feral dog is exponentially
worse because 1) the captive feral
dog has no other option; 2) the cap-
tive feral dog knows that with-
out food, he will die; 3) therefore,
offering the captive feral dog food
only from a human hand is attempt-
ing to force human contact upon the
human-fearing dog by leveraging a
powerful survival motivator (hun-
ger) and basic survival need (food),
which means that 4) the human is
fl ooding the dog, thereby creating
additional emotional, behavioral,
and physical risks, including but
not limited to medical problems,
learned helplessness, and/or self-de-
fensiveness that would be labeled
“aggression” as explained above.
There’s also the risk of creating
negative associations with food.
People who do this often
claim that it encourages a “bond”
between themselves and the dog,
but that could not be further from
the truth. A fearful dog — which
this dog will be in this situation
— seeks to increase the distance
between himself and what scares
him. But the person shoving her
hand in the dog’s face is forcing a
decrease in the distance between
them. Having just lost his freedom,
he now loses the small choices
that remained — privacy perhaps,
a few feet of air between himself
and his captor, when to eat, where,
and under what conditions.
I watched a video once of a
young woman attempting to hand-
feed a meal to a newly captive
fearful/feral dog held in a “sanctu-
ary.” She had platinum white hair,
a wide, white-toothed smile, and a
huge ball of some white substance
in her palm as she leaned toward
the large, beige dog, pressing her
insistent hand toward his mouth.
The dog, housed in a metal-bars
kennel inside a dark barn, shoved
his spine hard into the farthest cor-
ner of his bars. There would be no
food that night. Only fear and the
cold fl oor’s moist, thin strands of
hay.
Rain Jordan, CBCC-KA, KPA
CTP, is a certifi ed canine behavior
and training professional. Visit her
at www.expertcanine.com.
vice; my commitment to really hear-
ing all members; fi scal responsibility
and accountability and sustainability
of the co-op.
My promise: to meet members
directly at least three times a year in
different locations in the district (all
members welcome), bringing man-
agers along. If we can’t answer your
concerns immediately, we’ll take
your contact information to get you
solid answers.
I won’t promise to magically
drop the rates, but I’m open to new
cost-effective technologies. Rates
are primarily based on indispensable
personnel and equipment — both
maintenance and replacement. We
still pay for recent massive storm/
fl ood damage. FEMA payouts only
cover 75%, and only for locations
declared disaster areas. The only
source of income for the co-op is
what we members pay.
I’ve been attending board meet-
ings for the past year, as well as
learning about America’s electri-
cal grid system, studying our own
co-op’s history, and reviewing coop-
erative law.
Please review my candidate state-
ment that comes with the ballot
mailed July 27 to see how I contrib-
ute to my community on an ongoing
basis since 2004, and consider voting
for me. I’ll hit the ground running,-
doing my best to help us all thrive.
Thank you!
Ericka Paleck
Vernonia
CANINE
CORNER
RAIN JORDAN
& DAHLIA
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Select Paleck for
WOEC board
To the members of WOEC:
I feel honored to introduce you to
Erika Paleck, for those of you who
don’t know her. Erika is running for
Position 5 on the Western Oregon
Electric Company Board.
I have known Erika for more than
10 years and have known her to be
very ethical, honest, informed and
willing to learn. Her husband, Bob,
had held the same position for nine
years, and learning about WOEC
and the inner workings was a joint
effort.
I met Erika while being a part of
the Ford Family Leadership Cohort
2. Erika excelled during the confer-
ence and was a driving force to get
the courtyard built next to the Learn-
ing Center (currently the Senior Cen-
ter thrift store). She is also a leader
in the Junior Salmon Action for the
past 11-plus years. She is a mem-
ber of the city Planning Commis-
sion, the Vernonia Health Cen-
ter Board and other organizations.
When she commits to be a part of
the organizations, she researches
and becomes very knowledgeable
about what needs to be done and
how to do it. She is always willing
to listen to other points of view. You
will notice that when she becomes
involved in something it’s a long-
term commitment.
Erika Paleck is a genuine good
person and will be a valuable asset to
the WOEC Board. I urge you to vote
for Erika Paleck for Position 5 on the
WOEC board.
Carol Davis
Vernonia
Erika Paleck asks
for your vote
Long power outages are dangers
to our health, livelihoods and qual-
ity of life. Western Oregon Electric
Company Board of Directors’ pol-
icy and priorities are crucial aspects
of how this is managed. I am run-
ning for the District 5 board of direc-
tor seat, but all members vote for all
directors. My goals and values: con-
tinuing the ongoing upgrade of ser-
Learn to monitor debris with COASST training
Seaside Signal
Learn how to survey for
marine debris from 10 a.m.
to 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 17,
and from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sunday, Aug. 18, when
the Coastal Observation
and Seabird Survey Team
will deliver two free train-
ing sessions in Astoria and
Tillamook.
The COASST Marine
Debris program is focused
on the intersection of sci-
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munities. Rather than sim-
ply identifying debris, the
program characterizes it
and measures its abundance
in particular zones of the
beach.
Through an interactive,
hands-on workshop, trainees
will learn how to collect data
that speaks directly to the
source and transport path-
ways of debris, as well as to
the potential harm to people,
wildlife and local coastal
ecosystems. The COASST
training provides partici-
pants with the tools to mon-
itor for potential changes in
the marine environment and
promote stewardship of local
marine resources.
COASST is a citizen sci-
ence project of the Univer-
sity of Washington in part-
nership with state, tribal and
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A COASST volunteer next to tangled rope found on a marine debris survey.
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